Want to be the best grandparent you can be? Learn how nurturing your joy, health, and authenticity helps you become truly unforgettable.

The older I get, the more important it is to really live an authentic life. Why? Because many of us will have decades left in life and I see way too many women look at these years as a time of going downhill.

I propose that you see this time as the amazing time it is and do everything you can to make the most of it. This includes being the best version of you, that you can be.

This doesn’t mean finally going on a diet or exercising like a madwoman. This means really prioritizing yourself and taking care of your mental, emotional, and physical health.

Here’s a secret to have an amazing life. Be the best you.

Becoming the best grandparent doesn’t start with your grandkids, it starts with you.

Your energy. Your joy. Your emotional wellness. Your willingness to keep growing in the second half of life.

When women ask me how to be the best grandmother, they usually think I’ll give them a list of activities or ways to bond with their grandkids. Those matter, of course. But they’re not the foundation.

The foundation is you being the most alive, healthy, emotionally solid version of yourself.

• That’s what kids are drawn to.
• That’s what builds trust and memories.
• And that’s what makes this season of life richer and more vibrant than anything you imagined.

So whether you’re a brand-new grandmother, a grandmother of teens, or not a grandmother yet but want to feel more like yourself again… this post is for you.

Because being the best grandparent really comes down to being the best you and that is something you can start today.

In this post, you’ll learn:

• Why being the best grandparent starts with becoming the best you
• How your emotional health shapes your family relationships
• Simple ways to bring more energy, fun, and zest back into your life
• How to let go of resentment and create deeper connection
• Why authenticity matters more than perfection
• Practical ways to stay vibrant, curious, and engaged at any age

The more you put into your relationship with yourself; the better relationship you’ll have with your grandchildren, or anyone else for that matter.

This is your time to develop a stronger sense of sense and fun activities you love. Your role as a grandparent is only one of your important roles.

A few years ago, I wrote a post called How to Be an Awesome Grandparent. That was the first of many grand-parenting posts that I wrote over the next year or two. One of my points was that the best way to be awesome was to be yourself.

This has continually resulted in having not just a fun relationships but meaningful ones.

Why Your Grandkids Need You, Not “Perfect” You

I’ll be honest, my grandchildren adore me, are fascinated by me, and want to spend every minute I am at their house with me.

We share the small things, hugs, fun activities, and time with extended family.

I don’t say that to brag; I share it because by writing about how to be an awesome or unforgettable grandparent, I really worked on these relationships over the years.

Having this type of relationship with my grandchildren gave me the courage to try being myself with everyone else. This didn’t happen overnight but it has happened.

Some relationships became better. Some relationships fell away naturally.

The most important thing I believe I’ve done, is I worked on being the best ME.

In the years since I became a grandmother, I have worked hard on my self-development and creating a deep and trusting relationship with myself. And I truly believe that my relationship with my grandchildren will have a lasting impact on their lives.

I can’t even believe how I have grown as a woman. And as that woman, my grandkids love to be around me and spend time hanging out with me.

By being the best you that you can be, you will be a person that grandchildren of all ages love to be around!

In this post, I am going to share ways that I did the personal work to become the best version of me, so that I could be the best grandparent and also love this time of my life.

Let’s face it. For too long we have been told that after 60, we’re old and our best days are behind us.

This is not true. I can tell you without hesitation, his really can be the best time of your life.

Release What’s Weighing on Your Heart (So You Can Feel Like Yourself Again)

Many women don’t realize how much unresolved feelings, tucked-away pain, and old heartaches can quietly shape the way they show up with their families.

This isn’t about being wrong or being “too emotional.”
It’s about being human.
And being human means we sometimes carry things longer than we know.

What unresolved feelings can look like (without realizing it)

You might notice it in subtle ways. See if you are feeling any of the following feelings:

• Irritated about how your adult children parent
• Left out when the other grandparents get more time
• Uncomfortable or angry about ex-spouses or new partners
• Hurt about something your child said or didn’t say
• Tense with an in-law and trying to keep the peace
• Disappointed in how often (or not often) you’re included
• Confused like the family has shifted and you’re not sure where you fit

None of this makes you a difficult person. It makes you a woman with a full heart who loves her people deeply. My friends, I write about this because I have felt everyone of these things at times over my grand parenting years.

Having these feelings is not the problem; that’s natural. Holding onto them and letting them run your actions IS the problem.

But here’s the truth that changed everything for me and for my clients:

What you carry emotionally shows up in your relationships, even when you think you’re hiding it.

When you’re carrying hurt, whether it’s big or small, your nervous system feels it. It shows up in your energy, and the people you love can sense it, even if no one is talking about it. We think we’re hiding it, but it usually leaks out in ways we don’t realize.

And it’s exhausting.

Why releasing these feelings matters

The good news? You don’t have to fix everything or force forgiveness to start feeling better. You simply need space to understand your own heart and clear what’s been weighing on you.

That’s why this work matters so much.

When you process your own story: your disappointment, your fears, your frustration, your hope, you become calmer, clearer, steadier. And that emotional steadiness is magnetic. Kids and grandkids feel safe with you. Adult children relax around you. Family relationships soften.

This isn’t about becoming a doormat or pretending nothing hurts. It’s about becoming solid inside yourself so your relationships don’t get run by old pain.

This is possible for you

You can absolutely become the peaceful, grounded presence who brings lightness into the room rather than tension.

I help women do this every day, women who thought it was too late, too complicated, or too painful to untangle.

And it changes everything.

Take Care of Your Health

There are no guarantees of time for any of us! I consider myself healthy, but I know that doesn’t mean I’ll have 40 more years with the grandkids. But I sure am hoping for it.

For me, eating real food, moving my body, and having a positive outlook on life help keep me active and energetic.

The payoff is that I can actively participate in a lot of things with the girls! While I love quiet activities too, it’s still fun to go to parks, take walks, push them on the swing, or go roller skating.

You may never want to get on skates again—I’m not sure I will either! But I do love being able to do stuff that I do want to do with them.

Eating real food and moving your body, increases your personal vitality. You radiate more energy and enthusiasm for life. Seriously! You become infused with animation and vibrance when you make your body a priority.

Why Trying New Things Keeps You Young (and Makes You a Better Grandparent)

Try new things my friend, with or without the grandkids. There is nothing like being a beginner and learning something new to give you some appreciation for what your grandkids do every day, all day.

Just because we’re grandmothers doesn’t mean life is over for us or that we can’t try new things.

I became a grandmother when I was 52. Since that time, I have:

• Learned to ride a bike for long distances
• Hiked up mountains and in national parks and even did one trip all on my own
• Started a successful blog, this one!
• Took on a new job for a while
• Got certified as a life and weight loss coach (business number two after 50)
• Started a second website, Granny’s in the Kitchen, with my daughter
• Bought my first on-my-own car
• Bought my first on-my-own house
• Now at 61, I’m starting new projects, making new friends, and having new experiences.

Believe me, I was NOT like this in my 20’s, 30’s, or 40’s! I was afraid to try stuff and often quit way too soon.

Why being a beginner again Is good for your soul

I think doing new things is the fountain of youth. At the very least, even if you don’t look younger, you will feel younger.

It’s funny, because it might appear that I have this wildly adventuresome life. And it is at times.

But most of the time, I’m a quiet introvert who loves to write and create. My time with the grandchildren is usually spent playing on the floor, doing crafts, or cuddling and watching a movie.

New Experiences = New Energy (for You and Your Grandkids)

Recently, I bought my six-year-old granddaughter this complicated child-level electrical engineering toy. Yes, I AM that kind of grandmother. I had hoped that someone else would help her with it.

However, when I visited a month after Christmas and still no one had opened the box, I took a deep breath and decided that I would tackle that thing.

To be honest, at first it freaked me out! There was no way I would be able to create electrical circuits.

We forged ahead and created several working circuits that gradually became more complicated. The kids loved it and I was so proud of myself.

Even small new things count

Trying new things doesn’t always mean climbing mountains or learning electrical circuits. Sometimes it’s a new coffee shop, a new class, or a new way of spending time with the grandkids.

Small new experiences wake up parts of you that have been asleep for years and that energy is contagious.

Be an Enthusiastic Participant in Life

Life is hard sometimes. It’s scary, unpredictable, and messy. And when things feel overwhelming, it’s tempting to shrink back into what’s familiar: the routines, the roles, the places where nothing feels risky.

But here’s the truth: being an enthusiastic participant in your own life means being willing to feel your life. All of it.

Yes, that includes the uncomfortable stuff, embarrassment, sadness, fear, anger, shame, and uncertainty.

Not fun, I know. But the women who live fully are not the ones who avoid feelings; they’re the ones who learn they can handle them.

Feeling everything is what makes life bigger

When you stop running from the hard feelings, you get full access to the good ones, the ones that make life rich and vibrant: joy, commitment, bravery, tenderness, confidence, desire, playfulness, and that sparkly sense of enthusiasm that lights up a room.

Once you experience the freedom of allowing emotions instead of guarding yourself from them, “comfortable” starts to look a lot like “boring.”

Why settle for muted when you can have a whole palette of feelings that make you feel alive?

Take Responsibility for Your Own Feelings

This is a big one. And once you really get it, everything in your relationships changes.

Your kids don’t create your happiness. Your grandkids don’t create your happiness. Your partner doesn’t create your happiness.

And they don’t create your unhappiness either.

Yes, when I look at my granddaughters, I feel like my heart might burst. I’m flooded with love and joy.
But that feeling isn’t coming from them, it’s coming from what I’m thinking about them.

If I wanted to (and why would I?), I could think thoughts that create irritation or frustration, and I’d feel completely different.

The power is always inside us.

Why this matters more than you think

When we expect other people to make us feel good, we unintentionally put strain on our relationships.
We get disappointed. We get reactive. We try to change them so we can feel better.

Years ago, I had a rough patch with my daughter. I was judging her decisions and convincing myself she was the reason I felt hurt. I was wrong and thankfully, I had a coach who helped me see that all my suffering was coming from my own thoughts.

Cleaning up my thinking changed everything. Our relationship strengthed. We grew closer. And I became the woman, mother, and friend I wanted to be without needing her to change at all.

That is the real magic: You can transform a relationship all by yourself.

No drama. No lectures. No “fixing” other people. Just doing your own inner work and letting that shift the dynamic.

It’s liberating. It’s powerful. And it’s available to you too.

Be You, Not Perfect

I want you to hear this clearly: you don’t have to be perfect to be the best version of yourself or the best grandparent. You don’t need a flawless life, a flawless body, or flawless behavior. You just need you: the real, honest, growing, curious you.

My life’s work has shown me this over and over: Women blossom when they stop performing and start showing up as themselves.

We are wired for growth, not perfection. And the more authentic you become, the more alive you feel.

It’s counterintuitive, but the best version of you is not the polished one: it’s the one who is emotionally grounded, self-aware, compassionate with herself, and willing to keep evolving.

Being loved by yourself, exactly as you are right now is the most powerful foundation you can give your family.

Your grandchildren don’t need a perfect grandmother. They need the vibrant, warm, fully expressed woman who laughs, listens, and lets them see what a beautifully lived life looks like.

When you prioritize your emotional wellness, your body, your joy, and your curiosity… everything else rises with you.

• Your relationships deepen.
• Your energy returns.
• You feel more present, more playful, more you.
• And everyone around you feels that shift, especially your grandkids.

If you’re craving that version of yourself, the one who feels alive again, I’d love to help you get there.

You can book a free coaching consult, and we’ll talk about how to bring your spark back… not just for your grandkids, but for you.

Your next chapter can be the most meaningful one yet. Let’s make it happen.

FAQs

1. What makes someone a great grandparent?

A great grandparent is present, emotionally grounded, and authentically themselves. Kids gravitate toward adults who feel warm, fun, and safe, not perfect.

2. How do I connect more with my grandchildren?

Work on your own emotional health first. When you feel good, have energy, and are living a full life, showing up for your grandkids feels natural and joyful.

3. I worry I’m not doing enough. What should I focus on?

Focus on being emotionally available, consistent, and yourself. A curious, growing grandmother creates the strongest bonds.

4. Can improving myself really make me a better grandparent?

Absolutely. When you release resentment, care for your health, try new things, and embrace authenticity, your relationships flourish, including with your grandkids.

5. What if I’m not a grandparent yet?

Everything in this post applies to any woman who wants to feel more alive, confident, and connected in the second half of life.

The post Be the Best You to Be the Best Grandparent appeared first on My Think Big Life.

Here are daily habits that pay off for life, especially for women over 50. Discover simple practices that build confidence, energy, and emotional strength over time.

We all want to feel better, live better, and age with energy and confidence. Yet most women spend their days reacting to life: rushing, caring for others, solving problems, and trying to stay ahead.

Before we even realize it, we’ve pushed our own needs to the very bottom of the list.

And here’s the truth most women discover too late: The habits you build now become the quality of the life you live later.

The right daily habits don’t just make you more productive or “disciplined.” They pay off for life by giving you more peace, more clarity, more strength, and more joy; not someday but starting now.

And the best part?

