If you are into science-based, compassionate coaching, Emilia is your gal. Chances are you’ve come across some of her posts on Instagram, or alternatively if you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen me share so many of her posts that if her acccount ever got deleted she could use mine as a backup. Soz, not soz. Anyway, Emilia’s area of expertise lies in emotional eating, and this webinar was right up my street. I thought I would give an overview of my experience with the day.
Structure/Learning Materials
The day ran from 9:30-4:30 on 20th March 2021, and took place in the form of Zoom sessions. The sessions were split into five parts:
- #1: Introduction
- #2: Nutritional Strategies
- #3: Mindfulness, Meditation & Compassion
- #4: Emotions & Emotional Eating (Joe O’Brien)
- #5: Building Your Toolbox
Each session was roughly 70-90 minutes, and if you couldn’t attend live the sessions were recorded and posted afterward.
Content
It’s very hard to do anything via Zoom, let alone make it engaging. However, I thought the format and interactive nature of the workshops made it a fantastic learning experience. The sessions weren’t the typical sit and listen lecture job – you were encouraged to engage, ask questions and carry out a number of practical tasks. I found the day flew in, and didn’t find myself staring at the clock wondering what time it was, or when my next food break was.
Overall, I think this course was very well run. Obviously, you could run an entire module on any of the topics provided, so it wasn’t possible to cover everything in detail. What I will say though, is that the key take home points were covered. Despite it not being marketed as science-heavy, nerds like me could delight in the fact that information provided was well-referenced by up-to-date scientific literature. I did intend to make some notes, as a little refresher. What I did not anticipate was that I would re-write the first chapter of War & Peace. There were so many little nuggets of information that I didn’t want to miss. Reams of paper, and a throbbing hand later and the day was over.
For me, the standout session came in the form of Joe O’Brien (you may know him as @headfirst0 on Instagram). I have followed Joe on Instagram for a while, and think his work is engaging and informative. If you don’t follow him, you’re certainly missing out. Anyway, Joe delivered a truly fascinating talk on emotions and emotional eating. Factors shaping food relationships, coping relationships and strategies for emotional eating were discussed. And let me tell you, my mind was blown. I had several Oprah-style “aha” moments, whereby I was left a little shook by just how much sense he was making. I have considered myself fairly “well up” in how emotions and food are intertwined, but this lecture left me reeling, and showed me just how much the two are linked. I think this webinar was worth its weight in gold for this talk alone.
Q&As took place at the end where participants could ask for further information.
Cost/What Do You Get?
This course cost £179, and for that price you got access to the webinar, the recordings and your mind blown.
Is It For Me?
If there is another webinar in your future, sign the hell up. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and learned a lot of lessons I will take into my own eating habits and with my clients. However, if you are a coach or just looking to learn about how to better manage your emotions and your relationship with food, you couldn’t do any better. I think upon first glance, it seems quite costly, but it is definitely worth the investment.
Your relationship with food is something you will have for the rest of your life, and £179 is a small price to pay to put the wheels in motion to overhaul it for the better!
Further links to upcoming ETPHD webinars can be found here: https://www.emiliathompsonphd.com/.
Emilia’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/emiliathompsonphd
Joe’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headfirst0/?hl=en
Michelle Carroll Fitness 