Today is Easter. A day likely filled with Cadbury eggs, gravy over mounds of mashed potatoes and perhaps an alcoholic beverage or two. 

Being a Health Coach, I’ve seen the variety of holiday dinner outcomes in the past. Many people in my sphere of influence will either:

1. White knuckle their food phobia through dinner with pride: graciously passing on the buns, on the wine, on the desert. They will go home to enjoy their Tupperware boxed meal and fall asleep feeling goal-oriented and determined. Perhaps anti-social AF but light on their feet and ready for their AM gym session. 

OR

2. They will simply over-indulge to the point of food-guilt, bloat and shame due to the feeling of a restrictive headspace. They will show up to said event with a #1 mindset, and walk away feeling burdened by home cooked food and good company. This unhealthy mental-gut-punch tends to spiral into days of uncomfortability and distress: all over some turkey and fuckin’ chocolate eggs. 

And although you might expect me to RARA for “MORE #1” peeps around the world: this just isn’t the case.

I will not pat you on the back because you’ve restricted yourself. 

I will not jump for joy that you turned down grandmas cooking. 

I will not have favourite clients simply because they obey and listen and stick to a plan. 

I will not praise, celebrate or applaud you for your “willpower” 

Whether your head is ALL IN, ALL OUT or ALL TOO EXCITED for this festivity of food DOESNT MATTER TO ME. 

What matters to me is that you’re thinking LESS about the food and MORE about the important shit. 

What matter to me is how you approach TOMORROW.

What matters to me is that you walk away from the dinner table at peace, and that you don’t think about your food for longer than it took you to consume it. 

What matters to me is that you never turn down the opportunity to smile, dance, cook, love, eat and drink with ease. 

What matters to me is that you develop a healthy and happy relationship with food and fitness while I am your coach. 

Do you remember last years Easter dinner?

I do. 

I had just got home from Mexico and was feeling quite off. I had caught a stomach bug from the over-consumption of veggies on my trip and I was 4 weeks away from stepping on stage at a National Bikini Event. I had just completed an entire week at an all inclusive without 1 alcoholic beverage or 1 missed workout. I was ALL IN on my goals and ALL OUT on budging my diet for Easter dinner. 

My Papa Joe, the most incredible decadent chef in the world: offered to cook. 

My family went. All of them. My husband, my sister, my nieces, my parents. They enjoyed his cooking, his laughs, his kitchen table filled with love, 

I stayed home sick and ate chicken and asparagus, alone. 

My Papa Joe passed away 8 weeks later. I never got that last meal. I never got to sit at the table surrounded by my family without forever feeling like his presence was missing. I never got that- and it will haunt me for much longer than any amount of gravy or grease. Oh, what I would give to spend one more holiday at his table with him.

These moments you’re making today, they are not just about food. They are about memories. They are about community. They are about family. 

So here’s some twisted advice from your “Health” Coach today:

Eat the fuckin’ Turkey. 

Have the fuckin’ wine. 

Put the fuckin’ phone away.

Stay a little later.

Skype with your Grandma. 

Buy a treat for your spouse. 

Be present. 

And tomorrow, get up and keep chasing your fuckin’ goals. 

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