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Weight Loss that Lasts

What to Expect with Your Weight (Loss, Gain, Maintenance) On Your Binge Eating Recovery Journey

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Are Weight Loss and Weight Gain Freakouts Ruling Your Life?

Does the word “weight” send shivers down your spine? You’re not alone.

And You’re Not Sure How To Stop The Craziness for good? Read On!

Let’s talk about a 4-letter word: WEIGHT. Yeah OK, fine, that’s a 6-letter word. But weight is definitely a “4-letter word” if you struggle with binge eating, emotional eating, or any kind of triggers with food.

It brings up visions of scary numbers that flashes when you step on the bathroom scale that have the potential to make or break your day.

Listen up beautiful, it doesn’t matter if you’re terrified of gaining weight or that you can’t lose weight. Any situation involving the scale can crank up your emotions and send you into the throes of body image obsession. Which is totally understandable.

The sad truth is that tunnel vision you have about how you look on the outside can make you lose touch with who you are on the inside and drag you down the rabbit hole.

So what happens to this body positivity thing where you’re supposed to follow… “love your body” as is? It seems like a sweet enough idea, right? But even the most well-meaning advice has a not-so-nice flip side to it.

The anti-weight loss message gets steamy at times. Sometimes so much that it unconsciously shames people desiring to change their body! Is this just me or have you experienced something similar too?

Here’s the reality: Falling into an obsessive weight-loss quest is NOT the way to live your life. BUT neither is being shamed by some coach or influencer for wanting to drop a few dress sizes. Both are weight wars that you can’t win.

If you’re tired of the “weightiness” of these extremes, I’m about to give you the real story on weight.

You’ll learn why it’s OK to want to lose weight. But you’ll also find out how making weight loss your sole focus will backfire for sure.

This week’s blog has all the juicy details you need to know about how weight loss fits into breaking free from binge and emotional eating, and how to make them work together like a charm.

Everything you do in your food freedom journey will start to feel purposeful and it’ll become so much easier once you start focusing on what really matters. Keep reading! Let’s talk about all things weight–the good, the bad, and the TRUTH.

 

 

Now, let me tell you one thing straight-up. There’s nothing wrong with desiring to lose weight. It’s especially true if the weight came from years of self-torture (aka dieting and binging and starving on repeat).

You see, weight gain often occurs from treating your body in ways that are out of alignment with the real you.

Take me, for example. I was once 40 pounds heavier than I am now. I had a raging desire to lose weight, which triggered me to an all consuming pattern of binge and starve every day. Trust me, the results were not pretty. (Think inflammation, acid reflux, digestive and hormonal issues, adrenal failure–the whole nine yards!)

That 40 pounds accumulation was because I was desperate to lose weight. See what happened? This led me to behaviors that turned me into someone I couldn’t recognize.

(And believe me, those behaviors and mindsets were solid, no matter what I looked like. Whether I was 40 pounds overweight or shredded like a fitness model, I tortured myself to lose weight. All. The. Time.)

So it’s OK to want to release the weight that came from NOT being true to yourself.

Now, here’s the flip side.

What’s NOT OK is to reject yourself completely during the weight loss journey. It’s not OK to deny yourself love, acceptance, and care until the scale gives you the number you think you need. I’ve been there, done that and felt like a big failure.

Most of all, it’s not OK to let the weight loss focus turn into a full-scale campaign that consumes your entire life. Weight loss fixation can hijack your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being–and usually fails on top of all that!

Read the reasons below to understand why this happens:

Weight loss plans mean DIETS. Am I right or am I right? Dieting means restricting your food. When you control your food, no matter how “healthy” your plan is, your brain hears one thing: food is scarce, and it’s survival time!

Sure, your logical mind knows that cutting a few calories won’t make you starve. But the part of your brain in charge of keeping you alive hits the panic button and triggers you to do one thing–eat. And the results can be disastrous.

Constant food-focused thoughts.
Triggers to overeat. More cravings.
You’re more susceptible to emotional eating.
Uncontrolled autopilot eating starts happening.
All your systems get disrupted.

All these things lead to just one thing and it’s something you don’t want to hear: Weight GAIN–the exact opposite of why you even started the diet in the first place!

Now, think about this. What if you turned that quest for weight loss into a quest for self-love?

If this sounds impossible, stay with me for a sec and I’ll show you how shifting your focus can cause polarizing shifts in your life!

It starts with body acceptance. Accept where your body takes you on its journey to food freedom. That might mean immediate weight loss, it might not. But it WILL mean more balance, peace, and happiness in your life.

Believe it or not, sometimes the way to release the weight is being OK with whether you lose weight or not!

I know, that sounds completely counterintuitive. But let’s use my journey as an example and you’ll see what I mean.

As I already mentioned, when I started my journey, I was about 40 pounds heavier than I am now. But instead of drilling down with a diet and workout plan to melt it away, I did something different.

First, I got my brain and body out of survival mode. That meant breaking the binge eating patterns in my brain. That was step one.

After that, my initial weight loss was pretty fast. But it soon slowed down to a point where my body held a steady weight. For about a year, I remained steady at about 8 or so pounds heavier than I am now.

Still, I stayed consistent with supportive eating habits for about a year. I stopped making weight loss the goal and focused on feeling amazing instead.

This led me to something unexpected (and miraculous!).

My body began to trust me and I fell in love with it. It knew now that I would give it all the nutritional support it needed. It no longer triggered me to binge just so I’d eat.

