Are your goals aligned with your values?

How many times have you completely lost track of time while reading health blogs on the web, bookmarking new recipes, and browsing fitspiration (fit + inspiration = fitspiration) pictures on Facebook and Instagram?

And despite hours lost, you feel motivated, inspired to change, and ready to take on the world…

So you gather your info and you put it to work. You try that new diet plan, the trendy workout that promises to blast fat and reveal toned muscles and commit to a new way of living.

But after just a few days, your motivation falls flat.

Those feelings of frustration coming rushing back in. You think to yourself, “Why isn’t this working for ME??”

I promise you, you’re not alone.

Here’s the deal: if you want to make some serious changes in your life, setting goals is simply not enough. 

In today’s blog, we’ll get into the reasons why goal-setting only takes you so far and I’ll introduce you to my 3-step process for getting crystal clear on what you want and making sh*t happen.

Click here to get the ball rollin’.

In the comments, I’d love to hear just one specific example of what your goal is and what about it makes you happy? Bonus points if you snap a picture of you putting your goal into action on Facebook or Instagram @stephferisin.

Remember, support and accountability are key components to your success.

As always, thank you for reading and I’ll catch you over on the blog now!

xoxo
Stephanie

Try Something New Tuesday: Cauliflower Shrimp Fried “Rice”

Let me start by saying that I love rice. And hot sauce. I love hot sauce. I could put almost anything on a bed rice, top it off with a drizzle pour of hot sauce and be perfectly content.

Unfortunately, however, grains don’t always jive so well with my body. I’ve suffered leaky gut in the past and am careful about having too many carbs in my diet as a result. This doesn’t mean that I restrict carbs at all, it just means I’m conscientious about loading up more on protein, fats and veggies because they’re the foods that make me feel most energized inside and out.

That said, I was over-the-moon excited when I first learned about cauliflower “rice” a few years ago when I was studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This stuff is no joke. It’s so delicious, so easy to prepare (literally chop it up in a food processor or blender) and is packed with nutrients.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my post on this a few weeks ago. Recently, I’ve been craving lots of veggies and fresh produce. I think part of it has to do with prepping for springtime and my body’s natural inclination for lighter foods.

Anyway, I made this incredible shrimp fried “rice” and it was a huge hit! So, here it is for you to try. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Shrimp Fried “Rice”
Serves 4 to 6

1 head cauliflower
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
½ pound shrimp, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced (or ¼ tsp. ground ginger)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced (I omitted these because not everyone likes them)
½ cup corn, fresh or frozen
½ cup peas, fresh or frozen
½ yellow onion, diced (you can substitute green onions for a more authentic dish)
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets, discarding the inner core. Working in batches, pulse the cauliflower in a food process until it breaks down into rice-sized pieces. This should make approximately 5 to 6 cups of cauliflower “rice.”

2. Heat a wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute.

3. Add remaining vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, whatever you want). Cook for 3-4 minutes and then stir in the cauliflower rice. Clear a circle in the center of the pan and pour in the beaten eggs. Stir to scramble the eggs and then combine with the other ingredients. Add spices and soy sauce. Top with sriracha and serve!

When you can’t stop thinking about food, try this

All too often we forget…

It’s not about the food.

Most of my clients come to me because they are preoccupied with food and weight. They can’t stop thinking about their next meal or what “bad” thing they did with food an hour ago.

They spend an inordinate amount of time during the day thinking about food. In fact, they probably spend more time thinking about food than thinking about much else. Food consumes them. It’s an energy drain – one that keeps up from being able to be productive and present in other areas of our lives (like when we spend time with loved ones or when we’re trying to get sh*t done at work). Not to mention, it’s one that leaves us feeling utterly exhausted.

This kind of compulsive thinking/obsession around food and weight is the real issue at hand. It’s the source of compulsive eating and restricting and even excess weight.

Several years ago, when I was in grad school and in the midst of my struggle with food and weight, the only way that I was able to find my way out of it was to stop worrying so much about what I was eating and start asking myself why I was eating.

I wanted to change. SO badly.

