The advice I got growing up – from friends, family, and strangers – was to eat very little.

Less less less.

Control control control.

Tighten tighten tighten.

People were shocked when they saw how much I ate at times.

They asked if I was pregnant.

I was 16 years old, thin, and the only chance I could’ve been pregnant was by immaculate conception.

The only person who wanted me to eat more was my track coach.

He thought I had an eating disorder, which I did.

But I was shocked, bewildered, and unhealthily proud when he was discussing nutrition with the team and said that I was the only person who needed to eat more.

Everyone else should eat less, he said.

He scolded another athlete for jogging to get an ice cream bar late at night.

She was a healthy weight and training nearly every day.

What happens when you constantly try to eat less?

You go into a mental-emotional state of restriction.

Tightness.

No matter what you actually end up eating, and in what amount, you create constriction in the body.

Constriction in the body leads to erratic eating.

So many clients who come to me are trying to control themselves all day, then they finally break down and binge at night.

They eat “super clean” all day, then an entire pizza and pint of ice cream at night.

The solution is to let go.

To stop trying to control yourself.

To give your body what she needs from the moment you wake up.

To breathe deep throughout the day.

To let go of the idea that you always need to eat very little.

To trust that your body knows exactly how much to eat and when.

It’s safe to eat less and it’s safe to eat more.

It’s normal for your hunger to fluctuate.

It’s safe to let yourself get hungry, to let your body empty out, and it’s safe to feel satisfied – comfortably full.

When you let go it all balances out, and binges don’t happen.

Food is not dangerous.

Food is here to support you.

Do you find yourself tightening up and trying to eat very little all the time?

Let your body relax, take a big breath, and trust the amount of food your body is asking for.

With so much love,
Lula