About 6 months ago, I was hosting my first ‪#‎RadicallyGorgeous‬ retreat. One of the attendees said to me “You’re going to be doing this not too long from now in front of a large group of people.” And I immediately had that vision appear right in front of me.

Today was that day–I spoke in front of 220 people for a major fundraising event hosted by the National Council for Jewish Women–a powerhouse of intelligent, thoughtful, philanthropic women. It was beyond amazing!

Here were some of the takeaways:

1. Just because a diet you tried didn’t produce results doesn’t mean you are fat, a failure, unlovable or unworthy. It just means the diet didn’t work for you.
2. Make the conscious effort to stay checked in to your eating experience. We eat the way we live and we live the way we eat. So if you’re mindlessly shoving potato chips down your throat without even realizing it, take a step back. Your eating is a mirror image of your life and your points of pain.
3. Food does not continue to taste better with each bite. Check in with yourself throughout the meal to see if you’re still actually hungry.
4. Stop shoulding all over yourself. Instead of telling yourself “I should eat this…” Ask yourself “What does my body really want to eat?” All the answers you need are already inside of you; your job is to dig deep and unearth those voices you stopped listening to a long time ago.
5. Permission is the antidote to shame and the gateway to pleasure. Fact is, you CAN have any food you want to eat. Whether or not you choose to indulge and when you will stop are entirely up to you.

After the event I was signing books. My favorite remark came from this total spark plug of a woman who introduced herself, furiously shook my hand, and enthusiastically exclaimed “I’m so glad you got to meet me!!!” LOVE that-what a lesson for us all!

Live Gorgeously,
Esther