So I committed myself to asking questions rather than assuming I had all the answers. What I mean is, instead of assuming that the reason I couldn’t get over this “eating thing” was because I “sucked” or I wasn’t “good enough” or “worthy” or whatever lies I told myself, I started asking myself questions like,

“If you’re not hungry, then why are you thinking about food?”

And without a doubt, there was always a reason:

“I’m bored.”
“I have no one to hang out with.”
“I don’t want to do this assignment.”
“I feel fat.”
“I hate going to work.”
“I’m in a weird mood.”
“I’m nervous.”
“I’m excited.”
“I don’t feel like going out tonight.”
“I think I want to move.”
“I don’t feel like working out.”
“I’m frustrated.”
“I’m angry with my friends.”

And the list goes on…

After taking this step, I gained clarity. I learned so much about myself. And most of all, I felt powerful. Like I actually could do something about this “problem” and not feel so out of control around food. For the first time, I could understand what was really going on.

The next step, after “identifying what’s going on,” is of course doing something about it.

BUT, before you get there, step number one is crucial. I cannot emphasize this enough. You may be like me – you may think you know all the answers and you just want to skip this step and move forward, but seriously, this step is huge and will help you in so many ways. Don’t underestimate its importance.

When you understand the true reason behind your compulsion around food, you take the power away from food and place it back where it belongs: in your real life.

Using food for emotional reasons is just a distraction from what’s really going on [Tweet it!]

Or from what could be going on. So imagine for a moment, what would you be doing if you weren’t spending so much time thinking about food? Would you learn a new language? Pick up painting? Put yourself out there more? What would you do?

What is one thing you would do if you weren’t thinking about food all day?

The #1 reason why willpower isn’t leading you to a slimmer body

Has your willpower disappeared?

You know what I mean.

You’ve lost weight dieting in the past but eventually gained it all back, and now no matter how hard you try to stick to your diet or exercise program, you just can’t seem to do it.

I know how that goes.

I dieted in the past and it worked. But years later, when I had regained the weight (plus more), I found myself struggling to stick to those rules and guidelines that had worked for me once before. I couldn’t understand why this was happening. After all, I’m a go-getter – the type of girl who sets her mind on something and works to get what she wants.

So you can imagine how frustrating it was to feel like no matter how many times I promised myself that THIS time I’d do it “for real” – I’d stick to the plan, work out five times a week and eat clean (no carbs, no sugar, no booze, etc.) – somewhere down the line, I’d slip up and before I knew it, I’d be elbow-deep in a bag of potato chips and would feel like I had completely blown it… Again.

Sound familiar?

There’s a common belief that willpower is the most important ingredient for life change; that without it, you won’t be able to stay the course during any big transition.

But here’s the big flaw in that idea: willpower is like a muscle. And like a muscle, it can be fatigued.

Think about it this way, willpower requires you to exert energy over controlling your impulses. So if you’re declining dessert, pushing yourself to stay at work later or making yourself go to the gym, the amount of energy you have left to then control other impulses going forward or to take good care of yourself, is diminished. You literally don’t have the energy nor the strength to do it.

Do you see how that works?

Even just thinking about it, I remember how tired, scratch that, exhausted, unmotivated and depleted I felt when I was fighting so hard to lose weight. It was an incredibly strenuous effort that I now realize only worked when my energy didn’t have to be spread out over other things like friends, family, a job, a relationship, responsibilities at home, the list goes on. But let’s face it, the reality is that those things are important and without them thinness means nothing; life feels incomplete.

After struggling with this issue for so many years, I had an epiphany: I realized that if I wanted to lose weight forever, I had to find a way of eating well and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that did not rely solely on willpower.

It had to feel good, pleasurable.

So I made a mental shift. Instead of expending so much energy on forcing deprivation and restraint (“willpower”), I started thinking about the choices that I had.

Just like I spoke about last week when I shared my Top 5 Portion Control Strategies to Natural Weight Loss, shifting my focus from what I was “allowed” to eat to how I eat took the issue of deprivation and self-control right off the table. I made a decision that I wanted to be able to eat what I wanted but I also wanted to feel good. When I made that decision on changing how I ate and how I treated my body, I never lost. There was no fight to be had. And although it took time to find a balance of what worked for me, I knew that by having a choice, I was gaining my power back over food. And as I gained my power back, food no longer held the reins on my life and I was able to lose the weight and finally keep it off.

