I kid you not, these were headlines of articles within the SAME magazine:

“Get your pre-baby body back in 6 weeks!”

“Lose the weight of other’s opinions!”

“Madonna, 63, has 🔥legs in a miniskirt in photos–see exactly what she eats!”

“Live your best life and eat your best food!”

Is there any other subject matter in the world that has more differing opinions than women’s bodies? What they should look like, what they should wear, what they should eat. We’re told from the time we’re a girl what femininity looks like–oh and guess what, it changes every 4 seconds. 

(Don’t even get me started on how it’s actually no one’s business, but that’s besides the point.)

With all of these voices shouting at us all the time, no wonder we can’t even trust ourselves to make the best decisions when they’re put in front of us. There’s so many “dos” and “don’ts” that we hear from other people when it comes to our bodies, that there’s no space for us to trust our guts and really lean into what WE actually want our bodies to look and feel like.

Let’s chat about body awareness and the food we eat. What you’ll NEVER hear from me is anything in absolutes when it comes to those subjects. No one’s body is better or worse than another. No food is good or bad. And I realize if you grew up in a culture like I did, where every magazine cover (even those directed to teens) would tell you things like “top ten foods you should never eat” or “how to get the perfect body,” those are hard things to unlearn.

What I really want to dig into is how the relationship between food and our bodies is so individualized and so unique to every single person. When you have a really healthy relationship with both, it’s easy to tap into how you’re feeling and make the decisions that allow your body and mind to feel at its best. But when you’re disconnected to even knowing how you feel about your body (or worse, it’s only negative) or how you feel about food, you’re going to have a really hard time making those choices that allow you to show up as your best.

So how can body awareness help you step into wellness? Like I said, it’s not about a particular body type or a list of healthy foods. It’s about how you feel in your body and really paying attention to what makes it feel a particular way. When you start to be more aware in your body you might start to notice things.

What does that look like? It’s paying attention to the energy levels AND the joy you felt when you got donuts with your kids before school. So in that instance, you can decide, “Yep, I did not have much energy after I ate those, but I loved the memories I made with my kids. I’m going to make sure at lunch I really make sure it’s balanced with some good long-lasting carbs and lottsa protein.”

It’s paying attention to how your stomach might not feel great after a few days in a row of eating out. It’s realizing that you are so much more motivated to move your body (and feel good while doing it!) when you didn’t just drink coffee for breakfast. It’s about deciding that you’d rather not crash on the couch after dinner and instead take a walk with your kids, so you make sure your meals that day give you sustained energy (and not just caffeine from your 2 oclock coffee and your 4:30 energy drink).

Body awareness is more than a thigh gap and kale smoothies (heaven help us if we get there). It’s about doing what makes your body and mind feel it’s best–and paying attention to what that is! Sometimes that’s a long run. Sometimes that’s a couple glasses of wine at a girls’ night. It doesn’t have to be and/or; it can be both/and.