Ep 36 Divine Worth Podcast: Divine Body Partnership with Kerrie Nygard

Karen Papin: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Divine Worth Podcast, where we are letting go of our self-doubt, anxiety, fear, limiting beliefs, so that we can step into the divine roles that God has for us. I am your host life coach, Karen Papin, and together we are embracing our divine worth and potential.

 Welcome to the Divine Worth Podcast. Our guest today is Kerrie Nygard. She is a certified life and nutrition coach, a mother of six, and creator of the Freedom with Body and Food Program. Kerrie Nygard specializes in helping faith-based women create a deep connection and appreciation of their bodies, and end the cycle of food and body struggles once and for all.

After over 25 years of dieting, Kerrie experienced a spiritual epiphany that led her to abandon dieting entirely. She found lasting peace with food and her body achieving her health goals without restriction her now proven process. The Freedom with Body and Food Method has helped over a thousand women in her [00:01:00] online group program while tens of thousands more have been inspired by her online workshops in control with food.

Four Steps to peace with food. Kerrie is passionate about standing with women to form a united front against the adversary’s attempts to destroy the purpose and power of women on this earth. So Kerrie, thank you so much for coming on and being a guest today.

Kerrie Nygard: Oh, thanks for having me. I’m thrilled. I love talking about this.

Any chance I get.

Karen Papin: Awesome. Well I’m excited to talk about it too ’cause I know that this is something that a lot of women struggle with and so, yeah, I’m excited to talk about it. And really what we’re talking about today is body partnership. So can we, we start off with kind of telling, can you go ahead and tell us what exactly that means to you?

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah, so, in general terms, I call it body partnership, but more recently I call it divine body partnership ’cause it’s this idea and we’ve been taught this. Anyone who’s grown up with any background and faith-based background, we’re taught from the time we’re [00:02:00] little that. When we die and everyone dies, no one gets out of life without dying, that our body stays here and then we return to the Creator, right?

We return to God. And so we’ve been taught that we’re not our bodies, but for women, when it comes to how we view ourselves, we do not make that separation. We think that our bodies are us and we look in the mirror, and whatever reflects back at us, we think is us. And so Divine Body Partnership, first and foremost, is to realize that you are not your body.

That when you look in the mirror, you can see your body, your vessel that you live in throughout time on this earth, but it is not you. It is your vessel through which you are housed. And so right there, to be able to make that distinction is the most important thing. And then the next part of divine Body of Partnership is regardless of how your body looks, to [00:03:00] accept your body for what it actually is.

So first to make that distinction and then second to, value your body for what she’s fulfilling for you, what she’s allowing you to be, which is to be alive. So that’s the basis. We believe that our bodies are a gift from God. That’s what he’s taught us in his words. And so to accept it as that, to believe him, and then to interact with our body in a partnered way as we travel throughout our time on Earth.

Yeah.

Karen Papin: Love that. So what sets us up for being able to be most successful in having that good interaction with our body so that we are interacting in a successful way?

Kerrie Nygard: Well, I think my expertise, there’s various pieces to that. The big thing that I focus in on is diet mentality as it relates to women, because from the time that we’re born in our society, it’s so nuanced that we don’t even see it.

And we just accept it as fact when it’s just [00:04:00] not fact. This idea that a woman’s body is more acceptable, the closer she looks to a certain beauty standard. And what’s interesting is that beauty standard changes from generation to generation. I work with women of all different ages and they’ll say, I just want, if I were to ask each different age group what the ideal body type is for women, it would be different according to when they were like in high school.

 And it’s changed. It shifts and it’s just fascinating. It’s just a made up idea. And so rather than asking society. What is ideal for my body? We begin to reflect with our body, what is ideal for her, what supports her in supporting me, in being my vessel? And so coming at this from a place of reestablishing the purpose of our body.

And then, and there’s different things that you can do, different exercises you can do that can help distinguish that. Even just looking in a mirror and gazing, well, I should say [00:05:00] this, so often when women look in the mirror or they just avoid the mirror altogether because when they look in the mirror, they are just mean to themselves in their heads, right?

Oh, this should be different. I’m not who I’m supposed to be. This isn’t right. This should be different. All the things, and they’re just, these are just thoughts and they’re not facts. These are just ideas. The reality is that regardless of how your body looks, she’s fulfilling something for you that no one else can.

