Today we’d like to introduce you to Nina Shyne Alviar.
Hi Nina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a recovered emotional, binge and compulsive eater. For many years and for many reasons, food was my drug. My body was my enemy, and dieting and working out were the grueling ways I would punish myself for never having a body that was “good enough” while also turning to food for everything – from boredom to crisis. I yo-yo dieted for 36 years (yes I was put on Weight Watchers at 10. Yikes.)
At 46 and 206 pounds, I finally put it together – unless I healed and repaired my relationship to food, my body, and my LIFE, and stopped “using,” I was on a fast track to self-imposed disability and early death (harsh but true – you’ll learn I don’t hold back.)
So I did the INSIDE work – I developed more awareness of what I really needed, what I was actually doing, even how I was talking to myself. With practice, my mind changed from instantly reacting to consciously choosing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that better suited what was really TRUE, who I really was, and who I wanted to become. I let the past go and focused on NOW, and where I was headed. I learned to trust myself, and to operate life from the strong center that is me, unshakeable when sh*t hits the fan, and grateful every day.
See the thing about using is that we are looking for comfort but substituting a quick dopamine hit for what we really need. And the thing we need to take care of is still there when the hit wears off. And now we feel like sh*t because we still need whatever that is, and now we ate something we really didn’t want to. Let’s stop that, shall we?
As I rewrote my story and became happier, more confident, more in love with me, I stopped using. I replaced food with non-food and truly nourishing ways to handle things, replaced negative thinking, replaced my self-image, and suddenly food wasn’t the magical salve for all that ailed me anymore (oh and neither was beer, or cigarettes, shopping, or anything else.)
I solved my puzzle. I am free from using food for anything other than self-love and the wonderful YUMMY pleasures of eating that are part of life, and more than that – I am fully, unapologetically, joyfully, resiliently, ME. Then I started helping others with their puzzles, because as Gloria Steinem said, “The final stage of healing is using what happens to you to help other people. That is healing in itself.”
I have developed a system to empower folx to get free – The Power FULL Emotional Emotional Eating and Empowerment Program. Crafted for ultimate effectiveness and transformation from my experience, and from my accreditations in Neuroplasticity, Neurogenesis, CBT, MCBT, MBSR, Mindfulness, Health/Wellness, Healthy Habits, Science-Backed Energy Work, and more, I am a CTAA Certified International Coach.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road hasn’t been smooth, or I wouldn’t have kept growing. I settled into my fantastic resilience – seeing setbacks or challenges as opportunities to go deeper, learn more, and come out the other side better. Not “toxic positivity” but a real understanding that just because something is hard right now doesn’t mean it is going to be forever, and that every frustrating moment has a lesson in it.
Our emotions are signals for how we are doing, and a call to take a look at what is going well or needs to change to get back into the groove of becoming the strong, kick-butt human we are. And sometimes Life says “Nope, not good enough – you deserve MORE” and that sometimes comes in the form of a challenge or setback.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have a 6 weeks intensive program that guides folx through the steps I took, and have found most effective for my clients. We meet once a week on the phone, Zoom, or FaceTime, and go over the week’s assignments and make adjustments for the following week’s work. It’s very personalized, each client comes with a similar set of challenges to overcome, but how we work through the program is always decided by the needs and process of the individual. So much changes for the client by the end that not only have they overcome emotional/binge eating, but they are their most empowered and centered selves. It’s really breathtaking and I am always so moved and so honored to be a guide along the way. Brings me to happy tears often.
What sets me apart is best coined by one of my clients who dubbed me “The feisty angel of transformation” – I don’t hold back, and we laugh, curse, and shake up what’s stuck in the most powerful ways. I’m very intuitive and get “downloads” during sessions that tend to be right on the mark to pinpoint what’s under the chatter and dig out the real issues, so we can work them out. While some clients prefer the “just the science, ma’am” approach, most like involving some non-religious spiritual practices as well. I am well versed in many practices so I can pull anything out of the hat that feels like the right thing for each client.
I am also always available by text for my clients, so if anything comes up between sessions, I am always at their service.
Any big plans?
I am always learning, adding more tricks up my sleeve to help empower others to heal themselves is my passion. As I learn new practices that may be helpful, I use them myself first to see if they are useful, then add them to the menu. I am finishing my book, getting my website finished with a lovely web designer (who also became a client!) and I am looking into a brick-and-mortar space to hold groups, teach classes like guided meditations, rituals, and understanding the brain through neuroplasticy. Even though my clients are all over the country and the world, I am excited to be able to meet with people in real life!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/PowerFULLCoachingWithNinaShyne
- Instagram: @ninashynealviar
- Other: https://insighttimer.com/ninashyne/guided-meditations/body-slash-mind-gratitude-sleep-meditation
Image Credits
Alex Kowalchik, Photographer (Images 1-3)
