Hey friend 👋 Have you ever stood in a fitting room, tugging at jeans that suddenly don't fit, and thought: What happened to my body? Or maybe you've spent the summer eyeing the pool, but that uncomfortable feeling in your own skin keeps you covered up on the sidelines?

You are SO not alone—and this episode is for you. 💛

This week on Nourished to Bloom, I'm sharing a raw, no-script-needed conversation about the very real struggle of body image during the summer. ☀️ From the frustration of swimsuit shopping to feeling off when routines (and your favorite foods) go out the window, we're digging into why this season can be extra tough—and how we can face it with truth, compassion, and faith.

And let me be clear: I'm not selling the myth that intuitive eating or faith magically erase every negative thought. Even as a registered dietitian and Catholic coach, I still have hard days. But what I've learned? You don't have to "fix" your body—you just need the right tools, mindset shifts, and a whole lot of grace. 🌻

💡 What's inside this honest, heartfelt episode:

👙 Kara's behind-the-scenes body image story Real talk from the dressing room, the scale, the poolside, and the mental tug-of-war that summer often brings.

👚 "It's not your body, it's probably the clothes" Let's talk about how inconsistent sizing and tight fits can spiral our thoughts—and how to choose comfort and confidence instead.

🌊 Body image + pool days Even when you don't feel 100%, you can still make meaningful memories with your kids—and feel good doing it.

🤸‍♀️ The impact of summer chaos Less structure, more social pressure, and changes in eating/movement routines all add up. Here's how to reset without shame.

📏 Why I stopped weighing myself Choosing not to check the scale is one way I protect my mental peace—and it might be something to consider for you too.

🧠 Curiosity over criticism That discomfort you feel? It's a cue—not a character flaw. Get curious about what's really behind the thoughts, and invite God into the conversation.

🙏 Your worth is not up for debate You are not a size. You are not a number. You are not the sum of your most uncomfortable days. You are wholly loved, intentionally made, and deeply worthy—exactly as you are.

📣 Ready for your summer body image breakthrough?

Take this as your permission slip to opt out of comparison and choose comfort, joy, and truth instead. Whether you're on a beach, in your backyard, or standing in that dressing room again—God meets you there. And He's not measuring your waistline. 💕

🎧 Press play on Ep. 64: Your Summer Body Image Pep Talk, and let's bloom through summer—one grace-filled step at a time.

Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta

The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes


00:00:00
As we head into summer, a season filled with pool days,

00:00:03
vacation and lots of pictures and maybe time in a

00:00:07
swimsuit, I know body image struggles can creep in.

00:00:11
So that's why this week I am bringing back one of the most listened

00:00:15
to and loved episodes of the podcast where

00:00:18
I shared my personal struggle about a year ago

00:00:22
last summer when I was just having a really difficult time with

00:00:26
body image. And so whether you're struggling to feel

00:00:29
confident in your skin or just needing a reminder of your

00:00:33
true worth, I hope this episode

00:00:36
speaks truth into your heart and is really the pep talk

00:00:40
that you need to tackle your

00:00:44
body image struggles as we head into the summer season. So

00:00:48
let's take some time this week to step into a summer

00:00:52
that is grounded in God's love and God's truth

00:00:56
about our bodies instead of the lies of

00:00:59
diet culture and the pressure that we feel from society

00:01:03
when it comes to our bodies and our summer

00:01:07
season. Welcome to

00:01:11
the Nourish to Bloom podcast where your faith meets your health.

00:01:14
I'm your host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and certified

00:01:18
Catholic coach, and I'm here to help you cultivate a deep, deeper connection with your

00:01:22
body, your spirit and the nourishment that sustains them both.

00:01:26
In a world filled with noise and confusion about food,

00:01:30
health and body image, this podcast offers truth and healing from

00:01:33
a Christ centered perspective. Together we'll untangle the deep

00:01:37
roots of diet culture and discover what it means to truly

00:01:41
care for ourselves through joyful nourishment of mind,

00:01:44
body and soul. We're here to dive into the transformative power of

00:01:48
intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our Christian faith.

