Truce with Food®:
Trust in Satisfaction, Not Restriction
Your battle with food isn’t external. And thus, there isn’t a better (battle) plan to find to fight cravings or FODMAPs.
Your food battle is an internal battle. And it’s a waste of your time, energy, and resources.
Truce with Food resolves that internal battle for food and life freedom.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED AND WILL REOPEN IN JANUARY 2025.
In the meantime, try the Truce with Food Mini-Course
AND
Join our free Insatiable community gathering on the first Tuesday of each month from 2-3:00 pm ET.
Bring your burning questions about the show or whatever you are struggling with for some free coaching from Ali.
Navigate the Experience
Who is this for?
Truce with Food is for those in a transition like peri/menopause, a parent’s death, or a pull to change your health and what you can’t yet name but sense. Maybe all three?
It’s for those whose schedules are varied and don’t have complete time over your time. Whether it’s your hormones, caregiving responsibilities, or work travel, you realize you need to learn flexibility, not how to stick to a plan perfectly.
Truce with Food is about asking different questions to make profound connections that have eluded you for years. It’s for those who want to ask and find the answer of “Why does my bad eating make sense?”, not how can I fix myself with more restriction?
This Adult Development process IS NOT for you if:
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- You want to be told what to eat and do
- You’ve only recently embarked on a path of personal growth
- You are not currently in a position to invest in yourself financially
- You are in a health or life crisis mode and need to make fast changes
- You are currently unwilling/unable to do emotional work (there are times this isn’t helpful and that’s OK)
- You want a quick fix, a plan, or formula to follow
This process IS for you if your primary goals are to:
- Uplevel your growth and results by learning flexibility with your food
Work on the root causes of falling off track with your eating to get results and feel freedom (not restricted) - End being all-or-nothing with your food and life
Eat better to support your body, including to age as well as possible
Put food in a mindful, not obsessive place in your life - Have more ease, fun, and freedom with being healthy
Be a better and more effective friend to yourself when you’re struggling
Ready for a truce with food? Take the first step.
The Good-Bad Cycle is a Downward Eating Spiral
Together, in an evidence-based process, we’ll uncover why you really fall off track with food.
The root cause of falling off track? It’s the internal battle you have with yourself.
Specifically, it’s a story you have about what you have to do to be good so you’ll be successful and significant. With food. Your weight. And life.
Your story will be unique to you but it will have themes of needing to work harder, restriction, and be highly responsible with your food and life.
(Yet the research shows the more work we put into our food and weight, the worse the results.)
However, if you aren’t being perfectly good, your story makes you feel bad – guilty, anxious, and overwhelmed – because you worry being bad means you’ll miss out on success and significance.
So when you eat something delicious or rest, you feel guilty. Then you think, “And next I’ll have the cheese croissant, then the chocolate, and I’ll just start tomorrow.”
The guilt from losing the battle and being bad with food or being unproductive makes you want to self-soothe.
And using food to soothe makes complete sense. From our first breathes to birthdays to good grades to wedding celebrations, food is coupled with the safety of belonging. Food coupled with our “ride or die” people allows us to rest and replenish for life.
And it’s that belonging safety when we are stressed and overwhelmed that we most deeply crave.
So when you turn to food when you don’t want to be, you get the soothing but not the satiation of your deeper need of safe belonging.
“There is nothing as addictive as something that almost works.”
Dr. Gordon Neufeld, Developmental Psychologist
You cannot change your primal need for safe belonging.
But you can change your story that causes you to battle yourself and turn to food to soothe.
In Truce with Food, we identify your story that makes you battle yourself and then turn to food because you feel unsafe in this battle.
And, I support you to self-author a new courageous story today that unlocks a deeply satiating sense of safe belonging that makes food obsolete. No white knuckling required.
Let’s call a Truce to end your internal battle so you can rewrite your story and make your story one of satisfaction and freedom, food included.
Clockwise from the top…
1 — TRIGGER
Your team member isn’t performing well. Your kid gets an ADHD diagnosis. This triggers emotional discomfort.
2 — STORY
Our triggered emotion isn’t good or bad, but can feel “unsafe” because it wasn’t welcome in the past. Thus, you fall back on this invisible yet powerful story that creates a chronic tension. It sounds something like “If I were thinner this wouldn’t or would be happening” or “If I was more beautiful, smarter or not so X, I wouldn’t have to worry.”
3 — PROTECTIVE STRESS STRATEGIES
To protect ourselves from feeling this unsafe (i.e. vulnerable), we repeat patterns that have protected and provided success in the past: Compete, Avoid, or Accommodate.
