Brittany Brown

Ahhh take me back to that pool! I’m just returning from Greece and I have to say, it is quite possibly the most remarkable place on earth! I’m sure there will be more dedicated to that in a later post, but for now I have to share my findings from this incredible trip with you. I know if you stumbled on this page, you’ve probably struggled with your weight at one point, or continue to struggle, and are looking for the best way to lose it. So, here we go!

What you will find here are principles to operate from that will guarantee your weight loss success (long term – not the quick drop and regain that you might be used to). These principles are proven constantly in my life, in my client’s lives, and  were recently proved on my vacation. Allow me to explain…

I’m always testing my theories. Out of curiosity, I stepped on the scale when I returned from vacation not knowing what to expect. The results: After 2 weeks of no work outs, pita bread and delicious treats in Greece, airport delays, missing flights, airport food, lack of sleep in transit, flying straight to the states for time with the family in Georgia in the mountains centered around s’mores and snacks, and a ton of other things completely different than the structure I’m used to, I come back 2 pounds lighter without trying…what gives?

You have to imagine this was quite shocking, I mean I felt great upon my return but in the past I was used to the obligatory 10+ pound weight gain from just a short weekend of travel, spawned by my old ways of restrictive dieting and “eat and drink everything you’re on vacation” mentality. This time it was so different.

Even though I feel “healed” from my struggles with binge, emotional and over eating that I suffered with years ago, I still love when I see concrete proof and a reminder of “wow, freedom really is possible.”

Of course, I want this freedom for you too! Adopt these principles below and you can have it!

What I did that worked…

1) When I could, I ate foods that I knew would nourish me and make me feel great. Breakfast was easy, fresh fruit was always an option and so was a vegetable stuffed omelette. I knew if I started my day with a good solid foundation and a ton of nutrients, I’d have energy. Plus I knew it’d help balance out any wine or indulgences from the night before. I’m not talking about “making up” for them with restriction, I’m talking about the “hey I woke up feeling a little groggy what can I put in my body to make me feel good?”

No matter what I had for dinner, I always ordered a side Greek salad (raw cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil). I knew if I could at least get some raw and healthy goodness in, even in the mix of whatever else I was eating, that would help balance out my body. I did this to feel really good, as I wanted to enjoy the trip as much as possible without food or alcohol getting in the way.

2) When I wanted to enjoy something regardless of labeling (“healthy” vs “unhealthy”), I was present and really enjoyed it. I checked in with my internal guidance system to make all my choices. I had mousakka, gelato, baklava, chicken souvlaki, pita bread, chocolate, an abnormal about of tzatziki, and I didn’t feel guilty about any of it. To me, nothing was off limits so I got to really take pleasure in eating it. What’s really cool about this is when nothing is off limits, you really just eat what you want and then stop when you’re full.

My boyfriend is not a healthy eater, if you’re reading this, sorry babe. This can be tough at times, but as I make these principles habit and learn to listen to my own body, it’s really not. Sometimes what he was having looked good, sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes I had it, sometimes I had my own, sometimes I didn’t.

There was no eating because the food was there, or eating because I felt like I could never have it again. Being slow and present during meal time also has the added benefit of reducing the stress response in my body (a great tip for weight loss that beats the best diet) and also allowed me to really register the eating experience in my brain. When you rush through a meal with your attention everywhere but your food, you don’t even realize you ate! This typically will leave you wanting more.

3) I ate high quality food. The food was local and freshly made with minimal ingredients. This doesn’t mean it was low fat or low carb, dairy free, gluten free or anything of the sort(I can assure you olive oil and tzatziki covered pita bread and vegetables are neither of those), but there were no chemicals, hormones, or ingredients I couldn’t pronounce in anything I ate. Regardless of the content, all of the food we ate could be easily broken down and assimilated by our bodies.

4) I drank a lot of water, a lot. If you’re not doing this, you’re shorting your body, mind and weight loss success big time.

5) I didn’t drink a ton of alcohol. I focused on feeling great, I did not want to ruin waking up to the incredible view or experience with a hangover. One night I had 3 drinks, all of the others were a glass of wine, or maybe none at all. I’m really beginning to see how much better life is when you’re fully present to experience it.

6) I slept at least 7-8 hours each night, and I listened to my body on one of the days that we really needed rest. Fat burns during sleep and cravings are reduced the more rested and restored your body is. I didn’t think about this once though, once again the focus was on: listening to my body and feeling good.

7) I immersed myself in the culture, experience, nature, connecting, and adventure regardless of how I felt in my bikini. Food was great way to experience the culture, but by default of enjoying my time there, food wasn’t the main focus. This also kept me active and up and about a lot. Yes, there were times where I didn’t feel my best physically, but I wasn’t about to let that stand in my way of enjoying my life.

8) I was present. Probably more present than I have ever been in my entire life. I tried using the time in the magical island of Santorini for dreaming, creating and planning for the blog/business and I couldn’t. I literally was sucked back into total presence and it was amazing. If you binge or over eat, really look here. I can almost bet that presence is a major component that’s missing.

