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Archives for September 2019

How I Quit Emotional Eating and Took Back Control of My Health

September 27, 2019 by Allie Casazza Leave a Comment

For my most of my adult life, I struggled with an addiction to food. Even after all this time that I’ve been on my health journey, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I used food to fill a gap in my heart and avoid my problems. 

But I did. This was especially prominent during the time in mine and Brian’s life when we were really broke (you can listen to that story here). Things were really difficult, we were far away from friends and family, and junk food was really cheap. 

Eating became my escape, my high. Junk food releases hormones and chemicals in you that give you a reaction. It gives you a high and so it’s addictive. 

For a long time, I would actively seek out sugar, candy, fatty foods and binge-eat. Almost every night. Just so I could get that kick. 

I might would stop for a few days, maybe even a couple of months, but I’d always come back to it. It was an addiction and it absolutely had a hold on my life. 

Let me just clarify that this went way beyond a little bit of “stress-eating.” I was full on “pigging-out” to avoid dealing with anything that felt too big for me. 

At my lowest point I gained over 50 pounds really quickly. Which [side note] is really hard for me to do because, from what I can tell, I have a really good metabolism. 

I’m not one of those people who has a slice of pizza and you can see it on me the next day. It takes a lot for me to gain weight. 

So, that gives you a really good idea of where I was at and what was going on. 

This is embarrassing for me to admit. I don’t like to sound obsessed and food-driven. It’s unfeminine. It’s embarrassing. It’s humbling. 

But this was my reality. This is addiction. Just because it’s food doesn’t mean that I’m being dramatic. 

It’s just that my addiction was something “normal.” It’s not heroin, or pot, or sex.  And I know I’m not the only one who’s struggled with this.  

Disclaimer: I know that anorexia, bulimia, food addiction, bingeing, and negative body image are all very real things and it may take more than the steps below to overcome. It’s not easy and if you need professional help, that’s OK. Please get the help you need.

I want to be sensitive to anyone struggling. My intent in sharing this with you is to simply peel the curtain back on my own life, shine a light on this issue, and share with you what I had to do to take back the power that food held over my life. This is my story. 

I Had To Take Responsibility 

I’ve read that emotional eating is unavoidable. That’s it’s just something that we do not matter what. And I would have to very strongly disagree. 

What a hopeless statement! I think we absolutely have the ability and the responsibility to choose what we put into our bodies.

I remember reading that and using it as an excuse like, “Well, see, even science says that it’s unavoidable so, it’s OK.” 

Nope. It’s not OK. 

I was making choices every day to feed my addiction and so I had to make the choice to change. 

I Had to Understand The Brain Behind Addiction

Did you know that our brains have a reward system that hard wire us to want to engage in behaviors that we find pleasurable, like eating tasty foods? When we eat junk foods, the reward circuits within our brains activate and release the chemical, dopamine. 

Our brains can become so overwhelmed by the pleasure from these rewarding foods that, in response, the brain adapts and makes more receptors for dopamine. 

What this means is that a greater amount of junk food is needed to get the same kick, making us eat more and more. This is the same way drug addicts develop a tolerance to drugs and have to continue to increase the amount of drugs they’re taking. 

So, our brains are hardwired to seek out and want rewarding foods which is why we crave and desire sweet and fatty foods. 

I Had to Admit I Had a Problem

As embarrassing as it was to admit, the reality was that food controlled me. I started to plan my day around it. Everywhere I went, food was always at the front of my mind. 

It wasn’t a self-control issue for me. I had a heart issue—an addiction—that I was sweeping under the rug. 

No matter how many times I decided to be “healthy and good” I just couldn’t do it. I had to deal with the heart and the root problem which is addiction. And addiction is really serious. 

I Had to Change the Way I Looked at Food 

You can’t look at the foods that God gave us and tell me that He didn’t intend for food to be enjoyed. But it’s supposed to fuel your body, not be an obsession. 

I had to take a hard look at my relationship with food and put it in its place. At the time, Whole30 was becoming a really big thing. 

If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a way of eating where you’re just eating really clean, whole foods like vegetables, meats that are organic, free-range and grass-fed. Just really high quality, good foods. 

So, I did Whole30 twice in a row and the weight just fell off. I looked better and I felt good. Which I will be honest was my original intent for doing it. 