4 — BEHAVIORS
These three stress reactions generate all sorts of behaviors that help in the short-term but burn you out in the long-term by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, where you find yourself failing, anxious, and resentful. We never learn how to learn the self-authoring skills that create adult safety and make our life soooo much more fulfilling and food easy (because you no longer need it when you feel an adult sense of safety). Instead, we try to find a better eating plan or habit hack and stack, which doesn’t work when the issue is safety, not traditional habit change.
Rather than questioning your approach, you doubt yourself and then eat because you’re stuck in the same place and feel less safety inside yourself because you feel more out of control with food. You believe the “you don’t have enough willpower or discipline” myth that feeds diet culture and go looking for more ways to pour more energy into food and be more disciplined instead of learning the skills to be more free and fulfilled.
6 — LOOPS BACK TO TRIGGER
You become less resilient and creative about other choices outside of the compete, avoid, or accommodate stress protection strategies and become more stressed and depressed.
7 — AUTO-PILOT EATING
The cycle repeats…
…and we’re back to the top.
How We’ll Break the Cycle
1 — PAUSE
Your team member isn’t performing well. You didn’t hear back from your date. You learn how to regulate your nervous system down so you don’t just react. You challenge that this would be easier if you were in a different body.
2 — COLLABORATE
Your triggered emotion doesn’t feel overwhelming anymore. You can look at the situation as it is today instead of reacting to how it was in your past story. You identify what you need and want to make this stress at least more manageable and often, way more freeing and fulfilled.
3 — OPTION C
You learn to identify collaborative and creative solutions – those moderate, manageable risks you couldn’t see being all-or-nothing. You take the risk to open yourself up to the best in life, regardless of what you weigh.
4 –EXPERIMENT
You experiment with your new choices. What worked, what didn’t? You learn discernment with what foods, exercise, and life choices satisfy you and lead to results. You discover what’s working and what’s not so you can achieve your most rebellious, bold life goals from running successful businesses and teams to what health choices support how you want to feel in our body and life.
5 — INCREASING SELF-TRUST
As you discover how much power and results you can achieve when you unlearn mainstream ideas, you discover a level of ease, freedom, and confidence you thought thinness provided. The emotional relief and rewards become the sustainable incentive to take care of ourselves, not the fear of gaining weight.
6 — MORE IN CONTROL OF TRIGGER
You become more resilient and creative. You no longer believe one day life will be easier. When life goes sideways, you have the skills to manage your feelings and do the healthy things to support your body rather than a downward eating spiral. As my friend Laura McKowen says, Life doesn’t get easier, we get better. #truth.
7 — INCREASING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
As we make the Truce with Food process a practice, we have the emotional intelligence and confidence to influence our life more in the direction of our wildest hopes and dreams.
In a nutshell, our work together will release your old story and the accompanying blindspots of what is possible for you. You will own your story with my research-based, client proven process.
I’ve spent 15years adapting and refining this process and helping hundreds of others get life-changing, sustainable results. I will be your experienced and empathetic guide through your transformation.
MODULES
You’ll complete about a 20-25 minute module every other week. Each module acts as a lily pad to get closer to your own personal Truce with Food. The first half of Truce with Food is supporting you to see your story, fears, and protection strategies. The second half is showing you how to change it. This methodology is designed and proven to generate clarity, profound connections that have eluded you for years, and meaningful progress with your food, body and health goals.
POWER KICK-OFF SESSION: What’s My Story?
Truce with Food starts by discovering the story that makes you feel unsafe, which is usually felt as overwhelm and/or extreme stress that makes you say “Diet starts tomorrow” or “I’ll deal with the food thing later.” You’ll see how your “bad” eating makes perfect sense.
I will guide our group through this process to radically shift your understanding of how your “out-of control” eating is rarely about food. This session is eye-opening, relieving, and clarifying. It sets the foundation for our psychological work together.
12, 90-MINUTE GROUP CALLS
Every other week, we’ll have a group Q&A session to deepen your self-discovery and awareness, to answer questions, and to clarify your next steps. These calls are a mix of teaching, coaching, sharing and consulting based on where you are. Clients LOVE these calls as they are jam-packed with value, heart and humor (we will laugh!).
12, 60-MINUTE GROUP CALLS
The weeks we don’t meet in our group of about 15-20 people, you’ll have a small group Q&A session with a Truce Coach and 2-3 others to get even more individualized attention and learn from others. Clients also LOVE these calls as it helps them get even more support and know a few others in our group more closely.