And lo and behold, my body released even more weight over time! Eventually, I arrived at the weight I’m at today, and I’ve never been happier.

Nowadays, I have an amazing and loving relationship with my body. But does this mean I love everything about my body 24/7? Of course not. I’m not gonna lie. I still have cellulite on my thighs that I wouldn’t mind releasing!

But here’s the kicker about that. I know that I could smooth out those dimples on my thighs with a few diet tweaks and workout upgrades. But am I going to let that bring me down? Hell no because I now know better.

Even if I burned it all off, it wouldn’t stay off for good. That’s because I know what it would take to keep it off for good.

It would mean forcing my body into a restrictive diet and a punishing workout. It would mean facing the food-obsessed thoughts, the cravings, and eating triggers. Again.

Is losing another 5-ish pounds worth all that risk? My answer is hell-freaking-NO.

I’d rather feel free, energized, and happy than obsessing over every bite just to burn off a little extra body fat.

How about you?

Nearly all of our clients have similar stories. Some of them have a little initial weight loss, some a lot, others not at all. But the more we work together, the more our clients all achieve the ultimate goal…

They heal their relationship with their bodies and food. The mental, emotional, and physical triggers disappear. That’s when true freedom (and oftentimes weight release) happens!

Breaking out of survival mode comes first and don’t tell anyone tell you otherwise. Then comes balance and harmony with your body. After that (and even as you go along), comes trust between you and your body.

Here’s the thing. Freedom is as much of an inner game as it is an outer strategy. Any quest to change your external life will be shut down if you’re fighting yourself on the inside.

I’m not saying you have to have your inner game perfect. You don’t need to “love your body” right away. Simply accept where you are now. Accept that your weight might take some time to sort itself out, and give yourself the gift of patience and love.

So the best way to lose weight in the long run? Stop focusing on weight loss! Stop the diet, kick the body image ideas to the curb, and focus on connecting with and honoring your body.

First things first. Focus on the journey to connect with yourself. Make optimal health, happiness, and vitality the goal, not a random number on a scale. That’s the path to Food Freedom Forever!

Now you might be saying this is all easier said than done, and you’d be right! I’m not saying this is always easy, and I can guarantee you that it doesn’t happen overnight.

I also know how scary this can be, especially if you’ve been on the diet roller coaster all your life. It took me literally years to get free. But the good news is that you CAN do it, and it doesn’t need to take you as long as it took me!

If you want to take the first step on your journey today, I’ve got just what you need!

Click the link below and you’ll receive a special gift from us at Beating Binge Eating. It’s a step-by-step designed to get you to the other side of the struggle, and in the RIGHT way!

You’ll learn the steps to go from weight struggle to food freedom, and how to implement them for lasting success.

Ready to stop struggling and start living again? I thought so! Click the link below and take the first step to Food Freedom Forever TODAY!

So grab that training, then leave me a comment below and share your biggest insight or a-ha was from this post! Can’t wait to hear how this landed with you, and how we can help you break free from the body-food struggle for good!

Watchout: 4 Roadblocks On The Path To Food Freedom (How NOT To Let Them Stop You + What to Do Instead)!

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Here’s the truth: your journey to food freedom isn’t a one-step process… and also there’s no one method to magically change things overnight.

Trust me, I tried to find that quick fix for over 12+ years, and I can tell you that it doesn’t exist.

I struggled hard with binge and emotional eating, but I found my way back. And let me tell you that it did not happen overnight.

There are many potential roadblocks on your journey that you might not be paying attention to or may not even be aware of (and this could sideline you for a long time).

I’m not trying to discourage you but I just want you to know the truth, so you can avoid the same mistakes I made in my decade’s worth of journey.

Finding your way to freedom is especially tough if you’re on your own, with nothing but good ol’ Google or the ‘Gram for help.

But it doesn’t have to be that way! I’ve helped thousands of women kick binging to the curb for good. So I’m happy to share my discoveries with you and I promise you that breaking free from binging isn’t as complicated as you think it is.

If you are someone that’s struggling with emotional eating and trying to make peace with your body, this is your chance to let go of all the pressure you’ve been putting on yourself. Honestly, it’s not your fault and allow me to explain why.

Keep reading to learn the 4 most common red flags to look out for when you’re circling the internet for advice. I’ll also be sharing the most effective system to kick binge and emotional eating to the curb and hot to blow past them like a boss, once and for all! (Hint: It’s more than one quick fix strategy)

 

 

Roadblock #1: You’re using tools but not a system.

You’ll find experts everywhere on everything these days and beating binge & emotional eating is, of course, no exception.

A lot of coaches and experts out there tout their favorite tips and tricks as THE be-all, end-all solution. Do this or that just the way they tell you, and you’ll never binge again.

Really? It never worked for me ever!

This is the first most common mistake we all make: pinning all your hopes on a few random tools.

It took me literally 12 years to even start breaking free. Even at that 12 year mark it took about 5 more years to be as free as I am now. Back then, I thought that simply NOT binging was true freedom. I had no idea that stopping the physical act of binging alone wasn’t enough.

At the time I was cherry-picking the tools I was using. I got this tip from that guru, and that tip from another online influencer. They all sort of worked, at least for a while…orrr even worse, didn’t work at all.

Then I discovered that I was only getting random pieces to the puzzle, but no complete picture.

Have you ever watched a video about intuitive eating, and thought it was the answer for you?

