Is Your Relationship With Food and Your Body Holding You Hostage?
Emotional Eating, Binge Eating and Restrictive Eating are all symptoms of something deeper. Your hunger for a fully nourished life will be satisfied when you become empowered with a nutrition and lifestyle plan that feeds your unique needs…needs that are rooted in your genetics, your story and your biology.
How I Help My Clients Transform Struggle Into Success
I believe that food is medicine. I believe in eating real food. I believe hunger and our need to move should be honored. I believe that a clean, whole foods diet creates and supports the foundation for good health. I believe that our lifestyle choices directly reflect on such a foundation.
What do you believe?
- that the “one size fits all”, “all foods fit” philosophy doesn’t work for you?
- that you can experience a healthy relationship with food?
- that there’s an easy to navigate nutrition plan that will keep you as vibrant as possible?
- that your nutrition and lifestyle plan can effectively manage your digestive issues, chronic inflammation, blood sugar and hormone imbalances?
- that the food you choose and lifestyle skills you practice directly affect your metabolism, mood, well-being, and overall quality of life?
- that true transformation is less about what you DO to change and more about what you let go of in an effort to BE the change?
I look forward to sharing all I have learned and the blueprint I developed to help YOU find
FREEDOM and peace with food and your body even as you deal with chronic and complex health issues as they relate to your relationship to and behavior with food.
What Do I Mean by Freedom?
freedom |ˈfrēdəm| (noun)
- the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint:
- the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved:
- the state of being physically unrestricted and able to move easily
- (freedom from) the state of not being subject to or affected by (a particular undesirable thing
- the power of self-determination attributed to the will; the quality of being independent of fate or necessity.
Do your food choices reflect what you believe you’ve earned, rather than what you want?
Do you dread social engagements for fear losing control?
Do you wake up every day with the first thought going to your weight and the size of your thighs?
Are you using food to self-medicate?
Are you trading the size of your life for the size of your body?
Do you believe you’ve tried everything and just can’t get a handle on your thoughts, behaviors and how to manage your weight?
YOU ARE NOT ALONE! You’re among the millions of people who struggle with a relationship with food. I’m confident you also struggle with digestive issues like bloating, gas, reflux; perhaps changes in mood and probably anxiety.
You are not broken.
You haven’t failed – the methods you’re relying on are failing. You know how to diet but you are confused about how and what to eat. Too much weight or too little weight are merely symptoms of over or under eating. Over-eating or under-eating are symptoms of something deeper that is calling for your attention. The answer does not lie in any sort of one-size-fits-all-approach, nor will an “all-foods-fit-diet” teach you to feel empowered and trusting that you can eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re not
Root Cause Resolution Not Merely Symptom Management
Your challenges are showing up as symptoms – too much weight, too little weight, cravings and behaviors that you’d rather not be engaging in. I’m confident you are experiencing digestive issues and mood swings.
During our time together we’ll take a deep dive into your history and the story that’s come to define you. We’ll explore the triggers that are driving your hungers, cravings and behaviors. We’ll uncover the inflammatory thoughts as well as the inflammatory foods that are keeping you from connecting to the most vibrant version of yourself.
Together we’ll develop a nutrition and lifestyle protocol to address not only the physical aspects of your experience but the mental and emotional as well. You’ll leave every session feeling empowered, lifted and less burdened as you step into the vision of your best self. I’ll guide you to let go of the parts of your story that no longer serve you, to turn the page on it so you can begin to write what will become your happily ever after.
Your fully nourished life starts here.
Introducing The Freedom Promise Signature Framework
These Steps are an Acronym for Freedom. What follows is a brief overview. When you take the deep dive into each of these steps, we’ll address the physiology and psychology that is impacting YOUR well-being.
Step One
Find your enough, Face Your Feelings and Feel the Love!
Are you attached to a limited and limiting belief system that has you believing you need to weigh less in order to live more? When we disengage from the inner voice of negativity and realize it’s not the voice of truth, we’re no longer boxed into our thoughts and we can fully inhabit our bodies. This experience can be spiritual, or if you prefer, energetic, as there’s magic that occurs when we tap into the wonder and natural beauty of the body we possess.
Step Two
Rest and Digest!
It’s a good bet that stress about food and weight dominate your thoughts. Negative body image and an unhealthy relationship with food cause stress, but it works the other way around, as well.