But something happened during this journey. My heart shifted and the Lord really used Whole30 to get a hold of me. 

What happened in those couple of months was I realized that I had made food an idol. I began to lay this obsession down, give it to the Lord and eating became an act of worship for me. 

I realized that I’d been avoiding all my problems and going to food instead of being proactive, brainstorming ideas, and coming up with solutions. 

I hadn’t been praying or reading my Bible either. I wasn’t reading books. I had just gone all in with food. 

Doing Whole30 really taught me to lay that down and to give that up. It taught me how to be a person without being obsessive about my next meal.


If you’re looking to make some healthy changes, I’ve put together a little pdf for you called, 10 Ways to Simplify Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning. This will help you simplify the process of planning your meals, grocery shopping, and food prep. If you have a food-related addiction or struggle with emotional eating, then you know that eating can be really complicated because we do have to fuel our bodies so often during the day. So, I hope this will help! It’s totally free!

HECK YES! SEND IT TO ME.

I Had to Battle It Out 

Whole30 is the opposite of how I was eating. It’s clean vegetables, fruits, no sweetener of any kind, not even honey. It’s basically created to help you revamp your relationship with food. 

It’s kind of like an elimination diet of sorts. It’s really clean and really wholesome and really good for you. 

But it was dang hard to come off eating Taco Bell and Oreos every night. The first few weeks, I had major withdrawals. 

I remember many nights screaming and crying into my pillow because I wanted sugar and my body was aching. I had fevers and chills and headaches. It was awful. 

But this is how bad I had let my food addiction get. This is how my body was reacting from not eating the way I normally was. 

I would cry because I was so embarrassed—in front of myself, in front of Brian, in front of God— that I was so addicted to food that this was my reaction to eating the way God designed us to eat. 

I Had To Realize That This Would Always Be My Struggle 

I have an addiction and I can’t mess around with food. I can’t be like everybody else and just eat whatever and be OK. 

If I choose to eat a slice of pizza I mentally have to work through it like, “OK, I’m going to have one slice and that’s it because I can’t handle having any more.” Or I don’t have any at all. 

In general, I want to live on a clean, whole diet like Whole30 or Paleo. This helps me keep my addiction in check. 

It’s still difficult for me when I have to say no to things, but I know it’ll get easier as time goes on. 

But this is my reality and I can’t feel stupid about that and ignore it and shove it under the rug like it’s not a problem. This is me, this is my struggle.

I Had To Find Balance 

I love food. I enjoy food so much. Cheeseburgers are my absolute favorite thing. 

I try to eat Whole30 about 90 percent of the time, but I do enjoy the things I love in moderation. 

For instance, one Sunday after church I was just in a mood for a cheeseburger. We went to this place called Burger Lounge where I can get a Paleo burger. 

It’s no cheese, no sauces. It’s layered over zucchini. It’s really healthy and really good. But I wanted a real-deal cheeseburger that day. 

So, I got a giant regular cheeseburger on a gluten-free bun. And I devoured that thing and it was awesome. 

But it wasn’t an obsession where my addiction flared up like “I gotta get a cheeseburger. I can’t go to sleep until I get that rush of dopamine.” 

It was just a girl who loves cheeseburgers, enjoying a nice big cheeseburger. And that was it. 

I was satisfied. I was happy. I didn’t have fries or a soda with it. I just enjoyed my burger. 

It’s truly all about balance and practicing healthfulness, mindfulness, and self-control. I would encourage you to also go back and listen to my episode with Robin Long. I love the way she talks about balance. 

It’s not about punishing yourself or never having anything again. It’s about balance and knowing yourself. Knowing when you can have a little bit and when you can’t handle that. 

So, that’s my journey. That’s how I quit emotional eating and took back control of my health. 

My life is different now. I’m actively getting healthier and losing weight. I love myself and every time I’m going to make a meal, I think to myself, “this is an act of worship.” 

I’m treating my body well because I have a job to do and I can’t live my purpose, show up in my marriage, take care of my kids, run my business and show up for you guys, be happy and healthy if I don’t feel good. 

I want you to know that if you struggle in this area, you don’t have to be embarrassed and you don’t need to feel alone. I wish I could hold onto your hand and look you in the face and tell you you’re not alone. 

I know that we’re all on different journeys and what worked for me might not work for you. But I want you to know that it’s not hopeless. 

