Confessions From A Personal Trainer: I Ate 3 Pieces of Pie on Thanksgiving

True Confession Tuesday:

Where every Tuesday: I confess.

Confession: I ate 3 pieces of pie on Thanksgiving.

……..and several in the next few days, and candy, and a few other sugary treats.

Here’s the wild part – I have ZERO guilt about it, I spent no time obsessing over how much weight I would gain from eating pie, and I actually ENJOYED it.

I posted the picture (above) to Facebook at 11am on Thanksgiving with the caption “You can’t eat pie all day if you don’t start in the morning.” 

For most of my adult life I can remember obsessing, worrying, and stressing out about my inability to resist treats. And when I would give in (because duh-it’s the holidays) I would have immense guilt and worry about how bloated I would be, how much weight I would gain, and what a miserable person I was because I couldn’t resist pie. In a funny twist (not so funny actually) the more stressed I would get about it – the more treats I would uncontrollably eat.

You can’t jump from guilt-ridden, stressed out bloated belly to zero guilt 3 pieces of pie girl overnight. It’s been a LOT of work on my mindset and on my eating habits in general over several years to get to this place.

We’re going to take a quick time travel back about 10 years in my eating habits. I finished college and started working full time. I was still eating a lot of carbs and processed foods- whole wheat bread, tortillas, pasta, bagels, etc because that’s what I had been eating while marathon training in college. Slowly weight crept on and I had so much fatigue. SO.MUCH.FATIGUE

About 4 years ago I did a food sensitivity panel and found out I was sensitive to all the foods I was eating-gluten, dairy, eggs, almonds and more – there really wasn’t anything left to eat or so it seemed. But I started to explore other food options, learned to cook, listened to how my body reacted to food, paid attention to my poop (!) and started being mindful of how food affected my mood, my energy, and my mind.

Throughout this process (it’s been a long one) I started to unravel my attachment of food to my worth. And untangle the connection I had of food to how I felt about my body. Food became food. 

I’ve heard a lot of health professionals say “Food is not GOOD or BAD. It’s just FOOD.” And that is 100% true. But we attach a lot to our food. Emotions, guilt, shame, worth, well-being, and our health.

I also would come back from a holiday of overeating treats feeling so guilty that I would need to work OFF my food. That’s not really possible. It was all a mind game. Along the journey to a healthier mindset about food, I also started to value my body for what it can do for me and want to move my body because it feels good.

After my 11am piece of pumpkin pie and Cool Whip, I was feeling a little antsy and my body was craving movement. I would normally be sitting there stressing out about not getting a “workout” in and instead I went outside and took a lunge and squat break. I put a podcast on my phone and lunged up and down the sidewalk in front of the house. By the time I was done, I had gotten several weird looks as people drove by, I was sweaty, my heart rate was up and the fresh air was so rejuvenating. (PS – I was so sore the next day – wow lunges).

I also proceeded to have another cup of coffee and more pie when I came back inside. The most beautiful thing – they weren’t related. I simply ate more pie and enjoyed it.

Real world update – I don’t feel guilty, life kept moving on, I worked out Sunday and Monday, I drank a lot of water, I ate a couple of vegetables and I will continue to enjoy a few holiday treats as they come up. Did I gain weight – who knows. I’m not getting on the scale because it doesn’t matter.

I know I’m not alone with my feelings of guilt and stress about holiday foods. Can you relate? What’s your story?? Send me an email and tell me your story!

Enjoy the holiday season – eat the food without stress or guilt.

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