I view my journey to sustainable weight loss and healing my relationship with food as two distinct parts. The first is understanding my body’s relationship with food. Not my character or how much willpower I have. Not whether I believe that I’m not trying hard enough. My biology. As someone who went to my first… Continue reading Healing Your Relationship with Food in Two Parts: Biology First, Compassion Second
I was recently working with someone during a health coaching appointment who had spent most of her life fighting with her body. She knew every diet, every rule, every promise, and every Monday morning restart. Like so many people I work with, she wasn’t just carrying extra weight, she was carrying decades of expectations, disappointments,… Continue reading Choosing Maintenance: An Act of Self-Compassion
What if the food you crave most is the very thing keeping you stuck? This August, Coach Tia Reid is inviting all Toward Health premium app members to join her 30-Day Sugar Break-Up, a month-long challenge designed to help you understand your relationship with sugar, reduce cravings, and experience what life feels like when your… Continue reading Coach Tia’s 30-Day Sugar Break-Up: It’s Time to End the Relationship That Isn’t Serving You
My whole life, I thought weight loss was about food and willpower, but after decades in the trenches, it turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong. If there’s one thing I’ve learned after losing more than 200 pounds and keeping it off, it’s that this journey is about so much more than the number… Continue reading 10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Weight Loss Journey
There’s a kind of PTSD that comes from living in a morbidly obese body for decades. There is the reliving of the obvious moments — the stares, the comments, the humiliation — but also the way those experiences settle into our nervous system and linger long after, and one interaction in a restaurant can… Continue reading When Your “After” Still Looks Like Someone Else’s “Before”
If you had told me a few years ago, when I weighed over 400 pounds and was seriously considering bariatric surgery, that I’d someday be writing about grief and food, I probably would have rolled my eyes. Or burst into tears. Or, if I’m being honest, eaten a sleeve of cookies to numb whatever this… Continue reading What is Food Grief? (And Why It’s Not Actually About the Food)
In regard to my relationship with food, weight and body image, I’ve always secretly felt like I was more broken than most people, and that if anyone knew the real me, they would be horrified. The irony is that the real me I was so ashamed of and desperate to hide, became increasingly more… Continue reading Self-Loathing is a Learned Behavior
If you’re trying to change your diet, reclaim your health and build a better life, you know how isolating it can feel. The world is not set up for us. It is built around constant eating opportunities, never-ending snacking, and sugar hidden (in plain sight) everywhere. The expectation: eat often, indulge and don’t think too… Continue reading Health Isn’t a Willpower Problem, It’s a People Problem
It’s been a long day. You’re exhausted, stressed, maybe anxious or overwhelmed. Emotions are running high, and suddenly, the urge to eat hits. You’ve “been good” all day, and know eating doesn’t align with your stated goals, but right on cue, that old, familiar voice swoops in after the craving: “Screw it. I’ll start again… Continue reading Managing Cravings: The Moment After ‘The F-Its’ Hit
I didn’t know there was a name for it, but the second I heard the phrase Revenge Bedtime Procrastination, it hit me like a ton of bricks as I realized I had been doing it most of my adult life. After a long day of showing up for everyone else, juggling work, family and friends,… Continue reading Nighttime Eating Isn’t About Hunger. It’s About This.
Waking up after a restful night’s sleep is one of the best feelings in the world and is a critical part of just about every aspect of your health. However, it can be difficult in our culture of go, go, go to calm our minds and bodies enough to allow sleep to happen. All too… Continue reading Sleep May Be the Missing Link in Your Weight Loss Journey
I have spent my entire life fearing doctors. No matter what I went in for, an ear infection, the flu, a broken wrist, the conversation always circled back to my weight with the very strong implication that I just wasn’t trying hard enough and that everything would get better if I just lost weight. Eventually,… Continue reading Medical Gaslighting: Ignoring Patients’ Needs Undermines Health and Trust
I didn’t know there was a name for it – Revenge Bedtime Procrastination – but the second I heard the phrase, it hit me like a ton of bricks as I realized I had been doing it most of my adult life. After a long day of showing up for everyone else, juggling work, family… Continue reading Nighttime Eating and Scrolling: Revenge Bedtime Procrastination
This time of year can be full of landmines and pitfalls to your eating and fitness routines. Here are a few tips to help you avoid the holiday (and post-holiday) “blahs”: Look at your calendar and count all your holiday celebrations. Even if your social calendar is filled to the brim, this probably only… Continue reading 6 Simple Steps to A More Satisfying Holiday Season
Over the last 3 weeks of our #WhyWait2024 challenge, we have talked about the basics for a healthy lifestyle: why and how to keep carbs low, utilizing technology and community to stay accountable, and creating and executing plans for exercise, time-restricted eating and fasting. How are you doing on these goals? Hopefully you have… Continue reading Amy’s Corner: Protecting Your Lifestyle
I used to start off every new year with a laundry list of ambitious resolutions, but there was never any real understanding of how I would actually achieve them. So, basically, I had a wish list of pipe-dreams for who I longed to be, with no footing in reality and zero probability that I would ever… Continue reading Amy’s Corner: New Year, New Challenges
It is mid-October as I sit down to write this, which used to be my favorite time of year, but fifteen years ago, on October 20, I lost my mother to complications from Type 2 diabetes, and since then, this month has been plagued with sadness for me. Life changes in an instant. My… Continue reading Amy’s Corner: Diabetes is Personal
And just like that, the summer is over, and in only 12 weeks we will officially close out the year. Come January, many of us will be ready to recommit to our healthy lifestyles – lists will be made, plans will be hatched, and resolutions promising never to go off track again will… Continue reading Amy’s Corner: #WhyWait
Taking steps toward a healthier life comes with its challenges, and Amy’s experience with the keto diet illustrates this well. In a recent Woman’s World feature, we learn about Amy’s impressive transformation and the vital role of mentorship and self-determination. Guided by Dr. Tro’s insights and a personalized plan, Amy conquered her hunger while… Continue reading Amy’s Inspiring Journey: Featured in Woman’s World
For over five decades, Amy Eiges found herself trapped in what she called “obesity prison.” Despite seeking answers from doctors, her weight struggle seemed never-ending. At 410lbs, she considered bariatric surgery, but an inner voice urged her to explore other options. Enter the ketogenic (Keto) lifestyle – a life-changing revelation for Amy. Despite warnings,… Continue reading From Obesity Prison to
Empowered Health
