One of the popular messages I hear from moms is this - “Kanna, I really don’t want my kids to go through the food/body issues I have. I want them to have a happy relationship with food and body, but I don’t know how while I’m still in food prison and don’t love my body! What do I do??”
And I say…”Congratulations! You already took the very important first step!”
I want to celebrate them for wanting a healthy relationship with food & body for their kids. Without this recognition, the language from unconscious levels can be damaging toward kids (as even if you're conscious, it’s not easy to use the mindful language toward what/how you eat and how your/others body looks).
I’ll never forget the moment a casual conversation did to me.
Trying so hard to get into a new leather riding boot at 14, my instructor said “your calf is too big, it’s never going to fit you, you’ve got to do something about...
One of the reasons people eat emotionally is having a self-doubt, which can lead to something like..."I would never...(have a partner, have a career I love, wear a bikini, be toned, be free from emotional eating, be successful, be happy, you name it).
My self-doubt crept in so many times while recovering from emotional eating, and it's got so much better, but it shows up from time to time.
The good news is that I know what to do with it without turning to food. One of the easiest and effective ways is to have gratitude. It is a reliable source of comfort and you can do it anywhere and anytime.
When the gratitudes thing was new to me, I would start with the outside of me, like...
"I'm not in a war zone and I'm thankful for that."
"I have a place to call "my house" with a roof and windows and I'm thankful for that."
Then, ease into...
"I have a healthy body with 10 fingers and toes and I'm thankful for that."
"I can type with those fingers and I'm grateful for that."
"I have sent a...
Which type are you?
Type A.
You wake up to your phone and browse social media and check emails before anything else, followed by a coffee and muffins.
Or
Type B:
You wake up to an alarm clock, take time for yourself by doing something like journaling and juicing.
I used to be Type A., and it was when I suffered from emotional eating a lot. What was really wrong for me to start that way was...my day was starting with someone's needs and comparisons.
People email you to ask something most of the time.
Social media gives you a platform to check in others' "perfect" life (we know it's not their whole life, but still the pics look great!).
So, by doing that, I gave myself an opportunity to feel less of. When you have a scarcity mindset and feeling, they need to be filled by something (and later showed up by binging to fulfill the empty soul).
Also, feeling needed and rushed by the emails & others, you won't have time to check in with your...
Do you find that stress is one of the MAJOR reasons you turn to food?
Do you know where does your stress comes from? If you can reduce stress, you are likely to eat fewer comfort foods.
If it's from "too many things to do for too little time" keep reading!
By practicing differentiating things you NEED to do, things you WANT to do, and things you can take off your plate can help you prioritize your time and energy and de-stress.
Let's WRITE DOWN a "To-Don't List" right now! It'll only take a few minutes but serve you so much from now on!
-1 thing I need to do:
-1 thing I want to do:
-1 thing I can take off my plate:
Now, let's focus on 1 thing you need to do and once it's done, see how you feel about the accomplishment!
Repeat this process daily!
xo Kanna
Me, 20 years ago, I was still having these internal conversations that were damaging me. I used to say meanest things to myself that I would never ever say to anyone else after binging on a box of donuts (and so many other junks).
(I covered this in IGTV too.)
Then, I’d punish myself by…
HAPPY EARTH DAY all!
What do you do to be kind for our earth, and have you noticed a ripple effect toward you?
Growing up in Japan, wrapping so many things at a grocery store, and wasting so much plastic was a norm for me. I remember seeing a pile of plastic bags in our kitchen after shopping and I didn’t feel great about it. I didn't enjoy grocery shopping for that reason.
When I moved to Canada and started bringing my own bags, my grocery shopping experiences changed. I loved that many fresh veggies and fruits were “naked” and I enjoyed not wasting unnecessary resources.
I knew I was doing something good to the earth and it REALLY felt good. It continued to grow as I did more kind things toward earth, and funny enough, I started feeling ok to care about myself.
“Self-care is just BS and an act of selfishness” belief started fading when I started caring for something (seemingly) unrelated to me.
So, if you have a hard time taking care of yourself, try...
My friend and Wellness Coach, Jen Baucom, who specializes in thyroid + PCOS hormones shared why taking care of hormones is SO important, how you can find the imbalances, and 3 great tips on what you can do about them. If you want to feel energized and great all the time right, make sure to watch the video!
I shared information about Japanese culture that didn’t serve me for having a healthy body and mindsets, some differences between emotional eating and eating disorders,, and how emotional eating looks like, what to watch for, and what to do about them.
Excited to hear about your takeaways!
Kanna
In my mindful eating support community, there're many who have challenges with sugar addiction. Are you one of them?
I sure was and it was controlling my life, but I'm happy to say that I have a healthy and fun relationship with sugar now.
If you have problems with sugar, here are a few things you can dig to start breaking free from the addiction.
What does your sugar addiction look like? Needing to eat doughnuts first thing in the morning throughout the day? Or a box of cookies at 8 pm?
Is there a pattern for the sugar craving? Maybe every time you talk with a certain friend, you'd crave for a muffin?
Why do you want to stop eating sugar (yes, health reasons, but deeper reason, like "I want to lose muffin tops so that I'm confident going on a date again")
Add some healthy nutrients (like green juice, smoothie, veggies, nuts etc) in your system, focus on ADDing to avoid having scarcity mentality (this deprived feeling tend to evoke "I...
Who here believes walking away from junk food is all on your strong wills?
I did and so did my clients for mindful eating support for a long time. Can you guess what happened to us?
Binged on what we restricted on.
So, all the efforts - starvation (haha, it felt like it), mind-games, (unhelpful) disciplines only worked so long but took us to the worst place than where we started.
This is why I dive deep into WHYs you want to buy junk food. Not to restrict you from buying it against your will.
It's so important to know the reason why you need to do the habit that you want to change. There's an underlying reason for it and unless we address that, you'll repeat the same act. If you ignore it and force it to change the unsupportive behavior with your strong will, it'll only last so long and you'll binge on the food you deprived.
So, it's a good day to think about WHY you want to buy junk food.
a). Write down the why
Example...
Are you interested in helping others break free from disordered eating and/or becoming healthy physically and emotionally?
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