3 women whom I greatly respect and admire and who are far wiser than I, coined this saying – and it is one I will be putting to practice A LOT this week.

As someone who struggled with eating disorders and body image growing up, the holidays – particularly those centered around food – were a complete nightmare for me. Rather than being able to enjoy time spent in fellowship and laughter with family and friends, I spent it a nervous wreck; going over in my mind all the ways I could get out of having to eat and lie my way out of enduring a 4 or 5 course meal. I also remember after recovering from my eating disorder, going in the complete opposite direction of restriction and engaging in absolute gluttony. To be honest I really struggled with this “all or nothing mentality” for a very long time. I only saw food as “good” or “bad” and honestly it wasn’t until I started training to be a wellness coach that I began to understand the concepts of food as fuel, food as medicine, and food as nourishment. Which is why this saying of “self care > self control” really resonated with me.

This holiday season I am excited about all the parties and dinners, appetizers and desserts, because I know that with this motto as my guide, I can joyously say yes to things that are going to fuel and honor my body, but not go overboard – as that wouldn’t. I don’t have to restrict myself because extreme dieting and self-control does not honor my body. Therefore I can have a grateful attitude towards food and be thankful for all the things it does for my body – not just focus on wether or not it’s “bad” or “good.” And I don’t have to spend my evenings lying to the ones I love most to avoid eating; I can sit at a party and actually enjoy the food, the people, the smiles, the laughter the making of memories!

So thankful for beautiful sisters in Christ and fellow teammates, Emily Copeland, Liz Patton, and Michelle Myers for challenging me in this! When our actions honor our bodies, it becomes about making the most out of our time in these vessels and maximizing the talents, skills, and gifts we’ve been given to serve others. Whereas choosing restriction and obsessive control can isolate us from others and carry us far away from our intended purpose and passions. It’s only by the grace of God that I found my way out of that dark rabbit hole! Wishing you a week of good food, good drink, good company and lots of memory making!!!