These habits don’t demand hours of your day or a personality makeover. They ask for something simpler:

Attention.

Intention.

A willingness to support yourself the way you support everyone else.

In this post, I’m sharing the 5 daily habits that pay off for life; the very ones I’ve used to change my own health, mindset, and happiness, and the ones I teach my clients.

These habits build on themselves. They create more time, more energy, and more emotional resilience, even if life around you is busy or stressful.

Skim if you need to, but I hope you don’t stop there. Let these ideas land. Even reading this can begin a shift inside you, one that reminds you that your life is not behind you, and your best chapters are absolutely still ahead.

What’s Ahead in this Post

In the next sections, we’re going to look at five daily habits that quietly change everything, the habits that give you more strength, more clarity, and more ease in your body and your life.

You’ll discover how to:

• Treat yourself like someone worth taking care of
• Direct your thoughts and emotions instead of letting them run you
• Release beliefs that hold you back from your next chapter
• Nourish your body in a way that supports energy and vitality
• Build movement into your life so you stay strong, capable, and mobile

These aren’t rigid routines or “perfect-woman habits.” They’re simple, supportive practices you can weave into real life, a full, busy, beautiful life where you matter too.

Start where you are.
Pick one habit or lean into all of them slowly.
Every choice you make in your own favor adds up and the payoff just gets better with time.

You’re not trying to prove yourself anymore. You are building a life that feels good to live.

Let’s begin

Many actions take time to become a habit, anywhere from a month to a year. So, if it takes longer than a few weeks, don’t sweat it, that’s perfectly normal.

Another thing to keep in mind, that the beneficial effects of these habits builds over time. At first they may seem either “sure I should do that, but who has the time?”

Yet, what I’ve discovered over this past decade is that these habits give you more time. Not just more time, but more quality time.

The thing is that most women live reactively to what is going on in their lives. We spend more time putting out fires or trying to keep up, that we lose the time and energy to do the things that nourish us physically, mentally or emotionally.

This always feels like is out of our control and we don’t know what to do to fix it. Usually our solutions involve more work when we try to get more organized or get more help.

Yet, when we tend to our self, many of our problems almost melt away, we find more time, and we enjoy our lives more.

We feel more confident and sure, no matter what is happening around us. This post is going to show you how to become calmer and at the same time more excited and optimistic about life.  

As a bonus, most of my clients feel lighter, more focused, and it shows on their smiling faces!

Let’s dive into these 5 habits that I have used to change my own life and that of my clients and readers.

Treat Yourself Like Someone Worth Taking Care Off

It surprises people when I say this, but one of the most life-changing daily habits you can adopt is accepting yourself exactly as you are right now.

Not the future, thinner, calmer, kinder, more successful version of you. You, today.

Most women live in a constant state of “I’ll love myself when…” and it keeps them stuck. I did this for years. I kept a mental picture of a better version of me and believed I had to earn my own acceptance.

That approach never creates growth. It only creates pressure and disappointment.

Why self-acceptance matters

Self-acceptance is power.

It is not resignation and it is not giving up. It is not pretending you have everything figured out.

Acceptance is loving yourself enough to stop fighting who you are and start supporting who you are becoming.

Growth happens in supportive environments. You know this because you’ve observed it in life.

You do not thrive when someone criticizes, nitpicks, or shames you. Yet many women do exactly that in their own minds every day.

Notice the voice in your head

If you want to make self-acceptance a daily habit, start here:

Pay attention to your thoughts about yourself.

What are you quietly saying in your own mind?
“I always mess up.”
“Nothing works for me.”
“I should be further along by now.”

If someone spoke to your daughter or best friend that way, it would feel cruel. But we normalize it when it is aimed at ourselves.

Those thoughts are not harmless. They shape your emotions, your habits, and even your physical health. Self-rejection creates stress, tension, and exhaustion.

Acceptance gives you the space to grow

When you accept yourself, you enter a different emotional state.

• You eat because you are hungry, not to escape feelings.
• You rest because your body needs it, not because you are defeated.
• You take consistent action because you believe you are worth the effort.

Self-acceptance is the foundation for genuine change.

What happens when You stop fighting yourself

When you drop the self-attack and start showing up with compassion, everything shifts:

• Your body responds better to care
• You have more energy
• You stop numbing and start living
• You find joy again. You act from love instead of pressure

Real change begins the moment you stop rejecting the woman you are today.

A daily practice to try

Each morning ask yourself:

How can I support myself today instead of criticizing myself?

You do not need to earn love. You only need to practice offering it to yourself.

That is the doorway to every transformation you want.

Release Beliefs That Hold You Back From Your Next Chapter

The biggest obstacles women face in midlife aren’t always physical or logistical.
So often, they begin in the mind in quiet beliefs we picked up somewhere along the way and never questioned.

Beliefs like:

• “I don’t have time.”
• “It’s too late for me.”
• “This is just how my life is now.”
• “I’m on a fixed income.”
• “I’ve tried before and failed, so why bother?”

These thoughts might feel factual, but they are often just long-practiced beliefs which simply means stories that quietly close doors before you even try to walk through them.

I was recently in an online group where a woman commented that she wished she could buy a book, but she said she couldn’t because she was on a fixed income. That phrase hit me. Not because of the book but because of the belief inside the words.

In one sentence, she accepted two limits:

• She couldn’t afford what she wanted
• Her income and possibility was fixed forever

(Here’s something fun to try. When you want to buy something like a book or a small course, just commit to making the extra money. When I do this, the money usually comes in within 48 hours. I give myself more time for bigger things)

When you believe something is fixed, you stop exploring, creating, asking, learning, or imagining. The belief becomes a wall. And sometimes that wall becomes resentment, frustration, or hopelessness, not because life is limited, but because the belief is.

I’ve watched this play out for over 30 years working with women. It’s rarely the circumstance that stops us. It’s the belief about the circumstance.

And I say this with so much compassion: Most limiting beliefs don’t feel like beliefs they feel like truth.

But they’re not. They are unconscious instructions to your nervous system about what is possible for you.

The good news?

Beliefs are not permanent. They are not identity. And they are not destiny.

How Do You Shift a Limiting Belief?

Start by noticing when a sentence in your mind shuts something down:

• “I can’t.”
• “I’m not the kind of person who…”
• “This is just the way it is.”

Then get curious instead of critical. Ask yourself:

Is this a fact or a habit of thought?

What else could be true?

What would I do if I believed change was possible?

You don’t need to force positive thinking. You simply need to loosen the grip of the belief that blocks the door.

Even a tiny crack of possibility is enough for momentum to start.

A daily practice to try

When a limiting thought appears, say:

“That’s one way to look at it. What’s another way?”

This one question rewires possibility back into your brain. Over time, you stop defaulting to limitation and start defaulting to opportunity, resilience, and creativity.

Releasing old beliefs isn’t about pretending life is perfect. It’s about making sure your mind isn’t holding your life smaller than your heart knows it could be.

Your next chapter doesn’t come from pushing harder; it comes from believing more is possible for you.

And it is.

Direct Your Thoughts and Emotions Instead of Letting Them Run You

One of the most powerful things my clients discover is this: You are not at the mercy of life. You are creating your life through what you choose to think, feel, and focus on.

My friends, having time to be quiet, to reflect and to ground yourself, isn’t, “oh wouldn’t that be nice.”

Even a few minutes of stillness, reflection, or grounding each day can change the entire tone of your life. This is where clarity happens. This is where you remember who you are and how you want to feel before the world starts pulling at you.

Here’s the key to feeling more in control in your life. I’m going to encourage you to change your mindset from trying to change others and concentrate on yourself: how you feel, what you think, and how you act.

This is the secret to having a life that just feels better, more of the time. Here are three areas that you can get started with. To get the best results, start with any of them and then figure out how the other two can support that.

• Decide how you want to feel
• Decide how you want to think
• Decide how you want to show up

When you choose your emotional state on purpose, your day unfolds differently.

For example, before I meet someone or spend time with family, I decide I want to feel loving and connected.

Then I call those feelings forward. I think about why I love these people and how good connection feels in my body. I let myself experience that energy first.

To help with that, I might spend time thinking of all the reasons I love that person or people and how it feels when I feel connected. I’ll let my body feel how good that feels.

Then I imagine how I would be acting when I’m feeling loving and connected.

This is such a powerful practice.

Years ago, I didn’t do this. I’d go into situations feeling anxious, unsure, or guarded, and my interactions reflected that. The shift came when I stopped waiting to feel good after life delivered something positive and began choosing my state intentionally.

This isn’t pretending or forcing positivity.
It’s emotional leadership.
It’s choosing the tone of your life instead of defaulting to old patterns.

Try this today

Before you walk into a conversation, a room, or a moment that matters, pause and ask:

How do I want to feel right now?
How would I think, speak, and act if I already felt that way?

Then step into that energy.

This one tiny habit will change your interactions, your confidence, and your sense of grounded power and it compounds over time in the most beautiful ways.

Build Movement into Your Life So You Stay Strong, Capable, and Mobile

You probably saw this one coming but stay with me because I want you to think about movement in a new way.

I don’t move my body because I “should.” I move because it makes me feel strong, alive, and connected to myself.

I look for ways to move almost every day. Not out of pressure to look a certain way, but because it is one of the greatest gifts I give to my future self.

For years, the old recommendation was three workouts a week for 30 minutes. If you’re starting from zero, that’s a solid beginning. But for long-term strength, vitality, and independence, especially after 50, your body deserves more support than that.

And let’s talk honestly about weight for a moment.
We were taught to exercise to lose weight. But after midlife, your weight is influenced far more by nutrition and hormones than time on a treadmill.

So why move?

Because exercise becomes the foundation for aging with strength, mobility, energy, and confidence. Because daily movement is one of the daily habits that pays off for life in ways no scale can measure.

Visit any retirement community, and you’ll see what I mean. You can spot the women who nourished their bodies with movement. They walk steadier, smile more, and live with a lightness in their step and spirit.

No matter where you are right now, your body can get stronger, more capable, and more energized, starting today. Intentional movement is how you claim that future.

Five Common Mistakes Women Make With Movement

Not often or long enough

Some movement is always better than none. But as you build strength and stamina, aim to move your body every day.

Not every day needs to be intense. Two or three strength training sessions a week are incredibly powerful for bone health, muscle tone, and longevity.

On the other days, think variety and consistency:

• Walk outside
• Do household movement with intention
• Add short bursts of active minutes throughout your day

Daily movement adds up and your future self will thank you.

Skipping stretch, balance, and mobility

I work out with an online trainer who always includes stretching and mobility. She laughs about how many people leave before the cool-down. I get it, slowing down can feel uncomfortable when you’re used to pushing.

But flexibility, balance, and mobility are not optional in midlife; they are freedom.

Work in at least one session a week dedicated to stretching, mobility, and balance. These workouts will support your posture, joint health, and daily ease.

Not enough variety

Your body thrives on variety. It keeps you strong, flexible, and less prone to injury.

Mix it up:

Strength: weights, bands, Pilates

Cardio: walking, swim, cycle, dance

Flexibility & balance: yoga, barre, mobility

Fun movement: tennis, pickleball, hiking, bowling

Movement doesn’t have to look one way to “count.”

Starting too big and burning out

If you feel inspired to start today, beautiful. Just don’t sprint on day one.

Begin where you are. Try 15 intentional minutes most days of the week. Then build to 30–60 minutes a day of movement that supports you.

Slow growth is sustainable growth.

Forgetting to make it enjoyable

Movement should feel like a gift, not punishment.

When I walk, I often see women who look tense, determined, and miserable, like movement is a chore or test they have to pass. No wonder it doesn’t stick.

Let moving your body feel good.

• Take in your surroundings when you walk
• Choose music or podcasts you love
• Find a pace that feels energizing instead of punishing

“Easy” doesn’t mean ineffective. It means sustainable.
Challenge yourself, yes, but let joy be part of the process.

Find the sweet spot where effort and enjoyment meet. That’s where transformation lives.

The takeaway

Move every day in ways that feel meaningful and supportive. This isn’t because you’re trying to earn your worth but because you’re honoring the body that carries your life forward.

Your movement practice doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be yours.

Nourish Your Body for Energy and Vitality

Food should support your life: your energy, your mood, your hormones, your ability to think clearly and move freely. And yet, most women spend decades trying to figure out what to eat, only to feel more confused, frustrated, and tired.

We’ve been fed endless “expert” advice, conflicting rules, and guilt-based messaging around food and weight. Even the people and institutions we assume would know better… often don’t.

I still remember sitting in the hospital with my mom as they served her a “heart-healthy” meal, full-sugar soda, white bread, pasta, and dessert. No one there was trying to be careless, yet the meal was designed in a way that created inflammation, not healing.

It was a wake-up call: Even well-meaning systems aren’t always guiding us toward true wellness.

And here’s something else many women are realizing: You can follow all the conventional nutrition advice, balanced plates, whole grains, moderate exercise and still feel inflamed, exhausted, or stuck with stubborn weight you cannot explain.

So if you’ve been doing “everything right” and your body still feels off…
You’re not malfunctioning or failing. You’re waking up.