Not one of the above, came from trying to control my weight. They all came from self love and a love for life. As it turns out, and is proven to me time and time again, the best diet for weight loss is not really a diet at all. It’s a frame work to operate from that is rooted in self-love and support for your body. If you struggle with this at all, join us here for support…

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Weight Loss Success Principles (what I learned translated into every day life)…

1) When possible, eat nourishing living foods that make you feel really great.

2) Enjoy your food! Check in with your internal guidance system and really assess what type of food you want. Regardless of what you choose, slow down, be present and let yourself enjoy it without guilt or shame. If you’re really listening here, more often times than not your guidance system is going to tell you to go with the foods that make you feel good, and also help you stop when you don’t need anymore aka you’re full. Oh, and if you want the dessert every now and then, have it and enjoy every last bite!

3) Eat high quality food, produced by the earth and not in a factory, made with real ingredients, whenever possible.

4) Drink lots of water.

5) Listen to your body, sleep and rest when needed.

6) Find fun ways to enjoy and experience life without needing a huge buzz to do it.

7) GET OUT THERE AND LIVE regardless of the fear that comes up… food will become less important, I promise. (Bonus: any activity is better than sitting)

8) Find ways to stay present! Time outdoors in nature, movement and meditation are a great way to do this.

Success does not have to be so hard! The lasting weight loss success paradigm is shifting. It truly is less about fighting your body into submission and more about listening and supporting your body to release the weight and be healthy and happy.

If you need any support in this area, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly! 

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!

Health & Love,

 

 

A Fun and Rewarding Way to Reach Your Weight Loss Goals

I am in route to my dream vacation in Greece, Athens and Santorini to be specific. This trip has been something I’ve envisioned since I learned about vision work and manifesting years ago, so despite the jet-lag, this whole experience is a bit surreal and very exciting! Every 90 days or so I take an inventory of my goals in my business, life and health as well as do a deep dive into my client’s progress so I can eliminate what hasn’t worked, course correct with new innovations when necessary, and do more of what has been working well. With two long flights and a layover, today turned out to be a fantastic time to do just that.

After laying it all out, I realized even more so that I have a ton going on right now! New services including weekend retreat in-person intensives coming in October, a Podcast launching in November, my Beating Binge Eating Blueprint Group Coaching Program launching in January, along with my clients, my life and everything in between going on at all times. When I think about all of this, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. My natural response to overwhelm used to be to search for something outside of myself to calm the panic like; more structure, better time management, and more action.

I saw this pattern both when I wanted results in my business and also when I wanted results with my body.

Tell me if this sounds familiar…

It’s the end of the day. You’ve been hustling and running around since early morning. Working, errands, knocking out the to-do list, taking care of the children if you have them and then it stops. You feel like there’s so much more you can be doing but you’re beat. You may even feel like you deserve a little pleasure and a little freedom, after all you’ve been taking care of things to do and other people’s needs all day. So, to the fridge you go to find it…

Or maybe this… 

You want to lose weight. You have tried a ton of diets and nothing seems to last. Maybe it does short term but something always seems to snap and back to overeating or binge eating you go. You’re on the constant quest for something outside of yourself to tell you exactly how to eat and exactly how to work out. There’s very little reliance on your internal guidance system at this stage of the game, it’s just what your diet or plan for the week tells you. You may even lose both faith and trust in yourself in the process. The approach you settle on after over-thinking and searching always tends to be something you can control, something concrete, and something rigid with very little room for flexibility.

So here’s the thing with this all-too-familiar approach. It sucks. It’s no fun. It doesn’t work long-term. It leads you to the same frustrating and most likely fattening results over and over. So, why don’t we look at another way? One that supports you mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually to be the best version of you and has also worked with myself and countless clients.

I’m writing this post is because after analyzing my progress, I see that I’ve produced more results in the last 3 months in my business than I have in most of my career combined. I also looked at what I’ve been doing different, and while I’ve been taking an insane amount of disciplined action and had a relentless commitment to my mission (more than ever before), I’ve also taken more time off and allowed more time for fun, pleasure, reconnecting, grounding and enjoying life than I ever have. I’ve been making time for activities to both celebrate my wins and take some time to disconnect from the hustle and reconnect with my soul and loved ones.

When I think about the times where my body is the happiest, and I maintain a healthy mind and physique, it’s when I do the same and also make time for self-care despite my busyness. It’s when I operate inside somewhat of a structure of eating that will support my busy lifestyle and high demand I place on my body and brain, but also allow flexibility and freedom in my food choices in accordance to what my body needs and is craving. It’s when I balance the discipline of getting myself up and getting to the gym or outside to move, with moving in ways that are fun, that make me feel alive and reconnect me to my feminine power.

Here is a list of masculine and feminine characteristics so you can see what I mean by “feminine power”, and I’ll explain soon how understanding these characteristics can impact your health and your life.

