My Story. Food Noise, Mindful Eating, and Healing.

My name is Ruby Laemmel, and I work as the Marketing and Client Relations Manager here at Remission Nutrition. I am also certified in Mindful Eating and Reiki I and II. I created a Mindful Eating course that you can purchase and do at your own pace.

This course marks a moment in my life where I feel pretty good. I would not have been able to create this course or even write this blog post two years ago. I wanted to share a bit of my story and why mindfulness is just so darn amazing. Enjoy!

My Story.

I have had my own rocky journey with food. It started with being a dancer and spending hours upon hours in front of a mirror. Constantly criticizing myself and comparing myself to other peers in class or online. Another factor was social media; growing up around Instagram and other platforms was hard. There was and continues to be a constant push for dieting, intense exercise, and restriction. As a young woman, I was affected by the "diet culture" I constantly saw everywhere I looked online. During COVID, I went down a deep rabbit hole with food. It felt like it was the only thing I could control, and I became obsessed with "eating healthy." But the truth is, I wasn't getting healthier; I was slowly hurting my mind, body, and spirit. I was losing connection to what food truly is and, in turn, myself.

I spent 5 years dealing with disordered eating, and it went in waves. Some years I was okay, and others I was really bad. My body, mood, and eating habits would fluctuate so much that I didn't know how to help myself. I knew I needed to make a change, but how? Finally, my close family and friends pulled me out. I was so scared that it pushed me to make a drastic change and save myself. For myself.

My relationship with food still isn't perfect, but I have made huge shifts in the past two years that have quite literally saved me. Not only have I worked on physical changes, but I have also really worked on my emotions and mental state. I thoroughly believe in the mind-body connection; one cannot be healed without the other.

Mindfulness and Mindful Eating.

In the midst of my food troubles, I completed a Mindful Eating course. Mind you, this was about 3 years in... At this point, I knew I needed to make a change, and something was wrong, but I just didn't know how.

This course was amazing; it went through all of the different modalities and ways mindful eating can help not only people who are disconnected from food but also those with severe eating disorders (people like me).

Over the past two years, in the process of healing my relationship with food, I have become more mindful about eating. How my body feels, hunger cues, and sensations of food. I have always loved food, cooking, and trying new things. I have returned to savoring my time in the kitchen, making meals that I want to eat. Cooking has always been something I enjoy, so now I embrace it and do it with presence and intention. For me, mindful eating has made food more fun, rather than a burden or something to be anxious about.

My mindful eating practices started small, just being aware of the presence of food and how it made me feel. However, as time goes on and as I keep building my practice, I feel more and more connected to food, myself, my body, and even my loved ones.

Quick Mindful Eating Benefits.

• Improves digestion

• Helps regulate hunger and fullness cues

• Reduces stress around eating

• Supports a healthier gut

• Rebuilds trust with your body

• Breaks the cycle of mindless or emotional eating

• Reduces guilt and judgment around food

• Slows down the nervous system

• Increases the enjoyment of food

• Helps you tune into how different foods make you feel

• Supports a healthier relationship with food long-term

• Brings more intention and presence to daily life

• Improves nutrient absorption

• Boosts overall self-awareness

What's Included in The Course

The course I created is simple, short, and sweet. It is meant to be a starting place where you can learn and practice mindfulness techniques. It is all self-paced; you can do it on your own time when you are comfortable and able.

Section one includes a 25-minute presentation, along with a handout with an overview of information and a guide to getting connected with your food.

Section two is the fun part, where you have access to two meditations (one for daily mindfulness, and the other for mindful eating specifically), and a starter guide handout for mindful eating.

You can download any of the assets, so you can access them whenever you want :)

Closing

This was a healing project for me, and I hope you get as much out of this course as I did making it. Thank you for reading and being a part of my journey.

-Ruby