Women deserve better than chasing diets, counting calories, or blaming themselves for biology and systems that don’t support us.

A New Way to Think About Weight and Health

For years, like most women, I believed weight loss was the ultimate goal. “If I could just be thinner, then I’d feel better.” Sound familiar?

But here’s the truth:
Being thin isn’t the same as being healthy.
And chasing weight loss can actually work against real wellness.

When weight loss becomes the focus, many women turn to:

• Low-calorie diets
• Exhausting exercise routines
• Restrictive plans that drain joy and slow metabolism

And yes, these can work temporarily. But they can also lead to muscle loss, bone loss, and rebound weight gain that leaves you even more discouraged.

Most of us have lived that cycle. Hand raised? Me too.

Now when I talk about losing weight, this is what I truly mean:

• Releasing excess fat — not muscle
• Lowering inflammation
• Reducing insulin resistance
• Becoming fat-adapted
• Supporting your hormones and nervous system
• Nourishing your body so you feel alive, not deprived

That kind of change isn’t about shrinking. It’s about strengthening, stabilizing, and supporting your body for the long term.

So where do you start?

Not with punishment.
Not with deprivation.
Not with the next shiny plan.

Start with this intention:

I fuel my body to feel strong, calm, and energized: today and 30 years from now.

Nourishment is a love language to your future self.
And every supportive choice adds up.

We’re not chasing a smaller life; we’re building a stronger one.

Conclusion: Your Future Is Built a Day at a Time

The life you want isn’t built through force, willpower, or perfection.
It’s shaped through small daily habits that pay off again and again: in your health, your confidence, your energy, and your joy.

None of these habits require you to overhaul your life or become a “new woman.” They simply ask you to support the woman you already are, the one who is wise, capable, and ready for more.

Start where you are.
Choose one habit to lean into.
Let it become part of your daily life.

And remember: every time you show up for yourself, you create momentum.
Every supportive choice sends a signal to your brain and body: I matter. My life matters. My future matters.

This is how you age with power, not fear.
This is how you expand instead of shrink.
This is how you build a life that feels deeply good to live.

You don’t need to race, prove, or hustle.
You only need to choose one aligned action, one nourishing decision, one intentional moment at a time.

Your next chapter isn’t waiting for a perfect version of you.
It begins the moment you decide to support yourself today.

And that begins… right now.

The post 5 Daily Habits That Pay Off for Life appeared first on My Think Big Life.

Discover 3 powerful choices women never regret that protect their peace and joy. These are lasting choices that lead to more peace, health, and happiness in midlife and beyond.

By the time you reach midlife, you’ve probably learned that doing more, trying harder, and putting everyone else first doesn’t bring peace or fulfillment. The truth is that at this stage of life calls for a different kind of wisdom, one that values authenticity, rest, and boundaries as much as achievement.

In this post, we’ll explore three powerful choices women over 50 never regret making:

• Being authentic,
• Making yourself a priority, and
• Setting practical boundaries.

Each one of these choices creates lasting change in how you feel, how you show up for others, and how much joy you experience in everyday life. If you’re ready to feel more peaceful, confident, and aligned with who you truly are, this post is for you

These are the choices that make life richer, calmer, and far more meaningful after 50.

After working with women for over six years, I have to say not having these decisions in place can leave you feeling tired, frustrated, and a little (or a lot) let down by life.

As we move through midlife, the things that once seemed so important start to shift. The goals, achievements, and appearances that used to drive us often give way to something deeper, peace of mind, health that supports the life we love, and relationships that truly matter.

Over the years, I’ve noticed there are certain choices women never regret. These are the habits and mindsets that stand the test of time, the things that keep you grounded, content, and proud of the life you’ve created.

Here are five choices women over 50 never regret doing (and a few reminders you might need today).

Be Authentic: You’ll Never Regret Being Yourself

How do you know if you’re being authentic?

You might notice that what you say and do doesn’t quite match what you truly value. Most of us pick up our ways of thinking and living early on often shaped by family, culture, and expectations and by midlife, we assume this is simply who we are.

But you’ll know you’re not being authentic when life starts to feel a little off, like something doesn’t quite fit. It’s an uneasy feeling that can follow you everywhere, even when everything looks “fine” on the outside.

We often trade authenticity for belonging. We wear a kind of mask to blend in with family, friends, or work. But the cost of that mask is high; over time, you begin to feel invisible, disconnected, and quietly drained.

You might notice it showing up as:

• Doing activities you don’t enjoy
• Avoiding things you secretly want to do
• Spending time with people who leave you depleted
• Dressing in ways that don’t express who you are
• Ignoring your real interests or desires
• Going along with choices that don’t feel right

Living like this slowly chokes off your life energy. Instead of feeling passionate and alive, you move through your days on autopilot, wondering why you feel tired or restless for no clear reason.

Here are three ways to start reconnecting with your authentic self:

Notice how your body feels

When you’re not being true to yourself, your body often tells the truth first. You may feel tightness in your chest or discomfort in your gut. These sensations pass quickly, but they’re important signals. Start paying attention and using your body’s feedback as a guide back to yourself.

Acknowledge what you really want

Let yourself imagine the life, choices, and expressions that feel like you. You don’t have to change anything right away; awareness is powerful on its own. Just admitting what feels authentic (and what doesn’t) begins to shift things.

Take small, visible steps

Wear your hair the way you love it. Choose clothes that feel like you. Spend less time with people who drain you. Let go of obligations that no longer light you up. You don’t have to do it all at once, small steps add up and strengthen your confidence.

Becoming authentic is like building a muscle. It can feel uncomfortable at first and even scary to speak your truth, do what you really want, or take care of yourself differently. But with practice, it becomes your natural way of being.

And you’ll never regret being yourself.

Prioritize Yourself Like Someone Who Matters: Because You Do

This is probably one of the most difficult yet most important choices you can make. Put yourself first.

This doesn’t come naturally to most women. We almost masochistically put ourselves behind everyone else in our life.

It’s my belief that this alone is the cause of almost every single problem you have in life.

Now that’s a powerful statement for me to make.

Yet, the women I work with come to me overweight, exhausted and hopeless. They often cannot see any solution to their problems.

That’s because they can’t even imagine not doing everything for everyone.

They want a magical solution where they can feel great about themselves, eat right, get in shape, and do at least a few things they enjoy.

Often they think the right diet will do the trick.

It’s my job to open their eyes to the real problem in their lives. They don’t have time to take care of themselves because they put everyone else first.

So because they overdo for their partners, their work, and their grown children, they don’t have the energy or time to take care of their own health and wellbeing.

How do you know if this is you?

• You feel tired and you look tired.
• You look and feel drained.
• You crave some time for yourself
• You resent the people taking your time
• You desperately wish someone would think about you for once
• You think life would be better if your partner would help out more
• You need your boss to ease up on you and quit piling on the work
• You believe that if you just work a little harder each day, you’ll get caught up

Here’s the thing, you can give and give and still never get caught up. This particular problem, without you being intentional does not resolve itself in a healthy way.

What can you do?

You really can change all of this so that your life feels better. It’s not easy and my clients usually don’t believe it is possible at first.

When I first meet with a client, they often look haggard and exhausted; this literally shows on your face.

But a couple of months later, something changes. Their faces are lighter and relaxed. As my clients change what they believe about themselves and the people around them, they begin to put themselves first.

Putting yourself first does not mean you hurt other people. I actually believe you help other people when you let them do things for themselves. Even in work, those people who you over helped, they become more capable and better employees when you let them figure things out.

My clients who prioritize themselves create better working conditions for themselves as they begin to limit themselves to reasonable workdays.

They become less frustrated with partners and children as they enforce boundaries and protect their time.

Life feels so much better when your make your wellbeing just as important as anyone else’s.

Think about it this way if your goal is to truly help people. When you are overdoing, you deny others the opportunity to grow, stretch, achieve, or learn themselves. I believe that prioritizing others over yourself is not so much about being helpful but is more about your own issues.

I’m not blaming or criticizing you, because I know it is so common. However, instead of hoping someone else will give you permission to take care of yourself; you can just give yourself that permission.

Here’s what I believe with my whole heart. When we take care of and prioritize our own wellbeing; it is good for everyone in our lives.

Here’s how to get started with 3 rules for prioritizing yourself:

• Don’t do things for people that they can do or figure out for themselves.
• Don’t do things for people so they will love or like you more.
• Don’t do things for people because you don’t want to disappoint or let them down.

Here’s some good news. There may be some people that aren’t thrilled with this choice. However, you might be surprised by how many people will appreciate it.

Best of all, as you feel better, you show up with others more intentionally and even more lovingly. By taking care of yourself, you improve your relationships and the work you do.

Make Yourself a Priority Without Guilt or Apology

This is one of the most difficult and yet most important choices you can make: putting yourself first.

For most women, this doesn’t come naturally. We almost masochistically put ourselves behind everyone else in our lives. I believe this alone is at the root of almost every major problem women face.

That’s a bold statement, but after working with hundreds of women, I’ve seen the pattern again and again. They come to me exhausted, overweight, and hopeless. They can’t see a way out because they can’t even imagine not doing everything for everyone else.

They dream of a magical fix: the right diet, the right routine that will somehow help them feel better, look better, and have energy again. But the truth is, their problem isn’t lack of willpower or discipline. It’s that they’ve made everyone else’s needs more important than their own.

They over-give to partners, grown children, friends, and work until there’s nothing left for themselves.

How do you know if this is you?

• You feel constantly tired, inside and out.
• You crave time for yourself but rarely get it.
• You feel resentful of the people taking your time.
• You secretly wish someone would think about you for once.
• You believe if you just worked harder, you’d finally get caught up.

Here’s the truth: you can give and give and still never get caught up. This problem doesn’t solve itself unless you decide to change it intentionally.

The good news? You can change it.

When I first meet a client, she often looks drained, her face shows the weight of constant doing. But after a couple of months, something shifts. Her face softens. Her energy lightens. As she learns to prioritize herself, she begins to look and feel alive again.

Putting yourself first doesn’t mean you hurt or neglect others. In fact, it’s the opposite. When you stop doing everything for everyone, you give them the gift of growth. At work, it allows others to step up. At home, it lets partners and children become more capable and responsible.

When my clients begin setting limits, they create healthier workdays, protect their time, and experience less resentment. Life feels better because they feel better.

If your goal is truly to help others, remember this: overdoing denies people the opportunity to grow, stretch, and learn. Prioritizing others over yourself isn’t actually selfless; it’s often rooted in fear, guilt, or the need for approval.

I’m not blaming you; this is how most women are conditioned. But you don’t have to wait for someone else to give you permission to take care of yourself. You can decide right now that you matter.

Here’s what I believe with my whole heart: when women prioritize their own wellbeing, everyone around them benefits.

3 Simple Rules for Prioritizing Yourself

1. Don’t do things for people they can do or figure out for themselves.
2. Don’t do things to make people love or like you more.
3. Don’t do things because you’re afraid of disappointing someone.

Some people might not like this at first but you’ll be surprised how many actually appreciate it.

Best of all, as you feel better, you show up more intentionally and lovingly. When you take care of yourself, your relationships deepen and your work improves. Everyone wins when you make yourself a priority.

In the past, you might have thought prioritizing others was the kind thing to do. However, I hope I’ve encouraged to consider that a different way.

One of the traps you can find yourself in is believing that you have no choice and that is simply not true in many cases.

Have Practical Boundaries That Protect Your Peace

Having boundaries is one of the most misunderstood concepts. Many people confuse boundaries with trying to get someone to change.

Telling someone how to behave is NOT a boundary. Your boundaries are always about how you will act or what you will do.

For example. Let’s go with how someone behaves. Here’s a real life example from someone I worked with. Her uncle would come to family gatherings drink too much, start fights, and in general be a disrupting presence. This went on for years!

Then, one person in the family spoke up and said, “If you act like that again, I will not invite you to my house when I host the next family gathering.” Notice this person did not tell the uncle how he should act, just what he would do if the uncle was disruptive again.

That my friends is a boundary. And that family member followed through and was happy with her boundary. Other people in the family were uncomfortable because they kind of felt bad for the uncle being left out.

However, they really enjoyed the peace and fun at the family gathering.

Trying to change someone looks different. That looks like asking the person to act different and doing a whole lot of hoping that the other person will change.

That would look like asking the uncle to not drink or not start arguments. It might look like getting him to promise to act better the next time. It looks like giving people chance after chance.

Guess which one works better for you?

Boundaries!

Wishing and hoping doesn’t get the job done. They usually just allow the person causing the problem to continue doing the hurtful things for years.

Notice, a boundary doesn’t tell the uncle he has to change at all. It just says, hey if you act like that, I’m not spending time with you.

And you don’t even have to confront the person. You can have the boundary in mind and just follow through. People will get it. Even though it can be difficult to set a boundary, it’s also a very loving thing to do.

Love isn’t letting people act out or disrupt your life. Love means having clear expectations and honoring them. This is good for you, for others, and for the person you set the boundary with.