You see, when we rely solely on the depletable resource of willpower, we set ourselves up to fail. But by moving into a mindset where we have a choice, we set ourselves up to succeed.

It all boils down to this:

Here’s the falsehood: Willpower (the ability to control oneself) will lead to change, in this case weight loss.

The outcome: Fighting to control your impulses makes you feel both a) out of control; and b) like a failure. The more you try to resist your natural impulses, the more you send a message to your body that she is unworthy of listening to… The more you push, resist, deprive and get “up in your head” about food and weight and exercise… the more you monitor yourself… and the harder it becomes for your body to slim down.

Here’s the solution: If willpower (our ability to control our impulses) only makes you feel depleted, what is the opposite? Letting go of control and listening to your body.

It may sound crazy, but when you stop trying so hard to keep your willpower in check, you actually become more connected to your body, you feel more relaxed and comfortable and you’re able to shift your mindset to one that believes that you have a choice; that you have the power to choose to feel good in your skin, eat foods that are as delicious as they are nourishing. I realize that making this shift may seem like a distant goal. But it’s closer than you think and it would be my honor to show you the way.

With love,
Stephanie

Iced Mocha Green Smoothie

Photo credit: Oh She Glows

Lately, I’ve been craving a lot of color on my plate – bright greens and assorted veggies. Perhaps it’s me trying to fend off the winter blues or maybe it’s my body’s natural incliation to crave lighter foods as we get closer to Spring, but whatever it is, you’ll notice that lately my meals have been very veggie-heavy.

Now, I’m the type of person who loves vegetables. Always have. My fiancee on the hand, is more of a meat and potatoes kinda guy. To him, it’s so weird how I can eat avocados in the morning or have kale and eggs for breakfast every day and never have it feel like a chore. In his eyes, veggies just aren’t part of breakfast.

But things changed a few years ago when I started making smoothies for breakfast and he experienced firsthand how delicious they were. From then on, I started doubling the recipes and making some for him too.

I like to think that I’ve gotten pretty creative with my blends. I’ve made everything from strawberry-banana to mango-coconut to bananacado-sage (holy yum!) and the list continues to grow…

These smoothies are so freakin’ good and the best part is that they’re considered a full meal because they contain all four macronutrients –protein, fat, carbohydrates and veggies—all in one blend. That said, they’re filling. I can have one for breakfast and feel completely satisfied until lunch time. While that’s a good thing, the only downside is that I find that I’m too full to have coffee, too. And I really love my coffee.

So when I discovered a way to blend my smoothie and coffee, it was like “Ahhhhhh” (cue sun beaming down on said drink). This Iced Mocha Green Smoothie not only tastes amazing, but it’s the perfect meal to-go for early mornings. *Note: recipe adapted from Oh She Glows.

I personally make this the night before I have to be somewhere early. Like when my fiancee and I leave early for a weekend trip to visit my family in New York or when I teach morning classes at Pure Barre.

Like I said, one of the best things is that you have everything you want in just one cup. For whatever reason, I always seem to be juggling a million things – multiple bags, water bottle, cell phone, you name it – so to be able to take just my smoothie bottle in one hand and not have multiple drinks in addition to everything else, is hugely helpful.

So… without further ado, I leave you with this delicious treat and hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Ingredients

½ banana
¼ cup frozen spinach
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use SunWarrior Protein)
1 tbsp. raw cacao powder
½ cup non-dairy milk (I use an Almond-Coconut blend)
½ cup coffee

Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Drink and enjoy!

10 Ways to shake up your daily routine

When I talk with clients, part of our conversation about making peace with food is around letting go of control and finding room for flexibility in the way they eat and the way they live their lives. For many of them, years of dieting has made them accustomed to abiding by strict rules and routines.

And while some rituals can provide much-needed structure and comfort, sometimes they become stale.

I get that.

