When I first set out in search of non-diet interventions that could change the course of my relationship to food and overcoming negative body thoughts, I came across a study about the impact of body satisfaction on healthy behaviors, including food & exercise. That blew my mind.

I will share that with you in this blog post that focuses on body image and how it impacts your relationship to food. I will also tackle the concept called body neutrality and how it is different from body positivity; as well as intuitive eating. I’ll also share with you a free tool that I created to get you started with body neutrality and intuitive eating so you can enjoy your full life now… regardless of your body size. Here’s what you’re going to learn from this article:

Overcoming negative body thoughts

What is body neutrality?

Body neutrality versus body positivity

Body neutrality and intuitive eating

Overcoming negative body thoughts

A 2013 study published by the Journal of Obesity study found no link between body weight and the way women feel about themselves.

Yet, the findings show a link between how women feel about themselves and the healthy activities they engage in. Meaning, the better they felt about their bodies, the more likely they were to take care of themselves by eating well and being active. This allows them to create a positive cycle.  

Likewise, dissatisfaction with their bodies discouraged the women from taking part in certain activities, eating properly to fuel their bodies, and could eventually lead to weight gain.

“Body satisfaction or dissatisfaction isn’t correlated with body weight,” the research concluded.

That blew my mind. That meant overcoming negative body thoughts and making peace with my body size could actually improve my health behaviors, eat better and ultimately be healthier now… unconditional of my body size.

That’s how body neutrality was born.

What is Body Neutrality and how it helps in overcoming negative body thoughts

Body Neutrality empowers you to embrace yourself as you are, including the parts you don’t like about yourself.

Its focus is to avoid self-hate while simultaneously relieving you from the pressure of having to love your body.

The goal is to respect and accept your body for what it is – and that’s it.

Body Neutrality recognizes that not everyone is going to love every part of themselves all the time because that’s an unrealistic expectation, to say the least.

The reality is that some days you’re going to look in the mirror like, “Damn it, yeah, thank you, legs for letting me travel. Thank you, arms, for allowing me to type this inspirational post and thank you, belly, for creating life!”

And then, there’ll be those days where you stand in front of the very same mirror, focusing on that cellulite you hate or the wrinkle that suddenly seems so obvious.

Body neutrality versus body positivity

Embracing Body Neutrality over Body Positivity allows you to experience negative feelings about yourself, but without the pressure that comes with having to be positive all the time.

In other words, it’s a middle ground between positivity and negativity (shaming) – that’s neutrality.

Body Neutrality is the safe bridge between body shaming and body positivity. It’s about being grateful for your body and everything it does for you because it does a lot. You are alive right now.

So, Body Neutrality is centric on the process of accepting your body.

Body Neutrality & Intuitive Eating

For many of us, we’ve had years of suffering through body shaming. Along the way, we’ve picked up coping behaviors to neutralize the pain associated with body image struggles.

Being the victim of body shaming, most of it from our own mind, is difficult, to say the least. So, no wonder that many of us have become, along the way, emotional eaters or binge eaters. 

Combine the suffering that comes along with body shaming with the notion that food is the gateway to “loving our life and body,” food has become this enemy that we need to control in order to end the suffering. 

Healing our relationship to food is necessary in order to make peace with our body. Intuitive eating is the way in which you can achieve both: body neutrality and peace with food.

Moreover, intuitive eating teaches you to respect your body.

Intuitive eating teaches you to respect your innate body messages. This includes hunger and fullness to have a healthy and respectful relationship with your body. This is what we teach the women inside our Conquer & Thrive community so they can live and enjoy their full life right now… unconditionally!

The bottom line

You can’t hate yourself to health or peace. Love always wins. Always. 

Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up. It means seeing what is and adopting a non-judgmental perspective. Accepting allows you to improve and grow instead of obsessing about why it’s wrong and stress over the results.

Need help to get started with Body Neutrality and Intuitive Eating?

