A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary over an exquisite meal at Martyrs Steakhouse in Taos, New Mexico. There is often great temptation to overeat when dining out - and it's easy to give ourselves permission to do so. Any number of sabotaging thoughts can come into play: This is a once in a lifetime experience. Lobster Mac 'N Cheese! I'll never get the opportunity to try this again. (yes, it was on the menu - OMG). It's our anniversary. We're celebrating! I'll get back on track tomorrow. I've got good news and bad news for you my sweet Chickadee. The bad news first - our bodies don't give a hoot what day it is - extra calories are still going to be stored as fat, even if it's our anniversary (or … [Read more...] about How to Dine Out Without Overdoing It (5 Simple Tips)
What Your Compulsion is Trying to Teach You
Imagine your most recent episode of overeating. What words might you choose to describe your actions? Here are a few common responses I hear. Bad Disgusting Out of Control Weak Powerless Broken Hopeless I'm going to ask you to reconsider and try on the following words instead. Connection Powerful Survival We ordinarily think of compulsive eating as a “bad” thing - something we ought to be ashamed of. In reality, our compulsions around eating serve two very powerful purposes: to numb out undesirable feelings and to bring us comfort. As children, we’re not always capable of handling the intensity of the feelings we’re presented with. Feelings like fear, abandon, grief, panic or inadequacy. We learn early on that … [Read more...] about What Your Compulsion is Trying to Teach You
4 Questions to Ask Before Quitting
Last night I thought about quitting. Quitting my business. Quitting healthy eating. Quitting my strength training program. I had a total crazy town moment. Truth is - I think about quitting all the time. It’s tempting to quit. Quitting is easy. It gives us immediate relief from our challenge. But when we quit, we forgo feelings of accomplishment and pride. Of knowing we're capable of pushing through when things get tough. Of realizing our dreams. That said, quitting isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s just what we need to do. But it’s important to take the time to sort it out. Really important. I knew I didn’t want to quit all of those things. I knew my feelings of frustration were an opportunity in disguise. An … [Read more...] about 4 Questions to Ask Before Quitting
Stop Chasing Perfection
See if you can relate to the following scenario? You've stumble upon an old picture of yourself. At the time the photo was taken you didn’t particularly like your body. Maybe you thought your butt was too big or you still needed to lose a few pounds. Maybe you wished your stomach was a little flatter or your face was thinner. When you look at the picture today, you see a beautiful woman - and you wonder why you were so hard on yourself. You might even be wishing you had that body right now. The one you didn’t like very much at the time. Sound familiar? This, my dear, is one example of chasing perfection - and it’s a great way to set yourself up for failure and make yourself (and everyone around you) miserable. I’m guilty. At … [Read more...] about Stop Chasing Perfection