For years when I was battling my weight, I stuck to the rules of dieting. I followed meal plans in diet books, bought promising workout DVDs, and forced myself to run because I thought it would make me thinner.

The result of all of this was that I gained more weight, drove myself crazy and still binged at night because I felt unfulfilled and bored. I was sick of the same old routine. I craved fun and variety, something that would make me feel alive.

I had always been a creature of habit and routine. For me, it provided much-needed structure and comfort, at least during my middle school and high school years, but at this stage in my life, it just wasn’t working. I wanted to be able to go out with friends without worrying about how many calories were in each bit of food that I put in my mouth or stressing out about how many miles I’d have to run to burn it off.

It wasn’t until I started to totally overhaul the way I ate and the way I lived my life that I had success getting to my body’s ideal weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

I realized when I was controlled, rigid and uniform with the way I lived my life (every day starting and ending exactly the same way), my food choices also became controlled, rigid and uniform. I then binged because I was unsatisfied; I craved more.

Do you see how that works?

How we eat is a metaphor for how we live our lives.

That’s why it’s so important to create a life fully of variety where we feel inspired, connected, relaxed, joyful and healthy.

To move from a place of uniformity, control, and rigidity to a place of truly living a life that I loved, I asked myself these questions:

– What do I want more than thinness?
– What types of activities light me up?
– How often would I like to connect with others?
– How much variety do I need?

Here are some things that helped me figure out my own way of shaking up my routine in order to feel more vibrant, fun, connected, healthy and happy.

1. Eat something amazing for breakfast. Whip up some eggs, toast and a cup of coffee. Maybe even garnish your plate with some fresh fruit. Make it an experience.

2. Make plans for after work that you can look forward to. Schedule a fun night out with friends or a special someone to disconnect from your typical work routine.

3. Take yourself out to lunch one day to change up your routine. Go on your own or bring a friend. Though it may be a bit more expensive than your normal routine, remember that you are investing in your health and well-being.

4. Switch up your morning routine. Try a new café on your way to work and get something delicious rather than eating at your desk.

5. Wake up 30 minutes earlier and sit in bed with a cup of coffee as you read a book or the newspaper for pleasure.

6. Try a new class. Sign up for that great cooking class that you’ve been dying to try. Or painting, a new workout, you name it. Go on your own or invite a friend.

7. Vary your workout schedule. Go to the gym a couple nights during the week and then plan a workout date with a friend during the weekend. Changing things up will make working out feel like less of a chore and way more fun.

8. Look for a fun recipe to try out one night. Cook something you’re excited to try and then set the mood – set the table nicely, take out the nice china (because why not?), light a favorite candle, turn up some tunes and then sit and eat slowly. Even if you’re cooking for one, treat yourself as you would a dinner guest or a friend. You deserve it.

9. Unplug for a night. Take a break from TV, computers, cell phones and social media and instead, tune in to some soothing music or the natural noise around you as you pour a nice glass of wine and find a comfy place to indulge in your favorite book or trashy magazine.

10. Take control over your schedule. Block off times on your work schedule to get up and walk around or get outside for 15 minutes. Having these breaks during the day can help you feel more energized and productive at work.

Did any of these suggestions excite you? When you take the driver’s seat in your life, you start taking action in creating abundance, variety and fun in your life. And THAT is when the binges stop, your weight naturally takes care of itself and you feel your best.

Give some of these a shot and let me know if you notice a difference in how you feel.

I’d love for you to share how you shake up your work week to have more fun and variety. What other suggestions do you have to add?

With love,
Stephanie

It’s my birthday!! And I have a special wish for you!

Today’s my birthday, my 29^th birthday. Birthdays are a special time; they mark a fresh start, new beginnings and yet another year of adventure. Birthdays are your day to celebrate life and personal achievements, friends, family and loved ones and a time to reflect on your life; a time to evaluate how the year before went and to consider the journey ahead.

For one day of the year, all eyes are on you. People share all the nice things they’ve thought of you all year long. They shower you with gifts and love. They celebrate you, your being. It’s truly an honor. It’s the kind of graciousness that has you smiling – glowing, even – all day long.