And that there’s no pain or joy that you haven’t experienced together. So positioning your body and your mind, not as something that you’re working against, but as something that’s working with you and that you can turn and work with her as well. And when you do, the women that I work with and my experience as well is that you find that it’s a really kind place.

Our bodies are really kind. and they’re, they want to work with us. Yeah. And so I think establishing no longer in that battle position, but in this partnered, harmonious way, is really important. [00:06:00] Also, getting rid of outside sources. You can look on social media in the period of five minutes.

You can be bombarded with all sorts of messaging about your body. And so I think unfollowing anything that gives you any messaging that’s contrary to believing the truth, which is your body’s a gift. And do I accept it as a gift? Can I see it as the gift that it is? Yeah,

Karen Papin: that’s great. I totally can see so many of us, we fight against our body and we just like, there’s so much resistance to really accept our bodies as they are.

And so I love this idea of you’re a partner, you’re a partner, and you can love your body and together be able to work towards the goals and the love that you want to have in your life. Yeah.

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah, I think even becoming aware of, there’s really toxic [00:07:00] patterns of interacting with our bodies that are just considered normal in our society.

 Like if we were to take the same patterns that are really common in women’s minds and the way they relate to their bodies, and play those same patterns out in the other relationship, it would be the very definition of toxicity. Like if we were to say, you’re great and I appreciate all that you do, but I’d really love you if you’d just be a different size.

Yeah. We’d be like, oh, that’s terrible. Like, don’t be friend. Like, get away from that person. You know what I mean? Yeah. Or just like if we just played that out with any other relationship, it wouldn’t be acceptable. So why would we ever accept that? That’s okay. In relation to this gift that’s been given to us.

1. And in some Christian beliefs, we believe that we chose to come here to Earth, that we chose to receive a body. So if we chose that, what does it look like to accept this gift here and now? What does that look like on a daily basis? How do [00:08:00] I think about my body? How do I feed and support my body? How do I dress my body?

Am I measuring and weighing to prove her worth or am I just taking it at face value?

Karen Papin: Yeah. Why do you think it’s so important that we received a body? Like why? Why is it such a gift?

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah. Well this pretty spiritual and philosophical, but for my personal belief is that anything we experience in this life is for our expansion and learning and growth.

So often, especially when it relates to our body, we think I need to, there’s so much, like we worry if we’re enough, if we’re enough. To be acceptable enough to be loved. And we think if our body looks a certain way or closer to this certain made up idea, then we’re more acceptable and more lovable. But if we’re accepting our body for what she is right, then for what purpose would we be given this [00:09:00] gift?

So it can house us as we travel throughout time. What’s the purpose of being on this earth to travel throughout time. And my belief is for our expansion and growth and experience. And none of that would be possible, right? No. No one can exist on earth without a body here among the living, right?

And so this body allows us to expand and grow and experience. I don’t think God’s so concerned with. Well, let me phrase this a little different. If something’s important to us, it’s important to God, right? And so if we have different health goals, ’cause that’s the space I work in. I think he, I think that’s important to him too.

But he is most concerned with who we are becoming as we strive for those different health goals. So his concern in how are, who are you becoming? Right? What are you, in what ways are you expanding and growing your capabilities? Whereas in diet mentality, right? That’s been so fed to women, it’s, I gotta hurry and get there as fast as I can so I can finally be enough [00:10:00] so I can finally accept my body.

But once they even get there, wherever there is, they still are left with all of the side effects. Of being in disharmony with their bodies. So things like disordered relationships with food, constant thinking about food, constant analyzing and looking at their bodies. Obsession right about food and body.

And that comes from that desperation of trying to add to your worth when the, your worth is fixed. You can’t, you, we don’t have the power to increase our worth. We didn’t create ourselves, therefore we don’t have the value to increase our worth. How about we just accept it and settle into that? And it’s a practice to rewrite all that messaging that we’ve been taught, you know, from the time before we could even question it.

Yeah.

Karen Papin: Yeah. So how do you shift from that? , How do you make that shift into. The bridge just left me. Yeah. How

Kerrie Nygard: do you do that, right? Yeah.

Karen Papin: Thank you. I’m like, I know the [00:11:00] question I want.

