If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know that cultivating a relationship with my body and maintaining a really balanced approach to eating is at the top of my list of priorities. I realize that without my health, I’m not able to enjoy my whole life, and I am passionate about finding ways to love my life more.
I see food as the most important tool in my toolbox, and my “diet” is simply made up of eating mostly whole foods. I’ve tweaked my diet over the years to be what it is today. Surely, it will go through several more iterations as more research comes out and as I try new foods and recipes, but one thing is for sure: Nothing is OFF LIMITS.
You read that right….NOTHING is a deal breaker! Why? Because what I know for sure and what the research supports, is that whenever I deny myself a food, saying that I can never, ever have it, my inner teenager tends to come out and say, “Hey! No fair!!!” and I obsess and fixate, and nothing good comes from me obsessing and fixating. This is the “restrict-binge cycle” that characterizes yo-yo dieting (also known as weight cycling) and it’s at the root of so many of our struggles around food, weight and body image.
Instead, I choose to educate myself about food’s role in my health and I make decisions from a place of raised awareness and it’s what I teach my clients to do, as well (scroll to the bottom to read some of their comments).
In order to raise my own awareness, I’ve been using my “FMJ”, my Food-Mood Journal, for yearrrs, and what it’s taught me is that every time I eat grains (even whole grains), I feel bloated, tired and gassy. TMI, perhaps, but it’s the truth! I went to see my naturopathic doctor and through testing my blood, it became clear that what my body was trying to tell me all this time is that I don’t efficiently convert grains to energy. Put more simply, grains just don’t agree with me.
Knowing this and connecting the physical repercussions of eating grains helps me avoid them more easily and while I am “allowed” to eat all the grains I choose to eat, I most often make other choices that leave me feeling so much better.
Same goes for sugar. While I enjoy some sugar here and there, I tend to avoid a lot of refined sugars and flours because–you guessed it–I just FEEL so much better when I take a pass. BUT! And this is a BIG but…I don’t tell myself I can’t have this or that. I remember that I can have whatever I want to have and I can make whatever choice I want to make and I choose not to have the highly processed food more often because of the way it makes me feel–mentally, emotionally and physically.
Sugar is the monkey on our back for so many of us, and for some people, it can honestly be easier to avoid refined sugar entirely than to try to moderate its use (the way I abstain from rather than try to moderate alcohol). Perhaps that’s the case for you, and only you will know through using your Food-Mood Journal. Email me at Sarah@SarahTalksFood.com for your own copy.
I encourage you to stay open to listening to what your body is trying to tell you and feeling your way to a diet that feels natural and good… TO YOU. 🙂
For me, that means NO food is “off limits” and when I want something sweet, I usually want to make something sweetened with fruit. One of my faves is “Nice Cream” and whenever I make it for friends and loved ones, they’re always surprised to learn there is no refined sugar in it. Nope! Just frozen bananas and a few other ingredients. Get the full recipe here.
So, if you’ve been worried about joining me on the journey of my 12 Week Group Coaching Program called OBAAT (which stands for One Bite At A Time) for fear that I am “anti-sugar” or will be restricting entire food groups, then you can rest easy: NOTHING is off limits, YOU get to decide what you keep in your diet, and I will teach you what’s helped me to enjoy the sweet things in life without derailing my wellness goals. I can’t WAIT to share everything with you! Click here to learn more and book a call with me.
Here’s what we all know if we get really honest with ourselves; We have nothing if we don’t have our health. As we close out 2021, let’s stick together for 3 months and make 2022 THE year we never, ever “diet” again; THE year we really go below the surface to uncover what’s kept us stuck on the cycle; THE year we step into our full power and take our lives to the next level… and beyond.
I’d love to support you on your path, if you feel called to the work.
Because I want you to love your life one bite at a time.
xo Sarah
P.S. We start the program on Monday, November 22nd and go for 12 weeks, to February 13th, 2022, so we will be together through several major holidays that can often trip us up. The entire program is delivered online, so you can be anywhere in the world and still access it! Learn more here.
P.P.S. Here is what some of my students have to say:
“I’ve been learning from Sarah Roberts for over a year now… and I find that I’ve learned so much… and I just continue to learn & grow, and I feel supported throughout it all by her.