I have a birthday tradition. While the day is always filled with thoughtful well-wishes and amazing gifts, I figure I might as well give myself a gift too. So every year, do just that, I give myself a gift. A little something to me, from me, because why not?

In the past, my gifts have varied from little acts of self-love to more material items. But this year, I want to add a twist to this old tradition. I want to give myself a gift that only I could give to myself. This year, I want to give myself the gift of trust. Trust in myself. Trust in the process. Trust that I am exactly where I need to be in my life. Trust that I have the power of choice:

I can choose to believe in myself or allow myself to be sucked into self-pity and feelings of self-doubt.

I can listen to my inner wisdom – my inner muse – who reminds me that life always has a way of working itself out or I can give in to the gremlins that discourage persistence, positivity and faith in one’s self.

I know that this may be hard; it’s challenging a lot of old beliefs and patterns, but ultimately, I know that the benefit of trusting myself will mean getting closer and closer to stepping into my full potential. To being the most brilliant, outstanding, compassionate person, entrepreneur, friend, daughter, sister, aunt and wife that I can be.

I also know that in order to strengthen my trust muscle, I need to practice. But I need your help. As you follow me on my journey – perhaps you’re on a similar one – any time you see my doubt myself or begin to fall back on old thoughts that are defeating, you have to remind me of my gift to myself. You have to remind me that I made a promise, and I don’t go back on promises.

There’s one more thing… a birthday wish, if you will. I want to share my gift with you. I want to give you permission to step into your full potential. To reignite your inner vibrancy. I want you to recognize how, if you can quiet The Voice (you know, that mean, nasty voice of your inner critic that tells you that you are not good enough), that you can shine. That you can have everything in this world that you want. That you deserve it. We all do. That you have an amazing gift to share with this world and I want you to share it without fear, doubt or reservation. I want you to stop cutting yourself short and trust that you are powerful, magnificent, and unique.

During the 365 days, any time you feel self-doubt about what you are capable of being or doing, I want you to remember this moment. I want you to remember that we gave ourselves permission to trust in ourselves.

“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.” – Honore de Balzac

Can you imagine who you could be if you could trust that you are good, powerful, capable? That you are enough?

For me and for you, that’s exactly what I want. Are you in?

At any moment, we have the ability to break free from tired old stories we’ve held onto for so long. The stories that have kept us living in fear; the stories that have kept us stuck. At any moment, we have to ability to become undeniably successful. At any moment, we have the ability to make all of our dreams come true. At any moment, we have the ability to become the people we’ve always wanted to be.

It’s time we gave ourselves permission to step into that truth. Because we deserve it.

And birthday or not, that’s reason to celebrate.

New Year, New Intentions, New Journey

A new year is just around the corner and it has me thinking about a lot of things – everything I’ve learned over the course of this year, the exciting and new things that I’ve experienced and all that I hope for in 2015.

My good friend Alexis Meads recently wrote a post on “What I Don’t Want and Who I Don’t Want to Be in 2015” and I wanted to share my own spin on it with you all today.

Many people approach the New Year with mixed feelings. While some rebel against setting goals or intentions because they think “they never work so what’s the point?” others, myself included, relish this time of year and embrace the prospect of starting anew.

Along with the coming of a New Year, I have a birthday coming up. Just four days after we ring in 2015. Every year, I take this time as an opportunity to reflect on the past and look ahead towards the future.

So what I’d like to share with you today, are my thoughts not so much on what I want to do this upcoming year, but more so on the person I’d like to become.

I want to be the kind of person who…

1. Doesn’t compare myself to others

Comparison is the thief of joy – Theodore Roosevelt

This is so true. Comparing ourselves to others who we perceive as being, having or doing more only leaves us coming up short; it sends the message to our self* (*Definition: a person’s essential being that distinguishes them from others) that you are not good enough. While I’ve learned to quiet that voice through my work in healing my relationship with food and my body, I’ll admit that in starting a new business, that voice sometimes manages to creep in unexpectedly. And let me tell you, listening to that voice does nothing good for your spirit, your confidence, your creativity or growth.