Masculine Energy  vs  Feminine Energy

doing     vs     being

aggression     vs     surrender

analytical     vs     intuitive

concrete      vs     abstract

impatient     vs     patient

striving     vs     tranquil

rushing     vs     nurturing

assertive     vs     receptive

left brain     vs     right brain

thrusting     vs     receiving

organization     vs     synthesizing

logical     vs     creative

busy     vs     calm

hard     vs     soft

controlling     vs     allowing

After looking at the list, do you see how maybe your approach to weight loss, your health and your life might be dominated by the more masculine characteristics? I know that’s my go to when I’m looking at a goal that I want to achieve. It’s also my go to when I’m in fear or feeling threatened in any way. My immediate reaction is “What can I do to fix this?”…”I don’t want to deal with this now I might as well work and get a ton done(it used to be eat)”…”I don’t have time for fun or connection I have too much to do (it used to be fear I’d overeat in these situations, or fear of what others would think of my weight).”

Knowing this about myself, I still have to consciously balance those masculine tendencies with some feminine principles; this makes my mind, body and soul very happy. Don’t get me wrong, the masculine is awesome. It is how this website was built. Without assertive action and doing, it wouldn’t have been launched, but there has to be balance especially when working with your body.

The feminine is responsible for attracting and receiving most of my clients, it’s what inspires me to write, it’s what guides me to be able to deliver intuitive messages to my clients that help them breakthrough their most difficult barriers. If I’m tapped into consistent self-care and honoring my body, it’s what keeps my body happy, it’s what keeps my stress response down, it’s what keeps my weight balanced and maintained, it’s what makes me feel connected to loved ones, to the Universe, to my body and to my soul.

Reaching to food for comfort or to avoid feelings may be a very real thing for you, but most likely you’re also using food to fill an empty space inside of you that longs to be satisfied. This would look like searching for something at the end of the day and oftentimes choosing food, feeling empty and like something is missing, or maybe over indulging because you love the guilty pleasure or rush of eating a forbidden dessert or sweet.

More times than not, the answer is inside of you, especially when it comes to giving your body what it needs to thrive.

Action Step to End Your Food Cravings

Your food cravings (especially cravings for sweets) may very well be a craving for more pleasure, fun, joy, presences, connection and feminine flow.

What are some ways you’ve used masculine characteristics to dominate the way you relate and try to get results with your body and in your life?

What are 5 activities that you can do to reconnect you to fun, joy, pleasure or that feminine power (hint hint: yoga, dance, art, time with a close friend, reading, wearing something you love, meditation, time outside and in nature, a bath, self-care, your favorite TV show, adorning your body with beautiful jewelry…)

Now take a look at your schedule. Where can you take 30 minutes each day to indulge in your non-food related guilty pleasure? Make it happen and please leave your ideas below in the comments! You’ll thank my later 😉

If you need any support in this area, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly!

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!

Health & Love,

 

 

 

 

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How to Get Out of Your Own Way

Choose love over fear. Ok done, post complete 😉 No really though, if you want to transform a struggle as gripping as a compulsive relationship with food and your body it takes a dramatic shift in perception.

Up until now you have most likely been living your life governed by fear based beliefs. Fear from the media and outside influences, fear from the diet industry, fear from what others have told you and fear from past experiences drown out our inner wisdom and power. When we focus on fear it becomes our reality.

Each fear based experience or belief you choose to accept and make “real” acts as a brick to the fortress that blocks you from your inner power. Judgment, criticism and attack of yourself and others are no stranger to you during this time. Seeking to control or manipulating situations, people and your body, as well as seeking comfort from outside sources (like food) to temporarily numb whatever discomfort you’re avoiding may feel like home to a fear-minded person. Over time the repetition of fear-based thoughts winning over and over again lead us to view our life through fear clouded lenses and we begin to believe that fear is all that there is. It’s literally like putting glasses on with lenses that only let you view things from a fearful, struggling perspective. Fear, what could go wrong, what isn’t working, how far you have to go…is all you see.

Fear is rooted in the ego. Love is rooted in the true you, in your highest self-expression, in divinity, in God. It is the power inside of you that you can learn to trust and surrender to. This power has your back. I will call it love here, but know I’m referring to that inner knowing, that intuition, and that guidance that comes from a power far greater than can be explained by human comprehension. Since the ego is the opposite, you have to know that this is not the true you, but only an unrecognized part of you that has been governing your life. The ego gets so deeply rooted in the subconscious mind that it creates a stronghold on us that influences our behavior on auto pilot through thought and habit patterns. By examining the ego’s grip on us, and where it shows up in our lives through fear, we can take back the power that is rightfully ours.

Nearly everyone is fear-minded to some extent, but if you’re here your fear most likely has you consumed with your weight, your body and/or food. Mastering this area of your life doesn’t mean that nothing ever goes wrong; it means you get to the point where you can withstand and transform what isn’t right. It means that you accept some days that you feel like shit, some days are hard, some days you spiral and that it’s all a part of the process. If you are willing to choose love over fear, you choose to believe that: YOUR SUCCESS IS INEVITABLE.

Yes, I said it, and I believe it at my core. Confidence, radiance, beauty, health and happiness are your God given right. We were not put on this earth to wallow and suffer. We are tested, but in our trials and tribulations we learn, we gain wisdom and we transform. As we grow the Universe throws more at us to make sure we’ve learned the lesson, so please please please open your heart and LISTEN. The quote by Pema Chodron is one of my favorites for this, “Nothing goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” So true.

