I sat to write this month’s post as Hurricane Sandy was making her presence known. Never did I imagine so many of you would be faced with such devastation. I questioned whether to send this or to wait but decided to go forward because it may help you look at how you are coping with your current situation. Are you turning to food because there is nothing else to do? Is food your companion through the darkness? Are the realities of the clean-up too much too bear?  Have you moved in with friends and family and finding yourself triggered by the words or behaviors of others? Read on…….

 We are expert storytellers. We are so good at it that we start to believe:
If only I could lose those 5, 10, or 30 lbs, I would be happy.
I am stuck in this job I hate/resent because I have bills to pay.
I am not good enough, smart enough, thin enough to do better.
If I didn’t have so many people to take care of, I could pursue my passion.
If I let myself feel what (my mother, husband, boyfriend, sister, friend) said it would destroy me.
I can’t trust myself to eat just one cookie…I”ll eat the entire box.
Life has changed…I have no purpose.
Where do I begin to turn things around?
 
The anger, guilt, shame and sadness associated with such beliefs take their toll on how we cope. So we eat to numb the feelings. We step on and off the scale. We plan another day of restrictive dieting or we spend hours beating up our bodies in the gym. We have a drink, or two, or three. We do anything but allow ourselves to feel the feelings that we believe will destroy us. Everyday is the same…we wake up intending to do the right thing, take care of ourselves. But life gets in the way and the old voices creep back in telling us the story that we have come to believe is true. That is what we know, that is the box we put ourselves into.

But, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Imagine this scenario – before putting your little girl to bed you tell her the story of Little Red Riding Hood.You remember that tale…Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to Grandma’s house and she is confronted by The Big Bad Wolf.  Later that night, your beautiful yet innocent child comes crying, frightened that The Big Bad Wolf is coming to get her. What do you do? You hold her close and assure her there is no such thing as The Big Bad Wolf.

Why is it so difficult to act so lovingly towards ourselves? We have the opportunity every day, every minute we are on this fantastic journey called life to rewrite our internal script. We can revisit our story anytime we want. We are free to ask,”Is this story true?” “Who would I be without it?”

This is what The Freedom Promise was born from – the process of questioning our behavior as it relates to what we believe and re-inventing a new, more authentic and healthier life script.

You see, I have been there..finding myself in search of a better way, forced to re-define how I was going to live the life I was given. My coping skills were never great but when I found myself widowed at 49 years of age, the old behaviors were not going to work anymore. Truth be told, that behavior would have caused me to lose all that is dear to me..my most intimate relationships and my health. Today it remains an ongoing process but I’ve learned I don’t have to be perfect. I don’t always love what I am feeling but I’ve learned there is wisdom in those feelings. Nothing I do will change the fact that there is no life without pain or disappointment. My worst days in touch with the reality of my feelings are far better than my best days numbed by addictive behaviors. I’ve learned to listen to my body – I feed it what it wants and honor what it has done for me. I can enjoy food! I can eat when I am hungry and stop when I’ve had enough. I have stopped fearing what food will do TO me and embrace what it can do FOR me!

I can help you tap into your body’s wisdom…help you let go of the belief system that is keeping you stuck where you don’t want to be. I can help you let go of the belief that you need to be perfect to be who you want to be and I can guide you through the process of questioning what is true for you as it relates to food and your feelings.

Schedule a consultation to learn how THE FREEDOM PROMISE can help you create the life you desire.

FINALLY STOP DIETING AND START LIVING!!!!