I never would have linked these two things together; how I felt about my body and how successful I could be in business. After all, we’ve been taught how to succeed in business; work hard, get the right education, connect with a mentor and take well-calculated risks.
But now, as I reflect on the twists and turns in my career, I can see how the shifts I made in my relationship with food and my body went step by step with the changes I made professionally. I started my career in public accounting and thirty years later, I’m a published author who coaches female leaders to stop dieting and gain confidence in their bodies.
Let me share my brief career timeline. But I want you to know that I started dieting and eating emotionally when I was 12. So, even though I'm sharing with you some more recent diet history, I was experiencing disordered eating and body dysmorphia at a young and tender age.
2000. Started practicing yoga. Working in corporate accounting.
2001. Joined Weight Watchers after the birth of my son.
2007. Began training to be a yoga teacher.
2008. Left corporate accounting. Later that year, I founded my accounting consulting firm.
2009. Started practicing intuitive eating on my own.
2011. Opened my yoga studio.
2015. Became a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. Started coaching part-time.
* This was the year I was actively running three businesses.
2016. Closed yoga studio.
2018. Dissolved accounting consulting firm.
2019. Transitioned into coaching full-time. Published my first book.
My yoga and intuitive eating practice taught me how to live inside of my body. Before then, I didn’t know that was a thing. I was dieting, doing my best to lose weight, and was disconnected from my body. I couldn’t live inside of my body because I was too busy judging it.
I could have stayed in my accounting career. But as much as I enjoyed the work, I couldn’t help noticing how draining and empty it left me. The more I listened to my body, I couldn’t ignore these signals.
Before these practices, life around food and my body were hard. I was:
Needing to be perfect to feel good enough.
Believing that I needed a thin body to be successful.
Validating myself based on what others thought of me and my performance.
Exhausted and frustrated.
Feeling unfulfilled.
As my body image changed, I became more willing to create and run businesses that were closer to my heart and allowed me to share myself with more passion and confidence. Here are some concrete things that allowed me to change the trajectory of my career:
I had more time and energy to focus on my business because I was no longer preoccupied, worried, or obsessing over food.
I felt more confidence and trust in myself because I was no longer dieting and failing at dieting.
I saw my body as a source of wisdom and started to care for it deeply. This means I started to slow down instead of being hooked on the busyness that left me feeling exhausted.
I know what alignment feels like and what out of alignment feels like. I can distinguish between the two because I practice being present and grounded in my body.
I have a vision of female leaders that have reclaimed their time, energy, and inner wisdom to focus on what matters most to them. They’ve taken it back from dieting, emotional eating, and their negative body image.
They’ve done this because they’ve changed their body image. For women to truly thrive and feel fulfilled in their careers, they need to have a connection to their bodies.
This is why I’ve created a quiz, Is your body image holding you back professionally?
This quiz will likely take you less than 5 minutes. You'll find out if your body image is holding you back, weighing you down or if you feel pretty free around your body.