Today on the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I’m so happy to share with you my conversation with Cyndi Springford from Plaistow, New Hampshire. Cyndi's varied background includes being a Personal Trainer, a Running Coach, and a certified Eating Psychology Coach. She has been in the fitness industry since 1993, encouraging REAL well-being and fitness with her clients. Many of you know Cyndi from her "Love Your Body Project"-Facebook page. Currently, she is working out of her home, coaching clients both remotely and in person. Cyndi shares her background about her body image challenges, chronic dieting, disordered eating and excessive exercise and how she made peace with all of it through discussions, articles, and podcasts with the media. Cyndi talks about: – Why she doesn’t remember a time when she ever felt good in her body as a child – How her mother related to food and exercise in a punishing way – How her lack of trust in her own body led her into a severely disordered way with exercise and eating – Why she felt dependent on outside approval, especially in terms of her appearance and performance – How her relationship with exercise spiraled out of control – How her obsession with exercise and her body negatively affected her relationships and her entire life – How unprocessed trauma played into her disordered ways with food and exercise – Why she couldn’t receive unconditional love – How she felt she was dying inside while people thought of her as an "inspiration" – At what point she started to allow herself to wonder "maybe there’s more to life than presenting a body ideal and eating a certain diet, and maybe there’s more to life than hating myself" – How she sat with the fears and anxieties that she felt when she gave up dieting and overexercising – How she turned her thinking around and started to apply her perfectionism to recovery and healing – How getting angry helped her in recovery – How women often hide their disordered exercise and eating behaviors behind being a "fitness professional" or a "nutritionist" – How she found a new "identity" after having been a "fitness professional" for so long – Why it might be best for some people to just go "cold turkey" and cut exercising out completely – Why her FB page was a tool in her recovery – How mirror work helped her in her recovery – What she did to quiet the negative body image thoughts – How she helps her clients through all their struggles with overcoming food and body fears – What makes dieting so addictive and what it distracts us from – Why your weight is the LEAST interesting thing about you – What she wants every woman to know... ... And so much more! For more information check out Cyndi’s website at: www.loveyourbodyproject.org Here’s the link to Cyndi’s "LYB Project" Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LoveYourBodyProject/ Here’s the link to Cyndi’s coaching on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachcyndilou/ Here’s the link to the book "Overcoming Overeating" by Jane Hirschmann and Carol H. Munter that Cyndi mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Overeating-Break-Healthier-Satisfying/dp/1456413333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505754598&sr=8-1&keywords=overcoming+overeating+by+jane+hirschmann+and+carol+munter And here’s the link to the "Intuitive Eating Workbook", the new workbook by the authors of "Intuitive Eating", Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch: https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Workbook-Principles-Relationship/dp/1626256225/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505754704&sr=1-3&keywords=intuitive+eating Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We’re right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/