“Where are you getting all your energy from, I can’t keep up with you?”. That’s what the husband of one of my food coaching clients said to her after just 5 days of us working together. “I can’t believe I’ve not done this before” She told me, “It’s been such a good experience so far. I used to see every meal as a chance to treat myself and have something yummy. I now feel a bit more connected and have started to listen to my body over my mind”.
YES!!! This is ‘change’ right here – this is power! So often we get totally hung up on the ‘what not to eat’ advice that we forget that actually, we already know what we ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ be eating and therein lies the problem. My approach is not about ‘taking control’ it’s actually more of a ‘letting go’. We women live our wholes lives trying to control what’s going on around us. Our kids’ behaviour. Our partner’s messy habits. Our eating, our kids’ eating, our partner’s eating! Control, control, control. And we get so mad and so stressed when things go out of our control. Like when we’re late for an appointment, when we ‘give in’ and eat the piece of cake, BREXIT (!). But how might it feel to release some of that control? Scary? Then you’re definitely on the right track.
“I can’t believe I’m actually craving vegetables”.
When you can let go of the old ideas, you open yourself up to something new – a whole different way of ‘being’ with food. Of course it’s still useful to have some guidelines around what kinds of foods are likely to fuel your body right, to help you curb the carb cravings and stop the energy crashes. But alongside that there MUST be some level of self-discovery AND some a mindset change. And that's where the mantras come in.
I love a good Mantra. It might seem a little ‘woo woo’ or just feel a bit silly but there is such power in words. You know that bit in ‘The Help’ where the maid says to the child of an overachieving, perfectionist mother, "You is kind, you is smart, you is important"? Oh gosh it’s giving me goosebumps just thinking about it. We just don’t hear it enough.
YOU IS KIND
YOU IS SMART
YOU IS IMPORTANT.
(apologies for the grammar, watch the film, you’ll get it).
Imagine if you said that to yourself every day when you woke up. Imagine if you said that every day to your child (note to self, do this!)? How would you interact differently with the world around you if you were being told you’re IMPORTANT enough to be heard. You’re SMART enough to make good choices if you just listen to your own wisdom. You’re so KIND to everyone else around you, doing your best to be a great mother, friend, sister, partner – you just need to turn that kindness inward.
I get excited about this stuff. Because you are so powerful mama. You have all it takes to live how you want to live. It’s not quick. It won’t happen overnight. But if you just begin to acknowledge who you really are and what you bring to this world and start to take little steps every day to bring you closer to where you want to be, boy does it feel good.
So, here's what I want you to do. Just say the following mantras (or make up your own) to yourself every morning when you wake up and every evening when you go to bed. How does it feel? Are there any 'sticking points' for you? What do you need to hear to believe in your power to change? Better yet, journal on them. Just allow a free flow of thought to meet the page and write it all down. Then begin to notice how, over time, when you keep saying them, you start living them!
If you’d like a little help with this. If you’re ready to go deeper and you want to make changes that will last you a lifetime. If you want to develop a truly healthy relationship with food that you can pass on to your children and stop their journey towards ‘sweet treats’ and self-loathing (I’ve been there, I’ve felt it) – then get in touch. I would LOVE to work with you on this (head on over to the coaching section of my website for more info).
And finally, whether your ‘thing’ is food, or fitness or you’re just needing a little bit of self-love, I do hope you’ll join me in Heather’s Health Hub on 28th January 2019 for a 5 day ‘retreat’ designed to dig a little deeper and help you uncover WHAT you really want, WHY you want it and HOW to take the first step.
Health & Happiness to you and yours.
Heather