You can overcome this. You are an action-taking woman. 

I say this with so much compassion. I want freedom for you. And I hope this encourages you that this can be done, even if you need to do it differently than I did it. 

You deserve health. Fight to take back control. Battle it out. 

I’m rooting for you, sweet friend.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

10 Ways to Hit the Reset Button On Your Day

September 13, 2019 by Allie Casazza Leave a Comment

I think it’s safe to say we’re all familiar with that “bleh” feeling we sometimes get about halfway through the day. I call it the “midday funk” where you just feel like you can’t even go on.

Maybe the morning was a total suckfest. Maybe your kids are riding the crazy train.

Maybe you don’t even know why you feel that way. But here you are. 

I think a lot of it just has to do with the repetitiveness of doing the same thing every single day. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or you work outside the home, most of the time we’re doing the same things over and over again. 

And it can start to feel heavy, and tiring and honestly, boring. So, you fall into this mental space of just feeling like “Ughhh! I can’t go on.”

It’s the kind of day you just want to quit. Like you’re done.

You don’t want to do the things you have to do. The thought of making dinner and getting the kids’ homework going makes you cringe. All you really want to do is eat candy, sit down and Netflix. Hard. 

And there are definitely days when you just throw in the towel, let the house go, order everyone a pizza and call it a frickin’ night. 

But most of the time, you have to suck it up and keep going. You have to make sure everything is functioning because things will fall apart if you give into those feelings. So, you’ve got to deal. 

I know it may sound cliche—and it can be really irritating to hear—but you have control over how you respond to this “midday funk.” And that’s really empowering. 

Don’t let it annoy you to hear that. It’s really powerful and encouraging. 


Hey sweet friend, because I love you and I want to make things easier for you, I created a free checklist you can download. It’s basically a list of these tips, my go-to dance songs, my favorite Scriptures and affirmations for a bad day, and three links to funny videos if you need a laugh. The next time your day goes all $$#%@ use this checklist to get back on track!

Learn more

Maybe your child is having the meltdown of the century, maybe something in your house broke, but the fact is you can’t control those things. But you can control how you respond to them. 

You don’t have to let it upset you. You can talk yourself off of the ledge. 

I’m saying this in total solidarity and with a heart of compassion. I have worked for years to get to my version of an abundant life and everything is a lot simpler, easier and definitely happier now, but I still get in a midday funk sometimes. 

Doing the same things over and over, day after day—no matter what your situation is or the extra stressors on your plate—can just get you down. So, I totally get it.

But on the days I feel “blah,” I’ve developed some things that help me pull out of this negative mental space. And you know I’ve got yo’ back so I’m sharing them with you! 

Here are 10 ways to hit the reset button on your day when you really want to call it a day: 

10. Change Your Thoughts 

You will take a lot of power away from your feelings if you change the way you’re thinking about them. Take a moment, step back and realize that this “funk” is just how you’re feeling. It isn’t actually happening to you. 

It’s not a fact or a reality. It’s just a state of mind. And we can always change how we’re thinking, right? 

This is a really good place to start. Realizing your thoughts and changing how you’re thinking about your situation is such a powerful thing to do to help snap you out of a midday funk. 

9. Change Your Scenery 

Get out of the house or whatever space you’re in. If you’re at home, go for a walk around your neighborhood or to the park. If you’re at an office, take a 5-10 minute break and walk around the building or just stand in the sunshine. 

If you’ve got kids, pack them up in the stroller. If they’re older, let them ride their bikes or scooters or just walk in front of you. (Mom pro-tip: this is so good for getting that never-ending kid energy out). 

Sometimes we don’t even realize that we’ve been spending all week doing the same things over and over, and we just need to break the routine up a bit. 

So, forget the chores. Leave the dishes, or your to-do list, or your emails for a second and just change your scenery. 

8. Take a Drive 

Girlfriend, lemme tell you the thing I love about taking a drive…the kids are strapped into their car seats! (And all the mamas said ‘amen, amen, amen’ in the voice of Matthew McConoughey). 

They’re in their seats and that’s that. You can blast some music, roll the windows down, sing. 

You can just be out and not have to worry about your kids running crazy. *Bonus if you have a TV in the car. Turn that sucker on for them in the back and it’ll be like you’re all alone. 