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah. A lot of women, I do a lot of free online workshops and a lot of women say, I get what you’re saying, Kerrie, but how, like, I don’t understand how I can stop thinking the way that I’ve thought for so long about my body.

And the wonderful thing that God has given us is this power to reason. This power to make choices, this ability to choose right, this God-given power, choice or of agency, and to choose the thoughts that we are willing to think about our bodies and to reject the thoughts that no longer align with our truth is a powerful way to exercise that power of choice in our mind.

So what does that look like in a daily practice? There’s lots of things you can do. First and foremost, I encourage in my workshops and I teach different processes, but one is just to look in the mirror. Some women have the most difficult time looking in the mirror. So before you do this, you kind of have to shift into a different mindset.

So pray or meditate, and you need to put all the shame and [00:12:00] judgment aside for just a little bit. You can pick it back up if you want to later. But for the purposes of this exercise, just put it aside and look in the mirror and look deeply into your eyes and see if you can perceive of that separation of body and who you really are, the light of yourself.

And not everyone will have a big epiphany. Sometimes it’s kind of an evolution, but just making a practice of doing that, of reaffirming that I’m housed within this body and this is my, and this is my body. This is my vessel, but it’s not me. At some point I will die. My body will stay here, I’ll return to my creator.

The resurrection’s, another piece, right? We’ll choose her again, right? But. Am I all in on choosing her now? Accepting her as the gift. And so just perceiving of that and spending a little time in the mirror can be really helpful. Also, even just writing down all the thoughts that you’re used to thinking about your brain, like just pay attention to the ugly self-talk in your head.[00:13:00]

Write it down so you can see it in front of you. And then write an opposing thought to it. So if I’m always thinking that my body’s not enough, or that it’s a problem to be fixed or that it’s not where it’s supposed to be, or different body parts, whatever it is, whatever’s going through your head, write that down.

And that can be difficult because it’s, if we see it in front of us, we’re like, ah.

You’re like, yep, definitely. Yep, but if it’s worthy to be talked about in your head, then why can’t we? See it in front of us. Like, let’s look at it for what it is. Let’s shine the light on it and then say, if this isn’t true, if this is in accordance with what I know and what God’s taught me about my body, then what would be the opposing thought to that?

So if you think I’m not enough, or rather I’m not where I’m supposed to be, that was something that used to run through my head for years and years and years, not where I’m supposed to be. Go buy a mirror up, not who I’m supposed to be. Get on the scale, not who I’m supposed to be, put on pants, not who I’m [00:14:00] supposed constantly.

And I didn’t even know it was going on until I started to gain awareness around, oh, I wouldn’t wanna, like, I don’t like my own company. I don’t wanna be quiet with myself. And so this process of acknowledging what thoughts are there. Re-shifting them. So instead of thinking I’m not where I’m supposed to be, I now think I’m always exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Even if I’m still learning and growing, even if I want something to be different and the moments to come, it doesn’t mean this moment is wrong. So you live into this place of acceptance of the present moment, acceptance of where you are in that journey of growth in your life, and then it’s so much easier to get to your health goals ’cause you’re not fighting against yourself.

It comes from these fruit of the spirit type emotions of love, acceptance and gratitude, and not from like despair and desperation and self-loathing. It feels good. It’s a good process.

Karen Papin: That’s great. And that’s something that’s really [00:15:00] applicable, not just in that body partnership, but in any goal or thing that you’re experiencing in life.

It’s like if you can accept where you are at, then you can allow the Lord’s love to come in and lift you higher.

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah, absolutely. Yep.

Karen Papin: So what are some of the most common thoughts and limiting beliefs that keep people from really embracing this body partnership?

Kerrie Nygard: some of them I’m already have mentioned this idea that my body, any thi thoughts around and variation around this thought of my body’s not enough or that my body’s not, and the way they think it is me, right?

’cause they don’t have that separation between themselves and their bodies. So I’m not enough. I’m not where I’m supposed to be, right? I’m, I should hide. There’s anything that induces shame around that. this can also show up with different body parts. Right. Like, , it can show up in women [00:16:00] constantly tugging and pulling on clothes, trying to be smaller, wearing clothes to try to hide.

Now, I’m not saying that accepting your body means to like walk around naked shamelessly, like, but it also means that you allow your body to comfortably take up the space that she needs to, and that with and dropping any part of shame that she shouldn’t take up that amount of space.