The mirror or the scale cannot serve as the only indicator of where you’re at along your journey. It may show you what your thinking was in the past but what is happening in your heart, mind and soul today will create the life that you will live tomorrow, and the next day and the next.

Here is the key to transformation: You must actively work to choose love over fear. Every time you do so, it is a win and you are asserting loving authority over your life. The moment you walk past the fridge when you are craving something that doesn’t support your body, you win. The moment you made it to the gym when you didn’t feel like it, you win. The moment you meet up with some friends even though you were scared to death of what they would think of you, you win. The moment you stand up to someone despite the fear of losing them, you win. The moment you open your heart to the lessons the relationship is here to teach you, you win. The moment you pursue your passion despite the not so perfect circumstances, you win. The moment you make a choice to honor your body, you win.

Subtle shifts, repeated consistently, create massive results.

There is a cycle that may be governing your life if you haven’t been choosing love over fear, and that’s a cycle that’s rooted in fear, separation and guilt. By separation I mean anything that separates from your true inner divine power, from love.

An example for the compulsive eater or dieter looks like this…

FEAR: I can’t honor my body. I need to get this weight off first. I failed her and she failed me. I am scared I will never get ahold of my battle with weight. I need control, I need structure, I need will-power. I don’t trust myself. What diet should I do. Maybe carb cycling, yea let’s try that it worked for a few days before and I lost weight fast. I’m going to diet this week and only eat very strict to flush my body and get back on track. Once I’m back on track and have control I then I will honor my body and soul and take a balanced approach.

SEPARATION: Ah something bad happened. I just couldn’t take the feelings. The thoughts about my body and food were too overwhelming. I should go to the gym but I’m afraid of what people will think about my body. Maybe I’ll just run at home tomorrow. Maybe I’ll just eat and then start back over tomorrow. I’ve been so good I deserve it. I can’t keep up this exhausting way of living so I’m going for it. Nothing is working. Why can’t I heal. I will start that new program I found tomorrow…binge.

GUILT: Why did I do that, I will never lose the weight? I always do this. I’m such a failure. OK back to the drawing board. How can I make up for the damage I did? …fear..isolation…diet…repeat.

Sound familiar? When we aren’t willing to look at our underlying fear straight in the eyes this cycle will repeat itself over and over again. We’ll even end up projecting our feelings and our interpretations that we’ve made through our fear based lenses onto others and situations outside of ourselves to take the pressure and discomfort off of us.

The Solution…

Looking at the ego and surrendering your voice of fear over to love so you can transform your habits and beliefs to support the highest version of you. When we turn our voice of fear over to our voice of love and trust, new opportunities, new guidance and new ways of being come into our experience. You must make choosing love over fear a moment to moment practice. The more you make the choice, the easier this choice will become second nature. This subtle shift repeated will bring you more comfort, peace, ease and results. You want this shift to become your new normal.

Don’t be too hard on yourself either; this work is actually going against second nature and that’s why it’ll feel awkward or off at first. According to brain science, it’s natural to develop a negative bias. This was put in place as a survival mechanism. Simply stated, your brain naturally looks for danger and remembers those negative and “dangerous” circumstances to protect you in the future as much as possible. It is natural and normal to look for what doesn’t work over what does, so you have to condition yourself to a new way of doing things. No matter how different it seems at first; just keep going. LOVE ALWAYS WINS.

How…

Awareness: Take a look at the ways that fear has been directing your life. What thoughts spark fear? What experiences? What feelings come up when you experience fear? How does this change your actions?

Shift your Perspective: Be willing to choose love over fear. Make a list of your fears and declare that you are willing to see love instead. I love this affirmation that I learned from Gabrielle Bernstein when a fearful thought comes up: “Love did not create this, therefore it is not real.” Inhale: Love did not create this, Exhale: therefore it is not real x 3 .. Use it 🙂

Forgive: There are going to be times when things aren’t perfect. Times where you think about your past and see how fear has gotten you to where you’re at. Times where you feel frustrated. This practice of looking at your fears can bring up a lot of discomfort. Let yourself off the hook for them moment. Yes, personal responsibility is very important but we are cultivating compassion here. You did the best you could do in the moment with the knowledge and power that you had. This isn’t about looking back, it’s about looking forward and creating a love-minded belief system to support you on your journey.

A great forgiveness practice is to write a letter to yourself, to the version of you that’s lived in fear. Have it out with your ego, list all the ways you’ve projected fear onto your experience, all the ways it’s affected you, let the anger, rage and sadness flow. Then offer a loving solution to pull yourself through it. Offer forgiveness. Offer support. Offer loving guidance. Self-attack and criticism are rooted in fear, love and support is the opposite. Acknowledgement why you chose this part of you, what need was being fulfilled and then declare that you no longer need it. This part of you no longer serves you. Tell this part of you why it no longer serves you and declare you are releasing it. End with a loving but powerful farewell.

You are up to bigger and better loved filled things now and in the future.