00:01:52
With every episode, I'll be cheering you on, offering insights,

00:01:56
inspiration and practical tools to help you heal your relationship

00:01:59
with food and embrace the beauty of your body as a temple

00:02:03
of the Holy Spirit with confidence and courage

00:02:07
that can only be found in Christ. Join me as we journey

00:02:11
together towards a more holistic approach to wellness, one that honors the

00:02:14
wisdom of your body as God's creation, the the teachings of our

00:02:18
faith and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill.

00:02:22
You were made to bloom, to come into

00:02:26
full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit for the Lord with

00:02:29
your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul

00:02:33
and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're in the right place.

00:02:37
And I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Nourish

00:02:40
to Bloom, where every day is a sacred invitation to

00:02:44
thrive. So I'm doing things A little different in

00:02:48
this episode. I had this episode all planned out

00:02:52
and, and a script typed up. And I just

00:02:55
really felt on my heart that I needed to share

00:02:59
what I was going through right now instead. Because

00:03:03
one of my promises to you with the podcast was to be authentic and

00:03:06
to share the truth and be transparent and share

00:03:10
my experiences. And, and so today I'm speaking from

00:03:14
the heart and sharing kind of my current struggles with body image.

00:03:18
It's something that can come and go sometimes. And so I just wanted to share

00:03:21
with you because I'm experiencing it right now, what this is looking like

00:03:24
for me and how I am navigating it. I think

00:03:28
all too often we can hear people or we can see things on social media

00:03:32
that is just a snapshot, right? It's the picture perfect thing

00:03:36
that they want you to hear or see.

00:03:39
And, and it all, it isn't always the truth. And

00:03:43
I've had a lot of experiences in these last few months of just

00:03:47
being a part of things or seeing things and experiencing things where people

00:03:51
didn't operate with integrity. And so

00:03:56
I always want to do that. And so I'm going to share this, these struggles

00:03:59
that I'm going through and just know that being an

00:04:03
intuitive eater is not always easy. There's no perfect

00:04:06
magic button that makes all of this go away. But I hope that

00:04:10
in sharing my current struggles, that I can give you a message of hope

00:04:14
and give you a message that you can learn how to manage these

00:04:17
things and move past them and not be stuck

00:04:22
and not let any sort of negative thoughts

00:04:25
about your body pull you down into

00:04:29
a downward spiral. Summer tends to be a really

00:04:33
difficult time, at least for me, when it comes to

00:04:37
body image. Summer brings on a lot of struggles as it is

00:04:40
anyway, with kids being out of school and trying to manage

00:04:45
some of the chaos and the lack of structure and routine that comes with that.

00:04:48
But I think I'm seeing a pattern, at least for me, that

00:04:52
summer tends to be a time that I really struggle with, with body image.

00:04:56
And just I think part of the reason why

00:05:00
I'm feeling uncomfortable and just not good about my body is I feel like

00:05:04
I have maybe gained some weight or my body has changed somehow.

00:05:08
Now, I don't really know that that's true because I don't weigh myself.

00:05:13
I haven't weighed myself for several years now, and I don't really

00:05:16
have any intention to weigh myself because honestly, I wouldn't

00:05:20
know what, what, if any gain would be because I haven't

00:05:24
weighed myself in so long. And honestly, because I know

00:05:28
that weighing myself will just bring on so much mental and

00:05:31
emotional havoc. And I. I really don't want that.

00:05:35
I am choosing. That's a conscious choice that I am making to not put

00:05:39
myself in that position, to have the mental and emotional

00:05:42
backlash that comes with the scale and weighing.

00:05:46
And so, anyway, I'm just feeling

00:05:50
uncomfortable. And so the reasons why I think I might be struggling

00:05:54
is one, just kind of how I physically feel right now.