Karen Papin: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Kerrie Nygard: So just watching any verbiage, so not where I’m supposed to be or I have to fix this.

Any thoughts are I gotta fix my body Because when we think those types of thoughts, I gotta fix myself, that never feels good. That never feels loving or accepting. Right? I’m all in on women seeking to do any type of health goal. Usually it’s, they want to release stored energy off their bodies, which is fine, but.

I just, we do it from a place, I teach women to do it from a place, not of this, not enoughness making up a word, but not from that place, but from this place of [00:17:00] I’m exactly right where I’m supposed to be. ’cause I don’t have the power to be in the wrong place. And as I love and accept myself here, I can more easily from fruit of the spirit type emotions, move towards these health goals.

 I have this, you hear the saying that the person who loves to walk will always walk further than the person who doesn’t. And so if you’re enjoying the journey and you have this divine body partnership, which feels good. Oftentimes women feel like they have to buckle down and gear up. I really gotta make a change this time. I gotta make myself feel really bad so that I really stick to it this time and get my, get where I’m trying to go. And even if they get to where they’re trying to go, when you go at it from that type of place, there’s. Even if you get there, wherever there is, there’s all of this resistance to being able to maintain and stay there.

Mm-hmm. Because you haven’t made the changes on the inside to be able to stay at that place without all that resistance. But being from this perspective of divine body partnership, [00:18:00] those fruit of the spirit type, emotions of love and gratitude and acceptance in that partnership changes you from the inside out.

And we can see that in other relationships that we have. Right. It’s no different with our body. If someone motivates us with love, well then we want to do that. If someone motivates us from fear and shame, we might do something outta fear and shame, but it’s not because we desire it, it’s not ’cause that’s who we are.

Yeah.

Karen Papin: So how do you feel that the divine identity that we are children of God. How do you feel like that plays a role in helping you to be able to maintain this body partnership?

Kerrie Nygard: I think it’s one and the same. Mm-hmm. Because if I’m accepting my body as the gift that God says that it is, and even if there’s health ailments, even if there’s different diagnoses, right?

Regardless, this body is breathing and beating, for me, it’s sustaining life and vice versa. My body wouldn’t be alive without me being housed in it either. There’s, it’s this holy [00:19:00] relationship, right? Like life is only sustained with these two together here on earth. Right? And so if we accept this gift, then it also lends to, well, who gave me the gift my creator. My, which also lends to I’m a child of God. And so it’s the same. Yeah.

Karen Papin: Right. And there’s this underlying thing as we’re talking in that it’s like, our worth is not coming from external things.

It’s not coming from how our body looks. It’s from within and from God. And so if we can just embrace this view that God has of who we are, which is not our body, right, it’s our soul, then we can move forward in love, in being able to, yes, you can work on those goals that you wanna achieve with your body, but at the same time you enjoy the process, which creates like greater lasting change.

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah. We think that we have to change in order to [00:20:00] enjoy our body. But no, we can actually enjoy her now and then we change from the inside out and we actually become the thing we were trying to create all along, except it’s done through love and acceptance, the, the way God interacts with us. Right. He doesn’t reject us until we change.

No, he loves us and his love changes us.

Karen Papin: There. There was a, like an epiphany that I had one time in, in like my own body journey where like I, I’ve had four kids, so I’ve had four kids and I was struggling to lose the last of the baby weight kind of thing. Mm-hmm. And so I like, I still have that 10 pounds.

And I remember one time that just kind of looking back and. Just trying to get clear on okay, what’s actually holding me back from being able to, you know, move forward in, in this goal. And just [00:21:00] realizing that I didn’t start struggling until I had a miscarriage. And here my body is like still holding on to that baby

I lost. Yes. And there was just like such a great love in that moment.

So I, I don’t know why that came into my mind, I guess I kind of do, but have you seen that same kind of situation come up as you’ve worked with women where they’ve kind of just, they’re holding on to the weight in some way or another, or kind of holding themselves back because of these? Things that they don’t even realize They’re caring.

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah. I love how you stopped and said, what’s going on here? Right? And that’s the key to so much growth like that, that came from a place of not this what’s going on with me, not frustration, right? But of this, Hey, what’s going on self what’s going on here? And to [00:22:00] realize that there was pain there and that not only did you experience that loss, but so did your body.