Maybe then you tried it, and you thought you’d found a miracle solution. But sooner or later, the “new” wore off. The “intuitive” thing stopped working too. And before you knew it, you were scouring the cabinets, elbow-deep in a bag of chips again…

Sound familiar? I know I’ve been there and done that!

This doesn’t mean that intuitive eating doesn’t work. It means that intuitive eating is a tool, but it’s one you’re just not ready for yet or need to have a few other pieces in place for it to work.

Random stand-alone strategies won’t do it for you. You need a system in place. So stop relying on one-off tips alone.

Find a step-by-system plan that takes you from where you are to where you want to be. Clear steps in a logical sequence is the way to get you there a lot faster than just random jumps all over the map.

Roadblock #2: Fear or Lack of Results Taking You Back to Diet Mentality

Ever had a moment where you’re feeling in control with food, you’re making progress, and then you get on the scale and your heart sinks low?

Or maybe you’ve been “listening to your body” for a while and it’s going pretty well. But then you get hit by those binge urges again, you don’t know what to do, and you freak out.

What do you do in either case? It’s normal to get discouraged or maybe even scared. You have no idea what to do next because you’ve never been down this road before. So you go back to the old tried and true…restricting, controlling, or dare I say it: “Dieting” (At least you know what you’re getting on that track, right?)

Fear and uncertainty can stop you in your tracks. They can make you feel lost, confused, and longing for the familiar (even if it always failed you).

But here’s the thing. With any kind of change comes uncertainty and fear. That’s a given. (In fact, sometimes those uncertain feelings let you know that you’re on the right track!)

The key is to recognize the fear… is to hit the “pause” button, and not let it drag you back to your comfort zone. Then, take the next smallest doable step to move yourself forward.

Seek support you need to navigate through them. You owe it to yourself NOT to throw up your hands and quit when it gets uncomfortable. Trust that you’re on the right track and keep going.

Roadblock #3: Focusing on Emotions and Ignoring Physiology

Now, I’ll be the first to say that there are often a lot of emotions behind eating issues. So naturally, exploring your emotions and triggers is a POWERFUL part of the process.

Where I have a problem with things is when people read books, go to therapy, talk to a coach and the “expert” leads them there and totally ignores the most significant cause of it all: physiology.

Now, I’m not knocking therapy. Many skilled therapists help people heal emotional issues and traumas which I feel is beautiful work and needed for so many people.

BUT, with binge and emotional eating, healing your physiology is the FIRST step on the road to freedom. Here’s why:

Let’s say you’re working with a therapist. You’re talking about your emotional triggers, childhood traumas, and limiting beliefs. This deep inner work is beautiful and powerful. The only trouble is that in the midst of this therapy – you are still doing things with your food that are rooted in diet mentality or depriving you in some way…

That means that those urges to binge will persist. Your brain will keep setting off the alarm bells. For you to eat. Your cravings will still be out of control. Emotional healing doesn’t matter if your brain is still raging with binge triggers.

I’m not saying don’t do the deep work. But just don’t depend on emotional healing to do all the work for you!

Go for a system that includes physiological work, brain science, and emotional work. Only an all-encompassing system will break you free for good. (cough cough: we’ve got one of those 😉

Roadblock #4: The allure of diet culture.

Just when you’re getting closer to breaking free from binging, it pulls you back in and traps you again. It’s that thing that we at Beating Binge Eating call diet culture.

Our world is entrenched diet culture. It’s full of those constant messages that you’re not good enough. Messages telling you that you need to improve. Implications that you need is to follow this diet or that one, and only then will you be OK.

Then there are the subconscious diet culture messages telling you how you should look. One size should fit all. And if you don’t fit the mold, you don’t measure up, right? (When most of the time the pictures you see on Instagram hawking these messages aren’t even real!)

So you believe what you see, and you buy into whatever diet they’re selling. Then before you know it, you’re back in the diet-binge-guilt-repeat cycle. Exactly what you DON’T want.

No matter how free you feel, diet culture can still sneak in and find your vulnerable spots. Then it can lure you back into the cycle you’ve been trying so hard to break.

Try this for yourself:

Take your focus off of weight loss, and put it on healing your relationship with yourself. The goal is to feel vibrant, happy and alive. It’s about supporting your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Diets don’t do that. Don’t you agree!

Roadblock Recap: What to Watch Out For:

1) Not having all the pieces to the puzzle, or putting them in the wrong order.
2) Fear, confusion, and going back to the familiar when things get scary.
3) Going for the deep inner work but ignoring your body and brain science.
4) And of course, diet culture.

Don’t let these roadblocks take you off your path anymore.

If you want to jump off the self-sabotaging cycle and get on the pathway to food freedom, I’ve got a special gift for you!

Click the image below and you’ll get access to a FREE training (no opt-in required!)

You’ll get immediate access to our training, where you’ll learn how to use our system to set yourself up for freedom. Then at the end of the video, you’ll get an opportunity to book a call with one of our dedicated team members.

This breakthrough call will give you support, clarity, and the next steps on your journey. It’s an awesome opportunity to connect with us, get personalized feedback, and learn what you need to do next!

Now, I want to hear from you!

Have you ever tried to stop binging and hit one of these roadblocks?

Let me know which one sounds the most familiar, and how we can support you in breaking through it for good!

How NOT To Pass Food Struggles Onto Your Children

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Most parents have their children’s best interests at heart. But like the rest of us, parents are human beings who do the best they can every day. And we all have our moments.