00:05:59
And two, the way that my clothes are fitting. And so,

00:06:03
like I said, I was on this walk with my friend, and I told her,

00:06:05
you know, here's. Here's my struggle, right? I just physically feel kind of

00:06:09
like, blah. And then like, I'm so frustrated because I

00:06:13
go to the store and I go to try on clothes that are in the

00:06:16
size that I have worn for several years now, only to

00:06:20
put them on to try them on, and they feel tight and they feel uncomfortable.

00:06:24
Like, despite the fact that I've been wearing the same size and clothing

00:06:27
for several years. And it's just not making a whole

00:06:31
lot of sense. And so it's causing this kind of mental back and

00:06:35
forth in my head, right? Like, it's frustrating to go

00:06:39
try something on it. It feels tight and uncomfortable, and then, like, makes you think

00:06:43
negative thoughts about your body, right? But

00:06:47
this whole thing about having clothes at home that fit and then. Then going to

00:06:51
the store and trying on the same size and not have them fit doesn't add

00:06:54
up. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, right? So if I kind of

00:06:57
logically think about this, I have this theory and I cannot

00:07:01
prove it, but it leads me to think that every few years,

00:07:04
clothing manufacturers mess with the sizings on things.

00:07:09
Because there have been times in the past where I've been a small

00:07:12
in something. And then like,

00:07:16
couple years later, I go and I try it on, and it's like, okay, no,

00:07:20
I need a medium. But then a couple years after that, the mediums are too

00:07:23
big and I have to go back to a small, right? So it's just this

00:07:25
constant back and forth. Again, I said, I can't prove that this is

00:07:29
what's happening, but it's just, this is what I'm

00:07:32
experiencing. And in experiencing this, it's kind of causing

00:07:36
this negative body image to kind of to pop up because it.

00:07:40
It's making me think that, um, something's changed or it's making

00:07:44
me think that I've done something wrong when the reality is

00:07:47
much of what I have done has not changed at all. At least as far

00:07:51
as my eating habits go. So this is my theory that they

00:07:55
just change sizes, and the manufacturers met them every so many

00:07:58
years. And so this is like. Talk about, like, working

00:08:02
in cahoots with diet culture, right? It ensures that people are always buying

00:08:06
clothes, and then it ensures people are always trying to lose weight. So,

00:08:10
like I said, can't prove it, but it really,

00:08:14
really makes me wonder. And so. And the fact that this is one of the

00:08:17
struggles that I'm having, one of the things that I'm doing is,

00:08:21
you know, just sizing up, right? It's really not about the number on

00:08:25
the tag. It's not about what the size is. It's really

00:08:29
about being comfortable in the clothes that you're wearing.

00:08:33
And so that might mean that you have to size up. And

00:08:36
it's. The thing is, is it varies from brand to brand and label to label.

00:08:40
And so just that. That's one of the things that I'm really focused on

00:08:44
is grabbing multiple different sizes and just

00:08:47
trying things on, because you just never know

00:08:51
what it's going to be. So that's kind of how

00:08:54
I'm handling that situation, because I just.

00:08:58
If I look at, like, the logic and the truth of it, if the clothes

00:09:01
that I have at home are fitting and they're the same size as what I'm

00:09:05
trying on, then it's really not my body, that. That is

00:09:08
the problem, right? And I. And I have to rest in that. I have to

00:09:11
believe that. But it does take a little bit of effort.

00:09:15
But I know that despite all of this, despite the fact that maybe I've gained

00:09:19
some weight, despite the fact that I'm feeling uncomfortable in my body, I know

00:09:23
that I cannot and I will not go on a diet because

00:09:27
I know the truth, that it's going to cause more damage than it does

00:09:30
good in the long run. And honestly, just the thought

00:09:35
of having to follow something so strict and so

00:09:38
rigid or count calories or

00:09:42
gosh, whatever that would look like, it just. It's like, gives me this

00:09:46
cringe factor. And I, like, I just can't do it.

