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Be Free in Your Body: What Body Freedom Means and How to Start Feeling It Now

A woman celebrating

If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and felt like your body was the problem…

If you’ve spent years waiting to lose weight before feeling confident or at peace…

If you’ve tried all the plans, followed all the rules, and still feel disconnected from your body…

This post is for you.


In the final episode of my 3-part podcast series, Break the Cycle, Build Self-Trust, Be Free in Your Body, we’re talking about what it means to feel free in your body. Not someday. Not after the “after” photo. But right now.



Let’s Recap the Series So Far


In Part 1, we talked about breaking the overeating cycle, what keeps it going, why willpower doesn’t work, and how to start identifying the real triggers so you can interrupt the pattern.


In Part 2, we explored rebuilding self-trust, learning how to listen inward again after years of tracking, restricting, and doubting yourself.


And now, in Part 3, we’re looking at what it means to be free in your body. Not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, and energetically.


Because for so many women, this remains a lifelong struggle.


We’re taught that freedom comes after the fix... after the weight loss, after the transformation, and after we’ve become a "better" version of ourselves.


But that's a lie we’ve been sold.

And here's what I want you to know:


Freedom in your body can feel like a far-off fantasy, especially if you’ve spent years hating it or hiding it. But freedom doesn’t come after any changes. It begins the moment you stop fighting yourself.


A Moment That Changed Everything


We were on vacation in Florida during my daughter’s 10th birthday. We stopped at a grocery store to grab a few things, and she asked if she could go to the ice cream aisle while we finished up. I told her, “Sure, we’ll meet you there.”


A few minutes later, I found her standing in front of the freezer section, looking upset. She told me that while she was picking out ice cream, two women walked past her. It was an older woman and a younger woman. The older woman looked right at my daughter and said, “That’s why we don’t eat ice cream.”


My daughter was horrified. And I was furious that I hadn’t been there in that exact moment to stand between her and that kind of verbal attack. I was also grateful that I’d already been coaching, because I could respond calmly. I told Rebecca, “That woman’s comment was cruel and completely irrelevant. It says everything about her, and nothing about you. You are beautiful and worthy exactly as you are.”


This is why doing food and body confidence work matters. That woman probably thought she was making a joke. Maybe she said it without even thinking. But that’s how shame gets passed down... silently, casually, generationally. And this is how we stop it.


We do the work.

We come back to ourselves.

And we show the next generation that their worth isn’t conditional.


What Is Body Freedom?


Let’s be clear:

Body freedom is not about loving every inch of yourself every single day.

It’s not about finally reaching a “goal weight".

It’s not about being confident 24/7.


Body freedom is about presence.


It’s about feeling at home in your skin.

It’s about not spending every waking moment managing, monitoring, or criticizing your body.

It’s about showing up in your life without waiting to be different first.


I remember the first time I truly felt it. We were at a water park, and I wore my swimsuit in public, something I hadn’t done in years. And as I looked around at the other women there, something was different.


Before, I would’ve been comparing:

Do I look bigger than her? Smaller?

Should I be covering more?

Why did I even come?


But that day, I saw them.


I saw their laughter.

I saw how much fun they were having.

I noticed their joy, not their size.


And for the first time, I wasn’t shrinking.

I wasn’t hiding.

I was there.


That’s body freedom.


Why It Feels So Hard (It’s Not Your Fault)


Here’s the thing most people don’t say out loud:

It makes sense that body freedom feels so far away.


We’re living in a culture built on body shame.


We’re raised in systems that reward thinness, punish fatness, and push a narrow definition of beauty that most people will never meet.


That’s fatphobia.

And it’s everywhere... in healthcare, in the media, in clothing stores, in school, at work. It’s not just about personal preferences. It’s about how bodies are valued, or devalued, in society.


Then there’s diet culture, which convinces us we can’t be trusted with our bodies.

That hunger is weakness.

That rest is laziness.

That we must earn our food, our joy, our worth.


It’s no wonder so many of us feel disconnected from our bodies.

It’s no wonder we struggle to feel safe in them, let alone free.


And there’s real grief in realizing how long you’ve been taught to abandon yourself.


But here’s what I want you to hear:

Of course it’s hard. But it’s also possible.


Freedom doesn’t mean you never struggle. It means you stop abandoning yourself when you do.


From Fixing to Caring: The Shift That Changes Everything


If you’re used to thinking about your body as a project to fix, you are not alone. But healing starts when you change the question.


Instead of:

“How can I fix this?”


Try:

“How can I support myself today?”


That one shift can change everything.


Support might look like:

  • Wearing clothes that fit and feel good now

  • Moving your body in ways that bring you joy, not punishment

  • Letting yourself eat enough to feel satisfied, not just to stay “on track”

  • Speaking to yourself with care, even when it’s hard


You don’t need to earn freedom.

You just need to stop abandoning yourself in the moments you need support the most.


Can You Still Want Weight Loss and Be Free?


This is a big one, and I hear it all the time:

"Can I want weight loss and still be doing this work?"


And my answer is:

Yes, if that desire comes from care, not punishment.


The truth is, you’re allowed to want what you want.


But I encourage you to ask yourself:

“Am I trying to shrink myself to fit in and finally feel acceptable? Or, am I looking for ways to be supportive and take the best care of my body?”


There’s no shame in the desire.

But there’s power in knowing where it comes from, and whether it’s leading you toward freedom or further away from it.


One Small Step Toward Freedom


Here’s the question I’ll leave you with today:

What’s one small way you could live like someone who deserves to feel free in her body today?


It might be wearing the shorts.

Deleting the food tracker.

Going to the gym or dance class.

Taking a deep breath and saying, “I am already enough.”


You don’t have to feel ready.

You don’t have to believe it 100% yet.


But what if you just took one step in the direction of freedom?


You are worthy of peace.

You are worthy of care.

You are worthy of living your life without waiting to be smaller first.


Ready for a Different Kind of Support?


If this post resonated with you and you’re tired of carrying the weight of food struggles and body shame alone, then let’s talk.


Private coaching is where we work together to break the cycle, rebuild trust, and help you feel free in your body. Not in a perfect way. But in a powerful one.



We’ll explore where you’re feeling stuck, what you need most right now, and whether working together is the next right step.


You don’t have to figure this out alone.

And you don’t have to wait one more day to start feeling free.


xo,

Amy


Amy English

Emotional Eating Coach | Fat2Fierce®


Break the Overeating Cycle. Build Self-Trust. Be Free in Your Body.

 
 
 

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