In this episode, Victoria is joined by Jemma Haythorne, a body and confidence coach, who shares her journey of healing from a poor relationship with food and body image, and how she now helps women cultivate self-love, body acceptance, and food freedom. Jemma discusses the importance of addressing internal struggles to create a healthier relationship with your body and food, and how this journey leads to greater confidence in all areas of life.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Role of a Body and Confidence Coach: Jemma explains how her work focuses on helping women build a positive relationship with their bodies, free from dieting, guilt, and shame. She dives into the link between body acceptance and confidence, and why they go hand-in-hand.
• Jemma’s Personal Journey: Jemma shares her struggles starting from a young age with body image, including the harmful impact of dieting and over-exercising. She talks about how this led to depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder, and how she finally overcame these challenges through self-work.
• The Impact of Body Image on Mental Health: The conversation covers the dangerous cycle of dieting and body dissatisfaction, how external appearance can’t determine inner happiness, and why self-love and body neutrality are key to healing.
• Healing Practices: Jemma provides valuable tools and exercises to help overcome body shame, including the Mirror Exercise, a simple yet powerful tool to improve body image. The exercise encourages you to look at yourself in the mirror without judgment and celebrate the parts of your body you love.
• Raising Body-Confident Kids: Jemma shares tips for parents to help their children develop healthy body image and confidence from a young age. She discusses how important it is to monitor the language used around kids, particularly regarding food and body size, and the importance of leading by example.
• Recommended Resources: For those seeking more guidance, Jemma shares some of her favourite resources and people to follow, including Kate Jones, The Bodzilla (April Helene Horton), and Jamila Jamil, who advocate for body diversity and self-love.

Takeaways:

• Self-love and body neutrality are powerful tools for building confidence.
• The journey to body acceptance and food freedom is unique for everyone, but with consistent practice and the right mindset, change is possible.
• Teaching children healthy body image and self-love starts with modelling positive behaviours at home.

Resources Mentioned:

• Embrace Kids – A great documentary and Instagram page for fostering body positivity in children.
• Finding Freedom with Inspire Wellness – Gemma’s podcast, where she talks more about these topics. Specific episode mentioned – https://open.spotify.com/episode/2pfR8dTKrdj5J3bXTKKvvG?si=0a8504803c7f40c7

Follow Gemma:

• Instagram: @inspire__wellness
• Podcast: Finding Freedom with Inspire Wellness