Four More Everyday Boundary Examples

With adult children

If your grown child consistently drops by unannounced and it disrupts your day, you can say, “I love seeing you, but I need a heads-up before visits. If you stop by without calling, I may not be available to open the door.”

Notice, you’re not telling them what to do; you’re deciding how you’ll respond. I knew a coach who set this boundary with her mother. While it might seem harsh, it actually improved the relationship.

Of course, if you love drop-in visits, this isn’t something you need to set a boundary for. It may be something else. For example, if someone you confide in, share’s your private conversations, your boundary might be to not share any private information with that person. You might still spend time with them, but you won’t consider them a confident anymore.

At work

Work boundaries are a huge problem, especially for my go-getter clients. Because they perform so well, their bosses and coworkers constantly push boundaries.

It never gets better on its own until you set boundaries or leave the job.

If your boss keeps assigning “emergency” projects at 5 p.m., you can say, “I’ll handle this first thing tomorrow morning.” Then pack up and leave on time.

Notice, You’re defining when you’re available and not asking for permission. Of course there may be times when you are willing to stay and that makes sense.

With work boundaries, have boundaries around your own time. One of my clients made plans for the time after work, so she always had something she “had” to do after work.

This allowed her to set the boundary using the crutch of having plans. Eventually, everyone knew what her work hours were and respected that. It just wasn’t an issue anymore.

And here’s an incredible thing. When you have work boundaries and you focus on your actual job and your essential duties; you become an even better employee.

I kid you not, my clients who do set boundaries around their work, end up with raises, bonuses, and even job offers. The ones who don’t, stay miserable.

It may not seem like you have a choice, but you do. You don’t have to change it all at once. But a boundary here and there can change everything.

With friends

Friendships can be one of life’s greatest sources of support and joy but only when they feel balanced and mutual. Many women find that some friendships become one-sided over time. You might have a friend who constantly calls to vent, needs advice, or wants comfort but rarely checks in on you.

If a friend constantly calls to vent for hours, you might say, “I have about 15 minutes to talk right now.” Then stick to that limit. You’re not telling her to stop venting; you’re honoring your energy.

You may also notice that in certain friendships, you’re always the one doing the emotional heavy lifting: initiating contact, listening, and offering encouragement, while your friend contributes little back. Over time, this imbalance can leave you feeling unseen, used, or even resentful.

Here’s the truth: friendships don’t have to end when the balance is off, but they often need a gentle reset. You can start by pulling back slightly on how much you give.

Let her reach out next time. Leave a text unanswered for a bit if you’re tired. Protect your time and attention the same way you would with anyone else in your life.

If you find that the friendship only functions when you’re the caretaker, it may not be the right fit anymore and that’s okay. Some friendships serve a season and letting them fade can make space for new connections that feel mutual and uplifting.

With a Partner

Here’s a tricky but common one. Let’s say your partner refuses to handle simple personal tasks, like putting away clothes, rinsing dishes, or tidying shared spaces.

Your boundary may be as simple as not doing it for them anymore. You’re not demanding change; you’re deciding what you will or won’t do.

For example:

• They can rinse and load their own dishes.
• They can put away their own laundry.
• They can tidy their side of the room or shared spaces.

If you’ve been picking up after someone for years, stopping will feel uncomfortable at first. And yes, your home might look messier for a while. But your job is to manage your own discomfort, not to rescue someone from theirs.

You may have been told, “That’s just how men are,” or “His mother did everything for him.” But that doesn’t mean you need to take on that role. There’s a difference between dividing household tasks fairly and enabling someone’s refusal to take responsibility for themselves.

When you stop over-functioning, the dynamic becomes clearer. Sometimes the relationship grows stronger because respect increases. Other times, you see that the imbalance runs deeper than chores. Either way, you’ve stopped sacrificing your peace to keep the illusion of harmony.

Setting practical boundaries doesn’t make you selfish or difficult. It makes you whole. It allows you to live in truth instead of resentment. And in the long run, that’s better for everyone involved.

Why These Choices Matter More Than Ever After 50

When you look back, you’ll notice that the moments you grew most weren’t from pushing harder or pleasing others, they came from being real, setting limits, and caring for yourself like someone who matters.

Authenticity, self-prioritizing, and healthy boundaries are not small acts. These are revolutionary choices in a world that still tells women to do more, give more, and ask for less.

These choices create more peace, confidence, and freedom and the ripple effect touches everyone around you.

When you live this way, you don’t just improve your own life; you become an example of what’s possible for every woman who sees you.

So today, choose one small way to be more yourself, take care of your needs, or set a boundary that honors your energy.

You’ll never regret it and your future self will thank you.

If You’re Ready to Feel Different, Start Here

You don’t have to overhaul your whole life. Start with one simple step:

• Say no once this week when you’d normally say yes.
• Block off an hour for yourself.
• Notice when something doesn’t feel true and choose differently.

Those small steps are how everything changes.

If you’re tired of trying to make changes that don’t stick, coaching can help you uncover what’s really getting in your way and learn how to create peace, confidence, and health from the inside out.

Schedule your free consult here.You deserve to feel good in your body and your life, not someday, but now

FAQs

What are the most important choices women over 50 can make?

Focusing on authenticity, self-prioritizing, and healthy boundaries helps women over 50 live with more purpose, energy, and confidence.

Is it selfish to put yourself first after 50?

Not at all. Taking care of your own wellbeing helps you show up for others with more patience, energy, and love.

How do I start setting boundaries if it feels uncomfortable?

Start small. Decide what you will or won’t do, follow through once, and notice how much lighter and calmer you feel.

The post 3 Powerful Choices Women Never Regret appeared first on My Think Big Life.

Finding pleasure in food after 50 can change everything. Learn why it matters and how to rebuild a peaceful, enjoyable relationship with food.

Do you remember a time when you truly found pleasure in food, not just enjoying a favorite dish now and then, but genuinely feeling satisfied and happy every day when you ate?

For many women, especially after 50, that kind of ease with food feels like a distant memory. Instead of pleasure, eating has become a cycle of restriction, guilt, and frustration.

In this post, we’ll explore why women lose their enjoyment of food, what’s really going on beneath the surface, and practical ways to bring pleasure and peace back to your meals.

One thing I’ve noticed in my six years of coaching women, is that virtually none of them were finding pleasure in eating their food anymore. Food was actually almost like a scary enemy and every day was a struggle to “eat right.”

I see this with clients, friends, families, and women I meet out and about.

Last week, my 93-year old mom was telling me that she needed to watch what she was eating because she had gained some weight. Then last time I talked to her, she was happy that she had lost a couple of pounds.

This doesn’t go away on its own!

What Women do Instead of Eating for Pleasure

If you are a woman, you probably have your own version of what this looks like. As part of my coaching work, I work with your mindset, but I also work with your feelings and how your feelings are expressed in your body.

When women talk about food, eating, and their bodies, here are some of the things I hear:

• I’m a loser
• Nothing I do works
• I can’t have food I like
• Food is dangerous
• I blew it, I might as well blow it the whole way
• This food is bad
• I hate being this size
• Work makes me want to eat
• I just keep going in circles

The feelings women feel are:

• Despair
• Defeated
• Sad
• Angry
• Frustrated
• Overwhelmed
• Confused

And finally here is how it shows up in their lives:

• Hating to go out to eat because they have to figure out what they can eat
• Dreading the holidays and vacations because that means gaining weight
• Overeating during the day or eating too much in the evenings
• Putting off exercise
• Not trying because it’s not going to work anyway
• Planning to start fresh every week or so

So how does this painful cycle get started in the first place?

Why Women Struggle with Food and Eating

I could write a book on why we are so messed up around food but let me assure you, you are not the problem. However, what you think is the problem isn’t really the problem.

Every single woman I talk to, thinks they are the problem and that any problems they have with their body, food, eating, and their weight is because they are doing something wrong.

This isn’t true. What is true, is that all of the pressure to be thin and healthy have created the situation where more women are overweight and sick in some way than ever before.

Instead of creating strong healthy bodies that we can enjoy for a long time, we put ourselves through the misery of diets that do not work long-term, eating too little of real food, and binging and overeating not-so-great food.

Women are miserable on diets. And they are miserable when not on a diet because they continually tell themselves that they should be on a diet.

Instead of food being pleasurable, it is a constant struggle and source of pain.

Let’s change that.

Why This Matters

This isn’t just an abstract issue for me; it’s personal and central to my work.

At heart I believe every woman deserves to be at peace with her body and with food. I’ve written over 50 posts on losing weight, not because I think every women needs to be thin but because I want women to find some peace with food and their bodies.

For the most part, if you look online, all the advice from the major sites and AI is to eat sensibly and exercise.

Yet we all know that that simplified advice just does not work for most women after 50. Our bodies have gone through major hormonal changes and most of us are dealing with insulin resistance and autoimmune diseases.

There is so much incomplete and inaccurate information out there that just keeps women even more stuck. The message is, you are doing it wrong, if only you wouldn’t overeat, you could fix everything in your life.

And when you try your best and fail at losing weight, you are blamed.

Women think the answer is to eat less. However, that is not the entire answer and as long as you keep telling yourself you are the problem then you will stay stuck.

Instead, it’s time to look at the big picture. While you are not to blame because you have done nothing wrong, you also have to take responsibility for yourself now.

This means letting go of the idea that a diet will fix you.

Why Finding Pleasure in Food Matters After 50

One of the things that I love about life coaching is helping women find peace and pleasure with their food.

I have a specific process that I take women through over the course of our time working together.

1. Assess their current eating habits to see what is working and what could be problematic
2. Determine incremental changes to make week by week
3. Celebrate all the wins, including non-scale wins
4. Build up meals and nutrition, while reducing/eliminating snacking and binging

Almost from week one, women stop gaining weight and their confidence increases. Eating for pleasure is often new and a little scary, so instead of just handing women an arbitrary plan, together we create individual solutions that are doable and make sense.

Addressing feelings and triggers

Each week we coach on any feelings, emotions, or triggers that come up. While you may know in your head that you want to lose weight or even need to, 95% of your thoughts and feelings about this are not in your awareness. You literally sabotage yourself without knowing it.

A big part of the work I do, is helping women understand what is really going on. Part of it is the physical nature of food and how our body works. But another part is how our thoughts and emotions affect how and when we eat.

Actions to take

To accomplish this we create actions to take each week to create a sound eating plan. We celebrate anything that went well or any progress you made. All of it, not just what the scale says.

One of the best things about this process is that you shift and change. Once you’ve made a shift through coaching, you can’t unlearn or unknow it. You change your brain so you think more effective thoughts and feel better in general.

Why this is important

These emotional and mental shifts are why finding pleasure in food is so important. It’s not just about your weight; it is about all of you. If food is a constant source of irritation and frustration or deprivation, life just doesn’t feel as good.

You deserve to eat well and feel good about yourself.

Even before they lose weight, my clients feel better and they begin to enjoy food instead of fearing food.

They are able to vacation, get through the holidays, and go through life without needing to use food to numb themselves emotionally.

Miserable dieting will not give you those results. Because depriving yourself of enough food and food you enjoy feels bad. And when your body/mind/spirit revolts and you binge or overeat, you feel even worse.

Simple First Steps to Enjoy Food Again

My process is fairly simple and usually results in stopping your weight gain and helps you feel better.

Eat your meals

One of the best things you can do for yourself in the beginning is to just allow yourself to eat your meals without judging them. Eat foods you like and eat enough that you feel satisfied. My clients always tell me this one thing made the biggest difference to enjoying eating again.

This doesn’t mean pigging out or just eating junk and fast food. It means make some meals with protein, vegetables, and fat and oils.

Eat some real food that tastes good. If you have fast food have it for a meal and call it good. I encourage clients to have things like this once a week or so. This allows for some flexibility.

Be kind to yourself

No matter what happens, don’t punish yourself. When you overeat or binge, just move on and eat your next meal like normal.

At times if you find yourself craving snacks, check in to see if you are hungry. If you are, have a snack. If you are not hungry, check in with yourself and see what it is you need.

Often it is rest, movement, or connection. We often use food to self-soothe, give us energy, or calm us down. Instead of food, you can give yourself what it is you really need.

What more Help?

Finding pleasure in food again isn’t just about what’s on your plate; it’s about how you feel in your body, your mind, and your daily life.

When you stop punishing yourself and start creating real satisfaction around food, everything changes. You deserve to enjoy eating again, to trust yourself, and to feel at peace in your body.

If you want support in making this shift, schedule a free Zoom call and let’s talk about whether life coaching is right for you. Together, we can create a way of eating that feels good and works for you.

The post Why Finding Pleasure in Food Matters After 50 appeared first on My Think Big Life.

If I asked you what causes weight gain, most of you would say, “Eating too much.” That simple answer is so ingrained in us that it sounds true. And sometimes it is. And sometimes it isn’t. Many women carry more weight than they would like, however they do not overeat.

So, what’s going on?

Most of us grew up believing that weight gain happens because we simply eat too much. It sounds logical, it’s what we’ve been told for decades, and it’s often said with authority. But what if that explanation is incomplete or even misleading?

