In this post we’ll chat thru…

① All things body shame, diet culture, + a little of what's working in my journey
② PLUS…how you can GLOW UP with us this summer in The Sisterhood Membership

Ya’ll. Before I kick off I have to say I’m so pumped right now because our SUMMER ENROLLMENT is OFFICIALLY OPEN for The Sisterhood Membership. We’ve already seen so. many. women. join us for the summer season and I can’t wait to welcome you in, too, if you haven’t already snagged a spot. Friendly reminder that enrollment is open thru SUNDAY ONLY (real time…that’s June 4th) and then after that, it won’t be open again until fall. If there’s even a SLIGHT nudge…I promise you it’ll be one of the BEST YES’S you could make this summer…

ESPECIALLY IF…

You want to ditch diet culture + learn a more mindful, intuitive approach to eating.
You want to practice loving your body + finding ways to break free from body shame.
Or you are looking to make CHOICES that will leave you FEELING YOUR BEST from the inside out (aka GLOWING UP)…

THIS SUMMER IS FOR YOU. ☀️

TAP HERE FOR MORE INFO

And that’s the inspo behind today’s post. Regardless if you join us or not, I wanna have a real, raw conversation about all things diet culture, body shame, and a little of what’s been working (+ not working) on my journey lately. Because I know what it’s like to not feel comfortable in your skin. And. I also know what it’s like to “get the transformation” and STILL not love what I see reflecting back. If you’ve ever struggled with body image or feeling the need to “diet” to look a certain way…I want you to know that you aren’t alone.

Disclaimer that today’s topic might be difficult, but my heart behind it is not to shame anyone or trigger you into paralysis or a downward spiral. My heart is to help you see you’re not alone and that the more we expose the parts of us that we wish no one would ever see, the more we can heal and figure out what is healthiest for US…in the exact season we’re in. Please know that what works for me today may not be the exact prescription you need in your life. And vice versa. My goal isn’t to tell you what to do. It’s to help you get this conversation OUT of your own head and into a space where you can heal from whatever has been holding you back when it comes to food, body image, weight, and all those very personal things.

**So…a little of my (not-so-fun-to-admit/share) story…**

For 10 years I was what you’d call a “fitness influencer.” My body was a constant “before and after” because I wanted to show women that my programs “worked.” I didn’t skip workouts. I didn’t rest much. I put a high amount of pressure on what I looked like every. single. day. I truly wanted to do wellness a different way with my clients. And I felt I did a solid job. But at the end of the day…I wasn’t always practicing what I preached. I beat my body up for years marketing program after program and trying to use a transformation as a vessel of hope for another woman. Needless to say my body was tired and my relationship was a little (ok…a lot) scarred.

Prior to that I spent a majority of my life dancing and performing. Comparison was ingrained in the very nature of what we did.

Look to your left and right and make sure you look IDENTICAL to the woman next to you.

Diet, take pills, do a weight loss cleanse so you fit into your costume in the most appealing + flattering ways.

Take criticism for 12 hours at a time during rehearsal so you can achieve “perfection” in your routine.

The hard part is…with both my fitness coaching AND being a performer…there are amazing (GOOD) pieces of my character that were built from this…AND…there was also a lot of damage that I still work through today.

If we were sitting together with some wine and convo, I would look you in the eye and tell you that my first instinct is to pick apart my body when I look in the mirror. That I rarely walk past a mirror (or shoot even a window reflection) without looking to see if I need to “fix” how I look. That the outfit I’m wearing I probably second guessed a bazillion times. And that I struggle with body image, too…even if it seems like I don’t. It’s a conversation that’s so uncomfortable to have but I think one that’s so necessary.

And I could take you on a similar journey with food, too.

Growing up we ate a lot of McDonald’s and as a child I NEVER felt ashamed for getting a Happy Meal and chowing down on my fries. I don’t know if you can relate, but as a child it was a JOYFUL moment when I got that Happy Meal and opened it to see what toy I got and get a whiff of those fries (can you tell I LOVED the fries?! ha!). And I’m not sure exactly when it shifted, but at some point, fast food became a source of guilt and shame for me. Maybe for you, too?

I remember in my 20’s, I would go out to eat with friends and order a salad and pick at it. It wasn’t that I didn’t love food or love to eat (I do…) it was that there was a season when I didn’t love when OTHERS KNEW what I was choosing to eat, so I’d order based on what I wanted them to think of me…salad = healthy…Brittany must be healthy. But if I’m being honest (which is the point of this whole post today), by the time the night was over, I’d be so starving that I’d drive thru McDonald’s, eat it alone in my car, and then throw the bag away in a public trashcan (vs take it inside my apartment) so that no one would ever see.

Insert guilt. Insert shame.

Brené Brown, a shame researcher, speaker, and author, explains that the difference between shame and guilt is that guilt is a focus on behavior while shame is a focus on self. Guilt says “I did something bad.” Shame says “I am bad.” My eating behaviors felt “bad.” And they also left me feeling like I WAS BAD.

