As a Holistic Wellness Expert, I promote and educate on the trifecta of good health:
Non-toxic Skincare + Holistic Nutrition + Movement
It's a simple formula.
What you put ON your body + what you put IN your body + how you MOVE your body.
It all sounds great doesn't it? It is great. But life is messy and imperfect and obsessing over getting it all right is going to make you CRAZY!
It is a guideline but not meant to be a rigid regime of hard DO's and DON'Ts. That leads you down a rabbit hole of guilt and shame and NOBODY needs that business in their life.
I know all about guilt and shame. I suffered with disordered eating in adulthood for almost twenty years. It all started after I had my children, conceived through a beautiful miracle after being diagnosed with PCOS and having to undergo fertility treatment because I could not conceive on my own.
I made some serious dietary and lifestyle changes at that time of infertility because I knew that I could make my body a healthier place to grow a baby. And I did, it worked! I conceived my first, a singleton baby girl and then twins, more baby girls. I have three beautiful daughters that are all incredible gifts.
However, from there I progressed down the rabbithole of health obsession to the point of becoming Orthorexic ~ a form of disordered eating and health that becomes obsessed with perfection and purism in all manners of health ~ including what you eat, how you look, how much you exercise, all matters of health. It can take over your life because you take everything to the extreme.
I got out of that rabbit hole in 2020, on new years day I made a pledge to myself to ditch that Diet Mentality and Orthorexic behaviour by doing the work on myself through therapy, lots of reading by anti-diet experts, podcasts, journalling, meditation and yoga. And that timing could not have been more perfect with the pandemic that was about to hit just a couple months later.
I won't tell you it has been easy, because it hasn't. I have to work at it everyday, to relieve myself from perfectionism and guilty feelings if I eat something that would have previously been one of my triggers.
Here are the three tips I use each time I feel those guilty feeling creeping in on me (and you should use them too if you struggle with this anytime of year, but especially during the holidays):
1. Remind myself that I am human and finding pleasure in food is a basic human need and right.
2. Remind myself that I am imperfectly perfect and messy and that my body is beautiful just the way it already is.
3. Remind myself that it was just ONE meal, or ONE day, or even ONE week in the grand scheme of a lifetime and that I am still strong, powerful, healthy and beautiful.
Bonus Tip: Tomorrow is a new day. Get over it. Life is too damn short for GUILT!!!
Want to work with me to help conquer your acne, skin damage, eczema or other health and skin-related challenge?
About the Author: Jodie Pappas
Jodie Pappas is the Founder and Skincare Formulator of the Canadian-made, plant-based skincare brand Clean Kiss and a Holistic Nutritionist. Jodie creates clean, natural skincare products for women over 40 to feel confident and glowing in their skin, without the use of any harmful toxins.
Jodie is a Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Organic Skincare Formulator, a Certified Nutritional Aesthetics Practitioner (CNAP) and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200). She believes that beautiful pro-aging skin is available for every woman and uses a holistic lifestyle approach to educate and inspire.
Jodie provides bio-individualized holistic health coaching to her clients who want results using natural and holistic methods.
Jodie loves to write about how clean skincare, good balanced nutrition and yoga can all support a healthy, pro-aging lifestyle like three legs of a stool.
You can follow Clean Kiss and Jodie here:
For some healthy doses of inspiration, follow me on social @cleankisslifestyle to help you keep your sanity this holiday season.
Start with this today: "Thank you beautiful body. Grateful for you and your wisdom, strength and beauty."
