Picture this: you walk past the bedroom mirror and catch a glimpse of your fine self out of the corner of your eye. But rather than saying, “Hey there good looking,” the negative self-talk begins: Look at my bum in those jeans, what were you thinking? Or Ugh, I’ve got to do something about my belly. Or maybe it’s, I look so tired, my skin is blah, my hair is a mess, look at how big my feet are; yep, you still have thunder thighs.
We all have those days, months or even years where we doubt ourselves because of how we judge and rate that view in the mirror, and find that image as not-so-pleasing to our eyes. There are plenty of times that the toxic self-talk flies through your head like the ticker tape in New York’s time square, and if you don’t catch it or know that it’s going on, it’ll ruin your day and worse, can lead to depression, self-harm and eating disorders.
It comes down to how you think and feel about your body, and it’s a component of self-esteem, how you feel about yourself as a total package. Where does this goal of the perfect body even come from? The perfect abs and even that washboard stomach, toned, muscle-bound arms that get the most likes on recent gym post, the long slim legs with just enough tone, muscle and strength. Well, I’ve just described most computer altered magazine photos of people that seem to have not only the ‘perfect’ body, but the perfect LIFE. And ladies, this isn’t just about us, about one-third of eating disorders occur in males, about the same percentage of men have some body image concerns or experience negative body image. Clearly it’s a perspective that’s taken on by both men and women, and let’s not forget – boys and girls.
Special guest: Tara Whitney, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor
When I read that children as young as nine start avoiding certain foods because it will make them fat or they dislike particular parts of their bodies, I feel a deep sadness, and I guess I somehow hoped they’d have longer before the negative self-talk starts yammering away. I do believe that there are people out there who love their body, no matter what anyone else thinks, and they seem happy with their fine selves– I say seem, because well, you never know.
Let’s jump in and ask Tara Whitney, a transformation coach and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, about body image and get her take on this.
Tara Whitney
Tara Whitney is a certified intuitive eating counselor and an intuitive eating coach. She has trained with Evelyln Tribole, who calls herself the Original Eating Pro and has written the book Intuitive Eating.
Tara herself is a published author and speaker. She’s leading a revolution of women who are listening to their own internal wisdom, respecting and nourishing their bodies, and ultimately trusting themselves in every area of their lives. Her latest book Hungry: Trust Your Body and Free Your Mind Around Food offers a fresh perspective on why women have struggled with food and gives them a path to set themselves free.
Website: www.tara-whitney.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarahwhitney/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarahwhitney/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-whitney/
Special guest: Andre Proulx, wine expert and co-founder of the EightyX wine Company
Body image and self-esteem go hand in hand and while my next guest, Andre Proulx didn’t realize that he had avoided looking at himself in the mirror for a few years as his weight climbed to an all-time high. Andre is going to share his journey over the past six months, along with what was his wake up call to realizing how he felt about himself, and what he has done about it.
Andre, who works in the wine industry as his side hustle to show producer at NewsTalk1010 Radio, says all that contributed to his slow and steady weight gain. It’s easy to indulge at wine events, with great food and perfectly paired wines. Before I give any more away, let’s hear from Andre who shares his story best!
Welcome Andre, thanks for joining me on EAT THIS with Lianne today.
So, I work in the wine industry (www.andrewinereview.ca). And in January of this year someone made a comment about my weight at a wine event. I estimate I was at 280lbs.
I figured I needed to make some changes, and given my side hustle involves pretty much endless access to wine and high fat foods, there is a whole list of things I realized I needed to change in my life.
The long story short: I had to re-evaluate my relationship with food (and wine). I have been known to say “you don’t win friends with salad,” but I’ve now established a strong healthy relationship with vegetables.
And the big thing has been the correlation between physical and mental health. I was okay being big — until I wasn’t.
As of writing this today — with the help of Fitbit, myfitness pal, a few amazing salad cookbooks, taco Tuesdays, and counting the calories in a bottle of wine — I am down to 215lbs since January 10th. I am down from 132cm on my gut to 102cm.
(Oh, and since March 13th, I’ve lost 38.7 lbs)
I am working on a blog series for my own website to talk about this from the point of view being in the beverage industry.
You can see him from time to time talking about wine on the CTV News Channel, The Global Morning Show and CP24; hear me doing it on Newstalk 1010; and read my thoughts on it in Metro, Quench Magazine, Toronto Life, Torontoist.com, and Sun Media.
Andrew is the co-founder of the EightyX wine Company. Based in Niagara with a focus on creating high-quality small-batch wines, EightyX was created to learn about the inner workings of the wine industry. As a writer, he believes you are what you drink, and it’s important to understand what it takes to go from vineyard to bottle.