 And so there’s this cognitive piece of dealing with loss. And then there’s also this somatic meaning emotional experience in your body of dealing with loss. And that can be connected and show up in very physical ways, like keeping whatever you have left of that baby on your body. Right? Any emotional attachment you had to it.

Yes, I’ve seen that and I’ve seen that many times. I have also seen it in regards to, abuse. If people have had sexual abuse growing up later on in life, it’s a, like a survival mechanism, that the stored energy on their body becomes a buffer that feels like safety. Between that and any further harm, I see that playing out as well.

I also see resistance, kind of mental resistance. It’s sabotage behavior, limiting beliefs. Sometimes women, most women I’ve worked with have [00:23:00] dieted a lot, and so that’s become part of their identity and they don’t know who they would be to fill up peace with themselves. And so even if they achieve their weight, they would quickly self-sabotage because they’ve identified themselves as someone who struggles.

And so I do a lot of identity work. To put on new identities, right, that are in alignment with the truth, the reality of who we are, so that we can let go of those things that keep us from where we want to be and how we want to experience our bodies. And at the end of the day, whether we reach different health goals, whatever they may be, or even mental states, sometimes people don’t necessarily have physical goals.

They just want to have peace in their minds around their bodies and food. Whatever it is that you’re seeking to realize that right now, in this moment without any changes, we’re okay. Like our brain is so dramatic and wants to make us think that the current present [00:24:00] circumstances is a catastrophe, but if we just stop, just like you did, hey, what’s going on?

Like and check in. We’re able to access so much more wisdom and insight, and then we’re actually becoming in the process, which is what it’s all about anyway. Yeah. So, after you, I’m sorry, I have a question. So after you realized that, how did your body respond to that? Were you able to heal from that better once you realized that?

Or what was, what happened?

Karen Papin: Yeah. It, I’m still in the process, but it’s more a, a process of, okay, how can I treat my body with love? , it’s like now I’m coming from a place of, I’m doing this because I love my body. Yeah. And I appreciate it. And so it’s like I’m gonna go and I’m gonna have more fruits and veggies because I like the way my body feels when I eat them.

Right. [00:25:00] Yeah. And, I love running and I’ve learned that if I enjoy the process, I. I’m gonna go and I’m gonna start to lose the weight, and then I start to see results. But you gotta let go of the results. So yeah, it’s still a process. Like, it’s, I’m not doing anything to do it really fast, really quick.

No, that’s because I wanna make lasting change because I love my body.

Kerrie Nygard: But you feel that healing, like once you realize that, I mean, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. One thing that’s really interesting is that, oftentimes PE women will view like a miscarriage as their body betrayed them, or a health diagnoses or they’ll view it as their body doing it to them.

So they’re in that opposition again, where the truth is that. Our bodies are experiencing everything in this life just as we are. So any pain that your body experiences or that you experience, you’re doing it together. And if there’s a [00:26:00] diagnosis or something that our body’s struggling with, in this world, it’s the effects of a fallen world.

It’s not because your body wants to betray you. It’s right. It’s because your body’s doing the best it can to support your life. Right. And so knowing that just as you experience the miscarriage, so does your body and that your whole being experience that, um, makes the, allows the healing, to be more complete.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Karen Papin: Yeah. And as I was saying, it is a process because healing it takes time. Yeah. It does take time. Yeah. I

Kerrie Nygard: agree. And when we see and know that’s what’s going on . We’re expanded by it, right? Because the Lord says, come on to me. Right? And I’ll turn all things for good.

And so when we accept our bodies and these different things that come up that are painful in our lives, like what? Like the, your experience with the miscarriage is that [00:27:00] as we accept our bodies and work with our bodies and heal in that process is that it comes for our good. Doesn’t mean the pain goes away, it changes or our capacity to hold the pain changes, but we are expanded by it rather than destroyed by it.

Yeah.

Karen Papin: Love that word. I love that expansion, that it’s something that has come up several times in doing this podcast where it’s just like coming that from that place of love is expansive. God’s love is expansive. Yeah.

Kerrie Nygard: More than we can ever, uh, yeah. We just can’t define it. We can only experience it.

Yeah. Yep.