Many women carry extra fat even though they don’t consistently overeat. If you’ve ever felt like you are doing something wrong because the usual rules don’t seem to work for you, this post is going to give you a different way to understand weight, food, and your body.

What Really Causes Weight Gain After 50

There is a big problem with saying that the reason we’re overweight is because we eat too much. If we weigh too much and the reason is we eat too much but can’t seem to change that, then we must be bad in some way.

Amazing women all over the world, think they are bad in some way because they struggle with food, eating, and their bodies.

But what if I told you, that you are working with the wrong premise for weight gain or weight loss?

Let’s look at this differently. By changing how you approach being overweight. Actually, let’s back it up a bit. What does being overweight even mean?

In our modern world we use a few ways to define overweight.

• We look at our weight or size and decide if we are overweight.
• We look at a BMI table and base whether we are overweight on that
• Someone else such as a doctor or a parent have told us we’re overweight

Each of these is somewhat arbitrary though. While just like thinking overeating causes someone to be overweight, each of us can be different sizes or weights and not be overweight. I meet so many women that think they are overweight even though they are in a perfectly normal body.

A higher weight may also be more muscles and more bone density. It’s more useful to look at your body as a whole than as a number on the scale.

When we try to force ourselves into a weight that isn’t actually meant for us or even good for us, we can set up a never-ending cycle of deprivation and overeating.

Instead of arbitrary measures, we could look at ourselves with new eyes. When I think about my own weight, I think about it in terms of functionality and also aesthetics.

I want my body to look and feel great. For me, that means staying within a weight range that feels good. It’s not based on a chart or even what others say is the right size. I also notice how my clothes fit and what my energy levels are like.

Here’s the thing I see all the time. Women are so desperate to chase an unrealistic weight or size that they cycle through not eating enough with eating too much, resulting in too much fat, bad health, and really messed up eating habits.

Instead of working calmly and steadily to have a lovely and functional body, they instead make everything worse for themselves.

But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Why “Eating Too Much” Isn’t the Real Cause of Weight Gain After 50

In general, we gain weight because we take in more energy than our body can use. As we get older, our bad habits catch up with us, making our bodies more efficient at storing fat than in using it for energy.

Most of us were raised with low calorie diets. It was very common for women to go on a 1200-calorie a day diet to lose weight.

And those women were miserable because dieting is miserable. But we were also told that it was worth it. Remember the “nothing feels as good as skinny” rhetoric?

While you absolutely can lose weight on low-calorie diets; science and research are clear about one thing. Losing weight through a diet has virtually no long-term chance of success. Less than 5% of people that lose weight through a diet are able to maintain that loss.

Since the that time, we’ve come back around to understanding that carbohydrates and not fat are what are actually fattening. So, people went on low-carb diets to lose weight. And while effective, these diets didn’t offer long-term success either.

Here’s the thing. Most diets require us to eat in a way that isn’t right for us.

When I was still an occasional dieter, I would have success with diets, love how I felt, and love how my body looked. Yet, I couldn’t maintain my new way of eating no matter how effective it was.

We have forgotten how to just eat food we like in a way that works for our bodies and we’ve become addicted to using non-food foods as substitutes for real food.  

In addition, we eat around the clock. Instead of giving our bodies a chance to digest and process our food, we eat our meals plus snacks. Most people are eating during most of the hours they are awake.

Why Many Women Gain Weight After 50

In short, too many high-carbohydrate foods eaten too often create the perfect storm for continually gaining fat.

I want to be clear here. You don’t have to eat perfectly, all the time. But if you are gaining weight, that will not resolve on its own. You have to make some changes in how you eat.

But first, you need to understand what’s causing that gradual weight gain over the years and why it can be so hard to reverse.

All carbohydrates are broken down into glucose (sugar) in your body. A network of hormones including insulin regulates how that glucose is distributed, used for energy, or stored.

Your body uses some of the glucose right away for energy. If there’s more than it needs, the excess is sent to the liver and stored as glycogen to use later. But the liver has a limited capacity. Once those glycogen stores are full, the remaining excess is converted into fat and stored in fat cells.

When we eat frequently throughout the day, we often take in more energy than we use. Over time, the extra energy gets stored as fat, and our bodies get more efficient at storing fat than using it.

In times of scarcity, this would be helpful, those fat stores would keep us alive. But in a world where food is always available, that stored fat just keeps accumulating.

And this can happen even if it doesn’t feel like you’re overeating.

This is why low-carbohydrate diets can seem like a miracle for a time. You eat plenty and still lose weight. But in the end, they are difficult to maintain and later on your taste for fat combined with going back to too many carbs will cause you to gain weight again.

How to Eat to Lose Fat After 50

You lose fat when you allow your body to use all the glucose in your blood until it is required to use the fat you have in storage.

You can never lose fat unless you create the right conditions for your body to use fat for energy.

So, to lose fat, you do two things:

• Eat enough carbs for energy but not too many
• Give your body time to get into your fat stores for energy

These two things combined, allow you to eat most of the things you like without having to count calories or stress too much.

In my experience, this is the only thing that really works and while I wouldn’t say it’s always easy, it’s definitely not miserable to do.

If your system is operating pretty good, you may only need to start eating all your food at meals, either two or three a day. This alone often stops the gradual weight gain.

How to Lose Fat Naturally After 50

Beyond this, here’s the order I suggest. And you may not need to do them all. I recommend starting as conservative as possible.

Eat all food at mealtime. This means no snacks or eating at night. If this seems daunting, you probably aren’t eating enough at mealtime. As you are retraining your body, eat enough at meals to get you to the next meal. Since you are eating less carbs, add more vegetables and some extra fat like butter or olive oil.

Wait to eat until you are hungry, stop when full. If you have the flexibility to do this, wait to eat until you feel the hunger signals before you eat. This is so beneficial because if you wait to eat until you are hungry, it’s much easier to feel when you are full.

Reduce all added sugars, it’s okay to eliminate for a time if you have a big sweet tooth. Sometimes it is easier to eat no sugar than to have a little bit each day. If you are going to eat sugar, eat it at the end of your meal. You are way less likely to overdo it then. If you wait until you are hungry, you will eat more sugar.

Reduce carbs such as grains which includes pasta, rice, corn, breads, and cereals. I love to use potatoes, winter squash, carrots, beets, and fruit for my high carb foods. They help with energy, taste good, and make meals more satisfying. Plan on having a serving with each meal.

Give your body a long break from eating from last meal of day to first meal of the next. Aim for 13 hours. My body does better when I finish eating by 6 or 7 in the evening. When I wake up, I have about 12 hours fasting already in. It’s fairly easy since you sleep through most of this time.

How to Get Started with These Weight Loss Changes

This may seem overly simple to you or overly complicated depending on your current habits. But I can guarantee this, it’s actually a much simpler way of eating than you have ever done before.

I have a post that lays this all out in order, along with some of the mindset strategies you can use to make this a more enjoyable and effective practice.

When you only have to plan, prep, prepare two or three meals a day, life becomes so much simpler and easier.

This way of eating isn’t a quick fix or a trendy diet; it’s a return to how our bodies are meant to function. When you understand the real reasons behind weight gain, you stop fighting yourself and start working with your body instead of against it.

Give yourself time to learn, experiment, and adjust. The reward is a way of eating that supports your health, simplifies your life, and allows you to feel good in your body for the long term.

The post What Really Causes Weight Gain appeared first on My Think Big Life.

A common question among women is can you heal your relationship with food? Yes, it is possible and the benefits to healing your relationship with food extend beyond losing weight.

For decades, women have been told their weight is a personal failing, the result of laziness or lack of willpower. Yet despite working harder than ever, dieting more than ever, and being more health-conscious than ever, obesity rates continue to climb.

The truth is, the problem is not you, it’s the broken system of dieting, unrealistic expectations, and quick-fix solutions that have left generations of women discouraged and disconnected from their bodies.

The good news? You can use your weight journey as an opportunity to heal not just your body, but your relationship with yourself.

Losing weight or even deciding to maintain your current weight is an opportunity to heal in so many ways including and beyond the physical benefits. 

So often, women are told they need to lose weight, which comes as a surprise, to absolutely no one, who has been told this.

Our excess weight is framed as something we are doing wrong in life or that we are just too lazy to eat less or exercise more.

But have you ever stopped to think why, smart and hard-working women cannot lose weight?

Can it really be that we are all lazy gluttonous women?

The answer is NO. An emphatic NO. Your weight is not because there is something wrong with you.

Obesity and related diseases, have over the past 45 years gone up to at all-time highs now. The problem is much bigger than your habits.

According to the National Institute of Health

• Nearly 1 in 3 adults (30.7%) are overweight
• More than 2 in 5 adults (42.4%) have obesity
• About 1 in 11 adults (9.2%) have severe obesity

If willpower were the solution, we wouldn’t be facing a crisis. Yet today, nearly half of all adults in the U.S. are living with obesity and more women are struggling with their weight than ever before.”

The Problem with Weight Loss for Women

Briefly here are the problems I see:

Low fat and low calorie diets that have been promoted since the fifties have resulted in the greatest increase of weight gain and related diseases. Fat was never the problem but the increase in processed easy-to-eat fast and convenience foods that we snack on all day is a problem.

Grown women are expected to have the bodies of teenagers. We hold ourselves to this vision. Those that are successful at staying very thin, develop their own set of health problems including bone loss and increased cancer diagnosis. Those that continually diet and fail, end up gaining more weight every year.

Dieting is a business and making money is the real goal, not helping women be healthy. Thin does not equal health. You can be thin and very unhealthy, even though you get compliments about your body. But the diet industry doesn’t even really get many of you thin.

We’ve forgotten that we deserve to eat and eat food we like. We’ve been conditioned to think we need to eat too little of low-calorie foods that don’t even taste good. We are completely out of touch with our hunger cues and when our body feels full.

Finally, since all of the above has created a couple of generations of overweight women, I see doctors giving up and prescribing GLP1’s to many women whether it is medically called for or not.

These issues lead to women doing the opposite of healing themselves. While you may believe that being thin will fix everything; it just doesn’t. However, I do understand your desire to lose weight and the frustration that comes when that doesn’t happen.

What I want you to know is that you can use your weight loss journey to heal many parts of yourself that have been ignored or pushed away over the years as well as eating better, understanding your body better, and feeling better.

What Can You Heal?

You can heal the struggling parts of yourself and learn to love all of you maybe for the first time ever.

What do I mean by the struggling parts? All of us have parts of our personality that we approve of. And we also have the parts that we wish would never see the light of day.

The problem with this is that the parts you approve of and let run the show for the most parts, are stuck in a protector mode and is always holding you back in some way.

The parts you’ve pushed away are running things behind the scenes. You may not even be conscious of their influence but they are also trying to keep you safe in their own way.

For example, the part of you that you are conscious of, says, You need to lose weight. Makes sense, of course you do. And yet, it just doesn’t happen despite your best efforts.

An Example of Healing an Eating Pattern

One time I had a client who couldn’t figure out why she ate chocolate every night. Her solution was to have her husband hide it. (You’d be surprised by how many women have people hide food from them.)

We did some work and next thing we knew, she was eating popcorn in the evening. She stopped the popcorn, again by having her husband remove it. And then it was a sudden desire for ice-cream every night.

Can you see how the actual food was not the problem? We had removed hunger as the reason. We removed the idea that certain foods were addictive for her. That left just the time period—evening.

Once we knew there was something about the evening time that needed soothing with food, we could focus on the real problem, which we discovered was that she couldn’t relax in the evening without food.

There was a part of her that believed that stopping, resting, and watching television was dangerous.

It wasn’t actually dangerous but this part of her, believed it was to the extent that to quiet that part, she ate every night just to sooth herself enough that she could sit and enjoy time with her husband.
Maybe for you it’s chips after work, or a nightly glass of wine. For her, it was chocolate. The food itself wasn’t the problem; it was what she needed it to quiet.

The healing came from acknowledging these parts of herself. The part that thought she needed to work 24/7 to feel safe. And the part that wanted to lose weight but didn’t know how. And the part that was trying to hold it all together.

Often, because productivity is considered good and women become successful because of their productivity, they don’t realize how much this idea runs their lives.

Why This is Different Than a Diet

Diets do not heal anything, not even the body. The word diet can simply mean what you eat on a daily basis, but it has also come to mean a period of deprivation of food for the purpose of losing weight.

To lose weight, you do have to make some changes. However, the changes I recommend are rooted in taking care of yourself and loving yourself. Instead of deprivation, I usually recommend eating more at times

The types of food you eat and when you eat is important and makes the whole process easier. Instead of using willpower, I teach women to understand what makes them overeat at times and how to eat more naturally.

My clients love the freedom from worrying about every bit they put into their mouths whether at home or when going out.

As you learn to eat, you heal your body from the inside out. I’m not a doctor or nutritionist but I know a lot about eating and food in general. For the most part though, my clients who do see a knowledgeable doctor or nutritionist, get the same kind of advice about what to eat.

I’m an expert in helping you follow through on the kind of eating that is right for you. I help dissolve problem eating patterns and give you a great foundation for managing your weight forever.

