3 REVOLUTIONARY WAYS TO HAVE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

EPISODE #264:

In this week’s episode of #TheConfidencePodcast, we’re chatting about:

• Our relationship with food; how to analyze it and improve it
• The moralization of food and finding freedom from past toxic behaviors
• 4 revolutionary ways to have a better relationship with food

As always, a quick hello to all of my Keep the Faith listeners, thanks for being a part of this extended community of contagious encouragement.

SPONSORSHIP NOTE:

I am proud to bring this podcast to you in part thanks to my partnership with Beautycounter. Beautycounter is more than just a company I believe in, it is the only company I trust fully for myself and my family.  Beautycounter has brought a new level of health to my household, reduced our toxic exposure, and increased my self-care routine and how beautiful and clean my skin is. I can honestly say that I feel more beautifully me, thanks to Beautycounter.

Oh, and we are more than just a beauty company. We are a movement. We are on a mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone. We work because we can’t stand by idly as harmful chemicals cause our loved ones to get sick, struggle with fertility, and give birth to children with significant health issues. We work towards cleaner beauty everywhere because this is personal to all of us.

Shop for your own Beautycounter collection at www.beautycounter.com/trishblackwell

WHY FOOD AS A TOPIC TODAY?

My family and I are preparing to spend half of May in France – I am researching the French relationship with food, beauty and their bodies – plus we are getting to expose the kids to French and to visit old friends and attend a proper French wedding.  France is ground zero of my true start of a beautiful life, and so it only makes sense that I go back and reinvestigate what opened my eyes to realizing that food wasn’t the enemy – it was my approach to food that had caused me so much pain, struggle and turmoil – it was in France that, for the first time, I realized that food was a relationship and that it could be a beautiful one.

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD?

Do you think about food more than you think you should?

Do you have restrictions around food that cause you stress?

Do you ever feel anxious about whether or not you will eat the correct portion?

Do you feel guilty after eating?

Do you worry about your calorie intake?

Do you categorize some foods as “bad”?

Do you feel “free” and at ease around food?

IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THESE LITTLE STEPS:

Let go of guilt

Forgive yourself for choices that didn’t serve you

Always look for ways to learn about yourself

Explore and be curious

Understand where your food comes from

Pray over your food – be thankful for each hand that went into getting it to you

Have gratitude for the abundance of food you have accessible

Let go of the vicious all-or-nothing cycle

Give yourself permission to enjoy your food

Eat around other people

Slow down while you eat

Eat with minimal distraction – learn to pay attention to your food

Stop categorizing food as “good” or “bad”

HOW TO STOP MORALIZING FOOD

All or nothingness gets you nowhere.

Trendy diets are dangerous.

Everyone needs something different.

All food serves us in some way.

Be kind to yourself – don’t expect perfection.

Let go of guilt.

3 REVOLUTIONARY MINDSET CHANGES TO HAVE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

(1). Be willing to believe that you can start over.

-You have to let go of old rules, old behaviors, old beliefs … and be open to exploration.

-You have to let go of a little of your previously perceived control (take the risk)

-You have the ability to change

-You have probably made food / weight loss, etc. harder than it needs to be

-You have to be open to learning about yourself and about what works for your body

(2). Be willing to believe that it can be a beautiful relationship

-You and food or you and your body won’t always be a struggle

-You are not a victim to deprivation and won’t be for your whole life

-You can enjoy good things in life

-You can learn to connect more intimately with others over food

(3). Be willing to believe that your body is trustworthy (and beautiful)

-You can trust yourself and your messages of satiety and desire

-You are not powerless to emotional eating or numbing

-You can learn to see food differently – as a beautiful part of life

-You can start to enjoy your indulgements more – and find balance more naturally

-You can see beauty in your body and separate that from your weight or from food

LISTENER OF THE EPISODE:

Dear Trish Blackwell,

What up! I am beyond ecstatic to be a part of the “Be More” community. I came across your podcast randomly and was drawn to it because of your commitment to encouraging listeners to live out their fullest potential on a weekly basis—since 2013! Wow, FOUR whole years of staying true to your vision. That has lit a fire of inspiration under me to continue to follow my dreams. My “WLWB” daily playlist of habits definitely includes tuning into 1 of your podcasts a day, and then reflecting and applying that message to my everyday life.

