It’s true that we never really know what someone else is going through. We’ve covered in another post how not all emotional eaters are overweight, and sometimes emotional eating can lead to weight loss in an unexpected way. For some clients, when emotions run high, they feel the need to control their eating as a way of trying to control their lives. For them it feels like the only thing they have power over is what they put in their mouth—not their kid’s tantrum, their boss’s feedback, or their partner’s attitude. While in this scenario there is an absence of food, instead of a binge, it is st ..read more

There may come a time on your journey where you feel like you want to explain how and why you emotionally eat to those you trust. You might feel in your gut that you would benefit from opening up and sharing your experiences. But emotional eating is complex, where should you even begin? We’ve got a number of concrete examples below to help guide you! We want to be clear: you don’t have to explain or justify your feelings or actions to others. This post is intended to support those who feel like speaking about their experiences to someone they trust will help support them on their journey. Reme ..read more

We recently asked our followers what time of day they feel is the worst for their emotional eating. And an overwhelming number of you said night time. Know that you are not alone! It is incredibly common to have the evenings be a time where emotional or binge eating ramps up. And there are very good reasons why you overeat late at night, and none of them are because you’re “crazy” or “lack willpower.” Here are 5 common reasons emotional eating comes up at night and what you can do to address each one. You ate how you “should” during the day. Restricting what and how much you eat throughout the ..read more

The anniversary of the death of a loved one comes with its own unique challenges. Unlike birthdays or weddings, the day your loved one passed is a focal point for your grief and can bring all the feelings of loss right back to the surface.  While you might expect the day to be difficult, you might find engaging in some sort of memorial—big or small—can be a lovely way to honour their memory and support your own mental health. There are so many ways you can honour your loved one! To get you thinking about what might be helpful for you, here’s a list of 10 things you can do to remember your ..read more

There are so many different types of therapy, it can be overwhelming when you’re starting out. While there are definitely things to consider when choosing a therapist, identifying when a method of therapy isn’t working is a powerful way to make progress on your mental health journey. What does it look like when therapy isn’t working for you? It is important to remember that your ‘aim’ in therapy can be a moving goal post. For example, you might start therapy to manage your depression but after dealing with the immediate symptoms you and your therapist might begin focusing on your childhood exp ..read more

A non-diet approach can mean freedom from: … food rules. … an obsession with weight and body measurements. … grueling workouts you hate. … guilt and shame around what you choose to eat. Sounds pretty good, right?! Our bodies are so much more than calories in/calories out. Even if you worked out and ate the exact same as your friend, you both would still look and feel different. In fact, a non-diet approach acknowledges that every person’s body is different and there is no one-size-fits-all way of eating or looking (the opposite of what diet culture wants you to think!). A non-diet approach bel ..read more

January always has that fresh feeling! There are 12 months to come and the possibilities feel endless. This might give you the knee-jerk feeling to set all the goals, including weight loss ones. You might be thinking, in this atmosphere that feels like anything is possible, that *this* year is the one you “lose the weight for good.” You’ve made a grocery list, thrown out the last of the holiday foods, and you signed up for that new gym membership. But did you know that about 95% of diets fail? January might feel new and exciting, but many weight loss resolutions end before it even becomes Febr ..read more

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, will look a little different for everyone. But if you notice you’re more irritable, your sleeping or eating patterns have changed, or you’re more anxious or depressed, you might be experiencing SAD. We’re sharing four things that can help you find a mood boost in the darkest, coldest days of winter. We recommend creating a list you can easily reference, either in a notebook or on your phone’s notes app, of things that make you feel good. Either take inspiration from the ideas below or brainstorm your own! Personalizing an approach to support yourself throug ..read more

Holiday movies and social media show us that the holiday season needs to be a certain level of perfect: everyone must be happy, your house must be spotless but also have decorations everywhere, and key memories have to be made. This is what is considered holiday perfectionism, when everything must be done to a certain level or else you feel stressed out, disappointed in yourself, or like a failure. Women are especially susceptible to falling into the trap of holiday perfectionism because they constantly get messages from childhood to be everything to everyone. They are the ones to make the gif ..read more

Going to the doctor can feel like more than just a chore. It might make your anxiety sky rocket as you face explaining your symptoms and feelings to someone you only see a handful of times a year.   If you exist in a body that doesn’t ‘fit’ into narrow definitions, like BMI, there might be added anxiety that you won’t be heard by those treating you because they can’t see past your body shape or weight. This is called weight bias in medicine. It is when a practitioner believes they know everything they need to know about you because you are classified as “overweight” or “obese” by the ..read more