The relationship between stress and disordered eating is, in many ways, a vicious cycle: Feeling stressed or overwhelmed trigger disordered eating behaviors, such as binge-eating or restricting food, which have become your stress management, your coping strategies. And, in turn, the compulsive behavior, fears and constant negative thoughts that characterize eating disorders raise stress levels.
For those who restrict, there’s the pull of needing to feel in control. Truth be told, what we try to control ends up controlling us. For those who binge, there’s the feeling of sedation and comfort. Not only do these compulsive behaviors with food cause the obvious physical stress to the body, they can exacerbate psychological stress. Add to that the disruption to your gut health, and your mental health is compromised as well. All in all, stress has negative impact on all systems.
Step Three
Eat when you are hungry and Stop when you have had enough.
Many chronic dieters have lost touch with their sense of hunger, dismissing it as a sign of weakness and lack of discipline. Hunger is a survival mechanism. We are supposed to get hungry. Understanding true physical hunger and emotional hunger is part of the foundation for developing a healthy relationship with food.
Let’s look at what happens in our bodies to make us hungry. Hunger regulation is a function of fuel in and energy out. A system of brain chemicals signal the body when to eat and when we have enough stored energy, we get the signal to stop. Our bodies, when operating under healthy conditions, are brilliantly efficient. However, new research indicates that for those affected by Eating Disorders, some necessary hormonal signals are not only irregular, but dysfunctional. This needs further exploration as it isn’t known whether the irregularity contributes to the Eating Disorder or is a consequence of it.
Has hunger become just another feeling to ignore? Have you become so efficient at suppressing hunger that you numb your ability to trust or respect this inherent signal as a natural biological process. Have you forgotten that food can be a source of pleasure as well as nourishment? Or have you determined it to be punishment or source of pain?
Step Four
Eat mindfully, without distraction.
Friends and clients often tell me how much they have to do – and I often feel the same overwhelm. We have errands, emails to read and respond to, responsibilities to the business of our lives, work, demands of our relationships. These to-do lists create the feeling that there just isn’t enough time in the day. We end up eating as we run out the door, in the car, in front of the TV or computer, while on the phone, standing in front of the refrigerator, standing at the stove, or while clearing the table. The result is there’s no chance for pleasure or calm. We need to clear the clutter in our minds and our surroundings. Only when we do so can we create the space required for a mindful experience.
When we eat mindfully, without distraction, we can appreciate and derive pleasure from our food. You may be at a stage in your recovery journey where the idea of attaching pleasure to food seems foreign, but stay with me here…. Pleasure is a huge part of the equation when finding freedom with food. When there is pleasure there is no guilt, no shame, no fear.
When you bring mindfulness to the table, eating becomes an exercise where you can engage your senses.
Discover what’s in the way of you becoming the change you want to see.
Step Five
Do something every day that makes your body feel alive.
Do you exercise from a desire to honor your body with life affirming movement or do you exercise out of a fear of gaining weight?
While the benefits of exercise support a goal of long-term health and an improved quality of life, many of you are engaging in routines designed to make your bodies go away. Do you turn to exercise as another way to check out? Do you think you must push yourself to make up for something you ate? Do you commit to work out styles that you’re not really comfortable with? Ones that aren’t aligned with your personality or body type?
It’s so easy to become targets of media hype, sucked in by celebrity trainers and reality TV shows that make us feel guilty for not spending hours in the gym. Messages like these are extremely counter productive, if not dis-heartening.
If you already have an unhealthy relationship with food and your body, these messages fuel the beliefs you’ve developed about exercise. Exercising because you think you “have to” cheats you out of the pleasure you could have when your body moves as it’s inclined to. If you drag yourself to the gym or shame yourself into participating in activities you have no interest in, simply because you fear gaining weight, or want to lose weight, you are living with a very toxic belief system that puts you into a stress response, which you’ve learned is counterproductive to the very thing you want to achieve.
Step Six
Only eat whole food, not products, as often as you can.
Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine, let medicine be thy food” – and more recently – “Let food be your medicine so medicine doesn’t become your food” – Steve Jobs, as part of his final essay.
Whole foods in the form of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats will be utilized by your body, rev up your metabolism and create an environment to promote health and prevent dis-ease. Preserved and processed products treated with chemicals offer little nourishment, cause cravings and keep your body wanting what it really needs. The result is you are never satisfied and you set yourself up for another attempt at failed weight management and wellness.
