this giveaway is now closed & the winners have been notified. Thank you all so much for your amazing comments!
Can I be honest? I feel really vulnerable about writing this post, and just so very excited at the same time. The vulnerability comes from admitting that something I thought was long gone was actually just very well disguised as something else. The excitement though? Is from the realization that it’s never too late for healing.
If you’ve read this blog from the beginning you know that I struggled for a very long time with disordered eating habits – too much, too little, excessive exercise, binging & purging, etc – and have also found some freedom from it in the past few years. However, what I hadn’t realized is that the existing preoccupation with food is just another facet of those issues rooted in my desire to have control over something. In my world of motherhood it’s becoming increasingly clear that I have very little control over a lot of things, and for a while I’ve been micromanaging and then over-splurging with food.
The world says it’s OK to be preoccupied with weight and diets and excessive thoughts about food. But the world doesn’t know what is best for our hearts and souls, and an obsession with food – even the healthy stuff – won’t cure a terminal preoccupation with what we ingest.
When I read that Monica had written her e-book, The Secret of Your Naturally Skinny Friends, I was at a point where I just didn’t want to read another book about food. I was fine waltzing along, obsessing about my daily food intake, and thinking that if maybe I just thought hard enough about it then maybe that would help with the weight loss.
About two weeks ago, I was scanning through my blog feed and saw Monica’s announcement that her book was now available for Kindle and in paperback too! My first feeling was pride because she has been such a sweet blogging friend and I love seeing her be successful in something that she’s passionate about. My second feeling was a tugging at my heart that I should go ahead and buy the book. After a month of Whole30 in August I honestly have been battling a lot of heart stuff with my weight and what I “should” and “should not” be eating. A diet that was supposed to be freeing me made me feel even more trapped, even months after it was over.
I’m telling you it was serendipitous that I bought Monica’s book that day. I devoured it in a few hours, and went back to re-read it again a few days later. It’s conversational, light, easy reading that is jam-packed with truth and encouragement. It’s not a diet book, but rather a book about thought processes and how changing those can change our actions drastically. The entire “thin cycle” that Monica talks about makes perfect sense, and encourages me to make healthier choices because I want to, not because I “have” to.
You guys, I really can’t say enough good stuff about this book; it’s really something that anyone can read and apply to any area of resistance in life. Monica, I’m so proud of you and so thankful that you fulfilled that promise you made so many years ago to write this. It’s changing my life, and God is using your words to free my heart from a lot of yuck – and I’m so thankful for that!
So friends? Monica has generously offered to give away 2 Kindle copies of her book to you guys!!! We’re just going to make this simple: leave a comment below telling me if you:
A. Never struggled with food/exercise/body image.
B. Used to struggle, but got over it.
C. Still struggle anywhere from a little, to a lot.
D. Have already read Monica’s book!? And if it encouraged you, helped you, spoke to you?
I’ll pick two winners on Sunday morning and notify you both that afternoon!
I’m a “C.” I’m a chronic over-eater and just LOVE food. I would love to have a healthier relationship with food and learn to listen to my body’s signals. Sounds like a great book…thanks for sharing!
Since middle school, I have struggled with with my image. I naturally gain fat & muscle really easy. I am big-boned but pretty sure. I exercise a lot, but my diet has always been my biggest issue. Finding a healthy balance is always my goal but I go in streaks. I am getting married in 8 months and I want to get in a healthier routine to feel good.
I’m slightly terrified at the thought that I am contemplating reading ANOTHER book about how to eat better (don’t like to make it all about losing weight!) -there are so many in my house, so many I’ve borrowed from the library, and so many articles I’ve read online. But I love the authenticity that Monica brings to everything, so I’m hopeful this is ‘the one’
Still struggle a bit…have been wanting to read Monica’s book.
C. I struggle daily. It can be miserable, and yet I don’t know how to get away from it.
Still struggle anywhere from a little to a lot!!
I just caught wind of this book and was really intrigued. I love Monica’s blog too, and I’m eager to read more of her thoughts on food.
Heather, sometimes I think we are sisters from another Mister. I totally struggled with disordered eating in high school, then over-exercise in college. Things got better beyond that, but having kids and what feels like a permanant belly pooch has brought some of those same feelings about food back…I’ll do a month of non-processed, no-sugar…and then binge on ice cream for a weekend. It’s pretty imbalanced.
That’s my story.
Yep, sounds like my story! Seriously, our lives are so similar! We HAVE to meet sometime soon!!!
I struggle a little. This book is on my list to read and I would love to win a copy!
C — depends on the day how much.
Most certainly C, I’m a pretttty obsessive thinker, and think about food/what I should be eating/what I have eaten/what I am eating a ridiculous amount of each day. I’m slowly trying to work on this, and have just recently stopped counting calories, weighing myself, and measuring myself. I’m trying to focus more on health and nourishment, especially as we would like to start trying for a baby next year!
C. This is the number one struggle of my life. I have been obsessing over every bite of food for my whole life as long as I can remember. I so badly want to be free of this but I can’t seem to shake it. Sometimes I feel like I am “in a good place” and I can almost reach out and touch a different kind of life but then the scale or an event or something, anything pulls me back into my shame. Intellectually I know that life is too short to obsess about something so trivial but this THING is such a constant companion of mine that I don’t know how or where to start to get rid of it. I would REALLY like this book! 🙂
Yes… still struggle with it daily. I would like to say a little, but that’s not true. I think about food a lot and will eat too much then feel guilty about it. I know what’s “right” and purposefully choose not to do it… ugh. Each day is a new day to do the next right one thing…
Ha, C – probably. Currently I am pregnant with my third so yes, this is a constant struggle with being hungry not wanting to gain too much but trying to stay as healthy as possible.
I still struggle with it a lot!!!!
I have struggled w/ body image & yo-yo dieting & excessive exercising my whole life. I feel like I’m finally in a much better place & have managed to keep the weight off for several years now, but those disordered thoughts are always lingering underneath the surface. While I’ve come a long way & eat & exercise in a healthy, non-restrictive, intuitive way now, this book sounds like it would still be very beneficial & relevant. Thank you!
A- never struggled with food/body image/exercise.
Struggled, learned to exercise, got in better shape; then found out I have pre-diabetes and all the baking and sweets I loved are now on my mind frequently–especially during the holidays! So still struggling but not overwhelmed for the most part.:)
C. Definitely C. It’s an inner struggle.
My story is very similar to yours in regards to food. Pregnancy/postpartum/breastfeeding have gone a long way in teaching me to be kinder with my body, but food is still a crutch I fall back on when life feels out of control.
C…on the A LOT end. Thanks for doing this giveaway! 🙂
I still struggle a little bit with body image. I used to be at the “B” status for a while, but my body has been readjusting itself to an average weight after a huge weight loss from disordered eating. I would love to read Monica’s book!
C. It’s been a struggle since grade school. I feel like it’s slowly improving but it’s still a daily battle for me.
What a great giveaway! And I just love your vulnerability and willingness to share about where you are at! Sometimes I do great with food and find that it’s not on my mind at all, and then there are still others days when I think about it more than I would like. Would love to read her book!
M