Let´s Mind Our Own Health – Food & Social Pressure
Would you be surprised if I told you that one of the biggest challenges I notice with clients – as a Nutritional Therapies and Holistic Lifestyle Coach – is the social pressure from friends, co-workers and family?
Trying to be healthy seems to be a sensitive topic for a lot of us. However, I believe that there are huge opportunities for growth here, on both ends. Let’s take a look:
You are not feeling 100%, maybe your energy is low, uncomfortable digestive issues, not sleeping like you used to, or you have a weakened immune system. You decide to invest in a consultation to sort this out and find the root cause of it, which may include further lab testing. You and your coach create a long-term plan, and you feel empowered to start implementing some step-by-step changes in your life and hopefully start feeling a difference right away! You are excited, curious and hopeful – you know you are doing yourself and your body a favour…embracing self-care by taking care of yourself.
Making lifestyle changes is, however, hard work and can be an emotional journey for many of us! It can be a two-step forward step back kind of tango. We bump into limiting beliefs, maybe some resistance, feeling vulnerable or frustrated when things are not improving as fast as we hope they would.
Being on this path of self-discovery through food, all we need is encouragement, support and respect that we are trying something different. If our journey or choices are offensive to others in any way – that is never our intention. People around us might disagree on all levels – and that is ok – everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But, for those that disagree, I’d like to say that if you truly care about the person, please show your support by leaving out those unnecessary comments that we are trying too hard, are over the top complicated or are too ambitious about our food.
Why is the family always the worst? Please do tell me!
Are you on this journey with me? Hang in there friends – you are not alone.
1. Try to find a like-minded community!
There are plenty out there, just reach out… and dare to share this.
2. Focus on the people whose opinion really does matter.
Only share your story with the people who deserve to hear it.
There is a huge symbolic lesson to be learned, try asking yourself:
Why am I reacting this way? Do I need to stand up for myself more?
What is most important to me right now?
Whose opinion really matters?
Research shows us food is a gateway to our personal growth – D Minich.
What comes around goes around, right? For those of us that have found our health through the journey of food, it is equally important that we respect people that have NOT. At first, we have the tendency to take on this ” let’s save the world one gluten-free bite at a time” attitude by trying to force every health tip onto everyone that comes our way. However, leading quietly by example seems to be a much more effective way (for me at least, as I have tried them both). This is especially challenging when you have loved ones close to you who are suffering due to bad lifestyle choices.
The moment we start to feel a sense of safety, and we truly trust that our everyday choices are optimal for our unique minds and bodies – people will hear it in our voices! Trust me. People will start to back off and hopefully, be curious about your journey instead.
My takeaway from this story, one very close to my heart, is that we need to respect each other’s journey and do so unconditionally. Trusting that we are all doing the best we can, with what we have. Maybe we should aim to listen more than what we preach. After all, the only one we can improve is ourselves.
I want to dedicate this post to my amazing sister-in-law who has always been supporting me, no matter what.