Following the latest trends and hanging on to the words of someone whose body type may be unreasonable for you to emulate, will only set you up for disappointment. Additionally, your unique physiology may not be able to handle all foods in the same way someone else can. If you’ve been regularly restricting, binging or purging, you’re probably suffering digestive distress and symptoms that are calling for your attention. You may need to swap out some of the foods you’re currently eating for others that are better suited for you. It’s important to note, “it’s not that we are what we eat, it’s that we are what our bodies do with what we eat”…that’s the principle behind functional nutrition. That is the lesson of bio-individuality, there is no one right diet for everybody, diets are not generic, one size does not fit all, nor do all foods fit. This is where you get to honor your unique physiology. This is where you get to change how you do recovery.
Step Seven
Make the effort to look at what truly nourishes you…
Your relationships, your spirituality, your life’s purpose and your physical activity.
To be nourished is to be sustained with food; to have supplied what is necessary for life, health and growth; to be cherished, fostered, kept alive; to be strengthened, built up or promoted. I love this!
We are nourished by so much more than the food we put on our plates, or eat while standing in front of the refrigerator, in our beds or while on the computer. In order to feel the completeness and satisfaction of a well-fed soul, we need to address the areas of our lives that feed and sustain us. We need to be in our lives as active participants rather than losing ourselves to surviving. When what truly nourishes us is abundant, life feeds us.
Which steps are keeping you from the fully nourished life you deserve and desire?
Stop Fearing Food – A 3 Month Program of Recovery Coaching
Breakthrough Session
We meet for a one-on-one, 90-120 minute consultation, in person or virtual platform.
- Review your in-depth health history intake form
- Review lab reports from a functional perspective
- Explore and create clarity around your personal goals
- Create a roadmap to support your efforts and define the building blocks that will lead to sustainable results
- Uncover the #1 thing that is holding you back and stopping you from showing up for yourself
- Learn the one thing you can do right now to help jump start your journey to health, wellness and the fully nourished life you deserve
- Complete the session with the excitement of knowing exactly what you need to do to experience true transformation
Sessions suited to your needs
We meet in person or virtually, from wherever you are. Sessions will be tailored to your individual needs and include but are not limited to:
- Unlimited sessions. We’ll meet weekly for 45 minutes to celebrate your wins, navigate your challenges and set a plan in motion that guides you to manifest your intention, and finally experience lasting wellness. Additional 20 minute sessions are available for extra support during the week.
- Email and messaging to ensure support and accountability
- Nutrition and lifestyle coaching to reinforce the tools you need to make empowered choices for sustainable and lasting wellness
- Recommendations for and discounts on appropriate supplementation to address your unique biology and psychology
- Access to my highly acclaimed self-study course, Stop Fearing Food: An Unconventional Approach to Say Goodbye to Your Disordered Eating for Good!
- Worksheets and handouts to inspire, empower, educate and keep you accountable
A Private FaceBook Group
Become part of a safe and supportive community of like minded women. We’ll learn from each other and share insight and wisdom that comes with personal growth. Occasionally I’ll be inviting guest experts in the areas of gut health, holistic psychology, and nutrition.
Appropriate Referrals
As your situation changes you may require additional testing. I will refer you to expert practitioners who you can trust for the most accurate results.
I will refer you to the best practitioners in your city for energy and body work if you desire.
If I feel you would benefit from a higher level of care I’ll support you and guide you to choose the path to bring you the best results.
Success Stories
“Our sessions were both supportive and inspiring as I came to realize my own power and ability to show up for myself….”