About 75% of the women we work with at Beating Binge Eating have mothers or grandmothers who struggled with their body and their food.

And/or have fathers or grandfathers who sent messages about their appearances. (Things like dropping hints about losing weight, praising weight loss and being skinny, being “on track,” or getting “healthy” and more…)

Seeing these struggles and taking on these beliefs have plagued them all their lives, too.

They’re messages that have been passed down from generation to generation, wreaking havoc every step of the way.

These messages might have been unintentional. They might have even been well-intentioned. But either way, the impact of those early messages can’t be denied.

The more you see your mother struggling with food, the more you believe that food is an enemy.

The more you hear that your father say that you “need to lose weight,” the more you equate size with worthiness.

Whether those messages are conscious or not, their impact is powerful.

Does that mean that food and body struggles have to “run in the family” forever?

Of course not.

There’s something you can do to stop the food-body family struggles, starting NOW.

If you’re a mama, a mama-to-be, or a future mama, this is for you. Even if you don’t have a family, I bet you have kids in your life who look up to you. So this is for you, too!

Want the generational body-food war to end? Find out how to pass down messages and body love and food freedom instead of endless food struggles in the video below:

 

 

Now, if you’re a parent and you’re reading this, I know that you have your children’s best interests at heart. More than likely, your own parents wanted the best for you, too.

Of course, they might have conveyed some questionable body-food ideas when you were growing up. But that was probably because they were misinformed themselves.

Unfortunately, that misinformation most likely set you up for food struggles. Struggles that have likely stayed with you up until now.

In all fairness, though, it’s not your parents’ fault…

Damaging information and impossible standards are everywhere. From the diet industry to the fashion world to our own families, negative messages run rampant in our lives.

We all absorb these cultural signals, take them to heart, and build a belief system around them. We create belief systems that lead to actions like crazy restrictive dieting and relentless body shaming.

Then, of course, we pass them along to the young ones in our lives. Because we don’t know any other way.

Before you know it, you’re broadcasting your struggles, and children in your life notice. Not only do the kids take them on, they believe that they’re normal.

Most women (and men) who struggle with binging believe that they’re hiding it from their children. But the kids do notice when their parents behave strangely with food.

You might not think that your child sees you body-checking yourself in the mirror. Or dressing to cover up jiggly arms or thighs. But they pick up on the energy of dissatisfaction, and it makes an impression.

Children pick up on energy, feelings, and words. They notice what’s happening around them more than we realize. That means they take what the adults do as examples, and form beliefs around those examples.

If your children see you obsessing over food, binging on the sly. or hating the way you look, they’ll pick up on it.

When I was growing up, my mother did the best she could. She loved me dearly. She supported me. But her struggle with food was real and as she tried to help herself she tried to help me too.

She only meant to show me the methods she knew to break free. We tried diets together, pushed ourselves hard at the gym…

There were many other outside factors, but through this all I developed a pretty dysfunctional relationship with my body and food that lasted for nearly a decade.

Then a few years ago, the most amazing thing happened…

My mom healed her personal struggle through our own Beating Binge Eating program.

Her body released weight without trying. She freed herself from cravings and urges to binge. Now she feels free, happy, and fulfilled in her life, especially with her body and food.

That means she takes pictures with the family without fear of not looking right. We eat together without any food weirdness getting in the way. All those things that used to keep both of us stuck are distant memories now.

She has become a beacon of light in our community. She’s a shining example of everything that Food Freedom Forever stands for, and I couldn’t be more proud of her!

So no matter who you are or how long you’ve struggled, it is NEVER too late to heal your struggle. And when you do, you’ll also make an impact on the ones who come after you.

It’s also never too early to pass down loving and supportive messages and methods to your children.

No matter where you are in your journey, do what you can to instill positive messages in your. Show them examples of well-being, vitality, and happiness rather than shame, struggle, and pain.

That means start with treating yourself with kindness, respect, and love. Then show the children in your life how it’s done!

Now, I’m not saying that you have to be perfect. You don’t have to go from a wounded to healed body image overnight, or “fake it ‘til you make it.”

Just focus on healing yourself first, one step at a time. Then make an example of body and food-positive behaviors from there.

The key is to do things that make you feel good about yourself. Take steps to create an easy relationship with food, and cultivate body love.

Once you’ve started making positive changes in your life, you can be the change for others. That includes your children!

So take the steps. Do what you have to do. Not only will you heal yourself, but you’ll also impart supportive values to your kids.

If you don’t know what those steps are yet, that’s OK. We’re here to help! My free training will show you the way…

This training will show you the steps to create a peaceful relationship with food. Then you’ll be able to share what you’ve learned with the people you love the most!

We can end the generational struggle with food. It starts by making being a shining example for your children. This training will show you how to take that first step.

I know you’re an awesome parent, and you want the best for your children. So start by creating the best for yourself!

The best way to teach something is to live it. So start living a life of freedom with your body and your food, one step at a time.

Trust me, your children will notice–and they’ll create that freedom for themselves, too!

Now, tell me–what kind of example do you want to set for the children in your life? Leave me a comment and let me know. Let’s start making this generational shift happen together!

My Struggle with Binge Eating: How I Found Food Freedom Forever

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Over the last few years, I’ve helped more than 2000 women (not counting the 1000’s of others touched in our free communities) end their struggle with their body and their food.

It’s been a privilege and an honor, not just because of the food piece, but because of what women get to do when they are free from the chains of this struggle.

