What if you stopped trying to subtract from your life and started adding to it? What if your priority wasn’t on shrinking portions, cutting carbs, or burning calories, but giving yourself MORE—more of what you need to thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally? That’s what episode 28 of The Positively Living Podcast is all about. You’ll learn to live more fully, love your body, and take up the space you deserve, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Giving of ourselves to others is a beautiful thing. As a former caregiver and a mom of two…and a wife…and a daughter-in-law…and a friend…and a coach…I think I have some solid experience with that. And while I wouldn’t want to be any other way — I love the nurturing side of me — I have learned a lesson or two about the cost of caring for others at the expense of myself. It’s why I am a caregiver advocate and talk nonstop about self-care. And it’s why it was so important for me to share today’s topic and guest with you. If you are burned out from giving to everyone but you, save this episode and put it on repeat. If you are tired of dieting, but still have health goals, stay with me because there is a way to get where you want to go without sacrificing what you think you must. If you are ready to–or at least curious how to–give yourself more, then join me because hope and help are a conversation away.
Georgie is a registered dietitian, nutrition expert, and board certified sports nutrition specialist. She specializes in helping people leave behind dieting, emotional eating, and unhealthy relationships with food and has a long track record of helping clients who have tried every diet on earth finally reach their weight loss goals. Georgie’s known for her friendly, gentle style of scientifically grounded nutrition counseling and and has an immense love for what she does. Her works include Lean Habits for Lifelong Weight Loss, the Racing Weight Cookbook, and the Breaking Up with Binge Eating podcast. When she’s not coaching her clients, you’ll find her walking in the woods with her husband, cuddling her bulldog, or in the kitchen crafting new flavorful recipes.
I have known Georgie since 2015 when I discovered her Lean Habits book. I was stepping away from diets and embracing intuitive eating at the time, of which I’m still a huge supporter. Intuitive eating is healing and it’s a great point for ditching diets, but I was in search of a way to find balance…it’s like that next step. to bring the pendulum back toward middle ground. I didn’t want to diet, but I also didn’t want to ignore my health needs either.
When I found Georgie’s book and it focused on habits…well you can imagine my glee. The idea of honoring our desire and need to lose weight but to do it through a series of steps that involve tremendous self-awareness and habit development? It was like it was made for me. And it made a difference in how I saw myself and the world around me. She and her co-author Aleshia Fetters take this concept to the next level with their new book by offering the idea that we need to meet our wellness goals through MORE, not less.
Their book, Give Yourself MORE is all about changing the losing mindset so you can change your body and life for the positive. It asks, what if you stopped trying to subtract from your life and started adding to it? What if your priority wasn’t on shrinking portions, cutting carbs, or burning calories, but giving yourself MORE—more of what you need to thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally?
The answer: You would learn to live more fully, love your body, and take up the space you deserve, mentally, emotionally, and physically. You’d create healthy habits that would last a lifetime because they’d fill you up rather than drain you. And this includes losing weight.
So many of the concepts Georgie and I talk about connect to the productivity and organizing topics I cover on the podcast and coach with my clients. The way she and Aleshia focus on adding more is much like the technique to replace bad habits by crowding them out with good. The reasons for and effects of binge eating relate significantly to clutter and the reasons we overbuy. Georgie talks about working with clients and wanting to find out WHY they eat what they eat and details about their life before ever suggesting what to change or what to do. Does that sound familiar? Understanding values and purpose are the first steps we need to take before organizing and becoming more productive. As she and I talk you’ll see so many patterns emerging, which is exciting because as you become aware of these concepts and learn these new skills, you can apply them throughout your life.
Georgie shares the six areas from her book where we can give ourselves more 1) Body love 2) Movement 3) Emotions 4) Fueling 5) Pleasure 6) Rest These aren’t just categories for the sake of having them, they are needs that we often neglect, which can lead to unhappiness, resentment, constant stress, emotional eating, and feeling too drained to work out. Conversely, when we meet our needs in these areas, we are more resilient to life’s challenges and stresses, and can more effectively achieve a healthy diet and consistent exercise habit.
She offers incredible details for each covering body positivity and esteem and how a gratitude practice for our body can help shift our appreciation for it. She covers the dangers of emotion suppression and how to become curious (a favorite word here on the Positively Living Podcast) about why we do what we do. She talks about bringing FUN back into your life…for movement…for pleasure…for the scientific fact that enjoyment is the best predictor of repeating an activity. The key player in all of this is love. When you love someone, you want to do what’s best for them. When we give ourselves more and embrace more of who we are, that self-directed love can lead us to our goals.
Thank you for listening! Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of practical tips to create space for what really matters in your life
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CONNECT WITH GEORGIE FEAR:
Buy the Book – Give Yourself MORE
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LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Funny “News” Source – The Onion
Music by Ian and Jeff Zawrotny
