How to Handle Being Different

Every Friday Emily and I send a special email to our private coaching clients – sometimes it’s a recipe, sometimes it’s a tip and sometimes it’s a simple reminder to breathe (and chew!).

This week’s message was about how to approach eating in social situations, something many of us are doing more of this time of year. I’ve gotten a LOT of questions about how to navigate the office holiday parties, family gatherings and wine nights with friends from my clients and community, so today I wanted to share the tips we passed along with you.

As humans we’re meant to enjoy meals with company, but this can sometimes get stressful, especially if what or how we eat is different from our dining partners. We forget to chew, we load our plates with more than we need and we don’t take in what we’re actually eating.

I want to encourage you to be different.

You have permission to put your fork down between bites.
It’s okay if you’re the last one eating.
You can say no to dessert, wine (or salad or whatever it is you don’t really want or need).

Okay that all sounds well and good, but what do you do when your Great Aunt Fanny keeps asking you if you want more of her homemade apple tart? Or when your girlfriend automatically pours you that third glass of wine? Or when your starving after a busy day at work, and the only options at the office holiday party are so far from what you know your gut needs?

The best actions in each scenario vary on a case by case basis, but, as I teach in my books and in my coaching, the answers always lie within. Your intuition, your gut knows what you need and can guide you in any situation, no matter the food or people. The challenge is taking the time to drop into that inner knowing with everything going on.

Here are three ways to reconnect with your intuition so that you can make those choices that are best for you:

1. Ask your intuition everything – Oftentimes we wait for really big or hard decisions to connect to that deeper wisdom within us and then wonder why it’s not easy. Exercise your intuition like a muscle and it will grow stronger. Start practicing with smaller, simpler choices (what type of fruit to put in your morning power parfait, what type of tea to sip on in the afternoon, what music to listen to during your commute home, etc) and build from there.

2. Connect to your breath – One of the simplest ways to drop into your body is through your breath. The breath literally brings you into the present moment as you focus on the inhale and exhale, and where you feel it in your body. If I’m feeling unsure about a choice, or just all up in my head I’ll put one hand on my belly and one hand on my heart and take three deep breaths. This practice grounds me immediately.

3. Brain balance – My other favorite way to come into my body is through an exercise called ‘brain balancing.’ This practice helps to balance the two sides of your brain (the more logical left side, and the more intuitive right side). It also drops you into your parasympathetic nervous system, that rest and digest state we could all use to be in a little more. Click here to learn how to brain balance.

Besides these tools, there are some practical tips (i.e. what to SAY exactly to Great Aunt Fanny when she offers you the apple tart for the third time) for navigating sticky social situations.

For more coaching and inspiration with eating in social situations, listen to this recorded Q&A coaching call: Sticky Situations Q&A Coaching Call

Not only will this call give you some super useful tips but it will also give you a better idea of how I coach! Think of it like a little sneak peek inside one of my coaching programs.

Speaking of coaching programs –  I’m opening up two 1:1 coaching spots for 2019! I’m about to head off for an epic 6 week trip with my husband and Navy (LA, Japan, Australia and back to LA!) but am accepting applications to work with me 1:1 when I return in February. Emily will also be opening up some spots to start coaching with her as soon as January. Click here to learn more + apply today.

If you’ve applied previously, just shoot us an email at [email protected] to let us know you’re still interested and we’ll be in touch! You’ll receive first priority for one of the spots too!

Whatever you’ve got going on this time of year, whatever choices you make, know that it’s all okay. Just keep doing the best you can and keep coming back to you with the practices above, again and again.

Xoo,

PS. It’s okay to be different when it comes to what and how you eat. You can slow down, put your fork down and breathe. You have permission to be the last one eating. You do YOU 🙂