FOR TODAY'S RECIPE:

https://karensteiner.com/fast-ethiopian-inspired-meal

From Depressed, Food Addicted Vegetarian to Healthy, Happy, and Athletic Vegan

I spent a lifetime fighting with my body, losing and then regaining weight probably a dozen times. I’ve also struggled with major depression since I was around 10 years old. On top of this I’ve hated just about anything that had to do with physical activity. I’d usually go on an exercise binge along with the diet du jour but, like the diet it never lasted long.

Skip ahead to 2013, 9 years ago, I was seriously overweight, the depression surged, my knees and feet ached terribly. When I started going to bed at night hoping I wouldn’t wake up I knew it was time to do something. But the thought of another diet and exercise program turned my stomach.

Then I stumbled across Geneen Roth’s Women, Food, and God. Through that book I discovered the art of mindful eating and it started me down a very different path. Mindful eating opened up a whole new world for me. I started to see my overeating patterns more clearly, and was able to kindly and compassionately identify myself as an addict. Gradually I was able to let go of many of the foods that were giving me the most difficulty.

Mindful eating also helped me see that dairy was wreaking havoc on my body, so, on December 15, 2015 I decided to give up dairy as a two week experiment. I could have never expected such a dramatic result. I felt so good that I extended the experiment for another month and then decided to go a full 6 months. After 6 months of no dairy I felt amazing, my mood had improved, I’d lost 20 pounds with no effort. With the 20/20 of hindsight I could see my love of cheese for what it really was — Addiction. There was no going back.

Next, I gradually gave up sugar, oil and salt and added lots more vegetables to my diet and started to exercise. What a surprise. I LOVE to exercise. In the past I’d done it grudgingly and hated it. But now I really like the way it feels to work up a sweat. In general I just feel so much better in my own skin. And I lost a total of 90 pounds to boot!

Life is a journey, not a destination. I still consider myself a work in progress. However, over the years I’ve weathered a number of storms - the kind that life is just going to throw at you - and I haven’t ever even had a thought about going back to my old eating habits.

Now, I help other people as a coach. I want to be the kind of coach that I went looking for and couldn’t find. I’ve identified the things that worked for me and they are:

Mindful Eating: The first step in changing any habit is showing up

Generosity: Be kind to yourself regardless of the number on the scale

Patience: Life is a marathon, not a sprint. You can’t run a marathon at a sprinter’s pace

The Big Picture: It’s important to step back and look at the foodscape in which we live

The Food: Of course it’s about the food, it’s just not all about the food

Wisdom and Wellbeing: This is the end result, peace with food and peace with yourself go hand in hand

I also teach an online class that will be running in December called Breaking the Food Seduction One Mindful Bite at a Time. The course is designed to be an introduction to why it’s so hard to stop eating and what you can do about it. The special focus this time will be on holiday eating.

People can learn more about me:

Website: http://KarenSteiner.com

YouTube: http://youtube.com/c/karensteinercoaching

Online class: https://karensteiner.com/classes-and-coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenSteinerCoaching

Forks Over Knives Article: https://www.forksoverknives.com/success-stories/after-decades-dieting-depression-healthy-happy-plant-based-diet/

Free ebook, Six Strategies for Permanent Weight Loss: https://karensteinercoaching.ck.page/4961e95ada