Episode 043 – The Intuitively You Podcast

Food is Not the Enemy 

Do you view food as the enemy? Maybe food is a big point of frustration in your daily life. From not knowing what you “should” eat, to binge eating and overdoing it on the fun foods. Potentially you feel like you’ll never be able to have a peaceful relationship with food for yourself. If you can relate to any of this, you’ll want to dive into listening to Hannah’s story of improving her relationship with food. Hint: Food is not the enemy. 

Hannah is a graduate of the Embodied Food Freedom binge eating group coaching program. She describes EFF as something she needed for a long time, but didn’t realize just how much she needed it. “It was nothing short of amazing,” and something she says she will never forget. Tune into the episode with the links above or read on below to hear all about her journey, experiences, and what tips she has for you too! 

What Hannah’s Relationship with Food Was Like Before EFF 

Before starting Embodied Food Freedom (EFF), Hannah struggled a lot with emotional eating, binge eating, and inconsistent eating. A typical day for her looked like not eating until 2-3pm. Inevitably she was feeling tired and low energy all the time. She could never keep chips, candy, chocolate, or any fun foods in the house before. Felt like she had no self control. Again – food was viewed as the enemy. 

Hannah also had family members who would judge her food decisions. Because of this, she had a lot of self doubt, shame, and frustration about eating. She would find herself taking trips in the car to convenience stores and fast food places to avoid shame and judgment. 

Realizing Dieting Just Wasn’t Working: Food was the ‘Enemy’

She started dieting when she was just 12 or 13 years old – tried all the classic diet programs like beach body, the fix containers, etc. These would work for a couple of months and then fall off again and again. 1 year prior to starting EFF Hannah signed up for a weight loss agency program. She thought she could see past the restriction, but ended up knowing it wasn’t going to work long term. 

She realized she needed something more long term and ultimately what she truly needs. Embodied Food Freedom helped her to understand the ROOT CAUSES behind her struggles with eating and how she was feeling. Aka – provided a solution to lasting change, no more bandaid solution diets.  

How Things Changed: Starting to See Food as a Bestie

After completing the Embodied Food Freedom program, Hannah now knows that food isn’t the enemy. Food is like her bestie now! She wanted to transform her relationship with food, and that’s exactly what she did. 

She learned how to eat consistently and nourish her body in a way that feels good to her, which gives her a lot more energy and freedom in her day. Hannah feels SHOCKED that she’s actually been able to keep the fun foods in the house now confidently and mindfully! Additionally, boundaries with family members was a big piece for her. She learned to not let their comments about food get to her anymore. 

Feeling More in Control with the Fun Foods

Since Hannah is an elementary school teacher, any kind of holiday has tons of fun foods around. When she first started EFF, it was Valentine’s Day and all the candy was suddenly around her. She found herself mindlessly binge eating lots of it, until she felt not-so-great by the end of the day. Flash forward to Easter and learning all the tools she was in EFF. She had the same candy and fun foods around her – but this time she didn’t restrict herself, she felt in control and like she CAN have those fun foods when she wants, and in amounts that make her truly feel good. 

Hannah’s Experience with Embodied Food Freedom

Hannah describes Embodied Food Freedom as “nothing short of amazing” and something she says she will never forget. Everyone within the group was very supportive, empathetic, non-judgemental. Being able to have this kind of environment was important and special to her to be able to share her experiences and thoughts about food since it was such a vulnerable topic to share about. 

She loved all of the FREEdom Method lessons and how they built upon each other. Her favourite time was the group coaching calls. On the calls she was able to get her own support, and also hear from everyone else about their experiences. This environment helped her to feel seen without any shame or embarrassment.

Hannah definitely lived up to the “you get out of something as much as you put into it” phrase. She took the action and applied all of the tools of EFF into her life. She tried with an open mind and it truly paid off for her! 

Tips for You to Stop Seeing Food as the Enemy

Hannah said she was “scared shitless” (😂) when she was signing up for EFF, but is so happy that she did! Here are some insights she has to share with you about this journey: 

• It’s worth feeling way less stressed about food
• She didn’t even think this was possible for HER, and it was! If you’re thinking “other people can do this, but it’s not possible for me” – think again! 
• Even if you don’t believe it, it IS possible to overcome the things you’re struggling with. 
• Put in the work through perseverance, pushing through, trial & error, growth mindset, and fostering trust with herself, and watch things transform. 
• And she says, “If you’re considering joining EFF – do it, it’s changed every part of my life.”  

Embodied Food Freedom

In case you don’t know (and even if you do), Embodied Food Freedom is my signature coaching program that has helped dozens of women just like Hannah experience lasting food peace through intuitive eating.

This is a 4-month highly supportive, group coaching program for those who are struggling with binge eating or emotional eating and are ready to finally stop feeling out of control around food for good, find their version of food freedom, and get tailored guidance & support to get them there. If you (like Hannah) are struggling to stop viewing food as the enemy and want to make a lasting peaceful relationship with food, this program is for you. Click here to learn more.

This episode is a collaborative conversation with Hannah, a past graduate of the Embodied Food Freedom group coaching program, and Jenn Baswick, host of the Intuitively You Podcast.