Last week, we finally harvested four big, beautiful lemons from our little lemon tree (hah can we really call 4 lemons a harvest?). It was a Christmas gift from Carla and Joel, and you could say this tree is a symbol of resilience. After a caterpillar attack, a white bug take over (in the soil) followed by repotting, and a whole lot of TLC we were rewarded with these juicy lemons.
Of course, Damiano immediately started thinking about what cake he could make. He decided on Torta alla Crema di Limone. (Because I know you will ask, you can find the recipe over here, it’s in Italian but you should be able to swap it to English).
He spent the morning, after the lemon harvest, baking this beautiful lemon cake. The smells wafted through the house as it baked. There was the custard, the pastry layer, the cake layer, the piping. He had to nap because he was so exhausted after baking it. I would call this a technical cake (therefore I would never bake it hehe).
When it came time for afternoon tea, I ate a slice of that Torta alla Crema di Limone with so much joy. Here’s a pic of me enjoying the cake, it’s actually from an Instagram video (this is why it is so blurred hah).
There was a time when, no matter how much effort someone put into baking, my first thoughts would have been about calories, ingredients, gluten or sugar.
I would have thought, “I can’t eat this.”
And if I did allow myself to eat it (anxiously), I probably would have overindulged because of all the previous over-restriction. Then I would feel sick and guilty, not just for eating the cake but also for eating too much cake.
It would be a vicious cycle of restriction, over-indulgence, guilt, then back to restriction and the cycle continues and continues.
I did this for years. This habit took up so much space in my mind, body and life.
And now… I can enjoy the cake without all of this.
I enjoy and savour each bite with happiness and gratitude.
Letting go of restrictions and welcoming a more balanced approach did wonders for my mental health. But I also feel physically healthier as well. Not that body weight is the only result to look at, but I’ve lost weight since my paleo and sugar-free dieting days. And I know this is because I am now in tune with my body, I eat when I am hungry and I rarely binge anymore. I am less stressed about food and also what I look like.
Why am I telling you all this? Because if you’ve ever been where I’ve been, I want to remind you that there is another way.
You don’t have to continue living with yo-yo dieting, exercise obsessions, and constant anxious/guilty feelings about food and calories.
I owe these shifts to MerryBody, a practice rooted in self-acceptance. Though the changes didn’t happen overnight, it’s been worth it.
If you are fed up with your forever cycle of restriction, over-indulgence, anxiety, guilt… I encourage you to take a step towards self-acceptance.
If you want further inspiration on this topic, perhaps more motivation to step towards change. Check out this article: Yoga, Pasta and Self-acceptance. Plus this one over here is great too: What Pasta taught me After Years of Dieting.
If you’re looking for a tool to free yourself from the cycle of restriction, overindulgence, guilt and restriction, sign up to MerryBody with a 7 day trial.
We designed this mind-body program to help you achieve better health in a positive and sustainable way.
We don’t obsess over external transformations and weight loss (yes you will achieve this with MerryBody BUT there is so much more to exercise!).
By focusing on self-acceptance and holistic health, prepare to feel more vibrance and energy. With Yoga and Pilates, get ready to feel stronger and flexible, with a sense of new found confidence. With our guided meditation and mindset sessions feel stress melt away and a sense of focus and commitment to bettering your health.
This practice changed our lives, yes, we get to eat our cake with no anxiety but the benefits ripple out far wider than this. The benefits touch every aspect of life. We hope you love MerryBody as much as we do!
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla