Do you know what a pants-expander is? It’s a stretchy rubber loop that attaches to the button of a pair of pants. I confess I bought 6 of them because my size 8 jeans just weren’t fitting anymore. Hopeful that my pandemic stress eating will subside and I’ll get back down to my usual weight and size soon, I didn’t want to splurge on a bunch of new pants so I’ve been wearing these goofy looking pants-expanders.
Clearly, I’m not alone. Sales of stretchy yoga and sweat pants increased over the past year when we’ve been working from home with 24/7 access to our snacks and comfort foods.
I say all that to let you know of a positive experience I’ve just had. I finished 4 weeks of learning from a wonderful health coach named Kristin. I hired her because I knew I had been eating too much sugar and white flour and salty snacks. (I’m lookin’ at you Trader Joe’s delicious Dark Russet potato chips!). Coach Kristin helped me modify my habits so that I could sustain my energy throughout the day, rather than experience those energy dips and sometimes crashes (can you say, “midday nap?”)
She sent me recipes which even a non-cook like me can easily manage. She suggested snacks that would be satisfying and better for my body and brain. The best part? She did all of this without judgement. Kristin even encouraged me to speak more kindly to myself, i.e. NOT say, “I was BAD last night because I ate half a bag of chips.”
In those 4 sessions I was reminded of a) how much what we eat affects how we feel and b) how smart and inspiring Coach Kristin Tomlinson is.
You can see and hear her on my video series, the Help and Healing Hangout. I had interviewed her last year but all her advice is still timely. Each episode is about 5 minutes long and can be found on this YouTube playlist https://youtu.be/YxOzO0ApKoQ .
I hope you find the videos helpful! If there’s any one tip you like best, please share in the Comments section.