It's Never Too Late To Trust Yourself
Filed Under: Intuitive Eating
8 January 2022 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
I meet many people who struggle with their relationship to food. The one thing they have in common is that they believe that they are alone in this struggle. In the retreats and courses that I facilitate, one of the greatest eye-openers for most participants is how many other people also struggle with food. Their deepest desire is
to feel free around food
to no longer feel obsessed about food and weight
to stop their suffering around food and their bodies
to develop trust in themselves
to let go of the belief that “If I don’t have rules, I will be completely out of control.”
I remember feeling so alone in this struggle. I believed that I couldn’t trust myself around food. It was scary to believe that if I allowed myself to start eating chocolate or bread I would never stop – that I could never have enough.
When I realised that I didn’t trust myself around food I recognised that this lack of trust also filtered into other areas of my life. Work. Money. Relationships. I believed that I didn’t deserve pleasure – that I needed to deprive myself and suffer. Iyanla Vanzant says that “the way we do one thing, is the way we do everything”.
When it comes to how we eat, we need to ask ourselves a deeper question: how we do want to live?
Do we want to live feeling restricted and deprived?
Or do we want to live with choice and freedom?
When we are honest with ourselves and recognise the truth about our relationship with food, the realisation can act as a compass for the rest of our lives. The pandemic has shown us how uncertain and fragile our lives can be. Do you want a life that is dominated by a struggle with food?
How will it feel to stop rejecting yourself and to start trusting yourself? What fruits would this process bear?
Transforming your relationship with food doesn’t demand that you stop being who you are, it invites you to connect with the authenticity and wholeness that is already inside you. To reconnect to what really matters to you.
It isn’t too late. You are not too old. You will know when you are ready to change.
You don’t have to take giant leaps. You can move slowly to a life of trusting yourself with food.
“The new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson —
May you find peace with food.
Wishing you well,
Xen
❤️ Do you want to start trusting yourself around food? Let’s talk about it. Book a free 30-minute coaching session.
❤️ There are a few spaces left on the Food Freedom course starting in February.
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I help women all over the world drop the struggle with food and their bodies to create a life of peace and freedom.
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“From our first meeting - two faces on Zoom across the world from each other, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that was a healing balm for a lifetime of food struggles and dieting. Without realizing how much damage I had done to myself by adhering, for decades, to restrictive food plans and rigid diet programs, Xen had a way of redirecting the harsh and negative self-talk and sending me forth each week with compassion, mindfulness and a new way of seeing myself in the here and now. Gone are the maybe somedays, and if-only, and when-I’m-smaller thinking. Now I am committed to the imperfect and rocky path to listening to my body, accepting my perfect imperfections, and rejecting diet mentality. Those negative voices will revisit me from time to time, I know, but Xen has offered valuable tools for meeting each day as a fresh start - another choice, another chance. Her devotion to this work and her belief in her clients is a remarkable gift; I am so fortunate to have found her. It is never too late to let go of the drama and embrace joy, ease and self-acceptance.”
“I felt hopeless and helpless in my daily struggle with mindless eating for many years. Then I found Xen which is exactly what I needed! My decision to work with her helped me to finally repair my relationship with food. It's changing my life for the better, one day at a time. Now I have control over the food, instead of it having control over me, which is the way it should be. I highly recommend Xen to anyone who has a desire to overcome similar food struggles. Xen, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
“I reached out to Xenia because 2021 started on a tumultuous note for me. Between deaths, businesses suffering, hospitalizations, and job losses in our personal circle, I felt depleted and found myself being available for everyone but myself. Then I was hit with an unexpected health diagnosis, which was the last straw as it meant giving up “healthy foods” and workouts that I leaned on for my well-being and stability. Despite working in wellness (Yes, coaches and healers are vulnerable too!), I found myself reaching out to desserts for comfort. I like to live a life of permissions (not labels or deprivation leading to bingeing), so I wanted to work with someone who approached healing from a place of mindful compassion. I didn’t want to be my own client. Xenia was great in reminding me to be kind to myself. Working with her, brought me peace and helped shift my mindset. I love how desserts and I look at each other now.”
“Working with Xenia was amazing. She armed me with a bunch of tools to help me through difficult times. Xenia is the kind of person who really cares for helping you in the long run. Her work will forever have an impact in my life.”
“Working with Xen was a game changer for me. After working together for a few months my relationship with food radically changed. I no longer felt like a failure. I now have the tools to nourish my body with foods that feel good in my body. I don’t feel guilty about eating cake or chocolate, I also don’t overeat cake and chocolate. I no longer feel the need to exercise to compensate for my eating. I feel much more free around eating and I am more accepting of my body. Xen has a nonjudgmental and compassionate approach to coaching and really supports you in the process.”
“Working with Xen has been very empowering. Her approach is so refreshing from the usual. I have learned that I am in charge and that I get to choose what I put in my body and how to move my body in a way that I like! I get to make my own choices. It’s so liberating. Once you get a taste of freedom with food, there is no turning back to old ways! Thanks Xen for guiding me along the way to freedom.”
“This is the answer for those of you that struggle with food and all that surrounds it. Xenia said that I could make peace with food and it seemed at the time like an impossible dream. Turns out it isn’t. I recommend Xen and the mindful eating / intuitive eating approach unreservedly. If you have any questions about my experience, please get in touch. Thank you Xen. My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”
“Xenia was a walking, living, breathing example of what can be done. I laughed and cried my way through a short course in this fascinating and invigorating programme with her, and have gained a designer tote full of coping skills that go way beyond containing kilogrammes. I feel infinitely lighter. I am doing this for me and, yes, you can do this for you too! And believe me, I’m cynical!”
“I don’t obsess about food like I used to. I am thinking differently about food and feeling so much more relaxed around all types of food. It’s wonderful to have pleasure and satisfaction from eating.”
“I learned a new way of thinking about food. I have learned that food is not the enemy and that it can actually be enjoyed with no guilt.”