However, it didn’t always look this way for me…

It wasn’t that long ago that my life was a vicious cycle of binging, dieting, and repeating.

I struggled for over a decade. Now I’m proud to say that I’ve been free for over 5+ years, and I’ve never been happier.

But the road to Food Freedom Forever was grueling. I had my struggles. I had my setbacks. Moments where I felt like I’d be stuck forever.

Then, I discovered 3 simple but game-changing truths about food, my physiology, and freedom.

Now, I don’t have cravings anymore. The urges to binge are gone. In fact, I can say with confidence that I will never binge again.

It’s not because I found the ultimate workout. I didn’t learn to push myself harder or up my willpower and stick to the perfect diet, either.

It’s because I rewired myself from the inside out.

Watch the video below where I go deep into my body-food saga. I’ll share how it started, how it played out, and the three main takeaways I learned along the way so you don’t have to struggle like I did.

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It all started around the middle of my high school years. Back then, for various reasons, I put a lot of importance on how I looked.

I remember gaining a little bit of weight in my mid-teens. It wasn’t a ton, but it was enough of a shock to bring on a ton of fear and insecurity.

I started forming all these beliefs about my worth and the size of my body. I don’t believe this now, but at the time, these thoughts crippled me:

I thought that the type of boys I wanted to date wouldn’t be with me if I wasn’t a certain look and size.

I didn’t think I’d get into college and have the school experience I’d want if I was overweight.

I thought that extra pounds would keep me from being a competitive athlete.

I even thought that being the wrong size would keep me from getting my dream job and opportunities in life.

Translation? I believed that being overweight would stop me from receiving the love, connection, and life that I desired.

Sounds crazy, right? But these fears aren’t superficial whims or ego trips.

Love, attention, and connection are core human needs. Needs that I thought I couldn’t meet because of a few extra pounds.

All that self-rejection and insecurity sent me on a decade-long quest to change my body. Let me tell you, it went a lot further and got a lot crazier than I ever intended…

Of course, then weight loss schemes started innocently enough. I went on diets. I took a few diet pills here and there. I had a cheat meal from time to time after weeks of strict dieting.

Then cheat meals turned into cheat days. Cheat days became cheat weekends. Weekends so bad that I’d wake up feeling bloated, swollen, and disgusted with myself on Monday morning.

Then it got to the point where I couldn’t get through a day without binging now matter how good of getting back “on track” my intentions were that morning.

To control these massive overeating spells…

I’d try diets, fasts, and juice cleanses to undo the damage.

I worked out like a maniac to offset binges. I even hired big-name personal trainers and entered fitness competitions to have a goal to stick to thinking that would control me.

I convinced myself that I was doing this out of a passion for fitness and nutrition. Turns out it was just an obsession with getting weight off my body.

Even more damaging was what I believed about weight loss…

I believed that if I could just lose weight, all of my problems would just disappear.

So I tried every diet and followed every fitness guru out there. Then I realized was it didn’t matter who I worked out with or whose diet I stuck followed no matter how incredible they were.

It wasn’t about the food. It wasn’t about the exercise. The harder I tried to control both of those things, the more chaotic my life became.

The scariest part was that through it all, I did some serious damage to my body.

The restrict-binge-repeat cycle and the yo-yo dieting left my thyroid suppressed. My pituitary gland stopped functioning nearly completely. My hormones were out of whack. I was close to Stage 4 adrenal fatigue (Doctors would say that’s bedrest and burnout).

Then, there was the acute kidney failure that put me in the hospital for a week after one of my fitness shows. This one shook me to my core.

I remember being in the hospital bed. My dad had come to see me in the hospital, and things weren’t looking good.

My blood pressure was spiking. I couldn’t catch my breath. Then I looked up and I saw the terrified look in my Dad’s eyes, knowing that he couldn’t help me.

Just like that, I realized that my actions weren’t just hurting me. They were tormenting the people I loved, too.

Now, I wish I could tell you that this was THE moment that I miraculously healed myself. But unfortunately, after that epiphany I tacked on another six years of food-body hell.

But it was a powerful turning point for me.

I decided that I needed a change and I couldn’t keep hurting those around me the way I was.

I set out on a holistic healing quest. I was determined to heal myself, then show the world how to heal, too.

I became a certified health coach. After graduation, an international coaching organization hired me to manage their health division, and I was on my way.

At this company, I worked under many holistic healing professionals. There was a nutritional healer, an Acupuncturist and naturopathic Doctor, and 2 renowned coaches… just to name a few.

Being around all that knowledge seemed like the fast-track to my goals. I’d learn from these holistic professionals. I’d heal myself. Then I’d show the world how to heal, too.

That was my plan. Then there was the reality…

I did focus on learning holistic healing, particularly through nutrition. But that food-focus had some unintended consequences.

The more I concentrated on healing through food, the more I thought about food. And before I knew it…

I was binging again.

Even with my company’s top coaches, doctors, and healers helping me. I still binged.

Now, I wasn’t going through two drive thrus and secretly eating in my car while crying my eyes out anymore.

Instead I was hiding in the Whole Foods parking lot gorging on whatever “health foods” I could get my hands on.

Then that fateful day came, and it all fell apart.

The head of the company asked me to submit a current image of myself for their website. At the time, I’d put on another 20 pounds. Needless to say, that request hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was telling others how to be healthy but I couldn’t get myself that way. I felt like the ultimate fraud.

