Who's Your Spokesperson?

My daughter and her friend were jumping and giggling on our backyard trampoline (6 feet apart, of course) when I asked them if they wanted something to eat or drink. 

Long pause....

They both looked at each other, said nothing, and then my daughter's friend said.

"No thank you". 

"Are you sure? How about I at least bring something to drink". 

My daughter immediately jumped on the offer and her friend agreed.

This made me think about the times that I've said no to food, when I really wanted to say yes. Have you ever been offered something to eat or drink, really wanted something, but declined the offer because that's how a "healthy" woman would reply? We all have this preconceived notion of the "right" way to act around food thanks to diet culture. But there's really no "right" way to behave around food. 

Glennon Doyle writes about this idea of behaving a certain way around food in her book, Untamed, which you must add to cart immediately (when will be able to go back to actually grabbing something at a bookstore easily?). She talks about a very similar scene at her house with her daughter and friends. The girls were all watching a movie and she asked if anyone wanted something to eat. All the girls looked to one of the girls (the spokeswoman of the group) who finally pipped up and said something along the lines of, "we're good, no thank you". 

Glennon wonders when we all lose touch with ourselves to the point that we need to look to someone else to be our spokesperson who tells us when it's ok and not ok to eat something.  

This made me wonder about two very important questions....

1. When do you think you start looking outside yourself for permission, answers and most of all, approval around food and your body? I bet it wasn't last week. I bet it's been a while since you trusted your own body's cues and signals around food. 

2. When did you start thinking something was wrong with you around food and your body? That (not so little) voice that nags at you to get more control, more will power, make "better" food choices and practice better restraint. 

That (not so little) voice is telling you lies. 

There's nothing wrong with you. The only that's wrong is that you've convinced yourself that something is wrong with you. Glennon says this so poetically in Untamed with this powerful revelation....."believing something was wrong with me, that was the only deceipt". 

It's time to come back to ourselves and honor our own voices. 

We will be learning how to find and trust  our true inner voice again in Peace Out Diets. 

This just might be some of the most important work you'll do in your life. 
I'd be honored to be your guide and show you the way. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the elephant (political pun intended)  in the room this week. Let's make sure that the right spokesperson is leading our country come 2021. Get out and vote on November 3rd or mail in your ballots today! 

xoxo, 

PS. Here's the link to join Peace Out Diets!