My relationship with food was pretty solid growing up, thanks to my parents. We ate healthy foods and didn’t have much “junk” around. In my late teens I struggled for the first time because of the idea that I needed to be rail thin. I utilized terrible methods due to my lack of knowledge. When I was in the military I began to really enjoy and pursue weight training. I started to think a little bit more about what I was eating. After my service ended, I became a personal trainer, and started learning more about food. For both my clients and myself.

I watched a bodybuilding competition and decided to dive into that world. This was the most impactful and difficult era of my relationship with food. I learned so many things. I learned discipline, portion control. I also struggled with disordered eating, specifically binge eating while I was restrictive.

The years following my last competition were hard. I tried every “diet” out there. I was finding that without a structure, I didn’t seem to know or trust myself when it came to food. After trial and error, I finally decided to write my own rules around food.

1. I eat when I’m hungry
2. No food is off limits
3. I eat until I’m 75%-80% full
4. I don’t eat like an a$$hole

These have been great for me until the past few years. Pregnancy threw my Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism back at me and it’s been a really trying last 3 years. I’ve been eating my feelings.

I had to go back to my rules and change one for now. Number two, gluten is off limits for me. Because of my autoimmune condition, it is far better for me to cut out gluten. At least for now. That’s been a bit hard because I love food.

But, taking this step has been transformative for me. In the past 3 weeks, I’m down 13 lbs.

As a coach, this is also a service that I help clients with. This is a long term solution for life. Not a meal plan. And don’t get me wrong, being on meal plans helped me a lot. That is how I began to understand and be able to recognize portion sizes. But you cannot be on a meal plan for the rest of your life. Creating rules based on beliefs around food, health and longevity, will give you a better solution.

If that resonates with you and you would like help in this area, I offer coaching calls, accountability and support. Ready to take action? DM me on Facebook or Instagram.

Thanks so much for listening!