7. Find the Funny 

If your day is looking like a complete and total suckfest, stop for a second and just look around. Maybe your toddler’s running through the house and he doesn’t have on pants or underwear. 

Maybe your baby woke up from his nap and got into his diaper and there’s poop smeared all over the crib. And it’s a legit crap show. (How the heck does that happen?!?)

Just stand there and crack up at the reality of your life. Motherhood is so hilarious. 

There are so many things that are just taken as “normal” because it’s “mom life” but if you really stop, stand back and look at it, it’s so frickin’ funny. 

So laugh at whatever is happening. It’s the best medicine, right? 

6. Exercise 

Go for a walk or a run. Do some yoga in your living room. 

Even inside you can do high knees and jog around your house. Your kids will think your psychotic and get a kick out of it. It’s fine. 

Have sex! Have a “nooner” with your man if you can. Get that endorphin rush. 

Sometimes mama’s just gotta get some 😉 So get it, girl. (Also yes, I just said nooner). 

5. Take a Friggin’ Nap. 

Sometimes you just gotta lay down. A 20-minute nap is scientifically proven to really help you in the middle of your day. 

Actually, if you like coffee, drink a cup of coffee and then take a 20 minute nap. That is apparently like a powder keg of re-energizing yourself. I do it all the time and it really works! 

4. Afternoon Dance Party

I know this feels like the last thing you want to do when you’re in a midday funk, but it’s so, so good for you. It’s good for your kids. It’s good for you guys as a family. 

Gather everyone in the living room and say, “Guys, this day is not going well for us. Everyone’s attitude is just in the tank. So we’re going to turn on some vintage T-Swift and have a dance party!” 

And just go for it. I promise you’ll feel better. 

3. Take Something Off Your To-Do List 

Find something that doesn’t have to get done today and just don’t do it. Yep, I just gave you permission to say “screw it” to a task. 

Look at your list. What can you put off until another day? Put it off. 

If there’s nothing that can be put off, figure out a way to simplify your to-do list. For example, you have to have dinner. You’ve got to feed your family. 

But maybe instead of cooking you can order out. Or have a cereal night. Or go out to eat. 

Find ways to simplify the ish you just have to do. 

2. Watch a Funny Video 

If you can’t find the funny in whatever’s going on in your own life, find the funny somewhere else. YouTube is a total mood-lifter.

There are a handful of videos that I have saved on my YouTube app and I will literally go and just open it up and watch one of those. Total mood-lift. 

Watch a video that just makes you crack up every time. Everybody has videos that they think are extra, super hilarious, but nobody else really gets them. You know the ones I’m talking about.

Save the links to those videos in your Notes app on your phone for easy access. Find a way to laugh and give yourself that “happy” you need today. 

1. Read Scripture or Positive Affirmations 

If you’ve been around here for a minute you know I’m a big believer in the power of our words and thoughts. 

You can change your whole mindset and attitude by changing the things you think and the things you say.  

Read powerful Scriptures. Speak your affirmations. Speak life over yourself and your family. 

Change the story you’re telling yourself about your situation. Come up with something positive like, “Look at these precious babies around me that are making me want to go crazy and lay in the street until the bus comes by. They’re beautiful people and I love them. I’m overwhelmed right now, but this life is good.” 


Okay, girl. The next time your day goes to hell in a handbasket, take a look at this list and know you’re not alone. This funky midday slump is so normal. 

We all feel like this sometimes. Sometimes you have to just accept that it is what it is and do what you can to respond to it better instead of wishing that you didn’t struggle with it, or beating yourself up for feeling this way when you have such a great life. 

At the end of the day, everything is temporary. Every single thing about your life right now is just a season. 

Things are always changing. Your kids will get older. Things will get easier in some ways, and harder in other ways.

I think we get so caught up in the little bubble of our current season that we can burn out. We forget that there is a much bigger picture, a much bigger world, a much bigger purpose happening. As much as today might suck, it’s totally temporary. 

There are times when it’s not just a one-day thing, and I feel kind of down for a few days or weeks at a time. I call it being in a slump, and I recorded a podcast episode that talks about what I do when I’m feeling that way.

The next time you feel like your day is heading into a complete and total crapshow. And you are .5 seconds away from being DONE, take a breath and hit that reset button, girl. Just hit the reset button. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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