Karen Papin: That’s true. So I love that.

 All right, do you have anything else that you would like to share about what we’ve already talked about?

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah, I think, another thing that I’d like to talk about is kind of [00:28:00] connected to what I talked about a little bit earlier, is that throughout the day, another thing that women can do, so I talked about the mirror exercise.

Another thing that women can do is that they can become, start to watch their thoughts. I talked about writing down all the things that you hear your brain say, but also, as you do that, a really important part of this that I missed saying before is that, don’t listen to judge yourself. So the funny thing about judging ourselves is because there’s.

When we judge ourselves, there’s usually shame right along there with it. And the thing that shame does is that it says, it doesn’t say that there’s something wrong with us. It says that we inherently at our core are wrong, therefore we need to hide. We can see this theme of shame clear back to the Garden of Eden, right?

Like after Adam and Eve partake of the fruit, Satan tells them to hide and they try to hide. And then Christ comes and he makes them coats of skin. [00:29:00] So they get rid of the fig leaves and they get some proper clothing as they discover their nakedness. There’s this process of getting our needs met through the source, right, through Jesus Christ.

And if we do it without him, then we get this rotten counterfeit, which is shame. And so anything in regards to your body that induces shame. Anytime you feel like you need to hide. Who you are. And just notice that it’s based upon thinking that’s not true. It’s based upon this thought that you are at your core, something that needs to hide.

I haven’t found an application yet that’s helpful for shame. I like to think of emotions as tools that we can use emotions, right, as different tools because emotions fuel every action we take. So just as shame and guilt and desperation aren’t good emotions for seeking any health goal. [00:30:00] ’cause it just doesn’t work.

It’s just not good quality. Shame also and this also shows up a lot with how we view food. So food is just food. I, it really is just food. And there’s some food that our bodies seem to like better than other foods. And everybody’s body’s a little bit different and metabolizes food a little bit differently.

Even though if there’s some overarching themes, everybody’s body is individually different, and so when we think that we’re earning our value by changing the way our bodies look, food by default becomes the thing by which we judge our goodness or badness on a daily basis with. And so if we think that we’re eating good, that we’ll produce the result, then we start thinking in terms of what can I eat that I can get away with, rather than in terms of what does my body need to be supported right now?

Right. How can I feed my body nutrition that will last so I can go live life and not having to be grazing all day, right? But [00:31:00] what can I eat that will satisfy and nourish my body? So there’s this whole shift, and as we get rid of the shame thinking, then that overflows into how we relate with food as well, so that we can just make choices with food based upon how we want to feel, rather than any worth that we’re trying to create with the food.

 So that’s another thing I would just encourage, people to watch for it. It’s diet mentality’s pretty nuanced, and so we can be living in it and not even see it. But as we awaken to that, because I tell women all the time that diet mentality distorts and distracts us from our worth and our purpose, because it keeps us distracted.

Trying to earn our worth that already exists. Right? And it also distorts our purposes. We think that our body becomes something to be an ornament, right? Like if you think that you love your body more, when it looks a certain way, then you’re thinking in terms of objectification, [00:32:00] right? You’ve objectified your body, which makes sense because it’s been taught to us to do that, right?

 Just as we would decorate our home with objects that we like, that those are objects, but our body’s not an object. It’s the vessel for life and it’s a gift. Yeah,

Karen Papin: that’s a good point. One thing that I am noticing as we’ve been talking is the whole mind, body, spirit connection. Yeah. And you kind of mentioned there’s the thoughts, there’s the mental, then there’s the somatic with the feelings and mm-hmm. And then this, there’s this, we have the physical too, because we have our body.

And I don’t know, I guess this isn’t necessarily a question, but it just amazes me how all of that works together and Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kerrie Nygard: A really good example of that is, when people are caught in thinking thoughts. That, that aren’t [00:33:00] producing good fruit for them, that, that aren’t helpful for them.

So I, I deal with thoughts and diet mentality with women. That’s what I’ve specialize in, right? So if someone is thinking, thoughts like when there’s shame involved and they’re thinking thoughts like, I can’t trust myself. I can’t trust myself around food, or I can’t trust myself to take care of myself.

This lack of, this thought of, a really common one on a coaching call last night, a really common one is this thought of I can’t control myself with sugar. And when you’re thinking I can’t control myself with sugar, how do you feel? Well, you feel probably anxious and nervous ’cause I can’t control myself.