00:09:50
I can't go back to obsessing about weight and obsessing about

00:09:53
food because, y' all, I've gotten to a point where I enjoy my

00:09:57
life too much. I enjoy the things that I get

00:10:01
to focus on. I get to enjoy focusing on my kids. I get to enjoy

00:10:04
focusing on building this business that. That's helping women. And

00:10:08
I get to enjoy taking time for the things that

00:10:12
are really important, like growing in my relationship with the Lord, and my

00:10:15
family and my husband, like, I enjoy my life too darn

00:10:19
much to fall back into that dieting trap.

00:10:23
And I also know that fixating on losing weight is

00:10:27
not what is going to help me with my current body image struggles.

00:10:33
And I had to get really curious about it. And I asked myself, okay, Kara,

00:10:37
if you're struggling with your body right now, why, like, why. What are

00:10:41
you going through? What could be the reasons why you were feeling

00:10:44
uncomfortable in your body? And while

00:10:48
maybe I really, I have gained weight, like I said, I don't know,

00:10:52
I can think of some other things, some other habits,

00:10:56
some other behaviors, some other things that are going on that may be

00:10:59
attributing to just me being uncomfortable

00:11:02
in my body. And so one of them

00:11:06
that I think I've come to the realization of, it's summer and it's hot.

00:11:12
The sweating and the heat, I think, can really make you

00:11:15
feel very uncomfortable in your body just because you're more

00:11:19
aware of it, right? You're more aware of what you're

00:11:23
experiencing, what you're feeling, the sweat on your body and like the

00:11:26
sweat in not

00:11:30
fun places, right? And so you're just kind of like hyper aware of that and

00:11:34
hyper aware of your body, and you just. It like sweating and

00:11:37
that heat, it just makes you feel gross, right? And

00:11:41
so somewhere along the way, it's kind of like we make this connection of, like,

00:11:45
then your body feels gross, and that's just really not true. The

00:11:48
other thing about it being summer and it's hot is that there's a lot of

00:11:51
likelihood of water retention because of

00:11:55
the heat. And like, that can lead to. To swelling.

00:11:59
And that could be attributing to just feeling

00:12:02
uncomfortable, right? Like, just your hands

00:12:06
are always swelling, maybe your feet are swelling, and it just makes you feel

00:12:09
swollen, right? And. And you don't really like the way that that feels. At least

00:12:12
that's kind of what I'm. I'm realizing and experiencing.

00:12:17
The another thing that I think is attributing to this body

00:12:20
image struggle is that it's summer and it's swimsuit season.

00:12:25
And this is a tough one. Like, just by the

00:12:28
nature of it being summer, it's swimsuit season, which can be

00:12:32
rough for anyone who has struggled with body image

00:12:36
because by default we're wearing less clothing.

00:12:40
And that can make you hyper focus on your body and

00:12:43
how it looks. And also, bathing suits can be kind

00:12:47
of tight and constricting, which again, makes you hyper aware or

00:12:51
hyper aware of how your body is feeling. And

00:12:55
like, if you Factor the heat into that. When I'm feeling hot, like, I don't

00:12:58
enjoy wearing tight clothing. So swimsuits can be very,

00:13:02
very uncomfortable. And I think, you know, I also

00:13:06
personally don't like to show a lot of cleavage.

00:13:09
I like to kind of protect my upper chest area,

00:13:13
a lot of it due to like, skin cancer type of things.

00:13:17
But I just don't feel comfortable wearing like low cut swimsuits or

00:13:20
low cut shirts. And it's really difficult to find swimsuits that

00:13:24
don't have that level of exposure. And so if you feel like you're kind

00:13:28
of like constantly tugging and pulling to like cover yourself

00:13:32
up or pull, you know, the bottoms down as they're riding up, again,

00:13:36
it just creates this hyper awareness of your body

00:13:39
and associations of like, well, that shouldn't happen, or if

00:13:43
I was just in a smaller body, this wouldn't happen. And that's, that's just

00:13:46
really not the truth. And so it can be really difficult to

00:13:50
find swimsuits that you actually feel comfortable comfortable

00:13:54
in. And then I am personally very cautious with

00:13:58
sun exposure just due to the fact that I'm very fair skinned, I have

00:14:01
a lot of moles on my skin. I've had some personal

00:14:05
experiences with people who have

00:14:10
died rather suddenly from melanoma because it was.

