Michelle Yeager: Living with Intuition, Accepting Your Body, and How to Break Free From The Dieting Rut

Episode 12: Michelle Yeager is a former fitness model and physique competitor. Her main goal was aesthetics for years until she wound up in an unhealthy place, both physically and mentally. Michelle did what many people in the fitness industry cannot do but so wish they could. She took a step back to analyze her lifestyle and what she wanted for her future. Michelle is now on the road to real health, fitness and happiness and she’s here today to tell us exactly how she did it. Michelle is also a graduate from the Dominican University in Chicago with a degree in Nutrition. She is a personal trainer, a former fitness competitor and she is an online Health Coach. Michelle is now pursuing an Intuitive Eating Certification so that she can continue to expand her business and teach others how to have food freedom. Here's what we talked about it today's show: An overview of Michelle's past fitness competitions and modeling experiences A look at what happens to stress levels and social lives during competition prep The ridiculousness of being uptight about having to eat every three hours on the dot, even if it's warm liquid egg whites How IIFYM helped Michelle eat more than what she was used to and/or "allowed" to eat How Instagram pressures people to adopt a particular diet and go all out on it Why it's not a good idea to count your macros if you're not competing The trust and faith required to trust your intuitive eating instincts again Why the book Intuitive Eating is a MUST read for anybody looking to improve their mindset towards their food and body The importance of eating whatever you want, without any limitations for a decent amount of time when starting to intuitively eat The real reason why we get cravings and what to do about it Only following inspirational and encouraging accounts on all social media Wearing clothes that fit the body you have now Diving deeper into the correlation between weight and happiness The powerful movie Earthlings Why Michelle has adopted a vegan diet and the benefits she's experiencing A typical day of vegan eating for Michelle How she learned to give up her strict training routine and adopt an intuitive one Links & books mentioned in this episode: 1. Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole 2. Watch Earthlings 3. The 80/10/10 Diet by Douglas N. Graham Where can you find Michelle? (and seriously, go follow her)  Website: yeagerfitness.com Instagram: @_michelleyeager Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleYeagerFitness [Tweet "Former fitness competitor Michelle Yeager dishes out her #NPC days & how she found food freedom"] Click below to listen to Episode 12 of the Mind Body Musings Podcast. And if you NEVER want to miss an episode, subscribe to this podcast in iTunes HERE (and please leave a review to let me know what you liked about the show!) Enjoy!