Self-Compassion: Your Secret Weapon to Recovering from “Crazy” Eating
One of the reasons why I love Yogi teas are because of the wise little sayings printed on the tea bag tags. This morning’s tag really struck me as self-compassion is a huge talking point for me and for others in the No-Diet Sisterhood. There is so much current research on the benefits of practicing self-compassion in our lives. To be 100% transparent, I used to believe that the harder I was on myself, the more motivated I would be to change things about myself or my life that I didn’t like or feel good about. The reality is it’s the exact opposite! So, all the years I spent beating myself up in hopes that I would change my eating habits, specifically my chronic emotional eating, really hindered me from progressing.
The funny thing about being so hard on myself is that I didn’t even realize I was doing it. It had become so natural for me to beat myself up that to recognize or know that there was another way to behave was foreign to me. In fact, I didn’t become aware of this soul crushing, self-esteem sucking habit until around 2012 when people at nutrition school started pointing it out to me during our mock consultations. To be honest, I was embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed this in myself. By that point in my life I considered myself to be so “enlightened”. But you know what I often say, we cannot see the color of our own eyes! This is why it’s so important that we have truthful, loving allies in our lives that can help us mirror back our behaviors in a compassionate manner. And, this is why I believe so passionately about the benefits of coaching.
I’m thankful that I know this now. There is no use in wallowing in regret, should haves, etc. because it’s in the past. What I can do is work toward being more self-compassionate with myself now. To me, self-compassion is a muscle that we need consistently strengthen. The more we work it, the stronger it gets. So, after decades of being unkind to myself, I work daily to make my self-compassion muscle stronger.
Based on personal experience and my experience working with clients, I’ve learned that practicing self-compassion doesn’t come easy. I’m sure most of you have committed to movement or strength training and know how sore your muscles are after the first few workouts, right? If you were anything like me, your body was really sore and uncomfortable the next few days or weeks if you continued with the regime. Well, it’s the same with self-compassion. When I first started to integrate self-compassion into my life after discovering Intuitive Eating, I did experience discomfort because it was so new to me. However, just like habitual movement has helped make me get stronger and increased my stamina, my body has adjusted. While I believe I still have a ways to go (and need to keep strengthening my self-compassion muscles) before I consider myself a naturally self-compassionate person, I’m seeing glimpses of how self-compassion has begun to take root in my life and I’m amazed at how much more joyful and free I feel as a result.
Where do you fall on the self-compassion scale? Are you still beating yourself up for overeating, under-eating, binging, chronically emotionally overeating, or not moving your body consistently enough? If you’re struggling with this, know that you’re not alone! Honestly, many are in the same boat as you. While I believe I’ve left the boat, I haven’t gotten so far from it that I cannot see it from where I am.
If you know you’re struggling and believe you could use some more self-compassion in your life but just don’t see where you may be falling short, let’s talk. If you’re anything like me, having someone I trusted to show me the ways where I was tripping myself up was a huge part of my recovery from disordered eating.
Michelle Vina-Baltsas is a Food & Body Relationship Specialist who empowers her clients to cultivate healthy lifestyle behaviors instead of worrying about weight and size using the Intuitive Eating model. She was imprisoned by chronic dieting and body hatred for decades but now has a healthy relationship with both food and body. Michelle enjoys all foods including kale salads, green juice, ice cream and cake! She believes that all foods and bodies can fit in our lives and that our value is never measured by a number on the scale or our clothing size. Michelle is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and a Certified Holistic Health Coach. She offers 1:1 private virtual coaching and group coaching to women globally.
