E10 - Hunger Games: Tackling Emotional Eating
S01:E10

E10 - Hunger Games: Tackling Emotional Eating

Episode description

Welcome to another episode of The Mindful Balance! Today we’re diving into the all-too-common mindset of scarcity, a phenomenon we like to call “The Last Supper Syndrome.” In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What scarcity mindset or “Last Supper Syndrome” is and how it manifests in your everyday life
  • How emotional triggers like fear of missing out (FOMO) fuel this mindset
  • The historical and evolutionary basis of the scarcity mindset
  • The contrasting roles of your “Lower Brain” and “Higher Brain” when facing a delicious spread of food
  • Practical tools to shift from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, including the powerful concept of bridging thoughts

Come explore the emotional, historical, and psychological factors that contribute to a scarcity mindset. Walk away with actionable strategies to rewrite your narrative around food, empowering you to make choices that serve both your immediate desires and long-term goals.

Thanks for listening!

Want more? Follow me on Instagram @rachelemmanutrition for more daily tips on everything emotional eating, nutrition, and mindset.

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Want to take the next step towards food freedom? Get a free copy of the Emotional Eating Toolkit to learn how your emotions lead to overeating and how you can stop it right away.

Email me at rachel@rachelemmanutrition.com if you have any questions about this episode or to say Hi!

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0:00

(upbeat music)

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Welcome to the Mindful Balance Mini Podcast.

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If you are a woman over 40,

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ready to break free from fad diets

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and discover the power of balance and confidence

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in your life, then this podcast is for you

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and I am so happy that you are here.

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I'm your host, I'm Rachel, a nutrition and mindset coach

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and I'm going to break down everything you need to know

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into bite-sized pieces of sustainable and realistic tips.

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I wanna invite you to join me

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as we explore practical strategies to stop overeating,

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nourish your body, and use the potential

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of your amazing brain to achieve your goals.

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If you haven't already,

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make sure to hit that subscribe button

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nutrition mindset and building healthy habits.

1:01

Hey there, welcome back. We are going to talk today about one of my favorite topics and that

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is the mindset of scarcity, also known as the last supper syndrome. This is a name that I love

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so much because it really takes it from "oh no, something is very wrong with me" to the

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realization that this is a very, very common mindset error.

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I often say that understanding your mindset is like turning on a light in a dark room

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because once you see it, you can't unsee it and that's when real transformation begins.

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So get comfortable and let's get into it.

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When we talk about the last supper syndrome or the scarcity mindset, it may look like

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this in real life.

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And I'm going to give you a few examples here.

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Imagine it's the night before you start a new diet.

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Usually Sunday night.

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So you think to yourself, well, this is my last chance to enjoy all these foods that

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I really love.

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So I might as well go all out.

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What happens is you end up eating way more than you usually would, feeling uncomfortably

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full and ironically less satisfied.

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Another way this may show up is you are at a social event and there is a buffet of delicious

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food.

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Picture desserts, cute little appetizer, maybe fancy drinks and somewhere in the back of

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your mind, a voice says, "Who knows when I'll get to eat all these treats again. I better eat up now."

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So you pile your plate high even though you had a full meal just hours before.

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Or even on a smaller scale, you see an ad for your favorite dessert at a local bakery.

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"Limited time only," it says. And suddenly you are buying four pieces instead of one,

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even though the dessert isn't even something that you usually crave in large quantities.

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So you must be thinking, yes, I can relate to that, but why does this happen to me all the time?

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The short answer is that there are emotional triggers that lead to this kind of mindset.

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The first one is the fear of missing out, also known as FOMO. It is a huge driver here.

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It's like your mind played tricks on you, painting a picture that this is your last

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chance or your last shot at happiness or satisfaction, which simply isn't true.

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Additionally, there are underlying emotional factors like stress or loneliness or even

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excitement and celebration that can prompt us to fall into the scarcity mindset.