You will be matched as best as possible with a Truce Coach who has a background who can best support you. This year, we have a Sober Yoga, a small-business and leadership strategist, and a Naturopathic physician who will be leading our small groups.
SUPPORTIVE AND INSPIRING ONLINE COMMUNITY
Our guilt and shame around food is fueled by isolation and thinking we are the only high achieving people who struggle with food. You’ll quickly come to love our group and you’ll have 24/7 access to online support from me and others. Whether it’s a major ah-ha you need to share or a question, you’ll be fully supported during our time together.
Adult learning is influenced by connection, safety and experimentation; that is why this site is private, separate from social media and ad-free. It’s also extremely user-friendly, even for non-tech people like me.
Ready for a truce with food? Take the first step.
The Results
While everyone is different, side-effects of this is work include:
BEFORE | AFTER |
---|---|
Caffeine + sugar = energy | Naturally energized |
Food choice perfection anxiety | Food ease and intuition that provides more flexibility |
Eating healthy is a sacrifice | Healthy eating is satiating |
All or nothing, binge-restriction cycles with food and life | Neutral, compassionate mindset and awareness of moderate options with food, exercise and life |
Anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping | More stable and consistently good moods and sleep cycles. |
Feelings of burnout, self-criticism, and exhaustion from spinning your wheels with food, your body, and life choices | Feeling of lightness, confidence, and freedom with increased emotional and mental space for that which excites you |
Consistently falling “off track” with food and life goals and feeling accompanying shame and guilt. | Increasing consistency with positive food and life choices and goals |
Ready for a truce with food? Take the first step.
What Clients Are Saying About Owning Their Story in the Truce with Food: The Group Experience
Client Success Stories
“This course is worth $1 million”
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Truce with Food enabled me to understand what drove me to binge. As a result, I no longer binge eat or even enjoy the sugary, toxic foods I used to shove down my throat. I have better boundaries with other people and most importantly, with myself. If you’re looking to make serious changes and overcome your self-imposed limitations, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Truce With Food and Ali’s coaching. This course is worth $1 million! — Liza
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“Before Truce with Food I was depressed and had panic attacks at work…”
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It’s really hard to explain TWF to anyone ‘on the outside’. I would probably find an Insatiable episode I’d know they’d resonate with and send it to them. I enrolled not only to ‘fix my food issues’ though that was part of it. I was much more interested in the psychology, and that part has exceeded my expectations. Before Truce with Food I was depressed and had panic attacks at work which I have now both overcome – I couldn’t be more grateful! –Eva Schafroth
Hear more about Eva’s Truce with Food experience in this video
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“I was able to understand why I felt addicted to food and how to change it”
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It’s not about the food! I enrolled because I truly thought I was a food addict. I was able to understand why I felt addicted to food and how to change it. –Laurie Horwitz
Hear more about Laurie’s Truce with Food experience in this video
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“This program isn’t a bandaid. It is not a set, one-size-fits-all plan. It’s all about you and what makes you unique…”
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After 15 years of having food control my life, I was exhausted. On top of that, I felt lost on what I wanted to do in life (little did I know they were actually related). All I could think about was food… And I was tired of it. So after being an avid listener of Insatiable and loving Ali’s thoughts, I enrolled in TWF.
This program isn’t a bandaid. It is not a set, one-size-fits-all plan. It’s all about you and what makes you unique (through comfortable and uncomfortable times). Food is just the top layer of what’s really going on. Ali helped us pull off that top layer pretty quickly, and guided us through the muck of the past, present, and future, which was difficult. However, now I rarely think about food… I feel more confident that I am able to take up space in the world without doubting my every move, conversation, outfit, etc… and that independence, to me, is freedom. Ali is a brilliant, enlightening, inspiring, enthusiastic, comforting woman that truly wants to help! –Christie Liberatore
Hear more about Christie’s Truce with Food experience in this video
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“Truce with Food is the gift that keeps giving…”
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When I enrolled in the Truce with Food program, I was exhausted and fed up with physical and emotional roller coaster of binge eating. I had seen other mindful eating specialists, nutritionists, and therapists but they each seemed to focus more on temporary fixes and solutions that didn’t resonate with me. I enrolled in Truce with Food after a one-on-one call with Ali. Although she is too humble to take credit, she is the reason I decided to enroll. I felt a sense of trust with her that I had not previously felt with other programs or specialists. She has a magical combination of compassion and expertise, and impeccable follow through. She is there with the group every step of the way.