Baby steps… one after the other. And no, she doesn’t teach any latest diet fad. She teaches a way of living for optimal health… looking inwards at ourselves & our past to see where changes are required… and then helps to open our minds to looking at the present.
If you’re interested to know more, give her a shout & chat to see if you’re a fit. There’s no charge to that conversation. :)”
~ Shani
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“Working with Sarah most definitely transformed my life. Three months of sobriety and waaaaaay improved healthy eating habits in our home – habits and choices I’d struggled for a long time to consistently make but always just seemed out of reach. I have a new Presence to and strength for life. I wouldn’t say life is all the sudden perfect and easy but I would say I am making much more headway at creating the life I want and that I have an increased capacity to handle life. Thank goodness for that because life has thrown some crazy and challenging things my way this year. Grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Sarah and grateful that I started the work when I did.
Sheila
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Just finished watching the Week 12 (!) training and am so full of emotions right now. I cannot believe it’s been 3 months – really can’t. I had to stop and then go back to watch because I found myself feeling emotional, sometimes sad, sometimes marveling at the difference that 12 weeks can make. I know I am just starting this journey and I know it’s an ongoing process. I feel as if OBAAT has just begun to scratch the surface (although believe me, at times I thought “I can’t do this, it’s too hard, it’s too emotional”) but I trust Sarah and I trust this process. I know I have more work to do. But this has been truly life-changing. Truly. And I’m glad I’m continuing on because I do not want to lose this momentum. I see changes. I see areas that I still need to work on & heal. but I see those things now that I didn’t see 12 weeks ago. I’m still my harshest critic – but I’m also beginning to better understand and support my human-ness. To tell that “younger” me that it’s going to be all right, that I have her (my) back, and that “we can do hard things” (thank you Glennon Doyle). I have confronted the importance of loving myself enough (not completely there, but closer than I was before) to appreciate and be kind to my mind & body. To be thankful for what I have and what I am. I’m not at the “I love me!” point yet – but I’m no longer at the “I hate me” point anymore. So thank you, Sarah. You’ve become an important part of my life and this has been life-changing and I just want you to know that. So before I get too sappy here, thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do. You are making a difference in the world. <3
JoAnne
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I’ve been off of processed sugar for a handful of months now and I ate some birthday cake yesterday. Sarah is always talking about the food mood journal and watching how our bodies react to what we put in it and my bodily reactions are usually pretty subtle.
The cake though- omg. Almost immediately I felt my blood sugar spike (I felt it!!) and it took me on this roller coaster ride of (very) short lived pleasure, into jitteriness, into almost nausea, into a heaviness, a blah, a crash. Talk about my body sending me a clear message: “Nope! We hate this!”
I miss processed sugar but wow what a clear message that my body appreciates its absence!
I loved the program so much. I was just the other day using some of the info I got from working with my food mood journal.
My connection to eating certain foods in exchange for comfort is a huge revelation for me. I had just never seen it that way. I felt so supported by you as a teacher too, you have such a kind and strong way of holding us during the 12 weeks through material that isn’t always easy to look at.
Natha
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“Your program is one of the best things I did for myself this year (twice!)”
Anita
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“I can’t recommend my friend Sarah Roberts enough for help on this journey. Her 28-Day Kick the Sugar challenge opened my eyes to what sugar does and how present it is in SO much of our food, and her One Bite at a Time program is incredible. She’s an expert on all things nutrition, whole food, and healing your relationship with food and your body. And she’s a sober sister!”
Jessica
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I wanted to share this with you because the time I’ve spent with you has opened me up to many aspects of life. There has been an awareness of what I do, why I do it, and the ability to scrutinize whether or not these behaviors serve me. This opportunity not only empowers me to serve and love in a way I believe is impactful, it also allows me to rewrite old stories and dialogues I have been living with forever. Stories about me not being smart enough, and beliefs that perhaps I am just not capable of doing hard things.
So, thank you, sister, for sharing your wisdom and love with me. It’s people like you have helped me now step into my power. And you will be forever a part of my journey.
Love, love, love. ️
Megan
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