00:14:15
It spread very quickly. And so I am just very hyper

00:14:19
focused on limiting my sun exposure. And

00:14:22
so with that swim swimmer can just. Swim wear can just be

00:14:26
challenging. But I do also know that despite this,

00:14:30
despite the fact that I really don't feel very comfortable in

00:14:34
swimsuits, I haven't found one that I feel like I actually love. But

00:14:37
I also know that I can't let those thoughts or that

00:14:41
negativity that comes with that keep me from

00:14:45
enjoying jumping in a pool on a hot day or

00:14:48
going to the beach and making memories with my kids and my

00:14:52
family. Like, that's going to far outweigh

00:14:56
whatever I have on my body as far as a swimsuit.

00:14:59
And so it's really starting to make me think and plan forward of like, what

00:15:03
are my other options besides a swimsuit? Right. Maybe it's more

00:15:07
of a board short and a sports bra top and

00:15:11
a sun shirt over that. Right? Or they have like 10 just looking

00:15:14
today, like, maybe it's a swim dress. I saw this really cool, like swim

00:15:18
romper thing that looked neat and I was like, that could be pretty

00:15:22
functional and comfortable for at the beach. So just really

00:15:25
like working towards choosing clothes and choosing

00:15:29
swimwear that makes me feel

00:15:32
comfortable and allows me to show up and be, you know, the

00:15:36
mom and be the friend and be the wife that I want to be. When

00:15:39
we're in these different situations of making memories

00:15:43
and being, you know, in the water and at the

00:15:46
beach and whatnot. The third kind of realization

00:15:50
I had of why I might be struggling with my body image right

00:15:54
now is it's summer, and we have

00:15:57
zero routine or structure.

00:16:01
And if you are a mom who's in the summer and you have some really

00:16:05
great structured routine, like, that's fantastic. Like, I'm really,

00:16:09
really glad and happy that you can make that work for you. It's

00:16:13
not something that is working really well

00:16:16
for us because our days and our weeks are kind of all over the place.

00:16:20
Like, there's times that our kids. My kids have camp

00:16:24
one week, and then the next week we don't have anything. And then the next

00:16:26
week we're going on vacation. So it gets really difficult to try to get into

00:16:30
any sort of routine. And so that means

00:16:34
that I am all out of whack, and the kids

00:16:37
are all out of whack. And so just being out of whack, I

00:16:41
think, is really playing into that because I don't. I. There's no predictability, right?

00:16:45
And because I don't have a routine, I'm not doing the habits and the things

00:16:48
that I normally do when my kids are in school.

00:16:52
And so that means that, you know, there's. There's some room for

00:16:56
growth there, so there's some room to kind of evaluate, like, how can

00:17:00
I go back and make some of these things a priority. But I do

00:17:03
believe that this is a huge factor in me being uncomfortable

00:17:07
in my body right now, because without having sort of any

00:17:11
sort of routine or structure, like, and it's summer, I'm just

00:17:14
staying up later than I normally do during the school year. And so I

00:17:18
know that I'm not getting enough sleep because, like, my husband still has to get

00:17:22
up and go to work. So it's not like I really have the opportunity to

00:17:25
sleep in there. And so, you know, I'm also.

00:17:28
Because I'm not going to bed at kind of my normal

00:17:32
time. I'm also not getting up early to spend time with scripture or

00:17:36
do my devotional, which is very, very important

00:17:39
for my headspace. And so I've just kind of

00:17:43
gotten lazy with that. And it's not something that I

00:17:47
really want to admit, but it's true. I have kind of gotten lazy with it.

