The Mindset Shifts That Changed How My Relationship with Food & My Body

The Mindset Shifts That Changed How My Relationship with Food & My Body

If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d actually enjoy eating nourishing food and have a predominately Mediterranean based diet, that I felt in-tune and listened to my body, and that I didn't beat myself up for the odd bit of ice cream — I’d have laughed in your face. I spent years stuck in a cycle of being “good”, falling off the wagon, punishing myself, and starting all over again every Monday.

It wasn’t the next “better” diet that finally changed things for me — it was the way I thought about food, my body, and myself. So today, I want to share a few mindset shifts that really changed the game for me. Maybe they’ll spark something for you too.

1. Actually caring about how I felt

This sounds so simple, but for years I didn’t really care how I felt — I cared more about the number on the scales, or how flat my stomach looked in the mirror. I ignored my energy levels, my mood, my digestion, my sleep.

When I started to genuinely care about me — about feeling good in my own skin, about waking up with more energy, about not being at war with my body all day — everything started to shift.

I realised that no restrictive diet was worth feeling tired, grumpy, and constantly hungry. And then my quality of life started to change, I started to do things other than just think about food and how I looked all the time. I enjoyed going out with my friends more and took up some new hobbies.

Starting to care about myself opened up a whole new door for me, and although I do still have some negative self-talk day (don't we all?!), I try to recognise when this happens, and stop it from taking over.

2. Noticing how things actually made me feel

There was a time when I thought starving myself was normal — like it was the price I had to pay to be “good”. But when I really tuned in, I realised starving myself didn’t just make me hungry. It made me snappy. It made me anxious around food. It made me binge later anyway, and then I hated myself - it was such a vicious cycle to be stuck in.

So instead, I started asking: How does this food make me feel? How do I feel when I eat enough? How do I feel when I move my body because it feels good — not because I have to burn calories. It sounds cheesy, but your body is always trying to talk to you — you just have to listen.

Yoga really helped me with this. I became more mindful, started slowing down, and in turn, I started to hear what my body was telling me.

3. Letting go of being “perfect”

I dropped the idea that I had to get it right all the time. Spoiler: no one does. I realised one takeaway, one skipped workout, one bar of chocolate doesn’t “ruin” anything. Rules and restriction just didn't work for me, and it's definitely no way to live your life!

Perfection is exhausting — and impossible. Progress, on the other hand, feels freeing. That's why I live by the 80/20 principal, and I encourage my clients to, as well. Make conscious choices 80% of the time - feeding your body what it wants. And then the other 20% of your time - listen to your soul, eat the chocolate and ENJOY IT! (no guilt)

4. Seeing food as a friend

For so long, food was the enemy — the thing to resist, to restrict, to bargain with. Now, I see food as something that supports me. Food gives me energy to show up for the people I love, do the work I care about, and feel strong in my body.

I don’t get it right every day. But I don’t need to. And that’s the biggest shift of all.

If you’re stuck where I was...

Be gentle with yourself. You can’t hate yourself into loving yourself. Start small — ask how you feel after you eat something. Remind yourself you don’t need to earn your food. Give yourself permission to rest.

And if no one’s told you this today: you’re allowed to feel good in your body — not someday, but now.

If you ever want to chat more about this, you know where to find me 💛