- Why did you choose the name “Mind Your Body”?
“Mind Your Body” signifies how much our mind affects our body and how much it is responsible for how we deal with life and our body. In fact, how you eat is a direct reflection of how you view yourself. It’s easy to give a paper with a diet plan indicating how many calories one should eat. However, research shows that many people have trouble sticking to diet plans, and the reason is usually always mental. Thus, our mental life rules. I know because I passed through a difficult experience with food myself. In the past, I used to constantly try to create better eating habits, yet I was not able to.
- 2. Can you tell us more about the mind-body connection?
The best place to start would be my story. I was 15 when I was diagnosed with PCOS and, at the time, I was what people would call “skinny”. Although I used to eat normally, people thought I didn’t. Because of their remarks, I decided to gain weight, so I increased my food intake – especially my sugar intake. Still, some people considered me “skinny”. Others warned me not to gain too much weight.
As I grew up a few years, I decided to pursue Nutrition at university because I had the curiosity to know more about food and the way it works, because I had been confused about food since I was a teenager. In university, I was in a loop of losing and gaining weight, until it reached a point where my whole diet consisted of sugar. Whenever I was upset about something, I would resort to sugar, which led to a habit of eating sugar all day, and I gained more weight.
This is the point where I realized something was wrong and I decided that it couldn’t continue like this. I wanted to take care of myself and forget about people’s opinions. It took me around one to two months to get used to a balanced diet without eating sugar at every meal of the day. I started to make better food choices and enjoy training at the gym. Previously as an emotional eater, I used to hate exercising. However, I knew that if I was going to be a successful nutritionist who wanted to help people, it needed to start from myself. Thus, I changed my routine. I began to read about the mind and how much it influenced our choices. Today, I love exercise and am consistent in going to the gym in addition to incorporating physical activity I enjoy, such as pilates.
Before that time, I was especially influenced by people’s opinions. I wanted to meet their expectations. Even till now, I am considered “too skinny” by some people, or assumed to have unhealthy food habits simply because I am a nutritionist even though, on the contrary, I actually worked a lot on both my eating and general habits. For example, I was someone who hated leaving my comfort zone.
Now, however, after I learned that the mind is wired to keep us safe, I knew that our mind needed time to allow us to step out of our comfort zone. Therefore, when we feed it positivity, positivity will rule our life. Today, I stick to healthy eating habits, and I exercise regularly. I also no longer care about people’s opinions about me and my body. What helped me was reading about the mind and the power of our mindset.
- 3. You talked about the importance of having a healthy relationship with food. How do you define a healthy vs. an “unhealthy” relationship with food? How do you work on this with your clients?
I will start by talking about a healthy relationship with food which is composed of normal, consistent eating. It is composed of seeing all food as equal without labeling some as “good” and others “bad”. When we use these labels, we will automatically start fearing the “bad” food and try so hard to avoid it that we might eventually overindulge. A healthy relationship with food allows to have whichever types of food we want in a naturally controlled way, without restricting ourselves too much.
Normal eating, to expand, is to accept that I will naturally eat more on some days or less on others. It is also composed of honoring our preferences. A diet, to me, is the establishment of certain portions of needed to reach people’s goals and is also aligned to my clients’ preferences. I also clarify to my clients that cravings are normal. They become unhealthy, however, when they start to rule our lives.
- 4. Do you have a message you would like to send to women?
Always believe in yourself. I had to work on my mindset a lot to get where I am today. So, always believe in your abilities and don’t listen to others’ opinions; instead, listen to your gut. Work on yourself and your goals, because this is what will take you places. When you train your mind according to your goals, you are bound to reach them.
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