This past Friday evening, ten women showed up at the wellness retreat with open hearts and open minds. I wasn’t sure how the evening would pan out, but I knew that it was going to be a great event. I had the help of my former dietetic intern, Sarah, and two of my friends, Anistayisa and Courtney.

The girls got there early to help set up and get the energy flowing. We joined together before the event in my office where we each said a prayer over the event and the women coming. I always know that when I pray over something, amazing things happen and there is more connection and healing. The women started trickling in and introducing themselves to one another.

As everyone settled down for the event, I could tell there were connections taking place. The energy was good and positive. We had a little ice breaker, followed by a short presentation about the importance of having a healthy perspective on food and its purpose.

Food isn’t something created to be feared, or to make us feel shame. Food is about nourishment, about treating our bodies well. Food is here to protect us from disease, stress, illness. Food is here to fill us up so that we have the energy and vitality to achieve our hopes and dreams. Food provides us with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, nutrients that give us energy and clarity. Food can calm our minds in a good way, can help our muscles relax, provide the good bacterial balance that we need to produce hormones, neurotransmitters, to build muscle and clean out our cells. A shift in our perspective on food can be the shift in our course to wellness.

The women were then invited to share what fulfillment meant to them, and how it relates to food and wellness. The floor opened up. There were tears and laughter, and the women started speaking to each other and words of healing and encouragement were exchanged. We took a break to eat from the colors of the rainbow. The food included strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, oranges, yellow carrots, dates, mini cucumbers, mixed nuts to name a few. Each food was labeled with its phytonutrient and the health benefits it provides: fights cancer, protects your heart, hormone balance, detox, etc.

A Shift in Perspective

We re-grouped and had a discussion around self-limiting beliefs and how these affect our choices in life. I like to call it “truth versus lies”. What we believe about ourselves are often the “lies”. The lies might be that we aren’t worthy of being healthy or feeling good about ourselves. The lies might be that I am weak or powerless over food, or that I have no self control. The lies might be that I am bad or that I can’t do anything right. All of our choices will feed into those lies as long as we believe them.

If we are making choices that don’t align with how we feel about ourselves, it doesn’t feel right. So, we have to release those lies. And the first step in doing that is to look at them. I mean really look at them, square in the face for what they are. Those lies are ugly and they have been filling up our spirits for way too long. They have been oppressing our health, our gifts, our energy and our lives in all aspects. Not just with food, but in other areas as well. It takes a lot of energy and pain to hold onto those lies.

Warning: Something will break open inside of you as these lies are released. But the beauty in this moment is like no other. Because in this moment of release, the spirit opens up. It is cleansed of all of those lies we have held onto. And now, there is space, for the truth to come in. The truth is exactly the opposite of the lies that you have held onto.

Slowly, with time, you will start filling up your spirit with the truth about yourself.

That you ARE worthy of being healthy, of taking care of yourself. That you DO have self control. That you ARE an amazing person with gifts that you bring to this world. And that food and dieting and lies have been holding you back from the amazing things you will now be doing because now you know and believe you are lovable, you have a greater purpose, and you are worthy of being well.

Once you carry these truths about yourself with you, your decisions in life will fall under your belief. Your decisions for your health and wellness will align with the truth. This is the journey to wellness.

It is a difficult path, no doubt. But because it is difficult, you won’t want to turn around and go back. You will remember the pain of what it was like at the beginning of the journey, before you believed the truth about yourself.

The question I want to ask you as I end this piece is this: What lies have you held onto? What have you believed about yourself all of these years that has been holding you back from your purpose? Write them down. Have a friend or family member with you if you need emotional support while doing this.

Once you have acknowledged these lies, it’s okay to grieve the loss of them. You might get angry or sad at what these lies have stolen from you. But it’s all in good timing. You can’t release these beliefs until you are truly ready. Are you ready to release old lies you have held onto? And then the question is…Are you ready to be well?

If the answer is YES, then get ready for amazing things to unfold as you move forward into LIFE. Aaaannnnnnd GO!