2024 Food and Body

We have one relationship that is consistent throughout our lives.
Being at peace within this relationship is vital for happiness.
What is this relationship?
It’s the relationship you have with your body and food.

Welcome to Authentic Living with Linda
I’m Linda Codlin

Welcome, My Friends.

I went back through my website and reread the first blog post I ever wrote. Almost 4 years ago.
When I wrote it, I was terrified, nervous it wouldn’t be good enough.
I was afraid to put myself out ‘there’.
I have more inner peace and confidence now than I did then.
I have coached a lot of people on how to find their own inner peace and confidence.
Which looks different to each person, because each person has their own blueprint and they have to discover for themselves what works and what doesn’t.

Every year for as many years as I can remember I have struggled with my view of food, body image and how others perceive me.
Each year I have grown more confident in my body, this year my word for guiding my life was TRUST.
My plan was to trust my body, to know that she and I are actually on the same team.
My body does not enjoy being over size, out of shape, or out of breath.
Getting my brain to come on board with me has been an interesting saga.

I’ve been taught that this type of food is bad for you (too much fat, too much sugar, too many chemicals) , or that you shouldn’t eat after a certain hour (something to do with digestion), or that you need to eat these types of foods (Fruits, veges, grains, dairy free)
What I have found is that my ‘rebellious’ self does not like these rules.
Whenever I have rigidly applied rules, and followed them, my body would respond beautifully and the mirror would show a slender body.
However the inner me was still in denial, rebellion and confused about what was important to her.
I was acting in an acceptable way, but my body was still holding all the guilt and shame I felt every time I ate off plan (which was often).
I had not touched on all the ways my upbringing affected my view of myself, food and exercise.
This year I have removed all the ‘thou shalt not eats,” from my life.
I allowed myself to eat all the sweets I thought my body craved, until I didn’t want them any more.
I allowed myself to eat biscuits, a packet at a time if I felt I needed to, until I didn’t need to any longer.
I allowed myself to eat veges, to eat meat, to try all the food groups including the ‘forbidden foods’.
I got all of this deprivation out of my system.
Did my body gain fat, it certainly did!
What I discovered about myself, is I can feel good about my body at any size.

Moving into 2024, One of my goals is to eat food I enjoy, really enjoy.
Sometimes I eat a food because I think I should enjoy it, because I’ve been told it is good for me.
What if I actually figured out what I love to eat?
Bread, Hot Chocolate drinks, and Homemade muesli (Choka full of dehydrated fruit- just how I love it).
My plan for 2024 is to experiment with my food.
So that by the time I write a review on my year at 2024’s year end. I will have 4 seasonal photo boards, of the food I love, in the quantity and presentation style I want them served in.
As I work to figure out the food that I love, and that my body loves, nothing is off limit. I get to eat what I want, so long as I take the time to enjoy it.

I’m sure you’ve heard of mindful eating, well this is what I’m talking about.
At the same time as being mindful of what I’m eating, I am investigating the triggering event, emotion or feeling, that is behind the desire to eat.
This year I want to heal the habit patterns behind the reasons I’m eating.
How my family, society and culture have affected what I eat. Most of this is subconscious, at the level below day to day awareness.
Often these beliefs and views are linked to painful events of our childhood, when we didn’t have the means to process emotions.
I believe our body holds onto all these pains, all the subconscious ways of being that we were taught.
When we release the tension of these historical patterns and hurts, then our body can release the tension in our body.

My plan for this coming year is to heal my relationship with food.
I’m anticipating there will be obstacles, there will be self-sabotage, and there will be breakthroughs.

Food has no meaning other than what we give it. Food has nutritional value for our cells. Food has the ability to give us energy. But food only means what we make it mean.
What if there was no ‘good’ food, or no ‘bad’ food, what would you eat?
If there were no food “police” or food judgement, what would you eat?
If there was no ‘fattening’ foods or ‘slimming’ foods, what would you eat?
If you knew what your body wanted for sustenance at any time, would you eat it?
If there was no off limit food, what would you eat?
Have you ever investigated the ‘do not eat’ diet food list’ to see whether you actually like the food on the list, and more importantly does your body like that food?

This is my aim for 2024, to investigate eating for my body, to test all my preconceived ideas about food.
To upgrade my thinking about my body shape, and size.
Hint, “Weight has nothing to do with food, it is a mental and physical thing.”
Lets test this thought and see what happens.

Follow along with my journey, my up’s and down’s, my successes and failures.
Maybe my journey might help someone else who has struggled with their relationship with food and their body to gain clarity on what their body and emotions need.

Until next time my friends.
I’m preparing for an interesting year with my body and my emotions. My past history around food and my thoughts and beliefs on how all of these are related to each other, through love and peace.

oxoxo Linda

As a certified Life Coach, I help you to help yourself, so you can create a well lived life your way. 

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