So I resigned my position and left the health and wellness industry altogether. I promised myself that I was still going to help others get healthy, but I had to start with myself.

That determination sent me on a new journey.

I pursued personal development. I studied modalities like Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnotherapy, and traditional therapy. I researched eating disorders and how they’re treated. I dug deep and learned a lot.

After a couple of years of this self-improvement kick, I began feeling more confident. I upgraded my belief systems and let go of a lot of self-sabotaging behaviors.

But I still thought about food. A lot of the time.

I still had cravings. I still had mini binges or at minimum a feeling of compulsion towards certain things. There was still a lot of emotional eating.

No matter how much healing I’d done, food still had way too much power over me.

Then there was a particularly bad binge experience that sent me over the edge. I remember laying on my floor crying. Feeling broken. Feeling confused. And feeling like something was deeply wrong with me.

At this point in my life I felt like I only had 2 choices:

I would check myself into an inpatient eating disorder center. OR, I would try Overeaters Anonymous.

I chose the latter. It proved to be the proverbial last straw moment, too…

I had a wonderful woman offer to support me, and we chatted for the first time. The conversation we had was one I’d never forget.

She told me that I’d be addicted to food for the rest of my life. She said that I’d have to abstain from carbs and sugar forever. She told me that I’d always have this “monster” addiction, and that I needed prayer and devotion to get through it.

It would take this white-knuckle abstinence from temptations 24/7, and for the rest of my life. THAT was the only way I’d ever be free.

It was so confronting:

Was I a food addict? Would I struggle with this for the rest of my life?

After a debilitating cry session on the floor. I came to my senses.

NO. NO. NO F-ING WAY. NO.

I refused to accept this as my truth.

Then I thought about all the other women who came to these people for help, and were told the same story.

My no grew – it wasn’t just taking a stand for myself, it was taking a stand for all women who’ve ever felt or been told the same.

I was not an addict that would have to struggle forever – I don’t believe anyone is.

I promised myself that I would NOT let anyone brand me or any other human with an “eating disorder” until the end of time.

Sooo, I hit the books AGAIN…

I embarked on a deep-dive study on addiction. I wanted to learn what it was and what it wasn’t once and for all.

From there, I dug deeply into neuroscience. I learned about how neuroplasticity works. I also did my homework on brain and body physiology.

Through all of my prior experiences and my exhaustive research, I discovered three powerful truths. Three crucial truths that set me free.

Truth #1: Weight loss is not about the perfect diet or the ideal workout. If weight loss or binge-control is the goal, diet and exercise alone are not the answers. In fact, obsessing over them makes your body-food battles significantly worse.

Truth #2: The deep emotional work matters, but it’s also not everything. Emotional work is a big deal, and a significant part of the process. Self-love and body positivity counts. But they won’t get you there by themselves.

Typically, there are some physiological things that are going on at a deeper level that drive eating behavior, that literally have nothing to do with who you are as a person.

Truth #3: I was NOT broken (and neither are you). Through all my ups and downs, I learned the most important truth of all. I wasn’t binging because I was broken, flawed, or hopeless.

I didn’t have an addiction that would plague me for life. There were specific brain and body triggers that were driving my urges to binge, and they needed to be addressed.

Turns out that conventional diet and exercise wisdom was pitting me against my body. It was supposed to set me free, but it kept me stuck in a cycle of binging for over a decade.

Now, here’s the bottom line…

Binge eating isn’t about willpower. It’s not about self-control. You don’t need 10 years of talk therapy to heal yourself. And you definitely don’t need to brand yourself with an eating disorder for life.

It took me over a decade to learn all of this, and it made me realize my true mission.

I needed to teach what I’d learned to others so that they wouldn’t suffer as long as I did. That’s how the Binge eating blueprint was born…

First, I coached women privately for a few years with great success. They’d break free from their struggle in 6 months to a year, but I wanted them to have freedom faster.

So, I created that path with our signature system: The Beating Binge Eating Blueprint

It’s an 8-week journey that has helped 720+ women heal their struggles without years of therapy.

You don’t have to be in a crazy 15-year struggle. You can change your life in a lot less time than that, and we’re here to help!

That’s my story, and I hope that it inspires you to learn more about breaking free, too!

If you want to start your personal journey, my FREE training is the way to begin! Click below and get instant access to my Beating Binge Eating Blueprint Video training.

This training will help you embrace the 3 truths about binging and weight loss, and put you on the road to Food Freedom Forever!

Leave a comment below and share what resonated with you the most, and how I can help you find Food Freedom Forever!

Do These 3 Things for Summer Weight Loss (and Body Confidence year round!)

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It’s summertime, and the living is supposed to be easy. But the season for sun, fun, and friends often brings stress, pressure, and disappointment instead.

It’s especially hard if you hear “summer” and automatically think bikinis, tank tops, and shorts.

If you hate the way your body looks, summer can give you an unfortunate ultimatum: either lose weight or endure a ton of summertime sadness.

Are you stressing about getting through the dress-down season in your current body? Believe me, you’re not the only one!

Back when I struggled with body confidence, I was living in Florida. Let me tell you, enduring the sunshine state culture and hating how my body looked did NOT mix.

I strived to have the Florida beach girl body, but the mirror never seemed to agree with my vision.

So every summer, I went off on a quest for the ideal rapid weight loss plan so I could look the way I thought I should in time for the summer.

Needless to say, the diet-binge-repeat cycle went to a whole new level from June through August.