Truce with Food was just the program I needed to reframe my thinking around food and my eating behaviors. As cheesy as it may sound, Ali guides us through a truly enlightening self-discovery process that is based on both personal experience and science. This program taught me a whole new way of thinking and talking to myself. I developed self-reflection and introspection skills AND gained vital knowledge about blood sugar, metabolic processes, and gut health.
Truce with Food is the gift that keeps giving because, although the program is tough and challenging every step of the way, you leave with a set of tools and skills that can be applied for a lifetime! –Al Ernst
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“This program saved my life!”
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I have already recommended TWF to a coworker. I explained to her that it is a different type of program, in which you learn to work with your body & your experiences to stop the internal battles we struggle to overcome. There is no “white knuckle” holding on. Instead there is acceptance of where you are currently & loving guidance to support you on your journey while you work the lessons & utilize the tools at your disposal. This program saved my life! -Sara S.
Hear more about Sara’s Truce with Food experience in this video
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“Food and drink are now a source of nourishment to help me achieve my goals.”
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Over the years, I’ve stabilized my weight. But, I was still obsessed with food. I could’ve never imagined the depth of emotional healing Truce with Food has offered me. I spent so much time trying to find the thing that would fix me and now I understand I don’t need to be fixed and I’m willing to work with, not against myself. I am willing to put my true self out there and am thrilled to see the connection that happens when I do. I am clear on what I want from my life in a way that I’ve never been before and have the tools to make that happen. Food and drink are now a source of nourishment to help me achieve my goals. I value and enjoy, rather than fear, what I put into my body. Ali’s support, encouragement and wisdom have been a true gift along my path of self-discovery and healing. — Breanne W.
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“I can’t remember the last time I binged!”
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Prior to Truce with Food, I was in a constant cycle of bingeing or eating poorly and then getting angry and spending so much energy figuring out how to “fix” myself. Thanks to the Truce with Food tools, I can’t remember the last time I binged. I feel more free in my life as the program helped me transform my perfectionist mindset. The program is challenging yet it changed my life. It was completely worth it and I am so thankful! — Krista
Hear more about Krista’s Truce with Food experience in this video
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“This is a game and a life changer”
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I’d all but given up. Then I heard Ali on her Insatiable Podcast. What I heard was so different and made so much sense. It gave me hope and I took Ali up on her offer to have an introductory call to see if TWF would be a fit for me. Getting under why you do what you do is the key to making changes. I can’t thank Ali and the women in our session enough. This is a game and a life changer. I am so grateful to have gained so much insight and learned so many useful skills. You’re worth it! –Beth
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“I finally feel like me!!”
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I would say that if someone wants to really get to the reasons why they overeat and use food as an emotional crutch, or to numb their feelings this is the way to change your relationship with food. I do believe however that you have to be ready to do the work. It isn’t always easy and it does challenge you to face parts of yourself that are painful, hurt and angry. It is still hard to put into words what this program has done for me. I finally feel like me!! For me I was in a survivor mode for many, many years that goes back to childhood. This IP/survivor mode has not served me well for many years. Finally, bridging to a new story with a Growth Mindset and facing the old feelings and being able to recognize that old IP story when it comes up has been life changing. –Lynne
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“Something that finally makes sense.”
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Something that finally makes sense. I enrolled because I was out of control and could not find a solution on my own. Meeting others who were experiencing the same issues as me and at the same time, I felt normal and part of a tribe. –Candace
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“Meals are now, just that. A meal.”
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I am someone who seems to have it all together except this one area of food, weight, and body issue. I enjoyed this program beyond belief! I came to Truce with Food seeking moderation and to eat less sugar. I succeeded in both and learned how to find peace. Before, every meal seemed like a battle. Meals are now, just that. A meal. Truce with Food is a paradigm shift to find freedom with yourself. Ali gives you the tools to work on the food and all it represents. It is worth every penny and I am so glad God brought her into my life. — Britney
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“I have the tools and techniques to help me manage my cravings and to trust myself again.”
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As a 10 year veteran of Weight Watchers, I felt I would always have “weight issues” and I’d always need to count calories, because I fundamentally couldn’t trust myself. Truce with Food taught me the tools and techniques to help me manage my cravings and to trust myself again. There are hard parts at times, but that is what makes this program so different and so successful. This approach is so much healthier (and way more freeing) than anything I have tried before. It’s scary, real, challenging, overwhelming, rewarding, grounding and exhilarating. — Laura B.
