Happiest of New Years to You!

Hope all your holiday celebrations were fun, and that you’re looking forward to a New Year.

Now, you’ve probably seen a whole lot of advertising and influencing recently for you to join a gym, do a cleanse, or take some supplements in shape, eat better, lose weight in the name of New Year/New You – and sure, these are worthwhile pursuits – but I want to add my two cents: I like you the way you are.

Pema Chodron, a wonderful Buddhist monk, talks a lot about acceptance, in particular acceptance of self. More specifically, unconditional self-compassion. Her approach really resonates with me and, bonus – there’s a myriad of research studies that show that self-compassion lowers stress, builds resiliency, and even decreases the likelihood of heart disease. This is all good stuff!

Pema suggests that wanting to change yourself is a subtle type of aggression against yourself. So many New Year’s Resolutions, and the messages we get from the Diet Industry as a whole, tell us that we’re not okay and that changing our bodies will make us okay. In my experience there’s an aspect of shame there. Without release from that shame, no amount of weight loss is going to make you okay. Self-Compassion can.

This year, consider making a resolution to be compassionate with yourself. Better yet, set yourself up for success by setting an Intention to accept and encourage yourself. For me, the idea of a “resolution” feels like a lot of pressure to do things exactly right. Pass/Fail, if you will. But “Intentions”, in my experience, feel much more inspiring, inviting, flexible, and compassionate. Especially in the realm of food. Remember, the way you eat is a snapshot of how you feel about yourself. You can eat intentionally, with self-compassion, or mindlessly, with self-judgement. This is the exact dynamic I help my clients to understand and master.

What are your Intentions for 2022? I truly want to know!

Happiest of everything to you,

Jennifer

Treat yourself to a Free Consultation to learn more about how you can eat intentionally and feel good about yourself and your food choices!