So rather than get stuck in the morass, this 2015, I’m going to stop letting comparison steal my joy, kill my creativity and stifle my growth.

2. Always prioritizes my health, happiness and well-being

When I first started my coaching practice, I was a total workaholic. I ate, slept and breathed my business. I was working long hours, putting my social life on hold and wasn’t taking great care of myself. Feeling exhausted, overworked and overwhelmed, I was unsure of how I could continue running my business. When I finally ended up in bed, sick, unable to care for myself properly, I realized I had been putting my own health and happiness on hold until some day in the future when I’d have it all figured out and finally be able to rest and live the life I really wanted.

It’s exactly what I tell my clients: when you live your life waiting for some day in the future – when everything is crossed off your to-do list, when you lose the weight – to start living the life you really want, you miss out on what is happening right now, in this very moment.

“The journey has to feel the way you want the destination to feel.” – Danielle LaPorte

If what you want is a fulfilling career, romance, time for self-care, a body you love, you have to start creating that now.

3. Trusts the process

Part of growing, learning and expanding as a human being is stepping out of your comfort zone and getting comfortable with being a little uncomfortable; with taking risks and having faith in yourself. As you are making change and transitioning from one path to a completely different one, however, many feelings of anxiety or uncertainty can arise. For some reason, we hold on to an expectation that these changes should be easier and beat ourselves up when we are facing these uncomfortable feelings. I know I have. Trusting the process means recognizing that these feelings are completely normal. You are exactly where you need to be. The road to change often has many pebbles along the way.

4. Doesn’t worry about what others think

I’ve always been pretty good about marching to the beat of my own drum. But let’s face it, sometimes we are all a little too concerned about what others think.

Writing has always been a deeply meaningful and creative outlet for me to express myself. As I’ve started sharing my writing publicly, I’ve found myself questioning what I write or how I write out of fear of how my work might be received. And the truth is, in order for me to grow, learn and share with you, I need to move past that fear and step into greater acceptance of what is.

So with that said, in 2015, I want to be more open. I want to share with you my authentic voice. I want to delve deeper into the conversations around making peace with food, overcoming issues with body image and disordered eating behaviors, fitness, happiness and wellness as a whole. I will be more exposed and authentic, all while trusting my own voice. I hope you’ll follow me in this journey and know that we’re in it together.

In that, I invite you to share your comments and voice on the blog and in the community – it’s a great place to get support.

From me to you, Happy New Year!!

Top 5 tips on how to thrive this holiday season

With the holidays now in full swing, this time of year be one of the trickiest when it comes to food.

Everything seems to revolve around celebrations, food and alcohol. If you have a tendency to be preoccupied by what you eat and what you weigh, chances are that you are not feeling very relaxed or balanced during this time.

I know how that goes. I’ve been there. I used to put my body through hell desperately trying to control my weight. But I also know that you deserve better than to keep fighting your body –to keep compromising your happiness and well-being, going to sleep feeling totally stuffed and waking up sluggish or low in energy and feeling defeated by this battle.

These behaviors will not help you enjoy this special time of year to the fullest and I know you deserve to make the most of it!

That’s why I wanted to share with you my best tips to making the most of the holiday season without depriving yourself of what you really want.

Set your intention
Danielle LaPorte is the mastermind behind the concept of deciding FIRST how you want to feel and then setting the goals or actions around those feelings.

So, how do you want to feel this holiday season? Choose 1-3 words. Maybe you want to feel connected, energized, or calm.

Then consider what actions, practices or steps to take in order to help yourself feel that way. For instance, if you want to feel calm during the holidays, how can you achieve that?

Maybe you…

• Wake up 30 minutes early so you can have some alone time before the family comes over for your holiday gathering
• Sip on tea throughout the day
• Give yourself frequent bathroom breaks to step away from the bustling conversation and regroup with yourself
• Prepare before-hand: pack up, prep your meals or do whatever you have to do so that you’re not rushing through your “to-dos”
• Be mindful of eating sugary foods and alcohol (especially if you’re someone who loses the feeling of calm when you have sugar in your system)

Setting intentions for how you want to feel before making goals can help you stay more aligned with your true values, even over the holiday season. And if at any point, you find yourself getting off track, simply ask yourself: is this moving me in the direction of or away from how I’d really like to feel?

