78: END Your BODY and FOOD BATTLES with Samantha Skelly

Samantha Skelly is Canada’s leading emotional eating expert and the founder of Hungry For Happiness, a movement to support women around the world who are suffering from disordered eating and body image issues. She is a award winning, sought out international speaker who delivers inspirational presentations to empower those who struggle with the relationship they have to food and their bodies. Samantha has appeared on Global TV, Shaw, NBC and CBC to share her mission on an international platform. Hungry For Happiness creates online accessible and affordable recovery resources to those who are suffering in silence. Samantha was awarded ‘Top 24 under 24’ in September 2013, In 2014 she was a finalist as the ‘Best Emerging Entrepreneur’ by Small Business BC. Samantha aims to create a disruptive company in the eating disorder recovery space. Her vision is to create the largest and most impactful online resource to support those who’s lives are negatively affected by issues with food and their bodies. For the majority of her childhood, Samantha was a stunt-double, dancer and child actress. “If I wasn't on stage, I was in front of the camera.” Everyone at school looked at Samantha like she had the coolest life, but to her it was normalcy. At the age of 14, Samantha auditioned and was chosen for a stunt-double role on the well known show, “Smallville.” But it was by age 18, that she wasn't even too sure of who the REAL Samantha was… “I hit this wall where I didn't even know who I was besides a dancer and an actress.” It was in that moment, where she decided that her future education wouldn’t be determined through a degree, but more from real life instances and traveling. Lucky for Samantha, her supportive parents were all for it. Moving to Australia, by herself, it was time to start the search for the real Samantha. Knowing no one and not even sure where to begin to “find herself,” she became obsessive with her body image and dieting. Being in a foreign land, it seemed to be the only thing she had any control over. “I become so obsessive, that I found myself in the hospital after depriving myself of food and only eating about 4 tablespoons of yogurt a day.” Not having found what she set out for, Samantha’s next move was England. Becoming a personal trainer there, she found it ironic that she enjoyed helping people get healthy, but behind the scenes she was slowly killing herself. “I would weigh myself up to 20 times a day.” Whether it be over eating or not eating enough or even just not completely and wholly loving the person in the mirror when we walk by, I feel like every one of us can somehow relate to where Samantha speaks from. “Connecting our worthiness to our bodies can be really intense.” Seeking a help coach and learning that it is okay to spend some time on your own, Samantha began to find healing through meditation. “The most confronting thing I ever had to do, was close my eyes and really get into my own body.” Samantha teaches us that waking up each day with a new mindset is the first and best habit to get into, no matter the issue! Pretending that we are already “there,” that we are already at our goal, will teach our bodies to feeling and live those positive side effects. In This Episode You Will Learn About: Finding yourself Life journeys Obsessive tendencies Dieting Binge Eating Body dysmorphia Shifting your thoughts Self love Resources: The Society HungryForHappiness.com You can find Samantha floating all over the internet at www.hungryforhappiness.com, Facebook: hungryforhappines, Instagram @hungryforhappiness and even on YouTube! Follow me on social media @LoriHarder on Instagram and Lori Harder on Facebook.