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“I now have the agency to create a fulfilling, relaxed, fun, and creative life for myself.”
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Truce with Food felt like my last hope, having tried all the popular diets on the market. Now, rather than feeling like the end of the line, it feels like the beginning of my life. The emotional healing we did paired with nutrition work was the perfect approach and Ali and the caliber of clients she attracts are an incredible support network. The hardest and most enlightening part was facing some deep rooted emotions and realizing I’d been holding myself back through a narrative of my own creation. I now have the agency to create a fulfilling, relaxed, fun, and creative life for myself. A healthier relationship with food and exercise is a pleasant bi-product of that. I am so glad I took the leap. — S.T.
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“I have more ease and freedom around food and with myself.”
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Truce with Food was SOOO helpful for me because it offers a refreshing different/holistic approach to emotional eating. I no longer get out of bed in the morning with my first waking thoughts centered around what sort of rigid “plan of attack” I’m going to have today to “get through” food. I have freedom and ease around food and in being myself. I also have the clarity around my triggers along with the tools and motivation to continue to practice and learn for more results. — Coco
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“My cravings are gone, I no longer need to eat 5-6 times a day and I know what foods best support my body.”
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Truce with Food is absolutely amazing and unlike anything I’ve experienced before despite a long history of weight struggles and working the (Weight Watchers) system. It gets to the heart of any challenge around food. It’s extremely freeing to identify my auto-eating spiral. My cravings are gone, I no longer need to eat 5-6 times a day and I know what foods best support my body. I can’t recommend the program enough! It has changed my life in ways I’ve never expected! — L.F.
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“Truce with Food is not a plan, but a lifesaving journey.”
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Truce with Food is not a plan, but a lifesaving journey. — C.G.
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“I wanted to break years of bad eating habits.”
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I wanted to break years of bad eating habits. I felt like I needed help with behavior modification because I knew the proper way to eat. I just wasn’t doing it. Truce with Food ended up being an emotional evolution about how I see myself, others, and the world around me with pleasant side-effects like exercising again, being able to keep my eating in check and dating again. — Beth
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“Truce with Food helped me uncover the unconscious story that drives my eating..”
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Truce with Food helped me uncover the unconscious story that drives my eating and how I show up in the world. With this new awareness, I feel empowered to choose to do things differently instead of life just happening to me. It’s not easy work but very, very useful. So important that I’ll continue this work so I can have even more choices in how life unfolds. — J.R.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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This evidence-based, client proven process is the exact same. Same material and same framework.
The differences are in price. However, the value based on the outcomes are the same and sometimes better with the group. I always tell clients interested in both to think about how you will learn best and of course, what fits best with your budget.
In Truce with Food: Bespoke, you get all the materials plus 12 private sessions and email support in between sessions.
In Truce with Food: The Group experience, you’ll be with about 10-2o people, receiving plenty of individualized attention from me, your small group with a Truce Coach, and learning from the group. I’ve found people in the group progress quite fast as you’ll learn from others as much as you learn from me.
And how you relate or find your belonging in our group, especially for many of us who have been “othered” in our life, is its own healing. Finding other bad joiners is healing balm in and of itself.
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Here are the live dates for kick-off and our weekly Q&A calls. All Q&A calls are 75 minutes and EST. Q&A Calls (except for the Kick-Off) are Wednesdays at 12 pm Eastern Time. Everything is recorded so if you can’t make it live, you can catch the replays.
Opening Circle: Thursday, February 1 12 pm, 2 hours
Kick-Off: Saturday, February 3 10 am – 12 pm
Q&A call: February 7, 12 pm
Q&A call: February 14, 12 pm
Q&A call: February 28, 12 pm
Q&A call: March 13, 12 pm
Q&A call: March 27, 12 pm
Q&A call: April 10, 12 pm
Q&A call: April 24, 12 pm
Q&A call: May 8, 12 pm
Q&A call: May 22, 12 pm
Q&A call: June 5, 12 pm
Q&A call: July 3, 12 pm
Q&A call: July 17, 12 pm
Closing Circle: July 31, 12 pm
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Oh, I love this question! It gives me a chance to geek out on how change really works. Let me answer under the premise that there is a range of training and expertise for health and life coaches. So my answer is based on each discipline’s general philosophy.
Diets, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and most other health coaches, focus on the food. Rather than tell you to chew 20 times or identifying how you want to feel about how you’ve eaten, Truce with Food focuses on physical and emotional safety, which are the key root issues to decade long food battles. We focus on the Why Not, not the Why.