Take time with these practices to integrate all that you’re learning. Rest and self-care is very critical when you’re doing work like this. Have compassion for yourself on this journey, and know that your success is inevitable as long as you’re making the effort to choose love over fear in the process.

If you need any support in this area, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly!

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!

Love,

Cold and creamy. Sweet and Savory. Crunchy and salty. Late night urge for something sinfully delicious. Ah cravings, love them or hate them we all have them even if we have the most balanced diet in the world and take incredible care of our bodies. The mainstream advice for coping with cravings is to distract yourself from them: go for a walk, listen to music, say an affirmation, clean the house, go workout, journal about it, or will-power our way right through it. We’re told if we can’t master the will-power, then we should empty the cabinets of dangerous trigger foods and control our surroundings as much as possible so we’re tempted as little as possible.

Newsflash: Control is an illusion. We can’t control life; however, we can adapt. The scientifically proven biggest predictor of success in any area, even survival, is adaptability. So, is your way of doing things not working? Is will-power against your cravings eventually failing? Do you fall victim your urges more often than not? Hmmm soemthing needs to change then! Perhaps, we can use our cravings to show us more..

The problem with listening to the above advice is that by distracting your cravings or pushing through them it never allows you to look at the root cause and the actual reason for your food cravings. You’re not acknowledging the fears, emotions and beliefs that come up from the moment a craving strikes to the time that you’re sitting there with an empty bag or chips on your lap, or fingers searching for one last french fry at the bottom of the fast food bag.

One of my favorite Authors, Debbie Ford, coined the phrase the “beach ball effect”. Have you ever tried to hold a beach ball under water? You can do it for a little by fighting and struggling with the ball as it wiggles around slippery below your hands but eventually it escapes and explodes up to the surface. The same thing happens with your emotions, cravings and yearnings. In stuffing them down without acknowledging them for a length of time, they’re eventually going to blow up to the surface and oftentimes right in your face. This usually takes place in the form of self-sabotage. For example; something like uncontrollable binge or over eating.

So, what do we do? We listen…

Types of Cravings

Nourishing Cravings

These are cravings that support us, nourish our body, balance our body or heal our body in some way. I often crave citrus before I get sick. Then as I start feeling run down I can look and realize my body was craving vitamin C to fight off an infection. If I listen to my body and take care of myself in times like these I can usually avoid the infection all together. If I’ve worked out in the heat, I tend to crave light cold salads and fruit later that day that are nourishing, hydrating and cooling.

Some are a bit less obvious; I had a client who kept waking up and craving bananas at night. Turns out when we looked deeper and around her stress and energy levels, her adrenals were very fatigued. Adrenals regulate your potassium and sodium absorption, hence the banana cravings. You can see this in animals also. No one tells a dog to eat clay because of the high mineral content, or a cat to eat grass to aid in digestion; they are just experts in listening to their bodies.

Here are some common cravings and what your body is really calling out for:

• Chocolate; oftentimes when wanting to relax or check out mentally: Really need Magnesium which is also found in nuts, seeds and raw cacao
• Salty foods; oftentimes stressed (adrenal system overload): Really need healthy forms of sodium (sea vegetables, sea salt) and potassium
• Fried or heavy foods; oftentimes when running on empty and depleted: Really need healthy fats like coconut oil
• Starchy carbs and sugar; oftentimes when exhausted or going through caffeine withdrawl: Really need a balanced protein packed meal for lasting energy

Food cravings not only show you where your body may be off balance, but also where you may be off balance in life…

Draining Cravings

These are the not so fun cravings; the ones that call us towards foods that drain our energy and deplete our health. These are the cravings towards the processed foods, alcohol, coffee, sugar, fried food and junk food just to name a few. It might seem strange that our brilliant body that leads us to the exact nutrients our body needs for balance would also lead us to foods and chemicals that drain us energetically, but what if I told you that there was more to it?

Webster defines “craving” as: the powerful desire for something. What if your desire or craving was for something more beyond food? Life is actually full of hunger. Hunger for fulfillment, hunger for happiness, hunger for love, hunger for attention, hunger for stability, hunger for adventure, hunger for a spiritual connection, hunger for growth and more.

When we crave food for emotional comfort, because we’re stressed, or because of fear we are actually to getting told to will-power our way through our cravings, but to stop for a moment, get very present and look at our lives. It’s very common to look for something outside ourselves when some inside isn’t right. By looking deep when we receive message around food, we may be able to decipher where things are off in life.

This type of cravings also tend to come in the form of self-sabotage. Some of my clients(I’ve been here too) actually have subconscious beliefs ingrained so deeply they use food and extra weight is used to protect themselves. Fear of being rejected, fear of what others will think, fear of getting hurt, fearing of their own power and brilliance, fear of abandonment and more. These type of cravings are commonly rooted in fear. The only way to fight fear is with awareness, love and compassion.

Connection Cravings

Speaking of love, these type of cravings can oftentimes be rooted in love. Growing up love was commonly represented through food. At events you bring food to contribute, you share family time over a meal, to support a family or loved on in need you offer to cook for them, you take a loved one out to dinner to celebrate…to man of us, food is symbolic of love, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Ever walk into your Grandmas house and crave something that you haven’t since you were a child? Ever miss someone and randomly crave a food you associate with them? I do. Every time I eat rice crackers I think of my mom. She loves them. I tend to crave them at night when I’m alone and winding down for the evening. The same time I used to eat them with her.

