On September 29th we held our third and final Soulful Sunday event of 2019. The Soulful Sunday series was created by YEG Boss Babes, The Wellness Warrior and Momentum Walk-in Counselling with the intention of empowering women through wellness conversations; and what an empowering conversation it was! For our final event of the year, we gathered a panel of industry experts to lead the conversation around nutrition and the role it plays in our wellness. 

Our panelists touched on the importance of fueling our bodies with good, wholesome, healthy foods, as this can help to regulate our stress, emotions and energy when we have a lot on the go. One of the most important recommendations we heard was about being prepared. This could be as simple as grabbing an apple and a handful of nuts for the road, preparing a smoothie at the start of the day, or having protein snacks/bars in your car. The preparation doesn’t have to be fancy, the point is to ensure that you have easy, nutritious grab-and-go snacks nearby, so you are able to feed your body with something nutritious when you feel hungry.  

This was a valuable point because as business owners, side hustlers and corporate leaders, we all know how hectic life can get on a daily basis, and being able to sustain our energy and focus throughout the day with good nutrition is crucial for our well-being.

 But the conversation didn’t end there.

Our panelists took a deeper dive to explore a much more complicated element of nutrition and wellness: the importance of developing and maintaining a healthy mindset around food. 

With the overwhelming number of “clean” eating trends that fill our social media feeds, the pressures of comparison, and the responsibility to take care of those around us, it’s no wonder that our relationship with food can often take a stressful turn. One of the most common ways we see this play out is by attaching emotions to what we eat and beating ourselves up for our food choices. We’ve all been there; shaming ourselves for having ‘fallen off track’ after eating that donut, or over-exercising the next day to make up for those added calories we consumed. Often times, we don’t even pay attention to the fact that we have these habitual reactions, and if we’re not choosing to be more self-aware around our reactions to food, these habits can lead to more serious issues such as disordered eating. 

Many of our panelists shared their own story of disordered eating and how food may have played a part in coping with anxiety and/or depression at some point in their own lives. So we leaned on their experience and expertise and asked them to provide some key takeaways on how we can practice adopting a healthy mindset with food on a daily basis. Here’s what we heard:

1. Practice self-awareness or mindfulness. Evaluate how you think and feel and what your behaviour is around food. Pay attention to when you are feeling negative about food and get curious about it. What are the emotions or the beliefs that are associated with that thought, and can you reframe the thought to not take on such a negative meaning? 

2. Set yourself up for success. Give yourself the tools that you need to understand how food supports your body. Try to look at food objectively, rather than tying an emotional response to it, and put plans in place that will support healthy eating habits. 

3. Educate yourself on diet culture and what this means for women. There are so many opinions floating around on what we should and should not be eating and often these opinions can create more harm than good. Empower yourself in your food choices by educating yourself!

4. Listen to your body. Ask yourself: what do you need right now? And honour that without judgment. Learn to trust yourself with food and know that you have the answers to take good care of yourself.

5. If you are struggling with any form of disordered eating and you feel that you need help, seek that help out. There are resources available, and YOU are worth it!

@GlowJuicery is offering a offer a special discount code for 20% off purchases from Glow Juicery's website.

website: www.glowjuicery.ca

Code: GLOW20

Breakfast Snacks provided by @kb&Co, Coffee provided by @bravefoxcoffee, Mimosa Bar courtesy of @rivieraliquor, Venue @worknicer

BODY POSITIVITY & NUTRITION INFLUENCERS

TO FLOOD YOUR FEED WITH:

Our Panelists have come up with a list of instagram accounts that are positive influencers within the world of Nutrition and Body Positivity. Happy following!

@drtaliand

@Bodyposipanda

@bodyimagewithbri

@lizzobeeating

@thebirdspapaya

@bodyimage_therapist

@hgoodrichrd

@Marielle.elizabeth

@DRMARKHYMAN

@Drjoshuawolrich

@ELIZABETHLOUISENUTRITION

@Jennifer_Rollin

Follow our panelists on instagram:

Kalin herbach, dietitian at Pine health - @kalinhrd

Marnie Ashcroft, Founder of glow juicery - @glowjuicery

Sophie grey, founder of dive thru - @sophiegrey

Brandi Gruninger, Founder & Owner of Evolution Psychology - Facebook