Traditional health and life coaching isn’t necessarily root-cause resolution to change. It’s more of an accountability model that helps you with the issue you want to change. It can expand your thinking but usually the expanded thinking is around food, exercise or your body. This overlooks the story issue.
Traditional coaching is great for people trying to start new habits, who are new to the power of nutrition, and who need ideas on how to be more self-compassionate. Yet it’s quite outdated when it comes to transformational change (in fact, David Petersen, Google’s head of Leadership and Development, called the adult development foundation I use in Truce with Food both the disruption and future of coaching).
But if you’re trying to stop a habit like fighting food and your body, traditional coaching can alleviate the symptoms like Tylenol for a migraine, but you’re not addressing the migraine or in our case, the food battle causes.
For example, an emotional eating health coach might tell you to feel your feelings and help you recognize that you eat when you are lonely. They’ll support you to generate ideas of what you can do when you feel lonely like call a friend. But you aren’t falling off track with your eating because you didn’t call your friend.
In Truce with Food, we get to the root of why you feel lonely in the first place. What is your story and protective strategies that makes you isolate yourself ? And what are new choices so you feel in control of your life and in this example, deeply connected? The self-awareness and skills you develop prevent these feelings from arising in the first place.
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[accordion-item id=”item-25″ title=”How does Truce with Food compare in price to the industry?”]
Truce with Food is proprietary intellectual property created and tested over 17 years of academic research and real-life clients; there’s no other program like it.
To compare, it’s better to think of the value or outcomes you want. Here’s an industry snapshot of different costs and values, based on what you are looking for.
To give you a sense of the value of Truce with Food, one client said Truce with Food was worth a million dollars. A few have said it saved their lives. Many others have said it’s “priceless” and “invaluable.” If you would pay more than $4,500 to have this food monkey off your back and your life changed in a direction more aligned with freedom and possibility, you will get way more than your money’s worth in Truce with Food.
As Christie shared, she has the priceless freedom of no longer having food or self-care rules to rebel against (and has better results) or Sara shared when she had to consider the price, she ultimately determined she couldn’t afford not to do it. Linda recently shared on Insatiable how she has done her best career work as a result of going through Truce with Food. Or, Krista shared how her work in Truce with Food led to a better job that paid more and she got her period for the first time in her life.
Many other clients have found they save money on all these expensive supplements, shakes and superfoods they thought they needed, on takeout, on binges and they stop spending as much in general as their story is also part of the reason they shop for things they don’t need. And long-term, the healthcare savings, and time and quality of life can be incredible.
And here’s the mindset results based on client survey exits
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[accordion-item id=”item-26″ title=”What is your completion rate?”]
Great question. I’ll break this into two parts. First off, do people show up and do the work? 80% of people show up and do the work. This is far above average than most programs.
This question also implies how many people have sustainability after the program. Both of these are important questions. If you’re asking: can I do this, can I show up, can I do the work? Can I continue to make the changes in my life? Yes. I assure you you can do this. This isn’t a diet. This isn’t a plan. This doesn’t require willpower like you imagine.
You will also learn how to source intrinsic motivation instead of shame and fear-based motivation. In practical terms, this is like building momentum and a snowball going down the hill instead of pushing it up the hill.
This is for anyone who wants to stop the insanity of fighting food and get off the merry-go-round. Truce with Food is a completely new orientation to how you show up in your life and then the food falls into place. The change is self-evident and creates a desire to continue to do the work because you’re finally getting results from the effort you put in.
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[accordion-item id=”item-27″ title=”How do you know if someone is ready?”]
The number one thing I look for is someone who has tried everything else yet still has the ovaries to listen to that voice that says, “I know there is something more for me”. This is often accompanied by a readiness to be patient with results if one confidently feels they are on the right track. Have you tried enough solutions like Shakeology or Weight Watchers, gone through the roller coaster of “yes, this time will be different” and come down and realize, nope, it’s not? My weight is still weighing me down.
At this place, there’s usually a simultaneous expansion and excitement (and some nerves) at the idea of joining Truce with Food. Many of my clients say my approach resonates. And they’re up for the internal challenge. And as the cultural narrative continues to shift, more and more clients come ready and excited (especially since over half of Truce with Foodies come from past client recommendations!).
This program is not girlfriend advice to buy flowers or steps to upgrade your life – although you will. It just won’t be all puppies and rainbows like some coaches promise…and then tell you “you’re blocked by self-limiting beliefs” when that doesn’t work.