Have you ever labeled foods “good” or “bad?!” You’re not alone. For the longest time I would have a running list of what foods I could and could not eat if I wanted to “be good.” But the more I peeled back the layers on this, I realized how harmful that was for me.

When I label foods as “good” or “bad,” I start to believe I am “good” or I am "bad.” And that’s simply not true.

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What serves me better now is thinking of foods in regards to how they make me feel. Some foods bless me long term. Some foods bless short term cravings. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Some foods leave me energetic. Some foods leave me lethargic. Some foods I enjoy at various times of the month. Some foods I simply don’t. Some foods are celebratory/once a year/holiday nostalgia. Others come and go with seasons. I’ve learned that eating a lot of cheese makes me bloated. And I’ve learned I LOVE a good cheese board. I’ve learned less alcohol is better for me. And there’s nothing like a fire on our patio and a glass of Cab. I’ve recently learned that if I eat a little something with my coffee in the morning (instead of on an empty stomach) I actually don’t experience an afternoon crash like I used to. Basically…everything is an EXPERIMENT on this journey and I’m constantly a STUDENT of myself.

This is the idea behind mindful or intuitive eating. Diets follow a lot of rules for the purpose of weight loss or management. Intuitive eating uses internal cues like hunger, mood, or energy to decide on food. There’s an awareness of food’s impact (long and short term) on a person’s body and with intuitive eating you’re focusing on long term health over short term “before and after” results. It’s a life long, ever-changing method to eating that helps you explore what works for you.

It’s what I aim for nowadays. Learning from my body and making choices from that space. It’s also helping me move on quicker from choices that didn’t serve me without beating myself up.

A couple reminders if you’ve been beating yourself up…

You don’t need FIXING.

You aren’t BAD because of what you ate.

You aren’t alone if the narrative in your mind isn’t one that’s super kind.

And it’s not too late to begin again…but maybe in a way that serves YOU better.

You deserve is to live a life that is VIBRANT. You deserve to FEEL GOOD and FEEL HEALTHY from the inside out. Happiness is not an exterior size. It’s an inside job. I’m learning that my healthiest self is not a side by side transformation…it’s the one where I do the INTERIOR work.

Foods can help this.

Hydration can help this.

Movement can help this.

Absolutely. And this is a little of what’s been working in my journey lately. But I also had to change the POSTURE of my end game. I’m no longer moving my body to check it off a calendar and post a progress pic. I’m no longer telling myself I “can’t” have something because it’s not part of my current nutrition plan.

I’m exploring. I’m trying new ways to move my body. I’m trying REST. I’m listening after meals. I’m putting my phone down and resisting the urge to take the progress pic. I’m trying Vitamin D and water and meditation. I’m bravely embarking on cold therapy. I’m getting out there for dog walks and fresh air. I’m plugging into connection and community.

Diet culture is an industry that makes a LOT of money preying on women, but I think we can DO BETTER for ourselves the more we open up the dialogue and let one another in.

Sharing all of this today wasn’t easy for me. There are pieces to my story that I’d rather leave under the rug. But I know that my messy pieces help remind other women that they aren’t alone. That we’re all on journey. And that the BEST WAY to be on journey is TOGETHER.

So if you loved today’s chat I PROMISE you that you’re gonna love what I’ve got planned for this summer in The Sisterhood Membership.

Our THEME is THE GLOW UP -

Ditching diet culture.
Breaking free from body shame.
Learning how to take consistent care of ourselves so we can love + serve from the overflow.
I’m even gonna help you MEAL PLAN + find ways to FUEL YOUR BODY so you can FEEL YOUR BEST.

When I hear that women want support with food + in the kitchen, I tend to have a visceral reaction. Bc I don’t want it to be yet another space where you enter feeling “not good enough” and leave feeling like you “missed the mark.” I know how easily we can just gravitate back into body shaming and diet culture.

I want a space where we can do FOOD + GLOWING UP in a different, more sustainable way.

If we were together I’d tell you…

Food isn’t meant to make you feel guilty.
Meal plans are a tool, not a chain.
Diets are damaging and there’s a better way.
Your body is GOOD.
Healthy looks different on EVERYONE AND I think healthy looks good on YOU.
And that shame you were taught when you look in the mirror? I wanna help you see that you’re MORE than a BEFORE pic.

So we’re gonna do it a little different this summer. I’m gonna teach you tools, absolutely. And I’m gonna empower you to break free from some of the diet culture shame that has been holding you back from loving yourself.

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If you are ready to FEEL YOUR BEST + GLOW UP this summer…the sisterhood membership is for YOU. And. If you wanna surround yourself with a sisterhood who will rally WITH YOU and encourage you as you are making positive progress in your life, then it’s time sis.

We are WOMEN WALKING LIFE TOGETHER. 👯‍♀️

Enrollment is only open thru JUNE 4th for SUMMER 2023 in the SISTERHOOD MEMBERSHIP. If you loved this blog...this is your sign. I’m SO FREAKING PUMPED to work with you. Seriously. You don’t even know. ⁣

JOIN THE SISTERHOOD MEMBERSHIP HERE

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