Food is fuel and so much more. It is ok that food connects us to those warm fuzzy things in life--friends, family, pleasure, and humanity. Want to make this step on your Food Peace Journey™? Listen here now to the latest Love Food Podcast episode featuring guest expert Elizabeth Armstrong @PCOStherapist. Subscribe and leave a review here in just seconds. This episode is brought to you by my courses: PCOS and Food Peace and Dietitians PCOS and Food Peace. You CAN make peace with food even with PCOS and I want to show you how. I want to learn more about you! I would love if you could take the 2020 Love Food survey: access it here: JulieDillonRD.com/Survey. Open until March 31, 2020. Check out my friend Summer Innanen's FREE Body Acceptance Masterclass. You will learn:  The 3 biggest mistakes people make when doing body acceptance work (and why they keep you stuck feeling bad about your body) Her 6-Part Framework for radically changing the way you feel about yourself and believing you are good enough regardless of your body size  Why it is possible for YOU (yes, YOU) to accept your body and feel more confident in who you are. Learn more about Summer's Masterclass (aff) here: JulieDillonRD.com/FREEmasterclass This episode's Dear Food letter: Dear Food, You have, and always will be, such a big part of life and identity. Growing up in an Indian household, you were everything - we would spend hours preparing delicious meals to eat and share with other people. My mum was an exceptional cook who loved nothing more than to research recipes to try out on me and her friends. Food, you are there in so many of my best childhood memories - going out for ice cream sundaes on the weekend, discovering the magic of baking, and making cheese toast as a midnight snack with my dad.  But now, at the age of 36, having battled with weight for as long as I can remember, and trying to figure out my PCOS, I realise that our relationship is really complicated. While you have brought me so much joy, you also come with a ton of fear and anxiety for me. I remember calorie counting with my mum in my early teens, being praised for controlling what I ate, and family members commenting on my body whether I had lost or gained weight. Food, I have starved myself of you so many times, and this always results in me punishing myself through binging and exercising. I'm tired of weight loss taking up so much of my headspace. I'm working really hard to get some neutrality on all of this but sometimes, even just noticing a shirt doesn't button up right anymore can set about a heap of negative thoughts. From  Working really hard Show Notes: Julie Dillon RD blog Link to subscribe to the Love Food’s Food Peace Syllabus. Be sure to follow Elizabeth Armstrong on Instagram: @PCOSTherapist Elizabeth's website: PCOStherapy.com Julie's episode on Don't Salt My Game with a PCOS deep dive: People with PCOS can totally eat birthday cake. Weight inclusive PCOS care from Laura Thomas Hunger So Wide and So Deep Intuitive Eating book (aff) and website Find an Eating Disorder Dietitian near you. Do you have a complicated relationship with food? I want to help! Send your Dear Food letter to LoveFoodPodcast@gmail.com.  Click here to leave me a review in iTunes and subscribe. This type of kindness helps the show continue!