With the phone, internet, social media, email and text, it is getting easier to communicate but more difficult to truly connect. Humans crave love. Humans crave connection. Maybe your cravings are urging you to drop the walls and connect on a deeper level with your loved ones around you.

The bottom line is; every craving comes with a message. I encourage you to really dig deep into yours, get present and listen to what they are trying to tell you. The answer to cravings is to nourish yourself from the inside out not only physically with balanced nutrition, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually with love and loving action.

If you need any support in this area, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly!

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!

Health & Love,

Ever wonder why you don’t possess the “will-power” to stick to a diet? Are you tired of eating “good” for a few days then spiraling into one “bad” food choice after another? Since we are conditioned to believe that weight challenges and unwanted eating habits are exterior problems that need to be fixed, it is easy to think that if we were just disciplined enough or had enough will power to stick with a certain diet, then we could lose the weight for good. This is not the case. The very few people that are able to maintain long term results from a restrictive diet are typically always in a constant struggle or have also dramatically shifted their psychology in the process.

Wouldn’t it be nice to reach your goals without the constant battle and always beating yourself up? You can, and I show you how in detail on this week’s Group Coaching and Q&A Call! Until then, just know that an exterior solution will NOT last for life. A shift needs to occur. Reaching your desired weight or physique, optimal health, and a healthy relationship with your body and food is an inside job!

Your eating habits are tied to so many things other than food, therefore getting “control” over food isn’t a viable solution. Hoping to have “will power” over your food choices can work for a brief stint of time, but the truth is (and this is according to numerous studies in psychology and physiology): will power is a very limited resource that we use up all day with a multitude of tiny tasks and decisions, and is a very minor contributing factor to binge and emotional eating, if at all (this is why healthy and nourishing routines and rituals are imperative, we do a lot of this in my coaching).

Multiple other factors can effect what kinds of food your body craves and calls out for. Our limited resource of “will power” simply isn’t enough to fight some of these underlying culprits.

Some of the surface examples that can be often balanced with proper nutrition and gradual lifestyle adjustments include:

• Not eating enough variety of nutrient dense food and/or being deficient in macro and micro-nutrients. In this case, your body literally yells at you for what it needs with cravings
• Poor digestive health and not absorbing enough nutrients from the food you eat
• Lack of sleep
• Chronic Stress
• Mood disorders
• Hormone imbalances
• Complications with thyroid and adrenal glands
• Food allergies and intolerances

On a deeper level, these can control your eating habits and typically stem (at the beginning stages) from the dependence on the chemical response that happens in your body after eating certain foods. In my coaching we go deep here and cultivate enough awareness to retrain the below patterns:

• Food addiction; oftentimes sugar.
• Reinforced patterns that have carved pathways in your brains that link certain triggers or circumstances to certain eating behaviors(habits) – these can be reprogrammed with healthy habits that become second nature; I do it with my clients all the time.
• Deprivation or imbalances in any domain in life…in these cases you might use food to fill a void
• Emotional coping mechanisms…here you use food to check out or numb out
• Underlying fears and commitments, also known as subconscious programming, that you may not be aware are governing your behavior – these can be worked through (Example: subconsciously protecting yourself from the world with excess weight)!

And the big one…

• Working in a shitty model for lasting weight loss aka Restrictive dieting. This has been proven to be the biggest predictor of binge eating. Those who diet are scientifically proven to be predisposed to binge eating as well as weight and food obsession.

 

Animal Brain and Survival

I’m going to break this down in the easiest way possible without using confusing scientific terms. There are different theories on the different levels of our brain’s functionality and thinking. There are a few things they all agree upon and the animal brain is one of them.

Our animal brain is responsible for survival. Think food, sex, shelter, oxygen and water. It’s impulsive; it lacks reasoning. When you lose weight, when you cut calories and when you restrict nutrients it’s survival instincts get activated. Most everyone knows that when you drop your caloric intake for an extended period of time, your metabolism slows. This goes even deeper though, because two more things happen that are detrimental for maintaining a healthy weight.

When the survival mechanism around hunger in this part of the brain gets activated, nothing else matters. It literally says, “eat or die.” To it, making you binge, overeat or go off your list of “good” foods on your diet is a matter of life and death.

It sends signals to the decision making parts of your brain and will illicit crazy stories that practically talk you into over-eating. Things like, “oh you ate less all day, you have room for this”…”eat a lot now and you’ll workout hard or eat less tomorrow”…and then it snowballs.

Not only does it transform you into a food-crazed animal, it also decreases leptin. Leptin makes you feel satiated. So when you do eat, you don’t feel satisfied and you keep going.

Falling into this pattern can make you feel like a failure and reaffirms your beliefs of never being able to succeed at weight loss. If you subconsciously don’t believe in yourself, you’ll keep living the same story over and over and over.

