So why not take some time today, right NOW, to connect with JOY and GRATITuDE, and maybe even a dash of DEEP Peace?! Having goals and things to strive for is wonderful…it can give purpose, meaning, and direction to our lives. But, if we WAIT to reach our goals to experience joy, fulfillment, and peace, we may never get to those feelings. The goals we have may not be as fulfilling as we expected when we actually attain them, and… There will always be new goals around the corner to strive for. You can spend a lifetime WAITiNG to feel GOOD. And yet, joy and gratitude are available to us at every moment. We just need to slow down and allow ourselves to feel them. It’s important to create goals and work towards them. And it’s equally important to build our CAPACITY for feeling good along the way. Like anything, the more you practice feeling good, and taking time for joy and positive emotions, the better you get at it! If there is an inner, emotional block to feeling GOOD, there are tools that can help you move past the block… Tools like Tapping, Prayer/Meditation, the emotional tools created by Dr. Laurel Mellin, and many such tools ⚒️ What’s one way that you can slow down and give yourself the experience of JoY, or maybe even BLISS today?

And you can actually HARNESS those powers, for transformation AND joy! Learn how to do that and hear about some of my super powers in my talk from the last HEALTH X Summit... Note to self: I need to learn how not to fiddle with the microphone so much! Yet, I'm proud of myself for getting up on the stage, even if it wasn't a perfect presentation. Anyone here interested in doing more speaking?? Besides our obvious, amazing speaking coach @Ben Sherry ?? And maybe @Javaria Sajjad ?? I'd like to start an in person support group in the next few months for upleveling our speaking skills and applying to speaking events. If folks here are interested, we can make it in person/virtual...that would be fun!

I’m not talking leaving Mississippi to go to Florida! Food literally changes our internal reality and experience of life. That’s one of the reasons it’s so hard to let go of it as a coping mechanism. It’s an incredibly effective state changer. It can pick you up when you’re feeling tired. It can relax you if you’re feeling anxious and irritable. And to be frank, it’s totally fine to use food to change your state SOMETIMES. If you’re feeling hungry, having food can help you to feel satiated and nourished. That’s a change in state too! When you’re hungry is a great time to use food to change your state! The problem is when food is the ONLY state changer that we know, or the only one that works well. When food is the ONLY thing we know to turn to when things feel challenging, it’s easy to over do it, and we can actually hurt ourselves in the process. Feeling overly full is NOT a joyful state to be in. The good news is…there are MANY other state changers. The more we practice them, the more they become a viable option to turn to when we need to change our state. These are some of my favorite state changers… -Meditation/prayer -Walking in nature -Singing in any way, even if it’s super loud and off-key -Dancing in any way, even if it doesn’t look “beautiful” from the outside -Sleep -Taking a bath -Changing scenery…going somewhere different, experiencing something new -Connecting with a beloved person by talking or hugging -Listening to music -Any kind of exercise What are your favorite non-food state changers? How and when do you like to use them? Which one would you like to do more of in your day-to-day life?

I want to share with you how much I appreciate the shift that has taken place since beginning this work with you. I had spent years riding the rollercoaster of addiction, shame, and self-punishment in my relationship with food. Through the work that we have done in our group using the tools from The Stress Eating Solution, I am heading in a new direction. This feels incredibly significant as I'm also transitioning from a focus on caring for others to prioritizing care for myself. Your support and commitment to helping me work with the tools has been invaluable. In so many instances where I would've historically sought comfort in food, I have experienced relief in feeling the feelings with your company and support. Your compassion and generosity regularly inspire me! Thank you! I hope you do some extra nice things for yourself this week!

Some of my biggest takeaways… -Adding resistant starches to our diets can lower blood sugar and increase insulin sensitivity without any other changes to diet. Resistant starches include green bananas, cassava, cannellini beans. -the herb Withania is really good for supporting thyroid issues, and good sleep, along with a bunch of other benefits. Withania is also called Ashwagandha. - if someone is struggling with anxiety, a good first step would be to add Omega 3 fatty acids and magnesium. Sometimes those things alone can improve the situation dramatically. Omega 3 is in things like flax seeds, walnuts, wild fish I learned sooo much more, but these are some of my biggest takeaways. Excited to be a certified Nutrition Coach, rather than a certified Nutrition Nerd, which I’ve been for decades! I’m currently listening to the Nutrition Coaching module, which goes deeper into building a business centered around nutrition. Thank you @Laurentine Tenbosch for creating such an amazing program!! If you’re reading this, I encourage you to create your own Wins! post, about something you’re proud of, so we can all celebrate you!