It is interesting how every single human out there is capable of so much, yet we get so caught up and distracted by the struggle within. I call it “The Battle of Insecurities.” This battle is inevitable and it is something we experience on a moment to moment basis! I’ve been a Registered Nurse for the past 5 years, and I have noticed that many patients admitted have the diagnosis of “Anxiety and Depression” listed on their medical background list. I notice a pattern where it’s either put on the back burner because they have other diagnosis that appear to take priority. If it is addressed, often times the first line of treatment includes an anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication (like Ativan or Prozac). If there was a psych consult, that doctor would only visit one time throughout the hospital stay. Where is the follow up in that? I call it “The Band-Aid Effect,” where we are giving out temporary fixes, and often times are disregarding the patient’s true mental health status. The sad reality is the hospital is a business where patients end up putting money in pharmaceutical company’s pockets.  Okay, don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some medications out there help treat people’s sicknesses, but what about the fact that all medications have an extensive list of side effects that a patient can suffer from?

With my own two eyes, I’ve seen addiction form and inner emotional problems take last priority because of this “Band-Aid Effect.” It has tugged at my heart throughout the years. I knew I had to take action when I lost my dad and my heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces. And it wasn’t just my dad. My mom experienced losing many of her brothers and sisters (there are 11 aunts and uncles on my mom’s side!) in the span of 3 years. It was a domino effect of grief and suffering for my family. My brother and mom sought treatment in therapists, and they immediately prescribed medications to help alleviate the pain. Honestly? I am so grateful they never filled those prescriptions. They chose a more fulfilling way to heal. My brother has loved music since he was young, and he turned to Music to cope. My mom put her heart into her words through writing, and her beautiful and hurt spirit in every stroke of the paint brush. I myself have always found a true passion in exploring every faced of “the Arts.” Whether it be yoga, dance, writing, sketching, music, drama— I have felt a certain buoyancy and “lightness” from staying honest with myself and how I feel.

THERE IS FREEDOM IN SELF-EXPRESSION.

I had to put that in all caps & bold letters (*i wrote this in microsoft word) to let that statement resonate on this page. And in my life, too. For that is my Life Mantra, and my Vision is to spread that heartfelt message to anyone and everyone that needs to heart it. There is too much damn suffering in this world. Even as I’m writing to you, someone’s out there trying to figure out how to manage their pain. I avoid social media, and if I do use it, I limit my time because I think what people are really going through is not found in a highlight reel. I remember you had a podcast about this and my heart literally jumped for joy to know that there’s someone else out there that understands that fact! Because many people out there don’t, and it’s a false sense of reality sometimes.

Well. I’m ready to focus my energies on making my “dreams” into a reality.

My two main goals?

1.     Become a certified Expressive Arts Therapist.

I am currently pursuing a Masters in Counseling. I’ve had hurtful opinions from people out there that say that there is no money in going into therapy, and a lot of people don’t understand the path I’m trying to create, because not a lot of nurses out there have taken this path. How do I handle it when I am sensitive and it gets to me sometimes? How do I know which step to take forward after I finish school and hope to build up my own private practice that combines nursing and art therapy?

2.     Complete my very first book, entitled “Oh Cheryl.”

“Oh Cheryl” is a phrase I’ve heard many times from friends and fam of which they would follow it up with shaking their heads and sigh. It was always directed at me when I did something silly.

The first half of the book will address the very “inspirations that Got Me Lit” (especially the Arts) and go into the second portion, which is “When the Struggle is Real,” where I dissect and reveal recurring insecurities I constantly struggle with. We gain insight from the very things that inspire us. Thank you for your dedicated practice in putting out inspiring podcasts. It inspires me. I always hear you promoting a new book or new project and I would love if I can seek advice from you as to what concrete and specific steps I need to take to publish my first book. I write every day, but I feel like it’s scattered here and there and I’m not sure how to put in together into 1 project.

Keep at it, Trish.

Continue to Inspire, and to be Inspired,

For you are a true Artist in your own Craft.

Positive juju your way,

Cheryl Lynn Tiquia

(proud supporter of “Be More” community and “Express Yourself” mentality)