00:17:51
And so, you know, that's definitely playing into

00:17:54
it because I'm. I'm kind of getting infiltration from the

00:17:58
enemy and from other things that I'm seeing. And I'm not going to the source

00:18:02
of where I need to, to find truth to start my day or to

00:18:06
kind of reassure me or equip me with kind of that

00:18:10
truth and that those thoughts that I need to, to get through the day

00:18:13
and not be kind of worried or uncomfortable

00:18:17
in, in my body because I

00:18:21
don't have any sort of routine and structure. I'm not really

00:18:25
committed to an exercise routine. Like some mornings I get to go for a walk,

00:18:29
but I'm not being able to maybe incorporate some of those other types of

00:18:32
exercise or activity that,

00:18:36
you know, really help with the strength building or the core

00:18:40
or our bar, the ways that I enjoy moving my body. And so because I

00:18:44
kind of slowed down on that, I'm not, you know, I'm not using the muscles

00:18:48
the way that I was. And so there's just kind of. I feel that physically

00:18:51
in, in my body. And so not having this,

00:18:55
you know, kind of routine is, you know, playing into that

00:18:58
uncomfortableness in, in my own body.

00:19:02
It's also summer. And so because we're on vacation, because

00:19:06
we don't really have this routine, we're taking more

00:19:10
trips, we're also eating out more. And so I know that I'm not, you know,

00:19:13
necessarily able to focus on getting the nutrient dense

00:19:17
foods that I enjoy and that keep me feeling good. And so that also

00:19:21
is playing into how I'm feeling about my body because when

00:19:25
I eat well and I nourish my body well, I feel good.

00:19:29
The other thing about it being summer is there's just I'm

00:19:33
drinking more alcohol than I normally do because it's just fun to

00:19:36
sit by the pool and enjoy a cocktail with friends. Right? And so you kind

00:19:40
of fall into that habit of like, oh, it's summer happy hour or let's have

00:19:44
a cocktail to kind of, you know, end the day, beat the heat kind of

00:19:47
thing. So I think all of these

00:19:51
things are just this lack of routine, this lack, lack of structure. It's just kind

00:19:54
of one domino after the other. And that's definitely impacting the way that I'm feeling.

00:19:59
And I think really the last thing is that I think I'm

00:20:02
dealing. I think some stress from the last

00:20:06
few months is really catching up to me.

00:20:10
So over the last few months, my husband's company was being bought out and

00:20:13
that caused a lot of uncertainty in our family. We didn't really know what

00:20:17
that meant for us. We didn't know if it meant that we had to move,

00:20:21
we didn't know if it meant that my husband would have a job, you know,

00:20:24
what were we going to do with the kids if we moved, Would we want

00:20:28
to move with this company? If he's was offered a

00:20:31
severance, would we take that? Just all sorts of these uncertainty things. And

00:20:35
within this, I'm kind of a

00:20:38
naturally optimistic person. I just kind of this have

00:20:42
this natural like attitude of it's all gonna work out.

00:20:46
My husband is kind of the complete opposite. So through all of this, I

00:20:49
had to be the encourager and reassure

00:20:53
him and reassure the kids that like, it's all going to be okay. We're,

00:20:57
we're going to figure this out. Like God has always been on our side. He's

00:21:01
always provided for us. He's not going to stop now. He's been with

00:21:04
us through everything, every decision that we've made up until this point, and he's

00:21:08
not going to stop now. And you know, it's all worked out great.

00:21:12
Everything's good. We, we aren't having to move.

00:21:16
My husband was able to accept a job with a new company. Like it's going

00:21:19
to be fine. But I still think that I'm experiencing maybe some

00:21:22
lingering stress and some lingering feelings from going through that

00:21:26
experience. And they're kind of manifest themselves physically right now.

