The Scrumptious Life

Hey peeps!!

I am so excited to be vlogging for PROUDgirls as the holistic health expert. PROUDgirls is a site for teens that encourages teenage girls to stand united and embrace their unique beauty, to use their power to make a difference in their life, community and the world, and to change their negative dialog into positive action.

LOVE IT! Here is my intro video :)

You Don't Need To Wait

You don't need to wait to feel at home in your body.
You are home in your body right now.

You don't need to wait to feel safe.
You are safe right now.

You don't need to wait to feel loved.
You are loved right now.

You don't need to wait to feel successful.
You are successful right now.

You don't need to wait to feel sexy.
You are sexy right now.

You don't need to wait to feel complete.
You are complete right now.

You don't need to wait to feel free.
You are free right now.

You don't need to wait to shine.
You are shining right now.

Shine on sisters and brothers!

Hiding In Your Nest- Part Two

Hello friends. Happy Halloween! What did you all dress up as? I was a butterfly, a sparkly butterfly. Really, I just wanted an excuse to wear this sequin dress of mine that I am obsessed with so I added wings and funky blue glitter eyelashes and made myself into a butterfly. However, I love what the butterfly stands for. The butterfly is the symbol of change, joy and color. It is the symbol of the soul. Butterflies remind us that life is a dance and to not take everything so seriously. Transforming from a caterpillar, a creature that wiggles its way on the ground, to a colorful soul flying free in the air, the butterfly is magical. And this brings us back to hiding in your nest. When you get the courage to go outside of your comfort zone, you begin to grow the wings you need to fly, just like a butterfly



I have found that most people, including me, have at least one area of their life in which things are not flowing- whether it is with their careers, romantic relationships, friends, physical activity, whatever. There was a moment in time in which we took a detour into fear and forgot the magnitude of our greatness. We then carry this limiting belief around everyday, preventing this area in our life to be as magnificent as it could be. This moment could seem so insignificant looking back now but at the time you believed it as your truth. Maybe you gave up dance class after your teacher demoted you from the front row to the back row. Maybe the boy you had a crush on told you that you were ugly. We all have areas in our lives where we limit ourselves and there comes a time when a reevaluation of our beliefs are necessary. You may not be the greatest dancer in the world but you can sure dance up a storm and have a blast while doing it.

The moment when I began to hide was when I was 13. It wasn't anything dramatic but it was a day I remember clearly. I was standing in the dressing room in Nordstrom with my mom, trying on clothes for the new school year. I saw tons of cute items and brought them into the dressing room. One by one, I tried on each item and nothing was working. None of the pants I wanted would button and the shirts didn't fit right. I looked into the mirror with the harsh, cold lighting beaming down and I was disgusted. I looked in the mirror and saw a girl I didn't want to be. This is the moment when I chose fear over love. The fearful voice turned on me and became my own inner bully.

This inner bully loves keeping you inside your comfort zone. The reason why it loves keeping you inside your comfort zone is because once you jump out, once you are thrown out of the nest, you begin to see that what your inner bully is telling you is false. Getting outside of your comfort zone reminds you of your infinite nature, of your limitlessness.

I have challenged myself to do one thing every day that takes me outside of my comfort zone and it has been miraculous!! I am loving life. Each time I "feel the fear and do it anyway", I am exhilarated and I see more and more the infinite potential inside of me. It doesn't have to be big- even as simple as saying hello to a stranger on the street works, just as long as you are doing something outside of your normal everyday actions. Try a new dance class, go to dinner by yourself, go to a lecture you normally wouldn't go to, strike up a conversation with the guy sitting next to you on the subway. And be proud of yourself for trying something new. It isn't always easy but it's always worth it.

I will leave you with this: think about how your inner bully has kept you hiding and if you are up for it, challenge yourself to do ONE thing outside of your comfort zone. See how you feel, you never know what can occur ;)

LOVE YOU ALL <3

PS. Since I am usually not the best at commitments, I am challenging myself to commit to writing in this blog atleast 3 times a week. Just sharing this so it is out there in the universe ;)

PPS. I am now reading "Food Energetics" by Steve Gagne and I can't wait to write about everything I learn from this book.

Hiding In Your Nest- Part One

Where are you hiding? What are the beliefs you hold about yourself that prevent you from living the life you love? What is it that you truly want out of life and what are you doing that is hindering that from coming true?

We are human, we grow, we expand, that's just what we do. In every moment we are growing whether we like it or not! Every second is a different moment in time. It is human nature to cling to the past and hold onto the things we think keep us safe but this prevents us from growing to our full potential and from living in the moment. And we know this moment is all there is, so let's get back to living in the moment by getting out of our nest, our comfort zone.