Being comfortable won’t get anyone the results they really want, like freedom and agency with our body. Like anything meaningful in life, this will be challenging and rewarding. But it’s not about willpower or discipline but rather, the challenge to be a beginner and stay curious.
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[accordion-item id=”item-28″ title=”Is this a weight loss program?”]
This is not a traditional weight loss program. The focus is not on weight loss and you are allowed to want to lose weight in this community. Weight loss has become highly charge today – which I think is great as there’s a lot to unpack. However, if you do the work and make this process a practice so you’re consistent with eating healthy, you will lose weight.
My philosophy is sustainable weight loss is a side-effect of sending physical and emotional safety signals to the body. Some people will say this is still diet culture. I disagree. Sometimes our weight is a health issue (and sometimes it isn’t). And sometimes weight is protective (and sometimes it is not). I’m not here to tell you what to do with your body. I’m here to support you to feel the best you can in your body and life.
For example, I’m currently losing my post-pregnancy weight. My focus was on my insomnia and story-driven stress first. Food is easy for me now yet I had to adjust my nutrition needs because of menopause. I’ve lost 20 pounds in the last two years. It’s been slow yet sustainable and I’m not losing and gaining the same pounds like I used to do.
The focus on safety signals like sleep, physical pains, or stress helps us know what to do when, enable us to feel great in our bodies along the way, and allows our body to come to a healthy resting place for each of our unique bodies.
Some clients lose weight. Many stay the same. However, many clients who still want to lose more weight post-Truce with Food will say, “I still have more weight to lose but I know it will happen without me worrying about it anymore.”
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[accordion-item id=”item-29″ title=”I’m terrified of never being able to eat my favorite foods again. Will we deal with that fear?”]
In the Truce with Food exit survey, 90% of people no longer believe they have to give up their favorite foods. Truce with Food takes the stance that one serving of your favorite foods, once in awhile, is no big deal. What we transform are the reasons you consistently eat two, three or four servings of your favorite food. When you legitimately heal your relationship with food, you no longer are caught in the extremes of all or nothing. Yes you can eat your favorite foods again – and without guilt or fear that one piece of cake will turn into two, three or a week of bad eating.
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[accordion-item id=”item-30″ title=”I’m busy. Will I have time for this?”]
Life today is one constant busy season. Especially for those who tend to gravitate towards Truce With Food. However, your life is your classroom. In other words, you’ll be experimenting with meals you’re already eating and new ways of being in your life. It’s not “separate” from your life.
And this program is designed for the on-the-go lifestyle. It does require about two hours every other per week for maximum benefit. About 20 minutes of content, a 90-minute Q&A calls (all recorded so you can listen at your leisure), and about an hour on coaching “homework.” Many participants have said this program actually creates time for you by learning the foods to give you more energy and clarity.
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[accordion-item id=”item-31″ title=”I’m not looking to lose weight, but do want to enhance other areas of my health. Can this program help?”]
Absolutely. In discussing digestion and blood sugar, the two foundational systems of the body that influence all of today’s chronic conditions, you’ll do that. And, being healthy isn’t just about being free of disease. It’s about emotional well-being, which Truce with Food focuses on heavily. This program could easily be called Truce with Anxiety, Truce with Exercise or Truce with [insert major life stress holding you back].
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[accordion-item id=”item-32″ title=”Do I have to become a master chef?”]
No! In fact, that’s one of the patterns many clients work on is going to all the grocery stores and building up cooking way more than is necessary. I’m actually referred to as the lazy chef’s guide to cooking. All the recipes are really simple (no exotic ingredients) or long prep times and can be cooked in big batches to last for multiple days. Plus, you’ll learn how to eat out and make the right choices so you don’t need to cook all the time.
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[accordion-item id=”item-33″ title=”I’m not really a group joiner. Will I benefit from the program?”]
I call myself a bad joiner myself so I understand your hesitation. Most of my clients are “bad joiners” or non-dogmatic people.
I’ve had some people stick to themselves and get incredible benefits. However most participants are impressed by the caliber of women in the group and want to participate and get incredible value from the support and ideas of these other intelligent and caring women.
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[accordion-item id=”item-34″ title=”What if I sign up and change my mind or what if my life just gets super busy?”]
All instructional materials are yours for life—so even if your schedule happens to change, you can still get the full value of the program when you’re ready. Or if you want to join the next round in 2024, you can do that too.
There will be no monetary refunds once you decide to join. Please do your due diligence beforehand. If you need more clarity if this is right for you, schedule a discovery session.
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[accordion-item id=”item-35″ title=”Can I get reimbursed for this program through my insurance?”]
