Hi friends!
Coach Meg here, coming through to talk about the benefits of NOT aiming to shrink yourself.
You read that right. I’m here to talk about why we should let go of all focus on making, and attempts to make, ourselves smaller. Because, as I’ve found out, life has SO much more to offer.
Take me, for example. I spent years and years of my life trying to shrink myself. When I finally, FINALLY, stopped entirely, I was astounded at how much more life there was. THIS is what I’d been missing!? Sheesh, why didn’t someone tell me sooner?
When I was trying to shrink myself, or even subconsciously just trying to stay small, my life was all about food. The days were filled with looking forward to my next meal, evaluating the ‘health’ content of the food I had access to, ignoring my hunger, and other very not fun things. Sure, I still was able to get things done, but those things were secondary, in my mind, to food.
My life was avoidance paired with strict food rituals. Want to head out and get ice cream in the middle of a Wednesday? No, ice cream was only for Sundays. Wanted to have some chips and guac? No, that could only be done either late in the day or on a Saturday.
There were so many rules I had set for myself that I didn’t acknowledge. However, over time, I started to recognize how these rules affected my daily life. I started to recognize that my rigidity around food was making things more difficult than they needed to be. I realized my preoccupation with maintaining a small size (one that I didn’t know I’d be at if I were to honor my hunger) took me away from work, my relationship, friendships, and more.
So, I began to work on dismantling those food rules. I began to work on accepting the ebbs and flows of my body shape and size. I began to work on liberating myself from society’s, and my own, expectations.
And life opened up. How, you ask? Well:
I can grab dinner with friends whenever I want.
I’m more present in my relationship. We even have food-based date nights on weeknights!
I’m more focused throughout the day because I’m not ignoring my hunger (revolutionary, I know.)
I’ve gotten physically stronger.
I am making a living running my own business.
I. Have. So. Many. IDEAS!
I actually enjoy my food and, if I do feel any guilt, I can talk myself through it.
And that’s just the beginning of how things have changed.
So, you see, when focusing less on taking up less space, we end up being able to do, feel, and experience so much more. Is it always easy? Absolutely not. Is it always worth it? Hell yes.
I’d say, try it out.
XOXO
Coach Meg