The Good News About Weight Loss

You are not your animal part of your brain. You can also recognize, re-frame and retrain your beliefs. With all this said, lasting weight-loss can be broken down into 3 parts:

1) Balancing your body physically with proper nutrition and lifestyle adjustments

2) Reprogramming your subconscious beliefs and habits

3) Operating in a proven model for success that does not scare your animal brain(hint hint: this is not restrictive dieting or killing yourself with the latest workout)

Many coaches will tell you to stop dieting and focusing on weight all together. As a former diet addict I know that I would NEVER have taken on a program that wouldn’t help me lose weight. Hearing about these approaches on the surface level left me confused and scared that I’d fail and end up heavier than when I began. Having struggled myself, I know that even though a shift in my mindset was necessary, my weight mattered to me for my health and my sanity. In my coaching I help my clients balance the above in a non-restrictive way and the weight loss naturally happens as we do. You also get to fall in love with your body and boost your confidence regardless of where you’re at. I talk all about this is my body confidence post that I wrote last week.

The point is: weight loss and healing unwanted eating habits cannot be solved with a cookie cutter diet and the sole use of will-power to stick with something. It doesn’t work. The exercises below will help you kick-start a better way

Action Step: Focus on nourishment.

On the food side of things:

This means eating a variety of high quality foods. The more nutrients you give your body from whole, unprocessed, nutrition packed sources, the less likely you are to be deficient and have nutrient related cravings. Instead of focusing on what to take away from your diet focus on what to add to get you all the nourishment that you need.

Do you ever notice how if you tell yourself not to eat bread all you think about is eating bread? Our brain unfortunately does not pick up on the negative. What you focus on expands, so instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t do, focus on what you should. Fill your plate and body with so much nutrient dense food it crowds out the not so nutritious.

*Important: Layer in 1-3 changes weekly. Too much too soon can be just as detrimental as severe restrictions. Our sweet little monkey brain is sensitive.

On the flip side:

Nourishment can also come from other areas of your life. Where are you off balance? Where can you use a little love? Oftentimes we use food to fill up spaces that can be filled with fun and balance in other areas. Instead of focusing on food, focus on creating a life that you love so much that food loses its appeal and its power as an exciting part of your life.

The weight loss journey can seem overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. With a streamlined and step-by-step approach working with your body instead of against it, lasting weight loss is possible.

If you need any support in this area, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly!

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!

Health & Love,

 

Someone asked me recently, “Brittany, how can I love my body and feel confident if I’m overweight when all I can think about is how bad I look or how pissed I am at myself for gaining all my weight I lost back?”

The simple answer: Through consistent loving action.

In this blog you’ll get the why and how to support you on your journey.

Building a Confident and Secure Relationship with your Body

Let’s pretend you are in a relationship with your body.

How would you characterize your current relationship?

Are you consistent with your partner? Do you withdraw? Do you speak kindly to your partner? Do you follow through on your promises? What do you think about your partner? What do you focus on when thinking or looking at your partner? Do you demonstrate your love with action and follow through? Do you honor your partner’s needs and wishes?

Let’s say a majority of these answers are no or not really… In a real life relationship would you expect your partner to stay and give you 100% back?

I can’t imagine that being fair. Let’s take it a step further…

Say you just started shifting your mindset with this partner but you still struggled with the action aspect of things. Mentally you feel like you love your partner, you even praise them, but the follow-through and consistent action of honoring them and demonstrating love and appreciation is still missing.

If this was a real-life romantic relationship… would it be enough to just say nice things to your partner? To tell them how wonderful they are and how you feel about them but not follow through with your promises?  Make commitments and have great intentions to do the best thing for your partner but not follow through?

Nope. It may work temporarily but inconsistent action wouldn’t be enough to solidify the union and keep them present and engaged in your life.

It could even really hurt your partner.

I’ve actually been on the other side of a romantic relationship like that, and despite the love and incredible connection the inconsistency and lack of action was not enough to solidify the partnership to keep me around.

The truth is, for a loving relationship, it’s all important. Your focus, your perception, your beliefs, your thoughts, your words and showing up for all of this through consistent loving action.

The action though, that’s really the key. Good intentions are great but with little follow-through your body is not going to support you in the way it’s capable of.

Action is so important because it represents your unconsious beliefs and commitments. Even if you are thinking all of these wonderful things, and conceptually you get the concept of “body love” or “body confidence”, if you are not acting upon it there is a ROOT cause that is holding you back. This needs to be realized and re-programmed for long-term change and success. As my coach says, “Your reality reflects your beliefs.” 

A bit abstract, but I hope you get my point. What’s really cool about your body is it’s always showing up for you. It’s always trying to achieve balance, to protect you and to keep you going regardless of the damage. It makes sure you breathe while you sleep, stops cuts from bleeding, heals wounds and broken bones, finds ways to beat illnesses and if you’re a woman, she even creates life.