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Sometimes it's not even about the food, but what that food really represents. A sense of comfort,

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a momentary escape, or a reward. And I'm almost sure that if you can remember back to your last

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birthday dinner, you know what I'm talking about. This is my party, and I get to eat as much as I

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want because tomorrow it's no longer going to be available. But other than emotional triggers,

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there is actually a historical and cultural background behind scarcity that's going back

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all the way to our ancestors. And I'm going to explain it. This is not a history lesson, okay?

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Believe it or not, this mindset has historical roots. Our ancestors often didn't know where

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their next meal would come from, so they had to make the most of what was available to them.

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That's the lower brain, and I will explain about this in a minute. But the lower brain is working

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its evolutionary magic. Eat now while the food is here, or you might starve later.

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In modern society, though, if you are listening to this, you are probably one of the fortunate

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parts of society to have a more constant food supply than what our ancestors had.

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But that primitive part of your brain hasn't really caught up yet. It still thinks

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that we need to eat as much as possible when food is abundant, even if that abundance is

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a daily occurrence and no one needs to go hunting in the forest for the next meal.

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To truly understand why we fall prey to the Last Supper Syndrome, we have to get acquainted with

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two key players that control our actions. They often refer to as the lower brain and the higher

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brain. And if you are one of my clients, you are familiar with these concepts because it is key to

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understanding why we behave the way that we behave. Think of the two parts of the brain as two

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consultants that you have. Each with their own perspectives and motives and each one of them

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is sitting on your shoulder as you approach that all-you-can-eat buffet. The first consultant,

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the lower brain, is your well-meaning yet somewhat impulsive friend. This is the friend who says,

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"Life's too short. Just eat the cake. Don't worry about it. You deserve it." Your lower brain,

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AKA your primitive brain, is the part that is responsible for our basic survival instincts like

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fight-flight and, in the context of our conversation, eat to survive. Its goal is to

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keep you alive. You are the human and the brain needs to make sure that you are alive and surviving.

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The lower brain wants immediate rewards and safety and isn't too concerned with what's down the line.

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When you are about to eat that third piece of cake, it's your lower brain that screams,

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"Yes! More is better! More happiness! Right now, eat everything! Eat as much as you want!"

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On the other side, there is your higher brain. This is the wise elder who has seen it all.

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This is the evolved part of the brain, responsible for rational thinking, planning, and emotional

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regulation. This is also the part of you that gently reminds you about your long-term goals

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and how you want to feel in your skin tomorrow. When you find yourself reaching for another

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helping, it's your higher brain that calmly questions how will this align with your goals?

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Do you really need more? Or is this the last supper syndrome that is talking right now?

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So what does this tension between the two parts of your brain look like?

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Let's say you are at a family gathering and the table is full with all kinds of delicious foods.

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Your lower brain is super excited and it is encouraging you to try a bit of everything,

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because who knows when you'll get this chance again.

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At the same time, your higher brain is taking a step back, contemplating your health goals

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and how you want to feel about this dinner. It's almost like you are at a crossroads,

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with each part of your brain offering different paths. The lower brain says "feast, enjoy,

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this is rare, have fun" while the higher brain suggests "choose wisely, don't go overboard".

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All this drama is in your brain while you're trying to enjoy. It's really not a great life experience.

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Now that we've recognized the dual happening in our heads between the lower brain and the higher

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brain, what can we actually do about it? That's where the abundance mindset comes into play.

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Awareness is the first step in shifting from scarcity to abundance. When you become aware,

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you pull yourself out of autopilot. Think of mindfulness as a bell that rings every time you

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are about to make food choices, inviting you to pause and consult both advisors, the lower brain

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and the higher brain. Mindfulness is not just a buzzword, it's really more of a skill because

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practically you want to slow down the present moment so you can hear what your higher brain

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has to offer. Once you have that awareness, then the next step is changing your perspective,

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which can be incredibly empowering. Instead of thinking, "this is my last chance to eat this

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delicious cake," try thinking, "there is more where that cake came from. I can always come back to

