Dear Kathryn,

I have two huge words for you- thank you!  You have helped me find my true self again.  You see, I knew it was in me all along, but somewhere along the way I lost sight of it.  I became a dieter with lower self esteem than I knew what to do with.   

In April 2011 whenever I first met with you, I had hit rock bottom and I was done with the negative self talk and the nutrition perfectionism.  Just a few months prior I was strictly doing P90X, counting my calories, and thinking that life would be better if I were 10 lbs lighter.  Boy was I wrong!  I was trying so hard to be perfect, but yet I would binge every so often.  Every so often started becoming more often and I got scared.  The fear would cause me to binge again.  The binge would cause me to hate myself for a moment until my real self would have a breakthrough and talk positively again.  I knew I was in a cycle that was unhealthy for me mentally and physically.  

 I was so happy whenever I looked up Intuitive Eating online and found you.  I had read about Intuitive Eating prior to meeting with you and I knew it was for me.  I am all about mindful living and I knew that my eating habits were a symptom of something deeper going on inside me.  I yearned to be that person that could live with cookies and cake inside the house, but not feel threatened by them or guilt-ridden to have them even remotely close to me.  I yearned to be that person that didn't think about food nonstop while at Thanksgiving dinner and instead focus on friends and family.  I yearned to be an intuitive eater and eat the way I used to as a child.  To listen to my body and not follow strict dieting rules.  And finally, I had realized that this was way more important to me than a number on the scale or the amount of fruits and vegetables I had to get in per day to meet the dietary guidelines.  

 I wanted to become an intuitive eater mostly for myself, but also for my profession.  Being a nutrition professional myself, I knew that if I did not stop my binge cycle I would not feel confident enough to help others with their nutrition.

It's been about 10 months and I am so happy to be where I am today.  I am still on the intuitive eating journey and sure I still have my down days, but mostly I am at a place where I feel confident, strong, resilient, beautiful, mindful, and positive.  I don't let the scale dictate my mood (in fact, I haven't been on it but once in 10 months AND my clothes fit better than they did before).  I buy anything that I want at the grocery store and have no feelings of guilt.  When I bring that food home, I don't worry about it constantly or fear that I am going to overeat it.   I trust my body.  I follow my hunger and fullness cues.  I deal with my emotions without using food and I practice positive self talk daily.  I don't follow strict exercise guidelines, but instead stay active with activities I truly love and enjoy like dance, pure barre, and yoga.  I enjoy the moment and consider myself happy.  I understand that when I am inclined to binge, my body is signaling a stressor in my life and it is my duty to check in with myself and see what is going on.  If I still overeat after checking in, I am okay and move on.  I use it as an experience and grow from it.  I can successfully say that I no longer binge regularly, but I do have to release my tendency to turn to nutrition perfectionism in order to prevent binges or overeating.  I can use this knowledge to help others. 

I am also happy to say that for the first time in a long while, I have experienced Thanksgiving & Christmas without fearing the food & tempting treats I would be faced with.  I ate whatever I wanted, savored anything I had, and stopped when my stomach told me so.  I listened and trusted my body. 

 This intuitive eating journey has been an amazing experience for me and I thank you so much for guiding me through it!  I know it will be a lifelong journey and I am thankful in so many ways for this experience and growth.  I am an intuitive eater!  

Thank you a thousand times,