And when you’re feeling anxious and nervous, that emotion drives you to what? Of overeat? Yeah. And that action of overeating then becomes more evidence to continue to think the thought that I can’t trust myself. So it becomes this loop. That we’ve created ourself. And so I mentioned earlier about that God-given power of choice, when we become aware of our thoughts [00:34:00] in our mind, is that we can go in and we can do some powerful pattern interrupts in those thought loops so that we stop creating evidence to continue to think thoughts that we created in the first place.

and those are also known as like limiting beliefs, things like that. But oftentimes there’s also shame involved in all that as well, right? The more that loop continues, the more shameful we feel. Oh, and then people think I’m the only one that does this. And I’m like, Nope. You have a brain like everyone else on this earth and they all do this.

 I think it’s a Corinthian scripture. it says there’s no sin, but that which is common. Oftentimes we just think, oh, , I’m so much worse off than everyone else. You just really don’t have the power to be that original as a human. Like, humans just aren’t very original. They really, they, we aren’t in our heads.

We think, oh, we’re so bad, or no one else does that. Or No one else thinks that way. No. Like every other person thinks that way, and then every other person thinks this way and everything is pretty well common among us. They’re just variations off of a theme. [00:35:00] And, and so, I think that’s one thing that’s really powerful in the work that I do with women, is that they realize that, wait a second, I’ve been fed this diet mentality, this belief that I’m not enough.

 And it’s been fed to me as an important thing so that I can become more acceptable as a woman because women’s value is very much so based upon their perceived beauty, which beauty has nothing to do with it. Beauty is subjective and like, man, looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

 It’s just something that we’ve made up just for this life. And so when we realize that, then we’re able to make those changes that we want to make. And so just realizing that our bodies. Performing this a miracle work for us. They are a gift, and my value is fixed.

And when you can just not only know that, but really believe that, and there’s ways to, for your, for us to get your brain to believe that it’s not, I mean, it is science. It is a [00:36:00] method to it. But choosing those thoughts and choosing to believe what God has taught us about our bodies, rather than just knowing it, but really choosing to believe it is one of the most rewarding journeys that anyone can go on.

So now I look back on all my years of struggle and I struggled a lot. There was a lot of tears, a lot of tears, a lot of struggle, a lot of, inward battling. Those things didn’t exist because I was doing it wrong. They existed because I am a learning, growing, expanding, learning, right? Like I’m having this whole journey of growth and this is part of it.

And if it weren’t for that pain, I wouldn’t be in a position now to be able to call out, hey, that’s diet mentality that’s just made up garbage. Like it’s not even true. We just decided that it was somewhere along the line. And the real worth here is realizing, no, my worth is fixed. And accepting that.

And it’s such a powerful thing. And I know sometimes it can come off as [00:37:00] cliche, but there’s a reason why cliches exist. It’s because they produce good fruit. It’s because they produce good things for us. Yeah. That’s such a good point.

Karen Papin: Right. Well Kerrie, thank you so much. This has been really good and I know that this can benefit so many people, so thank you for sharing your thoughts and your insights. What are some, I mean, you’ve mentioned a couple of things already, but what are some other daily or spiritual practices that have helped you to strengthen your relationship with your body?

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah, so I mentioned the mirror exercise. I mentioned watching your thoughts and writing them down. Something that I do on a daily basis. So if you think about any other partnership out there, whether it’s a spouse or children or a friend or a neighbor, a good quality partnership, they check in with each other.

Right. Like, I have a marriage that is, I think I have a great marriage and what do we do? Just before I got on here, my husband called not to tell [00:38:00] me anything, not to ask, just, Hey, what’s going on? And ’cause we check in with each other. ’cause that’s what a good partnership does and we want to check in with each other.

And so if we want to correct or create that partnership with our bodies, check in, like just how we feeling about that? That was kind of a hard thing, right? Well we didn’t like how that went, but we still went through it. Good job. Okay. Like checking in not only with yourself mentally, but like physically with your body.

Like how are we feeling? Are we tired? Are we anxious? Are we, do we need some comfort? Like what does my body need when we have a nervous system? Right? We have our autonomic nervous system and sometimes our nervous system needs some things from us. And if we just do a body scan and connect with our body.