I followed crazy restrictive diet plans all week, then turned around and binged at parties and barbecues (or home alone by myself) all weekend. That meant the Monday morning food hangovers were especially miserable.

Not exactly summer fun in the sun, right?

Please don’t do what I did…You deserve better than this summer!

Don’t sacrifice your summer stressing over how you look in a bikini or panicking to find the fastest 24-hour “miracle” weight loss cleanse.

First off, it won’t work in a way that actually lasts.

Secondly, it steals your joy and consumes your focus AND who wants that?!

Watch the video below where I show you 3 supportive ways to release weight, ditch the body stress, and actually enjoy your summer!

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Step #1: Take care of yourself first (yes, that means EAT). Let’s face it. Diets are negative by nature. They focus on what you CAN’T have. It’s all about eliminating sugar, carbs, dairy–you name it, some diet out there cuts it out!

What happens when all you tell yourself is NO?

Eventually, your body and brain start believing that food must be scarce, so you better grab it while you can.

For example, what happens when you tell yourself, “I’m not allowed to eat bread because I’m trying to lose weight”?

Sooner or later, all you can think about is bread. All your body wants is bread. And when you finally give in, it turns into a bread free-for-all, right?

This is what I call “survival mode,” and the more you restrict your food, the more powerful it becomes.

Don’t cut calories to “save up” for summer parties, and don’t restrict your food just to look cute in a sundress. It’ll seriously backfire on all your weight loss plans.

Support your body with nourishing foods all summer long, and take survival mode out of the picture.

Step 2: Take a summer vacation from weight loss. I know, it sounds weird considering how I labeled this post…but I had to get you to read, didn’t I?! 😉

Why would I suggest taking a “vacation” from something you want?

Well, because too much weight loss focus will ultimately make your weight loss plan fall flat.

Think of it this way…

Consider what happens when you start a new diet. You’re bound and determined to succeed. You push yourself to follow the plan to the letter, no excuses.

But most of the time, the harder you push, the more your brain and body push back.

The more rules you force yourself to follow, the harder your brain and body will eventually rebound. It’s like pushing your body into a food rebellion–the more you restrict yourself, the worse the fallout when you do give up.

Like many endeavors in life, the harder you fight to get ahead, the further behind you get.

Your focus determines everything. So this summer, instead of focusing on forcing your body to fit that bikini, focus on something else:

Focus on feeling GOOD.

Eat supportive and refreshing foods that make you come alive.

Have fun with movement and exercise.

Enjoy being outdoors and take advantage of the sunshine. In short, make your summer fun again!

Why is this strategy so crazy effective?

The more you honor your body, the stronger your body connection becomes, AND the more you create a loving relationship with your food, the more weight you eventually release. (And without trying!)

#WINNING!

So this summer, go on a quest to connect with your body instead of a quest to drop 20 pounds.

Step 3: Be real about why you want to lose weight. Everyone talks about wanting to lose weight. But think about it for a second. When it comes to slimming down, what’s your deepest motivation?

Sure, you might think that you just want to cute in a summertime outfit. But in my experience, the mirror or the scale alone is never the whole story.

So ask yourself this, and be totally real with your answer…

How do you really think your life will change when you lose weight? What deeper rewards do you believe will come from dropping a certain number of pounds?

Some people want to lose weight to feel more confident in their body, whether they’re wearing a bathing suit or a business suit.

Others believe that weight loss will bring inner peace to their mind, body, and spirit.

Still others think that dropping a dress size or two will simply make them happier.

Now, here’s my next question…

Do you have to wait to lose weight before you can feel confident, peaceful, or happy?

Sit with that question for a minute, and see what comes up for you!

This question was an eye-opener for me.

Back in the day, I made yo-yo dieting an Olympic level sport. I was all over the map with my weight, to say the least.

I’ve been 40 pounds heavier than I am now. I’ve also been 20 pounds lighter than I am today.
At the time I believed that the latter was my ticket to peace, confidence, and happiness.

But here’s where it gets interesting…

Whether the scale was up or down, I was never happy for very long.

When I was overweight, I fought to take that weight off. When I was at my thinnest, I panicked that the weight would come back.

It wasn’t until I decided to embody peace, confidence and happiness that I began to love my life.

And I decided to embody those feelings without waiting for the scale to hit a certain number.

How did I do it? I decided to feel all the positive feelings that I thought I’d get from weight loss. That meant doing things to make me feel peaceful, confident, and happy–none of which had anything to do with how I looked.

I stopped waiting for weight loss, and started feeling the way I wanted to feel.

Wouldn’t you know it–not only did I feel a million times better right away, but I also started to release weight effortlessly!

Coincidence? Definitely not.

If your happiness comes from outside of yourself, you’ll always be chasing a new external fix. The game will never end, and your joy will never last.

But if you can find confidence, joy, and happiness from within, outside circumstances (like the scale or the mirror) won’t control your life anymore!

So do me a quick favor and try this right now:

Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and ask yourself what you believe losing weight will get you.

Identify the desired feelings that you think will come losing weight.

Then start taking action to embody them NOW, weight loss or not!

For example:

If you want more confidence, do something to boost your confidence that has nothing to do with weight loss.

Maybe that’s wearing your favorite power outfit or jamming out to a song that pumps you up. Whatever it is, use it to lift your confidence without waiting for weight loss!

Cultivate those positive feelings NOW, whether you lose weight or not. Don’t delay your happiness because you haven’t lost weight (yet)!

That’s my summertime challenge to you!