00:21:30
And so I don't want you to think that I'm using any of these things

00:21:33
as an excuse, but it was just a way to kind of paint a

00:21:36
picture of like how as an intuitive eater,

00:21:40
how I kind of go through these different puzzle pieces

00:21:44
and, and really get curious about why I'm feeling a certain way or why I'm

00:21:48
experiencing this certain thing. Because when you are

00:21:51
kind of stuck in that diet culture mentality,

00:21:55
everything goes back to blaming yourself that you didn't lose

00:21:59
weight. Or the answer to every problem is just to lose weight. And then

00:22:02
the answer to every time this doesn't work is that you just didn't try hard

00:22:06
enough or there's something wrong with you. And an intuitive eating really

00:22:10
helped you learn that that is not true. Intuitive eating really helps you

00:22:13
start to dig deep and get curious and see,

00:22:17
huh, what haven't I thought of what could be a contributing factor

00:22:20
to this. And so I'm just using this as a kind of a way to

00:22:24
kind of paint a picture of how all these factors could be affecting the

00:22:28
way that I'm feeling about my body. Because I have that level of self

00:22:31
awareness. And that's what I aim to teach you in Any of

00:22:35
my intuitive eating programs is to help build that self awareness instead of that

00:22:39
all or nothing mindset that diet mentality tries to put out

00:22:43
there. You know, some of these factors could be affecting me on

00:22:46
an, like, individually how I'm feeling, while others, some of these

00:22:50
could be compounding together, especially like that routine, right? Like not having

00:22:54
routine means this, this and this. All of that's compounding together

00:22:58
and creating this cascade that's leading to my

00:23:01
struggles. And so while I can't control this

00:23:05
situation, right. I do know that I can control my thoughts

00:23:09
about how I'm feeling about this. And if I can control my thoughts, I

00:23:13
can change the feeling and I can change the, the actions.

00:23:17
So instead of beating myself up or feeling like, okay, Kara,

00:23:21
you're uncomfortable in your body. That means that you need to lose weight and change

00:23:23
your body. I can instead lean on the Lord

00:23:27
and surrender this struggle to him because he knows

00:23:31
suffering better than anybody and he'll be by my side through

00:23:34
all of this struggle, through all of this difficulty. And I know that

00:23:39
there are some things that I can change, there are some things that I

00:23:42
can work on that can make

00:23:46
this struggle less of a struggle. And I

00:23:50
also know that this isn't going to last forever.

00:23:55
School will start again in August and I know that just

00:23:58
a big one is like being back on some sort of routine is really going

00:24:02
to help me. And so part of it is just being patient, right? Part of

00:24:05
it is just knowing like, okay, at this point in time, in this season,

00:24:11
this might not change. I might still struggle through this. But I, I know that

00:24:15
I, I can't. I, I know that I have a choice to not let it

00:24:18
completely undo me, right? And so I can know that I can be patient and

00:24:21
realize, okay, what I am called to do right now

00:24:25
is to be mom to my kids during the summer. And that means that some

00:24:28
of these other things are going to go by the wayside. And if the consequence

00:24:31
of that means that I'm having some body image struggles, then that's just kind

00:24:35
of where I am. But it also gives me that again, that opportunity to work

00:24:38
through this, to work through my emotions, to do the mindset, trust in

00:24:42
the Lord, but

00:24:46
patience is not always easy. And I get that. But just, I, I think it's

00:24:50
just again that surrender piece and I can work on making some

00:24:53
adjustments and really making some better choices that will help me manage

00:24:58
these body image struggles this summer so I can

00:25:01
really be focused on how God is calling me to serve and the

00:25:05
vocation that he's calling me to live. In this particular season, for

00:25:09
example, I can make sure that I'm in bed and the lights are out by

00:25:13
a certain reasonable time each weekday, right?

00:25:17
So I've been staying up later on the weekdays. Maybe I go back to,

00:25:20
you know, setting myself up for a bedtime during

00:25:24
the week so then I can enjoy a later night on the weekends.

00:25:29
I also know that, like, I might not be able to incorporate the variety

00:25:32
of exercise I want. I know that I can commit to moving my

00:25:36
body in some way for 20 to 30 minutes a few

00:25:40
times to, you know, most days out of the week, going for a walk

00:25:44
and inviting the kids to go along, putting on the roller blades and getting

00:25:47
everybody out there, right? And this is where, you know, getting

00:25:51
outside and having to break that up can be really, really key.