Then we’re able to get those needs met in ways that actually are helpful rather than creating chaos and commotion and confusion in our life, because we just don’t know what’s going on. Well, when we’re in that partnership, we check in with [00:39:00] our bodies. I actually have an internal dialogue. I’ll be like, okay, sis, what’s going on?

And I’ll just, and I’ll be like, Ooh, I’m noticing, right? What am I noticing? Just like what you did, like what’s going on? And you’re like, oh, there’s some pain here, right? Like, we check in what’s going on here? And when we do that from love and kindness, not what’s wrong, you know? But hey, what’s going on here?

 And I do that several times throughout the day. And when you do that, you’ve created this really nice. Place for yourself. Your body has good company with you and you have good company with your body and then you enjoy time, you have alone, you enjoy it. Your mind, your thought is a, your thoughts are a good place to be.

I remember when I had, done some of this work, it maybe a couple years after I first decided that I’m not dieting anymore and just kind of went on this journey of figuring out a different way. It was very much so guided by God. And I remember I went skiing one day all by myself and I was sitting [00:40:00] on the ski lift and I was just enjoying the day and it was sunny.

It was a spring kind of later in the ski season and I just was looking around at how beautiful things were and I was thinking about some of just having some thoughts and I noticed I really like my own company. I like others company too. I really am a people person. I enjoy others. I. And I also like my own company, and why do I like my own company?

Because I have chosen to create a kind, safe place for myself. It doesn’t, it isn’t by chance that we have unkind thoughts in our heads diet mentality and the way we relate to our bodies and food as women. It’s like a booby trap in our society. It really is. It set women up to struggle and I just want people, I want women to see it for what it is and say, yeah, that’s not for me.

I choose God to tell me what my worth is and again, I’m all on health goals, but we’re not adding to our [00:41:00] worth as we do that. We’re just becoming as we do that. Yeah.

Karen Papin: Awesome. Well, Kerrie, do you have a favorite Divine worth scripture?

Kerrie Nygard: There’s one in Corinthians right, that know you, not that you’re the temple of God.

Right. And there’s also the one in Samuel where God tells Samuel that, you know, the Lord looks on, or the, that man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord look us on the heart. There’s also another one. Well that’s okay. It’s along the same lines as being a temple. but when we acknowledge what the truth is right, then we’ll notice the good fruit in our life.

And so I love those scriptures because they’re great reminders of what God has told me about my body. There’s so many out there, but those are probably the main ones. Yeah.

Karen Papin: Yeah. Well, Kerry, thank you so much. This, like I said, this was great. I really appreciate you coming on here and talking with us.

Oh, I do have one more question. Yeah. How can people connect with you? [00:42:00]

Kerrie Nygard: Yeah, so, just go to my website, kerry nigar.com. So my spelling’s kind of interesting. So it’s K-E-R-R-I-E, Kerry Nygard And Nygard is spelled N-Y-G-A-R d.com. And as soon as you get on the website, there is a button to be able to join me on my next free workshop called In Control of Food.

There’s also a free download. There’s also, a button to take you to my YouTube channel, so as soon as you get on my website, so Kerrie nygard.com, there’s several ways that you can connect with me and continue hearing my content.

Karen Papin: Yeah. All right. Well, thank you so much, Kerrie.

Kerrie Nygard: Great. Thanks

Karen Papin: so

Kerrie Nygard: much, Karen.

Karen Papin: Thanks.

If you have found this podcast to be a light, please share it with others and leave a review which helps others to be able to find the podcast as well. To learn more about your divine worth and potential, you can check out my Divine Worth Scripture study journal With over 52 scriptures relating to your divine worth and potential.

You can find that on Amazon by searching the Divine [00:43:00] Worth Journal by Karen Papin, or through the link here: Divine Worth Journal. You have a purpose. The Lord loves you and he believes in you, and only you can make the impact on this world that you are meant to make. Join me next time as we talk more about divine worth and potential.

Karen Papin:

To learn more about your divine worth and potential, you can download some free scripture cards focused on your worth at https://karenpapin.com/scripturecards. You are of worth. You have a purpose. The Lord loves you and he believes in you and only you can make the impact on this world that you are meant to make.

Join me next time as we talk more about divine worth and potential.