Please don’t let shorts, bikinis, and tank tops trigger you into crazy diets and fitness freakouts.

Instead, eat nourishing foods, honor your body, and focus on feeling good.

Take back your summer this year, and put these three steps to work for you!

I know this might sound challenging. But you deserve to have an amazing summer without any mirror or scale-based stress.

And the first step to summertime freedom is in the link below!

Be sure to click that link and get my free training! It’ll help you break free from cravings, overeating, and self-sabotage–and create a loving relationship with your body and your food!

Stop letting the scale determine your self-worth and happiness. My free training will show you how.

Once you’ve gotten your free training, join me in the comments below!

Leave me a comment and tell me two things…

  1. First, share what feelings do you believe you’ll get from weight loss success.
  2. Then, tell me one thing you’re going to do today to embody those feelings, weight loss or not!

Can’t wait to hear from you!

Weight Loss At A Standstill? How About Having A Little More FUN? (How Feeling Good Sparks Weight Release)

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Sometimes weight loss feels like one big battle against your body, your food, and yourself. That’s the way the diet and fitness world wants you to see it, anyway.

People say things like “no pain, no gain,” or “sweat is your fat cells crying.”

The take-home message? If you’re not pushing yourself 24/7, you’ll never win the weight loss war.

In fact, there’s an entire industry built on making weight loss a battle. It’s all about force, restriction, and control, both with diet and exercise.

Makes losing weight feel like punishment instead of self-improvement, doesn’t it?

The crazy part is that weight loss isn’t even about pushing or fighting. Weight loss is actually a release…It’s about letting go.

It’s about laying down the sword and working WITH your body instead of against it.

(Not the message that you get from Instagram influencers or fitness gurus, right?)

But if weight loss is letting go, how do you set yourself up for weight loss success? How do let go instead of clinging to self-defeating strategies that every “expert” sells you?

Here’s a radical idea….

What if you allowed yourself to have more FUN in your life?

Now, you might wonder how having more fun has anything to do with weight loss. Shouldn’t you be pushing harder and getting more serious about change?

Believe it or not, the answer is NO. You’d be amazed by what happens with your mind, spirit, AND body when you trade stress for play!

Sure, that’s the opposite of what the diet world says. But I’m all about keeping it real. And the real path to weight release is simply feeling good.

But seriously, how can having more fun help you lose weight?

Watch the video below and learn how a little more pleasure can lead to a lot more weight release!

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Now first, let’s be clear about what “pleasure” means.

I don’t mean the pleasure of eating a whole pizza in one sitting. That’s not the kind of pleasure that lasts, and it’s not the kind of joy I’m talking about.

I mean knowing how you want to feel, and taking action to feel that way. It’s about doing things that bring you joy, freedom, and excitement at a deeper level.

Why is this such a big deal, especially in our 21st-century world?

Most of us are on nonstop overdrive. We’re in go-go-go mode 24/7. Eventually, your default mode becomes stress instead of peace.

I bet you know what happens next.

Stress triggers emotion-based cravings. It also decreases your digestive efficiency, and you don’t get the nutrients you need from your food. That leads to fatigue, which leads to even more cravings.

All of this creates a nasty emotional cycle that eventually becomes your default mode.

The mundane, day-to-day hustle becomes your routine. It leaves you in a constant ball of nerves, and desperate for fun, joy, and pleasure.

Before you know it, food becomes your quick-fix escape.

Trust me, I get it. For years, food was my go-to when the going got tough.

But what if you could bring back fun without relying exclusively on “comfort food?”

The good news is that there are ways to have genuine fun without going overboard with food.

The even cooler part is that joyful experiences don’t have to be big, expensive, or time-consuming to work!

Simple experiences that spark joy will work wonders to combat stress.

You could step away from the screens and take a walk. Call a friend. Have a quiet meditation moment. Listen to a favorite song or have a dance break.

Make little pleasures an everyday thing, and you’ll eventually stop turning to food to fill the void!

Now, how does this ultimately help you release weight?

Sure, there’s the curbing cravings and eating less food part. But there’s even more added benefits that aren’t quite so obvious…

If you feel alive, centered, and joyful, you’ll want to stay that way. So you’ll start making more choices to support those feelings. That includes choices that align with healthy weight loss, whether you mean them to or not!

Bottom line, more stress means more chaos. But more fun creates more happiness. Happiness creates supportive choices, more internal peace, more letting go…and more weight release!

That’s how having a little bit of fun can get you to the body and life that you’ve always wanted.

Now, here’s my question for you…

What is one thing you can do this week to make your life more FUN?

It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. Just make it something that you genuinely love!

Maybe it’s a yoga class. A nature walk. A few minutes every day for an all-out dance break, or a playlist of crazy cat videos on YouTube. Whatever lights you up is what you need to do!

So enjoy yourself this week! Choose at least one simple thing that brings you joy, treat yourself to that experience, and watch what happens.

More fun just might translate into more weight release!

What is your fun activity for this week? Leave me a comment and share what you’re going to do to make your day fun again!

P.S. Speaking of fun, how exciting would it be to let go of body-food stress for good? My free training will help you do just that!

Click the link below and grab my free training! It’ll help you discover what has been standing between you and lasting weight loss, and show you the steps to Food Freedom Forever!

Ready to feel in control of food and feel good about your body?

(Get the EXACT system myself and thousands of my client have used to successfully live a life fueled by freedom instead of living as a slave to diets, weight, and food obsession.)

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