Book excerpt: “In Food Story, Elise Museles shows you how to heal your relationship with food, make nourishing choices, and feel ‘in charge’ of your health and your life.” —Mark Hyman, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Pegan Diet and head of strategy and innovation at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine Finding peace with food isn’t about eating more kale, drinking more water, or doing more yoga. It’s about unlocking your food story, your inner narrative about what you eat and why you eat what you do. When it comes to food, everyone has a story. The way you feel about food, think about food, deprive yourself or overindulge, the specific things you crave ... There’s always a story behind it. Your food story is a big swirl of many things: how you were raised, the messages you received from influential people and absorbed from the media, your positive memories and your painful memories about food. All of it comes together to create thoughts and patterns that directly impact your health and happiness. In Food Story, certified eating psychology expert and health coach Elise Museles offers you a way out of all the stress and confusion with food, and leads you to a more joyful and relaxed way to eat, think, and live. By understanding your food story, how it formed, and how it drives your choices, you’ll say goodbye to guilt and shame as you release the disempowering stories looping inside your mind. You’ll finally allow food to help you live your best life—not control it. Food Story is a permission slip to love yourself, filled with juicy questions for reflection, practical tools for cultivating confidence, and grounding rituals for tuning in to your body’s true needs and desires. Plus, you’ll discover a fun, science-backed way to look at food with over 35 luscious recipes divided by mood. Whether it’s happy, focused, radiant, strong, comforted, sensual, or calm, there are nutrients (and recipes!) to bring on that feeling! With Food Story, you’ll find all the ingredients you need to banish negative self-talk, reclaim your power, and transform your relationship with food—and yourself—for good.