Dear body, With only a few more days until Clash Daytona half distance (my last race of the year), I wanted to take the time to thank you for an incredible year of training and racing. You let me participate in 13 events over the past eleven months. From mountain biking and gravel racing to off-road triathlon to 70.3 and finishing off with two XTRI events, you allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, utilize a wide range of mental skills and test my strength and endurance. You let me push myself in a variety of ways and it was an honor to share each experience with you. With nine of my 13 events taking over 5 hours to complete, I never take for granted what you allow me to do, mentally and physically. My love for you is not for a look or image but for the life that you allow me to live. I know for you to take care of me, I must take care of you. I promise to never deny you energy or nutrients in order to look a certain way or for performance gains. I promise to aloways give you the
Navigating holiday (over)eating The holiday season is here and it's filled with family, friends and.....a lot of food. Without a doubt, food is a significant component of every holiday. For anyone who suffers from an eating disorder or an unhealthy relationship with food and the body, this can be a challenging time of the year. You may not realize it but the holidays may bring several triggers that could lead to disordered eating and exercising behaviors. Often times, stress, overwhelm, people pleasing, travel, toxic relationships/family members, uncomfortable conversations and finances can bring on uncomfortable feelings. In order to lessen those emotions, it's easy to resort to food restriction (or dieting). And with restriction often comes binge eating. Overeating from time to time does not mean that you have a binge eating disorder. Fundamentally, binge eating is different from overeating. Signs and symptoms of binge eating include: Eating a large amount of food in a