If you have an FSA or HSA account, most likely. Clients have used their HSA/FSA credit cards and I’ve written dozens of receipts for participants’ FSA and HSA accounts. Most plans reimburse for any type of nutritional counseling and coaching. I recommend checking with your plan specifically for an exact answer. I’m happy to write you a receipt.
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[accordion-item id=”item-36″ title=”Is there private, 1 on 1 support during the program?”]
You will be put in a small group, with 2-3 other participants with a Truce coach being certified in Ali’s method. You’ll receive small group coaching every week with them on the “off” weeks of the “Bigger” yet still intimate group calls. This will provide individualized support and Ali will be mentoring them so you’ll have two brilliant coaches eyes on your journey.
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[accordion-item id=”item-37″ title=”I’m having technical trouble signing up.”]
No problem. We can help. Just email ali@alishapiro.com and Carolyn, my Operational support will get you all set up.
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[accordion-item id=”item-38″ title=”I’ve invested so much time and money into this food thing. I love your work Ali, yet am I am worried I will fail this too.”]
I totally get it. You trust me, not yourself. So many programs promise to be different and yet underneath, they’re all different ways to cut calories or give you a formula (often not based on research) that creates more restriction, which only leads to rebellion.
This is a process you can’t fail if you devote yourself to trying and learning how to understand your story, which is what Truce with Food gives you the awareness and tools to do.
It doesn’t require willpower in the traditional sense. In fact, imperfection is built into the material and expected. We call that “research” in Truce with Food. Most science and life breakthroughs happen when we learn from what isn’t working.
Having said that, this process is challenging. But the challenge is the willingness to be a beginner and continue to show up when you’re new (i.e., not the best) at building a new skill set. This can be uncomfortable for perfectionists and those with an all-or-nothing mindset. It’s about being devoted to yourself.
Many clients express that it’s “uncomfortable in the most freeing way.” That might seem paradoxical. But paradox is truth. Once you can be with your emotions, you feel powerful and free. You get the kind of results that make you willing to become devoted to challenging yourself. Our emotions control us whether we understand them or not. So to finally have choices other than eat in discomfort, is life-changing liberation.
If you can commit to showing up when you feel imperfect, this process will work for you. There’s not a formula for success or failure here. This process meets everyone exactly where they are in their self-awareness and lifestyle. It’s the opposite of having a bunch of rules to follow that only fuel the battle and a sense of failure.
For more insight from my clients about their own fears around this, check out this video. The fourth question is when I ask them about their fear of failing at Truce with Food. Still have questions? Schedule a discovery session.
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[accordion-item id=”item-39″ title=”I’m in recovery from alcohol, attend 12-step meetings and see a therapist. I have attended food-based 12-step meetings and found them unhelpful. My fear is I will be learning things similar to what I’ve learned through psychotherapy and the 12 steps. Will this program benefit me?”]
My work is a wonderful compliment to AA and/or therapy.
About 25% of my clients are in AA and most of them tell me, “this is what AA is missing” and they love AA. This isn’t to say it’s an either or, just that this is different. And it has to be because while you can avoid alcohol, you can’t not eat. It’s also why 12-step food programs don’t work for most people. More restriction with food isn’t the answer. In Overeaters Anonymous (OA), which I tried myself, they often reinforce the all-or-nothing thinking and corresponding restrict-binge cycle with their “no white flour, no sugar, etc”.
My work is about getting to the root cause of why we turn to food and enable you to feel like you can eat just one of something (moderation is the new radical!).
I love some therapy so again, this isn’t either/or, it’s just that this work is very today and action oriented whereas therapy is often looking backwards and reflection. You need both.
Adult development, which my work is rooted in, is quite different and the people who do the best are the ones who have been in AA and/or therapy because they are comfortable reflecting.
And this work also works on changing the patterns of today (that come from the past) that we aren’t aware of, no matter how much therapy we’ve been in (I’ve done a lot of therapy myself and it never really moved the needle on my eating issues).
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Have a question not addressed here? Feel free to write to me:
Take the first step to a truce with food.
My Personal Story
I thought I needed to be fixed when I entered the suburban strip mall Weight Watchers at 11 years old.
My own Truce with Food gave me the perspective, skills and tools to be a discerning patient and wellness consumer. Our bodies and health change and I have been able to navigate subsequent thyroid issues, fertility choices and other “fork in the road” health-care choices on my terms. Today, I feel in charge and confident in my health-care and body choices in a way that I am grateful for for every damn day.