I Wish You Could See How Great You're Doing
You’ve come so far, and you’ve reached so high, and you’ve looked each day and night in the eye
If you’re not doing the side step and overhead arms clapping right now then please immediately head to Spotify and search for ‘take that never forget’ then resume this email with one of the most legendary sounds of our time providing the background music
Earlier this week I put a poll on Instagram asking that, should you eat foods that are less nutrient dense than usual, previously you might have called them ‘bad’ or ‘junk’ foods or just generally foods you restrict, do you eat more of them at night in a ‘screw it’ mentality or do you air towards eating more nutrient dense foods instead, to nourish your body?
The majority of you said the latter. That when you eat ‘less healthful’ earlier in the day you simply eat ‘more healthful’ choices later
That’s what we call flexible dietary restraint and it’s a key indicator of successful outcomes in fat loss (lower BMI, better weight maintenance)
5 years ago if I’d have put that same poll to you I can guarantee the answer would be very different (I know this because I did it multiple times) and most of you would have said you hit the big red button, enter it fuck it territory, eat everything you can that’s ‘off plan’ before starting fresh the next day
5 years ago, many of us were in very different places
Maybe this email is a little different today but really I just wanted to share a conversation I was having with Anna earlier in the week – how incredibly in awe I am of every one of you who continues to do the work
Who started in a fuck it headspace and now eat more mindfully
Who rolled their eyes at mindfulness and now have a 60 second mindful moment each day and occasionally tap into a free meditation from me like this one
Who used the words cheat meals and bad foods and now include all foods mindfully and even keep them in the house all the time without overeating because you’ve reclaimed your power over them
And for those of you still on the journey I have so much respect that you continue to put in the work
I know it can feel like a neverending story
If I’ve noticed anything in the 100s of people I speak to each week it’s that everyone is moving through their own stuff and we are all at different stages but the fact remains that change is always possible
Growth is always possible
Progress and healing is always possible
Provided you continue to put in the work, seek support where needed, wake up and make a commitment to yourself, every day
The problem is that it’s very difficult to achieve your goals if you don’t believe you deserve them
Because annoyingly we like to be right more than anything (don’t tell my ex I said that ok) so if we believe we are rubbish and failures and incapable of doing the hard things, our actions will often confirm that belief so we can sleep easy at night and say
See? I knew it. I knew I couldn’t do it. There’s no point in trying again
We’ve worked with people from literally all spaces on the spectrum of disordered eating at ETPHD and I’m not exaggerating when I say 98% of people finish their 1-1 coaching in a space where their relationship with food is at peace
It is possible for you
Especially since you’re someone who takes the 3 minutes every Friday to read these emails and reflect and decide, how can I action this?
Whatever you’re struggling with right now, you’re reading this email and so I know have the awareness and ability to achieve it
Thank you for continuing to trust me to support you with my musings and journal prompts and meditations and guides and for many of you, my coaching
It’s been a while since we heard from our queen Maya Angelou so let’s invite her in today:
If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?
I hope that you write this down or screenshot it and take it into your weekend as you reflect on how far you’ve come and where you still want to go and allow it to shape your choices over the next few days
Because honestly, you’re doing great
Have a lovely weekend,
I’m always here,
Em