Stay hydrated
As the days get colder, it’s easy to overlook the importance of staying hydrated. And while you may feel fine drinking less water, your body disagrees. Getting enough water is just as important in the fall and winter as it is in the summertime. If you’re not likely to drink cold water when it’s freezing out, try hot water with lemon instead. It’ll warm you up and keep you hydrated. A win win!

Move your body
Moving your body gets your feel-good hormones working and can help you feel calm and connected to yourself. If carving out time to do your normal, more structured workout seems tough with family and friends around, consider doing something fun and random instead. Make up your own workout or try one of these 10-minute Tabatas for a great boost of energy or suggest a walk outside with the group for a breath of fresh air.

I recommend doing something first thing in the morning so you can feel energized and great all day.

Aim to feel “good” when it comes to eating
You may be worried about overindulging this holiday season. You may already be thinking of the strict rules that you’re going to place on yourself in order to control your weight.

But I urge you to remember that the way you feel along journey is just as important as the way you want the destination to feel.

You can still have a good time, enjoy food and feel amazing in your body. Maybe you’ll overdo it at your family’s big holiday dinner. It’s normal. It’s human and it doesn’t matter. One meal will not make you gain the “X” number of pounds that you believe to be not okay.

Restricting yourself will feel like crap – you’ll feel deprived likely binge later on. So I advise you not to go down that route.

You deserve to feel good in your body. To go to sleep without feeling uncomfortably full or sick to your stomach.

If you’re worried about an upcoming holiday dinner or festive gathering, what would it look like if you simply set the intention to feel “good” afterward?

Be present in the moment
In that moment that you’re sitting at the dinner table staring at the bread basket, the voices around you muffled by the last bread roll calling your name, take a moment to realize that you’ve lost consciousness. Take a deep breath and come back to your reality. The reality that has your friends and loved ones sitting around the table with you, sharing a meal, laughs and memories.

Don’t let the holidays come and go and kick yourself in the butt when you realize that the whole time, you were in your head with food and didn’t get a chance to fully experience the love and happiness around you. Play a little game with yourself here and see how much fun you can have with the people around you. How much can you love them?

Your turn! Do you have tips and tricks to enjoying the holidays without stress, overwhelm or depletion? What are your savers? Help others by sharing your experience in the comments below.

From my family to yours, wishing you a healthy, happy and love-filled holiday season!

With love,
Stephanie

P.S. Stay tuned in the New Year for some exciting happenings… BIG things to come!

A lesson in radical forgiveness

I get asked quite often how I healed my relationship with food and my body. Unfortunately, there’s no one “cure;” it’s a process. And I learned through trial and error. But I can say that one of the most powerful shifts that I experienced was when I finally was able to find forgiveness.

Forgiveness for putting my body through everything that I put her through – starving, bingeing, purging, name-calling (calling her fat).

Forgiveness for not figuring it out sooner; for being perfectly imperfect.

Forgiveness for the choices I made, the people I hurt and those who I let hurt me.

Forgiveness for the times I turned to food for emotional reasons. Because in that moment of chaos and confusion, I was doing the best I could to take care of myself, given what I knew.

Without forgiveness, you stay stuck. You relive the shame, guilt and embarrassment that breathes life into emotional eating behaviors. Physically and emotionally, you stand in that pain.

It’s not enough to say it doesn’t matter; to say it’s not your reality any more so who cares?

If you want to make peace with food, the first step is to forgive yourself and start practicing new tools – gentle and loving tools – to care for yourself. And know that it takes time to master. Like strengthening a muscle, you will get stronger and stronger each time you work it. And when you feel shaky, you can ask for help.

Mistakes are your opportunities to grow and learn. Pass on the judgment and allow yourself to see them for the lessons they truly are.

With love,
Stephanie

P.S. If you want to learn more about what it means to practice self-compassion, let’s chat. You can book a session to talk with me and gain clarity around what’s keeping you stuck in the struggle with food and your body. It’s on me 🙂