I have created a free audio guide for you to get started with body neutrality and intuitive eating and finally overcome negative body thoughts so you too can be on your way to freedom!

I suspect that my journey with food and weight, like for many of you, began many years ago. My sincere hope is that you might see yourself somewhere in this story and can find some glimmer of hope that having a normal relationship with food and being at peace with your body is possible.

This article tackles my personal weight loss journey and how I became successful in healing my relationship with food and body. I also shared how I am helping other women like me find peace with food and their body and live their full life now… unconditionally.

Here’s what you’ll learn from this blog post:

The beginning of my weight loss journey

Breaking the glass ceiling

The big shift in my weight loss journey

How old were you when you started your weight loss journey?

The first of the crucial defining moment for me was my first diet. I still remember the day my mother took me to Weight Watchers when I was 12. I still remember the “older women” shaking her finger at me telling me that I should chew gum when I feel hungry instead of eating. 

That day, I began a 25-year dieting career. An ongoing journey of yo-yo dieting. 

I was raised in a loving middle-class home with two very normal parents and a brother who wanted nothing but the best for me. In their heart, the best meant a “normal” body that would not be noticed and fit the society standards. For that, back in 1987 = Weight Watchers and weight loss.

The first diet at 12 didn’t “work” but the second one at 15 did. I lost 40 lbs… and with that came the compliment and praise “you look so pretty,” “wow, you lost so much weight, how did you do it?,” “You’re so strong I admire you.”….. For the first time, I felt worthy. I felt beautiful.

At 16, I had learned that to be acceptable, to be beautiful, a woman needed to be thin.

I managed my weight by calorie counting, eating low fat and going to the gym until my late 20’s when I had my first serious heartbreak. I went to food to feel better. As a result, I gained weight.

Breaking the glass ceiling

I gained a lot of weight, and at one point, I decided it was enough. I went back on a big diet. It was harder than the last time. I had to go to the gym 6 days a week. Eat very little food. I isolate myself to not have to be tempted by “bad food” and to not break my routine.

As I lost the weight, my career took off. I didn’t have food anymore to deal with the discomfort of my emotions, so I jumped head first into work. That kept my mind busy. I broke “the glass ceiling” and at 36 years running a $900 million business. To society standards, I had made it.

Inside, I was a solid mess… a few months after having reached the pinnacle of my career, I collapsed on stage speaking to my employees. My body couldn’t take it anymore. I was rushed to the hospital and was diagnosed with anxiety, panic attack syndrome, depression, and high cholesterol & blood pressure. 

The big shift in my weight loss journey

That day when I left the doctor’s office looking at my long list of prescription medications, I made a choice. I chose me. I chose to stop worrying about what others thought I should do, look or be. And I committed myself to me. To do what was best for ME.

That’s when everything changed. Over the next 3 years, I spent an enormous amount of time and money to heal myself. I read every book on the psychology of eating, nutrition, and holistic health I could find, and spent countless hours researching medical journals, health blogs, and making myself a human guinea pig. Moreover, I quit my career and went back to school, graduating valedictorian with a degree in holistic nutrition.

I became obsessed with finding the answer.

I thought to myself, if I could understand WHY I ate, then maybe I could find and treat the root cause, and hopefully, my story would inspire others to do the same.

That’s how I created Conquer & Thrive, a feminist approach to food & body; a program where smart, resilient women go to unlearn diet culture.  Relearn to eat normally, respect for your body and confident mindset.

I have had many setbacks before I found something that worked for me. But I never forgot how great it was to finally feel normal, eat normally and be at peace with my body.

After much perseverance, time, and trial and error, I can finally say that I was successful in healing my relationship to food and body.

Through our programs, I share my rationale for the need to Go Beyond The Food based on what finally worked for me, with the hope that it perhaps will also work for you. 

Your roadmap to diet-free living

I created a free audio guide for you to know exactly what to do when you stop dieting, emotional eating, binge eating and body image issues. So you’ll be on your way to freedom!