My Life as an Eating Psychology Coach: Anita Avalos

What made you want to become a Coach?

Having had my own struggles with my relationship to food, chronic dieting, and a less than loving relationship to my body, I know just how painful and frustrating this can be. As a result, I have made it my mission to help as many women as possible create both body confidence and freedom from dieting so they can fully express their gifts in the world. Although I was helping my clients change the foods they ate, I was looking for more tools to help them go beyond that. I wanted to help them get to the root reasons why they turned to food to feed the hungers of their heart, mind, and soul, and to give them the tools to break free. Eating Psychology Coaching was the missing link I needed to take my practice and service to the next level.

What do you love about being a Coach?

We live in a time where there is information overload around nutrition and health and yet, we seem to be struggling around these two areas more than ever. I deeply believe this is because most of us haven’t examined the core issues within our relationship to food, which is absolutely vital. Not only that, but negative body image is affecting more people and at younger ages than ever before. This deeply impacts the way we show up in the world. I know that my work as an Eating Psychology Coach gives my clients and workshop attendees tools and insights that will allow them to live with greater self-compassion, a new way of relating with food and their emotions, and a sense of body confidence and pride.

What does your practice look like?

I work with my clients both in person and by phone, and increasingly more through workshops, my signature one being “The Body Confident Woman.” My clients are mostly women who are where I was just a handful of years ago. They’ve done every diet possible, they’ve exercised themselves into exhaustion and without a sense of joy, often without the results they desire, and feel that their bodies have failed them. Some of them don’t desire to lose weight, but have a confrontational relationship with their bodies, and never feel quite “good enough” in their own skin. All in all, they are looking for a better, more nourishing way to relate with food and body, to stop feeling so obsessed with eating, and to end all the negative inner chatter. Through our work together, I help them create that for themselves and understand the core reasons behind their struggles. I help them embrace a way of living that’s sensual, embodied, and authentic to who they are.

How did your education at the Institute prepare you to work successfully with clients?

Truthfully, I don’t think I would be able to do this work without the training I received from Marc and The Institute for the Psychology of Eating. My training has given me the tools and insights to take my clients to their edge, to find the core reasons of their struggles around body and food, and to use those struggles as doorways into uncovering what they really desire out of life and what needs to be healed. After years of feeling shame and guilt about their bodies and eating, my clients are able to recreate their body image, see food in a different light, and make choices around both that support who they really are. Not only that, but their entire lives shift. Just the other day, a client shared with me how the honesty and loving, self-reflection she has developed with food and hunger has allowed her to experience the same within her marriage. As a result, her marriage is stronger than ever. That’s the powerful kind of change that is possible through this work.

What was your favorite aspect of the Training?

My favorite aspects of the training were the downloadable audios and live teleclasses with Marc. I have gone back to the audios many times since graduating and they help keep what I learned fresh for me. Having the live teleclasses with Marc were priceless. I loved being able to ask him questions that were coming up for me both personally and professionally, as well as learning from my fellow students. Marc is extremely generous with his time and insights for each and every question and concern raised during the teleclasses.

How has being a Coach impacted your professional life/financial well-being?

Being an Eating Psychology Coach has given my coaching practice a greater sense of focus and purpose…and joy! My entire practice has become so juicy and exciting as a result of this training! In my workshops and client sessions, we talk about so much more than nutrition…body image, sensuality, intuition, joyful movement, and desire are just some of the rich places we explore. I feel a sense of pride and confidence knowing that I am doing such cutting-edge work in the world that will affect others’ lives in a deep, profound way.

How has being a Coach impacted you personally?

There isn’t a single area of my life that this training hasn’t impacted. The Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training asked me to look deeply at my own relationship to food, to my body, and become deeply curious of the places that needed fuller healing. As a result of this soul-level work, everything in my life shifted. Most of my relationships became richer, more honest, and deeply satisfying, while others faded away because they were no longer a fit for me. My confidence in my ability as a coach soared, and I began to run my practice in a way that felt like it was in full alignment with who I am. I bravely started owning my desires more, embracing my sensuality and sensitivity, and gained an entirely new appreciation for my body. I learned to embrace my life and unwanted behaviors with a sense of curiosity and deep compassion for myself.

What do you see for yourself in your future as a Coach – where is your work evolving towards?

The place I feel most called to is to do more teaching of the work, be it more workshops, retreats, or public speaking. This work is so powerfully transformative that I want to get it out to as many people as possible. In connection to that, I am wanting to bring this work to young women and girls, so that they can understand how body image is created (and recreate theirs for the better!), develop a healthy connection to food, and gain a sense of confidence to share their gifts and talents in the world.

Why would you recommend the Training to others?

Simply put, it will change your life from the inside out. If you are interested in healing your own relationship to food and body, helping others do the same, or both, this training is for you.

Anything else you’d like to share about being a Coach?

I am forever appreciative of my mentor, Marc David. You have changed my life.

NAME: Anita Avalos
BUSINESS: Anita Avalos, Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach/ Kids Yoga Instructor
WEBSITE: www.anitaavalos.com

BIO: Anita Avalos is a Certified Eating Psychology Coach & Teacher, Health Coach, and Body-Food Relationship Expert. Through her private coaching and workshops, she empowers women to end their struggles with chronic dieting, negative body image, and embrace what she calls “the diet-free approach to loving your body and rockin’ your life”.