Instead of dieting imagine:

• eating full meals of food you actually enjoy, without guilt.
• dissolving old eating patterns for good, not just for a few weeks.
• trusting your body and yourself more than you ever thought possible

Diets don’t offer a forever solution (you aren’t the problem but you may have habits that are.) but I do and it feels great to finally have the ability to enjoy food again without worrying that it’s going to ruin everything.

Your Next Step

If you’re ready to step off the dieting treadmill and start creating lasting change, I’d love to help. In a free Zoom consultation, we’ll uncover what’s really holding you back and explore how you can heal your eating patterns for good. You don’t have to keep fighting with your body, let’s find a way forward that feels like freedom. Schedule your free zoom consult here.

The post Can You Heal Your Relationship with Food? appeared first on My Think Big Life.

Feeling stuck in midlife? Here are 3 steps you can use to take charge of your life, set boundaries, and start living the way you want to beginning today.

Most women I meet are smart, capable, and deeply committed to everyone around them. Yet underneath all that giving, so many feel tired, frustrated, and quietly stuck. Life seems to be running them instead of the other way around.

Taking charge of your life isn’t about abandoning your responsibilities or becoming selfish; it’s about reclaiming your time, energy, and creative spark so you can live fully, not just function

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Taking charge of your life doesn’t mean dropping your responsibilities or suddenly putting yourself above everyone else. It means reclaiming your time, energy, and creativity so you can show up as the best version of yourself.

In this post, I’m sharing three powerful shifts that will help you take back control. They might feel uncomfortable at first—but they are the exact changes that create more peace, health, and joy in your life.

Why So Many Women Feel Stuck in Midlife

Through working with my clients for the past six years, I’ve learned just how amazing most women are. They are capable, hard-working, and exquisitely caring about other people.

And while they have all these qualities, they are also tired, frustrated, and often feel like life is running them rather than being in charge of their own lives. It feels for many women, like they do and do and they feel emptier and emptier.

At the same time, their health is suffering and often they’ve gained weight that they can’t do anything about. Who has the time? Just tell me what to do.

So here it is. Here are three things you can do to take charge of your life. When you read these, you may be tempted to ignore them. But I want to warn you, that your life will not get better by just hoping it will.

Even my clients that are retired, still find themselves not in charge of their own lives. They tend to add more doing for others to their lives. Or they become obsessed with having the perfect house. Unless you change how you think about yourself and your time, how you feel will not change.

I really wanted to keep this list to three areas that I seeing lacking in women’s lives. When a woman works with me, it’s usually to help with eating or just not feeling good in general. They believe that there problem is their weight or something occurring in their lives.

The Hidden Problem: Lack of Self-Care and Boundaries

10/10 times, it is a lack of self-care and a lack of boundaries that are the real problem.

So, I want to remind you that you are a person too. You have just as much a right to your exquisite self-care as anybody else.

But we forget that. We grow up believing we have to please everyone else all the time. Or else!

Or else we will face disapproval or even ejection from your community in some way.

In addition, I want to remind you that you are now an adult, who has some amount of agency over her own life. Yet, that feeling that it is unsafe to disappoint or let others down lives on within you.

And that right there my friends is the thing that holds almost everyone of you back in some way.

So, I encourage you to read all the way through. Today might not be the day that you take this on but I want to plant the seed of possibility that you can take charge of your life.

In my work, the one thing that divides women who get great results from women that stay stuck is the belief that they can change. That belief doesn’t have to be 100% but even a little tiny bit will help.

Why Taking Charge of Your Life Matters More Than Ever

Here’s the paradox: you’re busy, but you’re still living too small.

You’re working hard, juggling endless responsibilities, but all that effort keeps you from tapping into your best self. Too often, women bury their unique talents under a pile of obligations and “shoulds.”

When you start taking charge, you stop waiting for someone else, your boss, your partner, your kids, to give you permission. You realize the power was always yours. And here’s the bonus: when you show up as the real you, everyone around you benefits too.

I didn’t say you weren’t busy, you aren’t working hard, or that you aren’t doing enough. It’s just that by exhausting yourself on so much, you aren’t bringing your full best self to the world.

What I mean by that is that you are doing lots a helpful and productive things, but you probably haven’t even tapped into the best you have to offer. Women often have amazing qualities and unique skills, but these get buried under all the mundane tasks we take on.

Now, I know, there are times in our lives when we have to be like that. But for the most part, my clients are beyond middle age, kids if they have them are grown, and have established careers or are retired.

Everything I do through coaching is to help my clients feel better and I believe in doing that from the inside out. Often we believe things around us have to change.

The Trap of Waiting for Others to Change

• My boss needs to get me some help
• My partner should be doing more
• My kids are taking advantage of me and should stop

Those really are three of the biggest issues I see. Yet, I know that nothing changes on the outside until we adjust how we are on the inside. We have to start with ourselves to create the conditions we would prefer in our lives.

When you commit to taking charge of your life, you take responsibility for the quality of your life. Yes, of course other people affect your life, but I guarantee you this, you have given other people WAY more power in your life than they deserve or need.

And trust me on this. They don’t just hand it over willingly or just because they finally realize how much you do and surely you need some you-time. Nope that never happens until you decide you deserve it first.

Here’s the good news

Finally, let me give you some good news. When you take charge of your life; everyone’s life gets better. It might seem like it will be worse for others, but when you show up as the real you, you truly improve your relationships.

You may not even realize how much resentment you have or how tired you are. So many of you do not rest until you drop from exhaustion in the evenings.

If you’re running on empty, stay put, and give yourself a chance to live your authentic life. Giving more does not mean doing more. It means the quality of giving more than makes up for the quantity of giving and doing.

You do less but you do better and that is good for everyone. By doing this you give yourself the tine to take care of yourself and also deepen the contribution you make to the world.

How to Begin Taking Charge

Now, let’s dig in here. We’ve already done some of the liminal work by planting the seed that you can do less and do better. By doing that you gain control of your life which allows you to take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health.

While some change can happen overnight, most will come incrementally but also be cumulative in nature. It takes time to change but it is well worth it because of all the benefits you get as you go.

Let’s get off that hamster wheel and start living intentionally!

Step 1: Learn to Let People Down (Without Guilt)

This one feels scary, but it is life changing. Women push themselves into exhaustion to avoid disappointing others. We say yes when we’re already stretched thin. We take on “just one more thing” even when our health is suffering.

But here’s the truth: saying no and feeling a few minutes of guilt is far better than saying yes and carrying hours of extra work on your back. When you let go of the need to keep everyone happy, you gain freedom, energy, and even respect.

I’m going to start with what will probably be the most difficult to believe but will be the MOST life-changing: learning to disappoint and let other people down.

What letting people down does not mean

For of all, I want to assure you that this doesn’t mean not doing your job or not being a good partner, parent, child, or friend. It just means being more intentional in what you take on and not being afraid to feel uncomfortable or even guilty when you know someone is disappointed.

I’ll even go so far as to say, we take on way too much because we FEAR disappointing or letting someone else down. We overwork so we don’t even have the change to feel guilty or uncomfortable.

I meet women that are fifty+ pounds overweight, with multiple health problems, and exhausted who will not let other people down.

We’d rather be fat, sick, and tired than let someone else down. You sacrifice your very own life and health, not for others, but to protect yourselves from feeling uncomfortable for a couple of minutes.

Yep, we literally work ourselves into bad health, because we are not willing to feel bad about saying no.

I’ll tell you right here, saying no and feeling uncomfortable for a couple of minutes is WAY better than taking on hours additional duties for the foreseeable future.

Women do that all the time though. We just keep adding and adding until we are so tired and jacked up at the same time that we can’t even get good rest.

Step 2: Make Time for YOU—And Protect It Fiercely

Your schedule will never magically open up. You have to claim space for yourself. That might mean stopping work on time, letting others handle their responsibilities, or blocking out regular breaks in your day.

This isn’t optional. Without intentional rest, you’ll eventually collapse into exhaustion. YOU Time is what keeps you healthy, grounded, and able to keep giving in meaningful ways. Think of it as preventative care for your body and soul.

Take charge of your schedule

Here are some actions that make time for YOU Time. Before you can actually do things that recharge you and make you feel better, you have to open up some time on your schedule.

• Stop work on time
• Do not do other people’s jobs or do things people can do for themselves
• Hire a house cleaner
• Do not take on additional assignments if your schedule is full. Be clear about people’s expectations and what you can do in normal work hours.
• If you share living space with others; expect them to do their share or share in expense of hiring work out.

Yet, how do you get to the place where you can do that? That’s the mindset and emotional work. Your brain might scream or whisper that this feels really unsafe to do.

Or probably more common, is that tricky little thought that says, “Oh well, it’s just easier for me to do it myself.”

It is not easier long-term to do it yourself

We all say that! And it is so damaging in the big picture. Sure, it may be easier in some ways, but after you’ve done that hundreds of times, your schedule is too full. It’s not easier in the long-run.

We might not even realize that. We just know we can’t say no. We can’t take time to eat. We have to try even hard to keep up or maybe even get ahead one day. (Spoiler: That NEVER happens.)

If you are retired or don’t work, you may be wrapped up in taking care of your partner, your home, your kids, your grandkids, your parents, your church, your community, or your home. I see the same thing even in women who don’t work.

You don’t want to let anyone down either.

How to get started making time

First of all, you can decide where you want to make a change. I often have women start with something that makes sense. Deciding to take time away from work to eat lunch if they don’t do that. Since most women I work with want to lose weight, taking time to prepare and eat a good lunch is important and it fits with the overall goal.

While it sounds easy enough, the doing on a daily basis from that moment on is a little more difficult. That means giving up an hour of work. That means getting less done. That means getting even further behind.

The thoughts! The feelings!

However, a beautiful thing can happen. After letting themselves feel bad for taking time to actually eat, they feel a little better. They feel more in charge of their life. Their focus may improve.

The Real Meaning of YOU Time

I believe having YOU Time is essential, not just nice if you can get it. Most women would like it but don’t see the real need for it. If you think like that, let me give you some statistics. Each year women die from preventable lifestyle diseases as well as live with debilitating autoimmune diseases that seriously affect their quality of life.

I once had a client who bragged that she knew how to rest and went on to say that she rested, “when she couldn’t move anymore.” That is not rest my friends! That is exhaustion.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever read was that to have a clean house, you clean before it looks dirty. You dust, vacuum, and wipe up on a regular basis preventing the house from ever being dirty.

Resting on the regular is how we prevent exhaustion and recharge ourselves by doing activities that help us feel better. My favorite way to rest is to lay on the couch and read. I also make time to exercise, meditate, and journal into my day.

Resting can be doing things

Other women prefer other things such as gardening, spending time with pets, going for walks, doing a favorite craft, cooking or baking, or watching tv.

While YOU time is meant to be relaxing, it doesn’t have to be just laying around (though there is nothing wrong with that!) and doing nothing. YOU Time is a time where your body and mind can actually relax and cultivate peace and calm for yourself.

This is a part of taking care of your health. The constant pressure from doing things that keep your nervous system revved up is not good for you. It’s just as bad as overeating and drinking in my opinion, though it’s definitely more socially acceptable.

Step 3: Create Something That’s Uniquely Yours

At your core, you are a creator. Whether it’s writing, gardening, painting, baking, or building something new, creating is how you tap into the energy of life itself. It doesn’t deplete you; it fills you up.

Too many women put their creative dreams on hold because they believe chores or other people’s needs matter more. But when you carve out space to create, you enrich not only your own life, but also the lives of those around you.

I think the best reason to take charge of your life is that you can make room to create. In my opinion being a creator of any kind is life giving. It plugs us into the energy of life.

Creation is our legacy that we leave behind

What do I mean by creating. To me, creating is when we bring something into being that was never here before. We literally make something new and expand the world. And we can do this through any avenue we want.

As a writer, I am daily amazed by what I bring into being. You are sitting there reading these words. Before I typed them into my computer, this exact mix of words did not exist.

Writing used to be intimidating to me as I learned to work with my own creative force. Now it comes much easier and I believe that this time I schedule every day is life-giving. It doesn’t deplete me; it adds to me and to the world.

Creating generates life; it doesn’t take away

Your creations make more for everyone rather than taking away from others.

You may have looked at having time to create as selfish; as something you just do for yourself because you like it. I see women put their creative dreams on hold for years, maybe decades. Why?

Because we value doing menial work for others more than our own creativity. Instead of enriching the world and life itself, we spend our precious time, doing boring, unnecessary, and tedious work that usually enriches others in some way.

Yes, we’re all going to have our share of the stuff we have to do, that we don’t love. However, everything we do doesn’t have to be like that. I can almost guarantee that as you move from doing other’s work to concentrating on your own, while making time to rest and create, you will get better at your actual job.

Those dreams of decorating, designing, crafting, making, writing, or anything else are valid and important ways for you to spend time.

Bringing It All Together: Your Next Step Starts Now

I hope I encouraged you to see that taking charge of your life is good for you and those around you. It isn’t selfish. In fact it is the most giving thing you can do for yourself, the people you care about, and the world.

Taking charge of your life isn’t about throwing everything out the window or suddenly living a completely different way. It’s about recognizing that your time, energy, and gifts are valuable—and you are the one who gets to decide how to use them.

When you learn to let people down, you reclaim your health and sanity. When you carve out YOU Time, you restore your energy and presence. And when you give yourself permission to create, you step into the part of you that was meant to expand, not shrink.

Each of these changes might feel small at first, but together they shift the foundation of your life. They remind you that you’re not here just to keep everyone else comfortable—you’re here to live fully, with strength, joy, and intention.

So ask yourself: which of these three steps will you begin with today? Even one small decision in your favor can be the spark that changes everything.

Taking charge of your life isn’t a dramatic overhaul; it’s a series of intentional choices that put your well-being back on the map. Learning to let people down frees your energy. Protecting your YOU Time restores your spark. Creating brings you alive. Even one small decision in your favor can be the shift that changes everything.

So, which step will you start with today? If you’re ready to stop waiting for life to change and start leading it yourself, let’s talk. Schedule a free consult with me here and take your first intentional step forward.

The post Take Charge of Your Life: 3 Steps Women Can Start Today appeared first on My Think Big Life.

At this point you might not understand why eating less isn’t working for you but that seems to be the only advice out there to help you lose weight.

I’m going to give you a different perspective on what I call the myth of eating less. This tiny statement has created so much damage for women who have been led to believe that it is their appetite that is the problem.

Have you recently been searching for help with an issue that also includes weight gain and been frustrated by the search results that just say something along the lines of “eat less?”

For decades, women have been told the secret to weight loss is simple: just eat less. But this so-called “truth” hasn’t helped us.

Instead, it’s left generations of women stuck in cycles of restriction, guilt, and confusion: struggling with food, battling body image issues, and still carrying more weight than they want.

It’s time to question why we keep following advice that doesn’t work and start looking at what truly helps us feel better in our bodies.

The Myth of Eating Less

Women typically believe that they need to eat less. We’ve heard that since we were teenagers. And we’re still being told this by medical professionals and most of the articles online when we search for help.

Eat less, eat less, eat less, was the constant message for most of us. And if you felt like you were already over-sized the message was even louder. We were punished for having an appetite and eating food we liked.

When I was a teenager, I believed the magazines like Teen and Seventeen that were full of waif-like models who promoted extreme thinness.

Because my very normal and healthy body was not a smaller size, I always felt like I was doing it wrong. I kid you not. Looking back, I would be considered thin now, but back then I felt huge.

I know the pain of spending your days trying to figure out how to eat less so you can finally have a body that society will approve of.

We have so much collective pain over hating our bodies because we are still trying to live up to the ideal of what we thought we were supposed to look like as a teenager.

The myth is that if only we could control our appetites, we could control our bodies, and we’d finally feel okay.

Yet, even after decades we still hold on to that myth and continue to punish ourselves physically and emotionally because our bodies actually do get hungry and we really do need to eat.

I’ve begun describing the work I do as teaching women to eat like you love yourself. I’m not telling you to give up on having a healthy body. I’m just saying it’s time to eat as if you are a person you truly loved and wanted the best for.

Eating less is not the entire answer. Our bodies are way more complex than that. Sometimes you will need to eat more. Sometimes you’ll need to eat differently. But I can almost guarantee you that you don’t need to just eat less.

Why Eating Less Doesn’t Work

When it comes to food and eating, we have a lot of thoughts and feelings. Once upon a time, getting food was almost a full time job. We ate for survival. Up until the last couple of generations, food scarcity was a thing for many people.

My mom grew up in a house that often had food scarcity. There was always something, but a meal could be as little as some toast the school sent home with her mom.

But in the 80+ years since my mom had toast and cocoa for dinner, the world of food has exploded. In her childhood a grocery store might have hundreds of items. These days, depending on the size of the store it can be in the tens of thousands.

Add to that, all the restaurants and fast-food places that sprung up.

But first I’ve got to explain that part of the problem is that what you think you should be doing, just isn’t the right thing.

Forget about survival, most of us are trying to figure out how to avoid eating all the tasty and crave-inducing foods there are. We fight an internal battle every day between what we want to eat and what we should eat.

What Eating Less Looks Like

For the most part, women have been led to believe that they need to eat less at meals. Every diet I was ever on, had portion sizes, that in no way, every satisfied me. It was always either too little food or food I didn’t really enjoy.

I can remember being hungry in a way that felt painful and always wanting more food.

Then there would be overeating and binging to compensate. Not eating enough at meals is a problem not a solution.

What I see by the time clients find me are women who restrict their food intake at meals and overeat or binge at other times. They come to me, hoping that I can help them finally conquer their appetites.

Yes, women believe their appetites and their lack of willpower are the problem and that there is something wrong with them.

Being hungry is seen a fault and women who somehow transcend their hunger are held up as role models for the rest of us.

The problem is painted as if there is something wrong with us rather than we’ve been taught the wrong things.

What Do You Do Instead of Eating Less?

Instead, I teach women how to work with their appetites in a new way. While eating less may cause you to lose weight, you will be in a constant battle with your appetite and hunger. It doesn’t ever feel good.

Plus the eating less isn’t necessarily healthier and for some women even that doesn’t even work after a certain age.

Instead of eating less, you most likely need to eat differently. Your appetite and hunger are a part of you. Your fat is a survival mechanism in your body. You can’t beat them into submission and feel good.

However, you can change how you eat and feel better for doing it. Eating doesn’t have to feel complicated like a crazy puzzle that you can’t figure out.

Forget that nonsense that eating healthy has to be about eating foods you don’t like and eating those foods in tiny quantities. The only thing that will work long-term is eating foods you like and eating enough that you feel good.

The Shift in How We Eat

The surprise for most of my clients is that they need to eat more at their meals. They need to eat more real food. They need to spend more time planning and preparing food. They need to intentionally eat food they like. They need to abandon the idea of needing to eat less.

As you can imagine, this doesn’t happen overnight. And most women are not happy to hear that. Most women want to do less, not more. Not because they are lazy but because they are already doing so much. So, adding meal planning, prep, and time to eat can feel overwhelming.

The solution is not to abandon eating like you love yourself; the solution is to do less in other areas so you have time to take care of yourself.

If that sounds bad, I get that. We see ourselves as indispensable in other areas of our lives, while at the same time abandoning our care of ourselves. This calls for a big shift in your mindset. You must put yourself first. To undo decades of body damage, it really requires a lot of focus on yourself to change.

In my practice, most of my clients are doing too much for other people. They live with partners, but they do almost all the house care, meals, and planning. They prioritize their grown children’s needs over their own needs. And at work, they do their own job plus way more.

So, the goal of eating like you love yourself, requires you to love yourself in such a way as you prioritize your own well-being and self-care.

What Does Eating More Look Like?

The first and most amazing thing happens when you begin eating more at meals. By eating more at meals and eliminating the overeating and binging at other times, you stop gaining weight.

That’s always motivating and surprising to my clients. “Wow, I’m eating good meals and I’m not gaining weight.”

We start by having the client track all her food. Most women under eat at meals and overeat with snacks.

When I first start working with a client, I recommend that they end all snacking as a goal. It can take a few weeks for this to happen. However even before eliminating snacking, I challenge women eat more at their meals.

Snacking can easily double the amount of food we eat in a day without leaving us feeling satisfied. It can seem like we’re always looking for the next thing to eat. And we are!

Yet, when we commit to eating enough food at our meals to feel satisfied, it is much easier to snack less. For most of us, our bodies do better when we feed them enough at meals to go many hours until the next time we eat.

When we eat a meal that fills us up; we generally feel good. Then as the hours go by, our body will gradually become hungry again.

This hunger feels good and is a signal that we’ll need to eat soon but it doesn’t feel like an emergency.

Doing this will usually stop weight gain. We can easily maintain our weight, when we eat meals and don’t snack. This is actually very freeing because we worry less about eating or food in general. We begin to understand and feel the natural rhythms of our hunger and our body.

Here are a couple of posts that can walk you through how to do that and ideas for adjusting how you eat so you can lose weight.

10 Powerful Tips to Lose Weight

7 Tips to Lose Weight After 50

The post Why Eating Less Isn’t Working appeared first on My Think Big Life.

I know many of you want to know how to stop being an emotional eater and I am here to help. I am going to teach you how to use your emotions to eat in a way that feels so much better.

I’ll explain

• How emotions affect the how, when, and why you eat.
• 6 common emotional eating patterns
• How to change these emotional eating patterns

What is An Emotional Eater?

When you think of being an emotional eater; do you automatically think that is a bad thing? Whether we like it or not, emotions always play a part in how we eat.

Most of us imagine a woman overeating her ice-cream or binging on chips when she is upset. This of course does happen at times. Being an emotional eater has a bad reputation, but the truth is we ALL are emotional eaters.

The difference in how we eat though, is how we create and use our feelings when it comes to food.

Our emotions play a huge part of how we eat. Here’s where having a good emotional vocabulary helps. I’m not just talking about eating ice-cream when you feel down. I’m talking about all the hundreds of little ways our emotions come into play.

What we do or don’t do is always because of a feeling we’re having or a feeling we want to have, or a feeling we are trying to avoid.

We believe food can help us create many feelings such as happiness, joy, satisfaction, fun, anticipation. Just thinking about food can be exciting. We give food a lot of power when it comes to how we feel.

We can also use food to avoid feeling things. Sometimes we use food to avoid feeling some uncomfortable feelings such as boredom, sadness, anger, or frustration.

We can use food to avoid feeling the urge or desire to eat something. We can feel overwhelmed with desire and we believe we must eat to get rid of that compulsion.

Food can also be the basis for trying to create feelings. Maybe we use food to feel good about ourselves. If we eat less, we can feel worthy. If we eat this amazing food, we get to feel sophisticated.

Why Avoiding Feelings Only Keeps Us Stuck (And What to Do About It)

Your emotions are the key to finding balance and peace with food.

If you are currently feeling stressed about trying to eat like you think you should and not being able to follow through, I’ve got you.

Feelings can, well feel, so inconvenient at times and every woman I know tries to control her feelings in many unproductive ways, that include avoiding, reacting to, or numbing their feelings.

High on the list of ways to numb our feelings, is using food to do so. The problem with avoiding our feelings is that we keep ourselves stuck because we are trying to resisit something that feels like a problem but actually isn’t.

How We Create Our Actions Through Our Feelings

Everything you do is because of a feeling you want to feel or a feeling you want to avoid.

Per our eating, our feelings are created in our bodies through our beliefs and thoughts and when you learn the skill of identifying these thought-feeling-action patterns it becomes much easier to eat intentionally.

When we understand that we have the power to recognize how we are acting based on a feeling we are experiencing in our bodies.

This may be all new to you but I promise you that it is going to help you eat in a way that supports your goals instead of wondering every day, “What just happened to my plan?”

You’ll start learning this by looking at things that have already happened. Then you’ll begin noticing when it’s happening.

Finally, you’ll catch yourself in the act and be able to do something else if you want.

Here’s a simple example but a common one.

Let’s say you are trying to figure out why, no matter what your best intentions are, you always give in to your evening cravings.

When work and dinner is done and it’s time to relax on the couch with a show, you HAVE TO HAVE a bag of chips and a piece of candy.

You know that’s part of the reason you’ve gained 10 pounds this year but you just can’t stop yourself.

Now let’s slow it down. As a life coach, I listen to my clients describe the above situation. So, I will usually start with having the client slow down the scenario by asking some questions.

When you sat down on the couch, what was going through your mind as you thought about your evening snack?

How did you feel in your body?

Did you notice any feeling?

My client responded with the following:

I kept thinking, “I have to have my chips.” “It just won’t be the same without my chips.” “This is the only time I get to relax; I deserve something special.”

And there it is. “I deserve to have something special.” Of course you do! But in this case, this thought is creating a feeling that leads to you getting up off the couch and getting your chips and candy.

Because you feel deserving.

Now, there is nothing wrong with feeling deserving. It’s just a feeling. And when my client recognized that this was happening underneath or consciousness, she was able to notice when it happened.

Then she just let the thought and feeling be there without going to get the snack. Did it feel uncomfortable at first. It sure did. She also let the discomfort be there. She made it okay to feel deserving and uncomfortable without judgment.

My client then created a new thought and feeling. Instead of saying she deserved a treat, she decided to tell herself that she deserved to feel good. When she talked to herself like that, she felt committed to her plan to not eat at night.

After a short amount of time, the nightly craving just disappeared. Instead of nightly eating, she began to relax with a cup of tea.

I always tell my clients that I will teach them to change problem eating in a way that will eventually make them almost forget that they even had the habit. It really is only uncomfortable for a short time, then it just dissolves.

To help you get started, I want to share some common emotional eating patterns. You may recognize some of these or you might have your own.

Emotional Eating Patterns

In my work, I see many emotional eating patterns over and over with the women I work with. Here are 6 that I see often. My wish is that you can take these examples and start noticing your own patterns.

Remember, none of these feelings are a problem; it’s just that we treat them like a problem to be solved with food. Instead you’ll learn to just feel what is going on within you and then you can decide to act based on what you really want to do.