00:25:54
I also know that I can cut back on the alcohol I'm drinking

00:25:58
and know that like, I can still enjoy spending time with friends

00:26:02
and I am still a fun person even if I am not drinking.

00:26:06
I think sometimes I feel really pressured to drink because

00:26:10
to make sure that like I'm fun or I'm having a good time or that,

00:26:14
you know, my friends are going to enjoy being around me, right? And the thing

00:26:18
is that that's not true. Like my friends enjoy being around

00:26:22
me even when I'm sober and I can enjoy things more

00:26:26
and not have, you know, kind of this side effect of

00:26:30
drinking too much alcohol kind of get in the way. So that's just something that

00:26:34
again, the mindset work of what is true and what is not true. Where is

00:26:37
the enemy trying to sneak in and make me believe these

00:26:41
lies? I also know that I can work on managing my stress

00:26:45
by ensuring that I have good coping skills. Really

00:26:48
going back to my devotional and scripture reading in the morning

00:26:52
to kind of set myself up on the right foot

00:26:56
for the rest of the day. So then I'm in a good headspace as I'm

00:26:59
parenting throughout the day. I know that getting good sleep and managing my

00:27:03
mindset will also help me manage my stress and guys like just that.

00:27:07
Bottom line is I can choose my thoughts. I can choose

00:27:10
what I think about myself and my body. And what

00:27:14
I choose is to root what I believe about

00:27:17
myself and what God says about me, not what

00:27:21
the world is saying. And you have that choice

00:27:25
too. You can choose to root what you believe about

00:27:29
yourself and about your body and what God's truth is,

00:27:32
y' all. Being an intuitive eater and living a faith

00:27:36
led wellness lifestyle is not always easy. There's

00:27:40
no Perfection to be found in it. But I do know that

00:27:44
if you were to become an intuitive eater and you really lived a faith led

00:27:48
wellness lifestyle, you can learn how to manage these struggles

00:27:52
when they come up because they don't go away completely,

00:27:57
but you can learn how to manage them without it leading to a downward spiral.

00:28:00
You can learn to move past them and you can like just rest

00:28:03
in knowing that you are a beloved

00:28:07
daughter. And because of that, you don't need to

00:28:10
worry about these things. And it's so temporary.

00:28:15
So just know that again,

00:28:19
I'm sharing from the heart. I'm speaking kind of what I'm experiencing because

00:28:24
you may be experiencing it too. I feel like it was a little risky because

00:28:27
not all of you are as further, as far along in your intuitive

00:28:31
eating journey as I am. And I don't ever want to kind of scare you

00:28:35
away from the hope that this can bring by sharing, you

00:28:39
know, any of the struggles that I go through. But I really believe strongly

00:28:42
in the truth and in integrity and

00:28:46
being transparent with you and never promising you something

00:28:50
that could never be delivered on. Like there are no

00:28:53
guarantees in life. But I do know that

00:28:58
this, this journey is the one for me and I believe

00:29:02
it's the one for so many of you. So just

00:29:07
trust that, right? Just know that

00:29:10
you're more than your body, that you don't have to be a victim to these

00:29:14
body image struggles and that there are ways that you can move past it and

00:29:17
that you can get to a point of acceptance and,

00:29:21
and even confidence. I will fully admit that there are times like I am

00:29:25
so confident in my body and what it does for me

00:29:28
and that there's just sometimes these things that happen that pop up and

00:29:32
it kind of hits you out of nowhere and you're like, oh, wow. But if

00:29:35
you get curious, you can usually get to the bottom of it, usually get to

00:29:38
the root of it. And managing that mindset and managing those

00:29:42
thoughts and then taking the actions that you can can really help you

00:29:46
move past that in a very effective and

00:29:50
efficient way.
faith based wellness,Catholic Coach,Emotional Health,body acceptance,negative self-talk,societal pressure,body image,diet culture,self-worth,Body Confidence,Intuitive Eating,stress management,registered dietitian,vacation eating,Exercise Routine,