I used to hide because I knew no other way. Most of the time I was very conscious of the fact that I was hiding but I didn't know a way out. I didn't know how to break through that wall that I had created and most of all I was frustrated that there was a wall to begin with. Where did it come from? Who built it? Why can't I just karate kick it down and voila, happiness! It's funny because I always thought of myself as easy going and happy and I think that's because I really really wanted to be. But I was ignoring all of the feelings harbored deep inside of me that wanted to be released. I was scared to admit that I had these feelings about myself- that would make them too real. So I stuffed these feelings down in my body, not allowing myself to ask for help, not allowing myself to feel sad or angry when I needed to. This is why I had the excess weight. I didn't allow my feelings to flow freely and I stuffed down my emotions, my food, and everything else. It had no where else to go but stick around. I can now pinpoint the moment in time in which I decided I was unworthy of loving myself and being fully present in my body. I will save this story for my next post (oohh la la suspense) but for now, think about the beliefs you hold about yourself that aren't true and try to pinpoint the areas in your life where you may be hiding.

My nest is the [false] belief that I don't have a "beautiful" body and therefore I am unworthy of my desires and unworthy of speaking my truth. This standard of beauty that I based my whole self image on was set by our society and it just an illusion, IT IS NOT REAL. Pheww that feels good. Everyone is beautiful and we are the ones who can choose to see that beauty in everyone and everything. It starts with YOU.

Eating Sans Guilt

I know it isn't just me and that many of us have some sort of unhealthy relationship with food- it either came from our family's eating habits, a friend's comment about what we were eating, or another kid in elementary school saying "ewwww are you really going to eat that green gunk?". I know for me, I have had to make a conscious decision to view food differently. I used to live in fear of what I ate- was I eating too much? Worrying about how many calories or carbs I was intaking, there was always some form of guilt present. There are still so many times where I am eating something and I start to think to myself "I really shouldn't be eating this right now, it is going to make me fat". I am starting to see that it is the belief that what you are eating is bad for you, that makes it bad for you. I remember hearing Marianne Williamson say once that until her friend asked her why she wasn't worried about the coffee she was drinking at night keeping her up, the caffeine had zero affect on her. That night, when that fearful thought crept in, it was the first night she couldn't fall asleep because of the coffee. This isn't to say that we should all go around eating crap all the time because every food you eat has its own energy and own characteristics, but eating is something that is meant to be full of pleasure and the guilt does NOT serve us!

Some steps I have been taking to enjoy my food (and this can go for anything in life)
1. I take a moment before i eat to be grateful for the food in front of me, the food that is providing me with nourishment and the energy to go about my day and do the things i love!
2. Choosing the foods that I really want to eat in the moment. Since I am really in touch with how food makes me feel, I usually crave healthy foods such as whole grains, protein from beans, and tons of veggies but there I times that I want to eat something that I used to deem untouchable. My friend asked if I wanted a sip of her vanilla milkshake this afternoon and instead of saying no but really wanting it, I took a sip and enjoyed the sweet flavor that reminded me of childhood.
3. Monitor my thoughts while I am eating. If a fearful thought pops into my head, I will acknowledge this thought, forgive myself for having the thought and then release it. We have thoughts but we are not our thoughts. This means that right now, these old patterns of thought are still in place but it is my decision whether or not to identify with them and i choose loving thoughts.
4. Slow down. This is key to enjoying your food. When I am scarfing down what's on my plate, I can barely recognize that I had even eaten anythign at the end of the meal. Of course this means I am still hungry but it also feels like I just rushed through something that I could have enjoyed and that's no fun. I have noticed that now that I take my time to taste every bite, to chew every morsel of food, to drink water in between bites, I really can taste the food more. I can feel the food moving into my stomach and being metabolized by my beautiful body. I can feel my body working and I feel so satisfied at the end of the meal. I recently was guided to read a book called "The Slow Down Diet" by Marc David and I can't wait to share everything I learn from this book.
5. Enjoy the company I am with. Eating is a very social thing and one of my favorite things to do is to sit down to a nice meal and some vino with my friends. When I notice and take in the love that is around me in the moment, I am full of that love and not looking at food to fill me up.

As you can see, all of this comes back to self-love and this is a big theme for me right now. If you can't love yourself, how can you expect to be happy? how can you expect to love others? how can you expect to really know who you are? I am currently clearing all of this past gunk out so I can really know what it feels like to love myself- all parts of myself. Every day I look in the mirror and tell myself how much I love me. It was really hard to do this in the beginning plus I felt like a freak but each and every day it gets easier and more fun! If you have never done this, try it out. If it is too much to say this out loud you can think it or even start with saying that you are willing to love yourself.

Have any of you ever experienced this guilt? What have you done to get out of this fearful state of mind? I would love to know!

Hope you had a fab weekend!
A