Stephanie Roman is a weight-neutral Food & Body Acceptance Coach. She offers her clients a weight-neutral approach to health and wellness using the principles of Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size. Stephanie brings to her coaching method both her personal experience with dieting and body shame as well as a compassionate, judgment-free space, oodles of support and laser-sharp intuition.

In this week’s new episode Stephanie shares just one of her stories - the belief that the most important thing she could offer the world was her looks, and how “pretty” she was. This “gift” had nothing to do with her, and it said nothing about her as a person. She knew it was entirely wrapped up in how other’s viewed her - all these other people got to decide her worth. Here’s the thing, as Stephanie so beautifully shares, whomever you allow the power to make you feel worthy, also yields the power to make you feel worthless. For Stephanie, it was no surprise that she spent years, decades, chasing her own worthiness.

Like so many, Stephanie put her worth in the hands of a man, and in this week’s new episode Stephanie so vulnerably and beautifully shares her reflections and realizations surrounding the abusive relationship she chose. She spent a lot of time during and after that relationship asking, “how did I get here? How did I choose this person that was the exact opposite of all the qualities I seek in a partner? How did I miss the signs?” The answers to those questions are complicated, and still revealing themselves - but she kept coming back to how she felt about herself, her body shaming, her dependence on outside approval and acceptance, all led her to that place, relationship, and the severe mistreatment that followed. She knew something had to change - and she chose to embark on a journey to reclaim her worth and find acceptance from the inside. She found a health coach to help guide her, and she learned about Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size.

The information she gained was revolutionary, and it changed everything. Today, Stephanie has learned how to tune into her body’s innate wisdom, appreciate her body for the miracle that it is, and she’s using her experiences and wisdom to help others do the same.

“I knew something had to change. I had to find ways to find my worth from within. I had to make peace with my body. I sought out a coach that introduced me to the idea of body neutrality. I learned about intuitive eating and health at every size, I dug deep to isolate all the ways diet culture was affecting my thinking.”

— Stephanie Roman

Tune in on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM

Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632

To connect with Stephanie and to learn more you can find her on Instagram @sromancoaching and on her website www.stephanie-roman.com

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.