Boredom

This is one that comes up for me almost daily. I will notice I feel a little bored and I’ll want to have something to eat to relieve it. While, I might have this feeling of boredom and urge to eat, I rarely act on it because I’m really clear on the fact that I don’t eat to relieve boredom.

Instead, I just let the boredom be there, until it passes which is really just a couple of minutes. Once I’ve let the feeling be there, I just get back to doing things that relieve the boredom. And if I’m still a little bored, well, that isn’t the end of the world.

Restlessness

Restlessness is another common emotion that can lead to overeating. Feeling restless can often lead to you standing in front of the pantry trying to figure out the right thing to eat so you feel more settled.

Or maybe you try one food but it doesn’t do the trick, so you try another. Before you know it, you’ve eaten a bunch of crap but you don’t feel any better.

Sometimes you can feel something similar to restlessness. The best way I can explain it is that you have “an itch you need to scratch.”

You’re looking for a food to address a general uneasiness you have.

This is a time to get into your body with gentle movement such as a walk, or stretching, or even something like gardening. I find gentle sustained movement will help settle the body without you trying to chase the restlessness away.

Anger

Who hasn’t eaten out of anger?

Anger is such an interesting feeling. It is just another emotion to be felt but it feels like a special one. We think our anger means something. It does. It means you are telling yourself something.

Now I want to say here, that you can be absolutely correct that someone has done something bad or that a situation is unfair. The problem happens when you hang on to that anger and instead of processing it or dealing with the person or situation, you eat.

Eating soothes you and makes the anger a little more bearable.

As women, we have a taboo against anger. Not many women want to be considered an angry woman. I’ve found that many women think if they “give in” to their anger it will envelop them and that they won’t be able to not be angry.

You might be so afraid of getting angry that you will do anything to avoid it. Eating too much and gaining weight may at some level, feel safer than getting angry.

Here’s what I have found. When you actually allow yourself to be angry, feel it in your body, it processes within a couple of minutes and then you have more peace and clarity.

With peace and clarity, you don’t send the angry text and you don’t dive into a pint of ice-cream. You might even discover that you are also really sad.

Again, sadness doesn’t have to be a problem either. When we let ourselves feel our sadness we might need to acknowledge how some things really are in our lives. I’ve had clients realize that their husbands don’t really love them.

Instead of overeating to deal with this, they acknowledge the sadness. Instead of wishing for their husbands to be different, they deal with their real lives and they don’t use food to feel loved. They begin to love themselves.

My clients tend to be in long-term marriages with grown children and grandchildren, and so far, they’ve all decided to stay in their marriages and create a life they can feel good about.

Instead of having this simmering anger in their bodies, they can feel peaceful and be intentional about what they want. This always creates a better partnership and relationship.

This anger can also show up in work situations. So, substitute co-worker or boss for the partner. It’s okay to feel anger. But the real change comes from processing the anger so you can have calm and clarity instead.

Stress

This feeling is probably no surprise to any of you reading this. Who isn’t feeling stressed these days. Almost every client I’ve worked with felt stressed when they started working with me.

They wear their stress on their faces and in their bodies.

Eating is one way they try to deal with their stress. I believe a lot of stress comes from the thought, “I can’t change this.” Or “If I just work harder, I can get ahead and rest later.”

Neither of those statements is true and over the years you create more stress for yourself.

Forget about bubble baths or massages as a way to solve your stress. The only way to deal with stress is to let yourself really feel it in your body.

When I have my clients do this, they’ll tell me how it feels. It can feel like a rock pressing down on their chest. It can feel like someone choking them. It can feel like their heart is being squeezed.

Sounds fun, right?

When you actually feel what stress is doing in your body, you get more motivated to deal with it. Again, it’s by feeling and letting it process, and giving yourself some breathing room.

When your body feels calmer, you can become more intentional. Instead of eating to feel better; you may start taking a lunch break during the workday. You may decide an hour walk after dinner is better for you than working for an extra hour.

As you experience feeling better, you’ll want more of that. You’ll begin to evaluate requests for your time and energy.

Often as women begin to value their own time and energy, they focus on the essentials of their job and quit doing work that isn’t theirs. Counter-intuitively, they may find themselves getting bonuses, a raise, or even a new job offer.

Longing

What are you longing for? You might know and you might be afraid of knowing. So many women feel stuck in some way and they are aware of a deep longing inside of them.

The problem is that they believe the longing is either wrong or unachievable. When we believe something we desire is either wrong or unachievable, we feel bad in some way. You might feel shame, frustration, or disappointment.

Again, food can be used to compensate for what we want that we think is either wrong or impossible. How do you win, a no-win situation?

You let it be there. You allow yourself to feel the longing and acknowledge that you want what you want. Wanting something isn’t bad. And if it isn’t something that will ultimately be good for you, it’s much better to face it head-on.

For example if you work in a job that you don’t love and you really long to be an artist, you might feel afraid to let yourself long for that kind of work. However, if you let the longing be there and feel it, that’s when you can find some peace.

My coach called this divine discontent. This means that you do feel discontented and that life is calling you forward in some way. You long for something.

Eating may keep this longing at bay but your happiness might be in this longing. It might be calling you to make some changes.

When you make changes from clarity, you see solutions you literally couldn’t see before. Opportunities might appear suddenly. Accepting your longing doesn’t mean blowing up one life for another. It just means you love yourself so much that you trust your desires and aren’t afraid of them.

Coping

I had a client who once she realized that she was using food to cope with her family and work situations, she was able to shift so many eating patterns.

Instead of being able to deal with things, she ate. She gained weight and nothing got better. Once she decided to not use food to cope, she had more energy to deal with her work and family situations.

This didn’t happen overnight but it turned out to be well worth the effort. When food wasn’t being used to cope, actual positive changes began to happen. She changed her beliefs about what was possible in her work and in her family.

She adjusted her work schedule to one that worked better for her. She and her husband went to therapy and through her work with me and her therapist, she strengthened her relationship to her husband.

Instead of coping with her life, she took creative control of it and ended up feeling happier than she had in years.

Happiness, Celebration & Connection

Sometimes we use food to either create or extend positive feelings. The other night I was out with my daughter and her family for dinner. I felt so happy to be with them that I found myself eating more, way more than usual.

And even when I was full, to extend that happy feeling, I ate candy with the girls. I just wanted that happy feeling to last forever.

I’m writing this in hindsight since I didn’t realize at the time that was what I was doing. I don’t feel bad about it but now that I’m aware I do that sometimes, I can decide with more clarity how I want to eat.

We use food to connect with other people through the sharing of meals or special foods that we prepare for each other.

And food is always the highlight of celebrations. In our family we love to celebrate with food and that’s okay.

Here’s where it can be a problem. It’s when we think we are going to have to overeat. Women tend to gain weight over the holidays because they believe the food is going to be a problem.

When you recognize that eating to celebrate, be happy, or connect are emotional patterns of eating, you get to decide what you want to do and what you want to eat.

Instead of eating yourself into a stupor, you concentrate on the feelings of happiness, connection, and celebration. You focus on the people around you, not just the food.

My clients always find that they enjoy the food they choose to eat even more when they don’t have the compulsion to overeat.

Breaking Emotional Eating Patterns

Up until now, you probably thought your way of eating was just the way you are. I hope you can now see that these patterns are really just ingrained habits that you’ve formed to deal with feelings.

One of the things I love about my work is that it isn’t about depriving yourself of food you like. In fact, most women enjoy eating more when they are intentional about it.

And as you remove food as the way you deal with your uncomfortable feelings, you finally begin addressing those issues in your life in a healthy loving way. You don’t make changes because of how you feel in the moment.

In the moment you feel what you feel. Then when you have calm and clarity, you make sound decisions that you now have the energy to follow through on. This creates a fuller richer life rather than a deprived life.

The post How to Stop Being an Emotional Eater appeared first on My Think Big Life.

Is all hope lost if you decide to not take a GLP-1? Not necessarily. What if you don’t want to take a weight loss medication?

These days, it feels like almost everyone is talking about weight loss medications. Maybe your doctor has mentioned them, or you’ve heard friends talk about how much weight they’ve lost. You might be curious, confused, or even feeling pressured.

You might have even tried one and hated the experience.

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not sure this is right for me” this post is for you.

Why I’m Writing This Post

Over the past year, a good portion of my clients have either left to begin losing weight with GLP-1s or they have been encouraged by their doctors to take them and aren’t sure if it’s right for them.

So, to be clear, I am not saying take them or don’t take them. That is up to you and your medical provider.

I’m not going to even go deep into what they are and how they affect your body.

This post is for women, who have already decided that GLP medication isn’t what they want to do and do not have a strong medical need for it.

What GLP-1s Are

Here is a brief explanation of what GLP-1s are and a little about what is known about them.

GLP-1 medications were developed for people with diabetes and are now being used more widely for weight loss. They change how your body handles hunger, fullness, and digestion.

These medications directly affect your pancreas and your digestive system. You produce more insulin and your digestion slows down.

For some people, they’ve made a big difference.

But they also come with side effects, long-term unknowns, and in many cases, a recommendation to stay on them for life. That’s a big decision and it’s okay to have questions.

What Do You Want?

The truth is, not every woman feels at peace with the idea of this medication and that doesn’t make you wrong or missing out.

You’re allowed to want something different. To listen to your body. To take a different path that supports your long-term health and not just short-term weight loss.

Some of you may have even tried GLP-1s and didn’t like how you felt or they made you feel worse.

Here’s my truth. When I see these women with thin bodies and who also say they are so much happier on the medication, I feel a little nudge of jealousy.

I want it to be easy for me too!

To be honest, at my age and in our current food world, it takes a lot of focus to take care of our bodies and eat right.

That’s my truth and sometimes it is frustrating.

Yet, I also have so much appreciation for my body and what it can do. I feel stronger, more flexible, and balanced than I ever have.

I don’t have a medical reason to take it and I just don’t want to mess with two of my body’s major systems for aesthetics.

Instead, I’ve been working on my fitness, health, eating, and mindset. Body-wise, I decided that I wanted to get into the best shape of my life through the food I eat, how I move my body, and how I think.

I’m not chasing skinny; I’m creating a strong body that will power me through the next few decades.

If I live that long, I want to have an amazing life in my eighties and nineties!

What Can You Do Instead?

I work with women who want to care for their bodies without diets, medication, or shame.

My approach isn’t a quick fix, but it is powerful. It’s built around real food, self-trust, emotional clarity, and habits that work with your body instead of against it.

I call it The Eat Like You Love Your Body Method

My writings on this subject go back 10 years to when I lost some weight after I turned 53. Since then, I’ve probably written 50 – 60 articles about food, eating, and weight loss.

Along with my own experience, I’ve been coaching women for over six years and helping them with how they feel about themselves, their food, and their bodies.

Finally, I have read and researched for well over a decade, trying to understand food and how it affects our bodies.

It’s been a couple of decades since I’ve read books on how to lose weight. My goal is to provide information about how to nurture and support your body.

Not an impossible body standard but your body.

I want you to have real goals, goals that make you feel better and in control. Goals that build confidence.

It’s possible to find joy in eating and also possible to learn how to trust yourself around food and in your body.

You don’t have to figure it all out overnight. Learning about your very own body is a lifetime commitment.

And that’s not a bad thing.

How to Eat Like You Love Your Body

If you’re not sure what’s right for you, I encourage you to pause. You don’t have to rush. You don’t have to override your gut feeling.

There is another path and it begins with trusting that your body isn’t broken. You don’t have to be fixed. You just have to be heard, supported, and guided back to what’s true for you.

That’s what I’m here for.

I was recently dealing with some stubborn belly fat and I had to face all my fears about whether what I write about really works.

When I began this recent journey, I decided that I would be true to my method because I believe in it whole-heartedly.

What I discovered was, it does work. But when we have gotten ourselves into fat-storing mode, it can take some time and attention to turn it around.

Once, I did get my body burning fat again, I could see and feel the differences and it seemed like it switched overnight.

However, it took me a few months to get to that “overnight.”

Resources for Eating Like You Love Your Body

Here are a few of my favorite posts about eating. As you read, you may think it can’t be this simple.

But it is.

What isn’t simple is having the mindset and beliefs to stick with it. It’s kind of boring to not have a snazzy diet.

It isn’t simple to have the “never quit” mindset that is essential.

Finally, it isn’t simple to learn after years of being told you shouldn’t, to TRUST YOURSELF totally.

Here’s some good news. I’m teaching women to eat enough, of foods they like, eat meals, and get as much nutrition as possible.

There is NO downside to doing this. There are no bad side-effects. You got to create your own person way of eating that works for you.

I work one-on-one with women to do this in my private coaching business, Sara Garska Coaching.

If this sounds like something you want to do, let’s talk. I offer complimentary consults to provide clarity and to see if that is a good solution for you.

In the meantime, here are three of my favorite posts on how to eat like you love your body.

10 Powerful Tips to Lose Weight After 50

How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind

Affirmations for Self-Care

The post What If You Don’t Want to Take Weight Loss Medication? appeared first on My Think Big Life.