Just like in any relationship, there are plenty of signs that things are going astray before the breakdown. Your body gives you ample warnings before breakdown. To show you that you’re not giving enough on your side of the relationship she might act out with…

-Weight changes

-Hormonal fluctuations

-Mood swings

-Fatigue and lack of energy

-Skin blemishes

-Cravings

-Digestive upset

-Bad breathe

-Thirst

-Brain fog

Don’t ignore the signs. These aren’t things to “fix”. These are signs that something else if going on below the surface. Through a little confidence boosting, self-love and self-care all of the above can shift.

The most important part: If your partner is a priority, you have to take action NOW. In a real life relationship could you withhold love from your partner until your circumstance are “perfect”? No, it’d cause turmoil and if it got bad enough, the relationship would end. So, does it make sense to withhold love from your body until she’s at the “perfect” weight? Not at all. If you want your body to show up for you, you must show up for her daily.

The truth is, it’s not the weight or physique you’re chasing, its the way you feel when you’re at your ideal physique that you’re after.

What if you could feel that way right now? Here’s how:

A 7-Prong Approach to Boosting your Body Confidence and Embracing Self-Love

1) Accept and Forgive: A quote on love and forgiveness from Dr. King Jr states, “He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love.”

It’s easy to have hate towards our body for not being where we want her, but it is not our body’s fault. Our body simply reacts to what it is given. Compulsive eating and negative thoughts about our body are rooted in fear. We must shift this to love.

A great exercise for this is to write a letter to your body to forgive her, apologize for all the wrong doing, let your body know everything you appreciate about her and everything you love about her. Then write a letter back to yourself from the perspective of your body full of apologizing, forgiving and acknowledging you for all that you’ve done and have committed to do for yourself.

2) Take an Inventory: Look at what has worked to set you up for success with honoring your body, and what hasn’t. When you start seeing what hasn’t worked in your relationship with you body in the past, go deeper. What’s the fear? What’s the commitment that’s holding you back? What’s the pay-off you’re getting from treating your partner poorly. The more awareness you have around your patterns, the easier healing will be.  When you start realizing what’s worked, slowly start implementing more of that daily.

3) Shift your Focus: Focusing on what works instead of what doesn’t is critical. Where attention flows, energy goes. Stand in the mirror every morning and say 10 things out-loud that you love and appreciate about your body and/or yourself. Look yourself in the eyes while doing it. I recommend looking yourself in the eyes for at least a minute before and a minute after the exercise. Really connect with your soul here. If the mirror makes you feel uncomfortable, start with writing these in your journal.

4) Transform your Story: How would the confident you look, talk, act and feel? What would you say? How would you dress? How would you adorn your body? Start acting as if you’re already there. This is NOT fake it until you make it, this is do it until you become it. This part of you is the highest version of you, you are just giving this part of you permission to come out now.

5) Honor your Body: Instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t do for your body, what you need to take away, what you have to do to force it into submission and so on, focus on what you can do to honor your body and support her. Making a healthy choice because you’re honoring your body has a much different energy and much better long-term and sustainable effect than making a healthy choice because you are scared of gaining weight or losing control. Remember, we beat fear with love, not more fear.

6) Listen to your Body: If you listen closely she’ll tell you everything you need to know. It’s very easy to be out of our bodies, in our heads and not really FEEL what’s going on. If I asked you to feel the top of your feet right now could you? If you were upset and I said “where do you feel it in your body” could you tell me? If I said “What is your body hungry for” would you really be able to check-in and know? Start asking yourself questions like these to re-establish the connection. Your body is a brilliant guide for what works and what doesn’t in your life.

7) Daily Loving Movement and Rituals: This will help you deepen #6. Movement doesn’t have to be hard and torturous. It can be about re-establishing the connection to your body and feeling good. I share a lot of these rituals with my clients in our coaching programs but to give you an example of what I’m talking about, I will share with you how I start my day (on most days) to re-establish the connection to my body and get focused, centered and connected for the day ahead.

I wake up and take about 5-10 minutes to slowly get up. This is infused with gratitude and prayer. 5-10 minutes is then spent on a visioning exercise where I not only look at and listen to different aspirations, but I cultivate the feelings I desire from achieving these things and let myself feel them in the present. I then complete 5-10 minutes of sensual movement where I quiet my mind and get into my body as much as possible. Here you will find an awesome YouTube video from one of my favorites, Liz Dialto, with an example of Sensual Movement that will Help you With Body Confidence. I’m not rigorous with this movement; I simply move in ways that feel amazing during this time and it really helps me get into my body and heart, as well as reconnect. Next I check-in and if I have a lot of fears or anxiety coming up I journal, if things are smooth I typically go right into “Shifting my Focus” (step 2). This is followed by a healthy balanced meal, typically consisting of fruit, nut butter, greens and eggs or a raw protein smoothie. I find that I feel best when I start my day with a mostly raw meal, and I like doing this because when I’m on the go during the day it sometimes can be a bit difficult to get as many greens in.

Not every day is perfect but starting my day in a space of honor and reverence for myself, my body and the divine sets the tone for the day in an incredible way. I know that no matter what happens, I took that time for myself and my body, as well as established a strong foundation for success.

If you need any support in this area, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly!

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!

Health & Love,

 

 

 

 

PS: I have more information and action steps about body confidence and self-love in my free eBook. Be sure to take a look at it 🙂