Yesterday at about 4:15 p.m., I heard my dog rolling around on the bed making her cute and funny snuffling noises. And then I heard a thump and a loud yelp.

I found her on her side. She clearly had rolled off the bed.

As I got her up, her right front leg was held out at a funky angle and she was in pain.

After a quick call to the vet, I rushed her to the animal hospital.

To make a long story short, we think it’s just a bad sprain, but we may have to go back in for X-rays if it’s not significantly better by this afternoon.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because events to which you have a stress reaction happen.

And I totally allowed myself to do some stress eating as a result.

The key word there was “allowed.”

I knew exactly what I was doing. I wasn’t out of control. I wasn’t eating mindlessly.

I made a conscious choice to give myself a little comfort with a glass of sherry, a big slice of pizza, and a peppermint patty for dessert.

And I enjoyed it.

It was fun to have a surprise evening off with my husband and to have a decadent meal and movie mid-week.

Because I love myself and my healthy body, I am back on track with my eating today.

You don’t have to be perfect to get the body you want.

The challenge is most women do far more stress eating than they do healthy eating.

And you probably feel guilty about it.

You don’t fully enjoy it in the moment.

And then you beat yourself up about it, which makes you feel so bad, your eating feels even more out of control, which makes you feel worse about you.

When you choose to have an occasional indulgence that you fully enjoy and appreciate, you tap into self-love. This makes it way easier to get back on track—and stay on track—most of the time.

Can you feel the difference in choosing and enjoying compared to making all the foods you love totally off limits and telling yourself you are failure if you aren’t perfect in your eating?

Chances are you are somewhere in between, but I want to create that emotional awareness of how the different the 2 scenarios feel.

And think about your actions.

If you were on a trip and you missed a turn, would you give up and head back home saying you failed? Or would you drive to the nearest exit and turn around and keep going?

It’s the same with your wellness.

Instead of giving up on eating healthy if you stress eat, forgive yourself, make the decision to get back on track with your next meal, and then love yourself enough to do it.

Tapping into self-love is critical to releasing the weight—and keeping it off.

Here are three ways to begin loving you.

• Practice appreciation. You may have to begin with external things—like your pets or children. But when you get a solid feeling of appreciation going, turn that light on yourself. Appreciate who you are, what you are doing to move towards your wellness goals, and how hard your body is working on your behalf.
• Love your body in pieces. If you typically look in the mirror and are critical, you may have to start off small and work your way up. For instance, sit quietly and send love to your toes. Then let that feeling of love spread to the balls of your feet, to your arches, and into your heels. Slowly work your way up your body loving every specific part as you go.
• Focus on your heart. Sit quietly and think about your heart. Feel it opening up and generating a warm, green light. Imagine that loving light beginning to spread all around you. It can actually be helpful to put your hand on your heart as you do this.

While this may seem like woo-woo meditations, what you are really doing is tapping into your body’s ability to regenerate and rebuild down to the cellular level.

Notice what happens when you begin practicing self-love. Are you able to have an occasional indulgence, without triggering a binge rooted in self-loathing?

How does loving yourself help you create the body–and life–you want?

Together we can do it!

There is still time!

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