We were walking into a gorgeous new home on the market in our area. We had been thinking about moving into a new home and this place just seemed so magical! I was over a year into my Food Freedom journey when all of a sudden, BAM! My Body image freak out moment happened.

As we were walking outside and looking at the pool, my heart was lit up by the sight of this magical back yard. I could see us throwing parties, with the strung-up outdoor lights as the pool festivities were going strong and our friends and family came over to play in our new oasis. But then, something happened, and I suddenly spun into a vicious spiral of “Holy shit, I need to lose weight before I walk around this pool in front of people.” My jeans suddenly felt tighter and more restrictive as my fast and heavy breathing forced me to focus on my stomach overhanging my boa-constrictor-like jeans. I was suddenly repulsed by my own body.

The panic instantly overtook me, and my mind raced with going...

This is the only "dieting tool" you'll ever need. Instead of relying on meal plans and the time on the clock, try using your hunger to tell you whether you need more food or not. 

The Hunger/Fullness Scale is a great tool to have in your toolbox! It brings back your Intuitive sense of trust to find satisfaction in a meal again. 

But because of our very loud diet culture and decades of ignoring our body's signals. they can sometimes be hard to hear. 

Think of your Hunger Scale as a personal code only you can unlock. It's hard to create a one-size-fits-all scale because everyone has different signals. These indicators tell you whether you need to eat more, less, or if you are satisfied. They are also measured by physical symptoms of hunger or fullness like dizziness, fogginess, and having trouble breathing when you've eaten too much. If you have a hard time deciphering between your hunger signals, you’re not alone. Most people who have lost these signals...

I said what I said...

Listen up for a hard truth bomb.

You may not think you have disordered eating patterns, but they include things like:

• Binge/over eating one day/meal then restricting the next and continuing the cycle.
• Purposefully under-eating/overeating with severe anxiety around your next meal or snack.
• Eating more or less for punishment for what you ate the day/meal before.
• Ignoring and disowning your body's signals when it tells you it needs more/less food.
• Fearing certain foods like carbs, sugars or fats.
• Frequent dieting, hopping from one nutrition plan to the next because they aren't working fast enough.
• Chronic weight fluctuations based on your current eating habits.
• Battered body image.
• Never feeling good enough around your body or food.
• In constant comparison mode to the bodies of others
• Focusing on the scale rather than the feelings you're experiencing.
• Thinking self-confidence and happiness are in losing weight.
• Exercising only for the...

I wrote a letter to my 20-Something Self (Circa 2008) and still need help remembering this today.

I think you will be able to relate.

Dear 20-Something Christi:

Put down your frosted lip gloss, stop back-combing your jet black/platinum blonde hair and toss that Ed Hardy shirt aside because WE NEED TO TALK. This is your 30 Something self, coming in hot, and you- my grungy babe with the heavy black winged eyeliner- are in for a comeback hotter than a scrunchy tied to a crop top. Future you is coming up on the ripe-old age of 33 and I need to talk to you about your 20-something life. But please don’t throw your VonDutch trucker hat at me like you know everything, because you’ve got a decade of hard lessons about to come your way.

You've just landed for first, safe job and you hate it. This adult life is actually way harder than anyone ever told you it would be. But you start to think the next step to happiness is a mere iPod Shuffle skip away. Because you think...

When I was dieting, (yes that included macro/calorie counting, paleo, keto, low carb, whole30, meal plans, fixes, etc) my end goal was always, “ONCE I GET TO MY GOAL BODY, THEN I’LL START MAINTENANCE, then slowly wean off dieting with the best of habits attached". After all, they said once I stopped eating sugar, I would stop craving it, right?! I would keep up this restricted life and eat like a Saint with only a few cheats here and there because #willpower and live happily ever after with my perfect body and perfect balance while everyone praised me for it. I thought that once I achieved my perceived ideal body, THEN I would love it. But I had to lose more fat and gain more muscle before I could get to that Ideal Body and love it. (Why is there not an emoji for banging your head against a wall?)

All I wanted was to look like the fit person I claimed to be and eat what I wanted within reason. I was searching for balance but couldn't achieve it until I felt...