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this restaurant and have this dessert. I can make this at home." It's really never the last time,

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even though your brain is trying to convince you, especially the lower brain, that this is a once

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in a lifetime opportunity. This little shift can ease the tension between the two parts of your

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brain and help you make a choice that serves you both now and in the future. If there is one thing

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that I want you to pay super close attention to, it's this. The lower brain leads us into a scarcity

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mindset because it's running on old scripts and habits. Most of us have been in the habit of

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believing the scarcity for 10, 20, sometimes even 30 plus years without questioning if it is even

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true. And that is it true that we can only eat something now. But even if you have been thinking

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this way for many years, you need to know this. Habits can be rewritten. We just redecorated

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my son's room because he got too cool for the room that he had. He's 11 now, so this is my analogy

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right now. Just like you might rearrange furniture in a room to make it more functional and inviting

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and appropriate for where you are in life right now, you can rearrange your mental furniture.

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That can be maybe setting a new goal of taking 3 deep breaths before meals, just so you can

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center yourself. Or perhaps it's practicing gratitude for the food that you have.

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You want to create a moment of awareness right before you eat so that there is abundance

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in your life.

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For the last part of this episode, because I not only want you to understand what's happening,

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but I also want to send you on your way with actions that you can take, let's talk about

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a powerful tool to bring peace between the two brain consultants.

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The concept of bridging thoughts, which I mentioned I know on this podcast at least

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once before.

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Think of a bridging thought as a diplomatic mediator, someone who understands the perspective

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of both sides and helps create a middle path that honors both the immediate joy and the

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long-term vision.

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When we are caught in this last supper syndrome, we often have thoughts like, "I have to eat

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this now, otherwise I'll miss out."

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A bridging thought allows us to reframe this into something that's more balanced, like,

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"It's okay to enjoy this meal, and I also have the power to make choices that are aligned

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with my long-term wellbeing."

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When you learn to craft your own bridging thoughts, you take back control and write

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a narrative that supports both your immediate desires and long-term goals.

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For instance, instead of thinking "I can't resist this food", a bridging thought could

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be "I can enjoy some of this food now and I can still honor my body's needs."

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One of the most common struggles that I hear from many clients is holiday gatherings.

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So I want to offer you one last example before we say goodbye.

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Imagine yourself surrounded by family recipes that you only get to eat once a year.

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Instead of thinking, this is my only chance to eat my mom's special, let's say, pecan

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pie. A bridging thought could be I can enjoy these pies and appreciate it even more when I eat it

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mindfully. As we wrap up this episode, I just want to summarize that we went into understanding why

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we sometimes feel compelled to eat as if it's our last supper. We met the two consultants in your

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brain, the impulsive driven lower brain, and the rational higher brain, and we learned

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how to mediate between them using the concept of bridging thoughts.

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And if there's one last thing that you still can take away from this discussion, I want

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you to know that you have the power to rewrite your narrative around food.

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You're not at the mercy of an ancient brain that is hard-wired for a feast or die lifestyle.

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Times have changed and you have the tools to adapt.

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Your journey towards a healthier, more balanced relationship with food and your body is yours

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to direct.

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The roadmap is in your hands and I'm here to guide you and support you every step of

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the way.

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I want you to take a moment to appreciate yourself for showing up today, for being willing

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to learn and for taking steps, however small, towards a more mindful, abundant life.

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Thank you so much for tuning in.

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I'm sending you a huge virtual hug, encouraging you to find your own middle path, one that

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honors both the joy of the present and the aspiration of tomorrow. Lots of love. Bye.

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Thank you for tuning in to the Mindful Balance podcast today. I hope you enjoyed our conversation

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and find inspiration to find your unique balance and confidence. Remember that the journey continues

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on Instagram. You can find me @rachelemmanutrition. That is one word where I share daily nuggets of

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wisdom to help you reach your goals with ease. If you loved today's episode, don't

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our mission to empower more women on their mindful balance journey. Until next

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time, take care and stay mindful. Bye!

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