We have to get into what it means to have an authentic, caring, respectful, responsive relationship with our body – instead of managing her all the time. – Nina Manolson

On this episode of the Plan Simple Meals Podcast, I’m really excited to talk again with Nina Manolson, health and wellness coach who works with women around body image and their relationship with their bodies. She has so much to say about what we eat and why and how we feel about ourselves.

We talk about rules about eating and how they end up backfiring because we react to the restriction. Nina says we need to start with naming our body dissatisfaction. And then we need to name the body management things we do (paleo, keto, raw food, Weight Watchers, …). This isn’t self-care.

So what do we need to do? “We really have to bring to the table more of deep listening. What does my body want and need? And sometimes to get to that deep listening, it takes some healing, it takes some work because many women, somewhere along the line, got divorced from their body.” Are you divorced from you body? Do you need to reconnect and build that relationship? That’s what we get deeper into.

We talk about:

The many things that make us feel separated from our own bodies—birth, nursing, medical crisis, trauma

Embracing the complexity, intricacy of who we are and honoring our aging and our changing body

There’s nothing wrong with saying that sometimes food is what I need for some emotional solace, but we need other tools beyond that

The importance of listening to what’s right for your body

Learning to shift that so that self-care actually doesn’t feel like another chore?

How the process of working with your relationship with your food and with your body opens a door to so much more

BIO

Nina Manolson is a certified holistic health coach, a board certified health & wellness coach, a certified Psychology of Eating Coach and Teacher, and an author. She is passionate about helping women end their food and body struggles and begin healthy, vibrant living that becomes a habit and easily fits into their busy lives.

LINKS

http://ninamanolson.com/body-peace

http://eatonpurpose.ninamanolson.com

Eating on Purpose with Nina Manolson

Doable Changes from this episode:

NAME BODY MANAGEMENT. Just getting aware of the body management thoughts and things you do is an amazing start. Just start noticing and calling out things like “I’ll start on Monday” or talking about your latest diet or “I’m cutting out carbs” or whatever it is. Say, “I see you body management.”

HELLO TECHNIQUE. Nina suggests that hand on the heart and hello goes miles towards starting the relationship with your body. She also talks about saying hello to food to get into a relationship with food. And then Hello pleasure. Use her Hello Technique to start to connect to your body and your food instead of just having rules about what you do and don’t eat.

ASK WHAT DO I NEED? Ask your body what it really needs? Nina notes that this is a tricky question and that learning to really hear what would make you feel most at ease, most at home in you body or nourish you the most is a process. But start by asking the question and seeing who shows up at the table, what answers you get.