“Working with Mindy was transformative and empowering. Two of her greatest strengths as a coach are her intuition and flexibility. By perceiving the nuances in my eating disorder recovery journey, she effortlessly tailored how we worked together to match what I needed rather than lead with a one-size-fits-all mentality. Our sessions were both supportive and inspiring as I came to realize my own power and ability to show up for myself. The combination of nutritional guidance, tools for managing triggers, and helping to my shift my perspective was instrumental in propelling my recovery into a new chapter of expansive joy for life. I highly would recommend Mindy to anyone looking to work on eating disorder recovery in a holistic, authentic, dynamic way that goes far beyond traditional therapy.” – Kathleen
“When I became pregnant I was terrified of how my changing body would impact my psyche, specifically my control issues.…”
“Like many, my issues surrounding food have been a terrible, recurring story since my teenage years. Working with Mindy has made it so much easier to tackle this “Big Bad Wolf” (as she likes to refer my faulty belief system) that pops up during times when I feel inferior or sad or a loss of control. When I became pregnant I was terrified of how my changing body would impact my psyche, specifically my control issues. How could I surrender control of the way my body was going to develop and not have it affect my eating? Mindy helped me see how food can be something beautiful and good and whole to fuel my body and not the enemy in a battle of restricting or bingeing. She helped me ask myself “What can food do FOR me?’, instead of what it was going to do TO me’. Her approach is one of love and empathy that has changed my relationship with eating forever.” – L.B., New Mom
“Mindy stands out above the rest; it is her integrity, love for and belief in what she does. Influencing positive change in the lives of her clients is truly important to her…”
“I first met Mindy years ago when searching out a nutritionist to help me lose weight. It was a success! Today, to call Mindy simply my nutritionist wouldn’t seem significant enough to do her justice. It is a fact that through the years, Mindy has been an awesome nutritionist, well educated in her field, offering a wide range of knowledge from physiological to emotional support. To say the least, she is helpful, inspiring and dedicated to her clients but to really pinpoint why Mindy stands out above the rest; it is her integrity, love for and belief in what she does. Influencing positive change in the lives of her clients is truly important to her and she goes above and beyond to make that difference. I am grateful to have met Mindy, for the knowledge and support that she has supplied.” – M.D., Author
Frequently Asked Questions
Are The Freedom Promise Programs Right For Me?
If you’ve been through all the programs and protocols and you’re still thinking about food more often than you’d like, eating when you’re not hungry and unable to stop when you’re full,
ignoring your hunger for fear of having trouble stopping when you’re full, challenged with digestive issues, mood swings and anxiety relating to and resulting from your relationship with food (you know it’s not all in your head) and feeling you’ve exhausted all the possibilities for recovery youre in the right place!
The Freedom Promise is unlike any program you’ve experienced thus far… When you embark on this journey with me, you get a partner to unconditionally support you to explore, identify and restore both the physiology and psychology that’s impacting your mind, body and spirit. Most recovery models leave this piece out – the “one size fits all”, “all foods fit” approach can leave you feeling like you aren’t doing it right. Each of The Freedom Promise Programs combines the powerful lessons of gratitude, compassion and forgiveness with awareness and embodiment in a way that honors WHO YOU are as an eater.
I look forward to sharing all I have learned and the tools I rely on daily to help YOU find FREEDOM and peace with food and your body, as you re-claim your health and the fully nourished life you deserve and desire.
What About Supplements & Lab Testing?
As a prospective client, you may wonder about additional costs not included in your program fee. I know that you’ve likely been to other providers before that may have already run lab tests. That’s why during our comprehensive intake consultation, we will review any existing lab results to give me a better picture of “what’s going on in there” In terms of supplements, I may eventually recommend certain pharmaceutical-grade supplements for a limited time to support your body’s innate healing process. But long-term, I believe that nutrition and lifesyle lay the foundation for lasting wellness.
In the event that I feel additional lab testing is called for, I will refer you to the top experts in your city. As for supplements, as my client you’ll have access to your own on-line account to get supplements at a discounted price.
What Should I Expect From My Free Discovery Call?
During the free discovery call, we’ll determine whether partnering with me is the best next step for you. We’ll go over any questions you may have about my approach, and how it differs from what you’ve tried before – so you feel comfortable about the journey ahead.
What Should I Expect From The Initial Appointment?
Ahead of the initial paid appointment, The Breakthrough Session, you will complete the extensive background history forms so that I can properly review your history and any lab results ahead of your appointment. During the appointment, we will together review your completed intake form, history, current and past lab tests – as well as any medications taken, so that we can explore and create clarity around your personal goals, create a roadmap to support your efforts and define the building blocks that will lead to sustainable results.
This will set the stage for uncovering the #1 thing that’s been holding you back and stopping you from showing up for yourself.
You’ll complete the session with the excitement of knowing exactly what you need to do to experience true transformation as we create a personalized treatment protocol.
My mission is to provide you with the most effective tools and strategies to move you from a relationship with food and your body that’s stuck in fear and confusion to one that is loving, joyous and FREE. I am here for you… to help you finally experience lasting wellness…the fully nourished life you deserve and desire.
When we speak over the phone, we’ll assess whether this program is right for you… and answer any questions you may have. Simply pick a time and date that works best for you!