The past few days have knocked the wind out of me a little.

It’s been one of those weeks when I wasn’t prepared with food, and instead of the nourishing meals I usually make, I grabbed whatever I could find. And honestly, it hit me harder than I expected. By the end of the day, I felt swollen, sluggish, foggy, and just… off. It’s such an unsettling feeling when your body doesn’t feel like your own.

Most people have no idea how much food affects how they feel, and I don’t talk about this often, but for me, it’s personal. I’ve lived with chronic health issues for a long time, and the only reason I function as well as I do, the reason I stay strong enough to coach, to work, to show up, is because I changed the way I eat over twenty years ago. Food literally became part of my healing. It gave me my life back. Without those changes, I honestly don’t know where I’d be today.

So when I have a day or days where I slip, like this week, it’s not just an annoyance. It’s fear. It’s frustration. It’s the reminder that my body needs care, not convenience. And the hardest part is knowing better, knowing exactly what helps me, and still having a human moment where I ignore it.

This morning, I woke up with that “I can’t feel like that again today” feeling. So before I did anything else, I made a big pot of lentil soup. Warm, grounding, familiar. The kind of food that steadies me and reminds me that I’m not powerless. It was my way of saying to my body, “I’m here. I hear you.”

I’ll share a picture, not because it’s fancy, but because it represents something important to me: getting back up. Choosing the thing that supports me. Beginning again.

I’m sharing this because so many women silently feel like something is “wrong” with them when they’re tired, foggy, inflamed, emotional, or drained… but often, it’s simply that their body is begging for nourishment. Not perfection. Not dieting. Just nourishment.

Food can make you feel held, or it can make you feel heavy.And the past few days have reminded me how quickly that shift happens.

If you’re reading this and you’ve had your own moment of, “Why did I do that?”, I get it. Truly. And you’re not alone. You can always start again… even if it starts with something as simple as a bowl of soup.

Bonnie Papajohn

Dahlia Health and Nutrition Coaching

Bpdahliacoach@gmail.com