The subjects of food, eating, beauty and power are all intimately connected for women. Last year I was at a live event and the audience was asked if anyone had ever had an issue with body image, eating disorders, or the way they looked. It was shocking and humbling to see every hand in the room reach for the sky. As women, we are most vulnerable when it comes to our body image and beauty.

I don’t think this is something that we want to be true. I certainly don’t. I’d like to think that I’m an evolved and empowered woman who doesn’t give any of her attention or energy to “petty” conversations about my looks and how confident I feel in my own skin. But the reality is, I do give a lot of energy to it, and my confidence does waiver when I don’t feel good about how my outward appearance.

I hear things like this all of the time from my clients, too.

“I’m too fat to go to the gym or a dance class. I don’t want to be the heaviest woman in the room.”

“I can’t fit into my favorite dress, so I’m not going to that event. I just feel so self-conscious about how I look.”

“I can’t shoot videos for my business because I hate my body right now. The camera adds an extra 10 pounds, and I need to lose at least that much. I have to get to my ideal weight before I can do any filming.”

“I have pimples on my face so I can’t accept this opportunity to speak in front of an audience. I feel like a failure and a fraud because I’m a health expert, and I can’t even get my acne to go away!”

Does any of this sound familiar to you? As women, we are held to standards of beauty (at least in the Western world) that are often unrealistic and unattainable for most. But these external standards pale in comparison to the ways we judge, compare and punish ourselves for not being thinner, prettier and more “put together”.

When you don’t feel good about how you look – whether it’s extra weight, skin issues, or even image, style and fashion insecurities – the first instinct for most is to hide, cover up, and do anything and everything not to draw attention to yourself. And this, my dear, is a very powerless place to be.

I have felt this way for most of my life. I’ve been unhappy with my weight, had acne on my face, or simply had no clue what colors and styles of clothing really looked best on my body. My lack of confidence contributed to my insecurities about being visible in the world because I didn’t want people to look at me. My judgments about myself were so strong that it felt safer to stay hidden. And this led to me living a life that was too small for who I really am.

When I made the connection between what I was eating and how I looked and felt, it was like someone turned a light on inside of me. First, my health issues disappeared. This miracle convinced me to make eating the healthiest foods in the world a priority for myself. Next, my radiance increased, my confidence grew, and I allowed my life to open up to new and amazing possibilities that could never have existed in my small, very controlled, hidden life.

When I gave myself the gift of feeling good, I allowed myself to have the beauty, radiance and power I desired in my life. My food choices were the catalyst for the magnificent transformation I underwent, and the incredible opportunities that are present in my life today.

I’m still amazed at how few people recognize the intimate connection between what (and how) they eat, how they look, and how powerful they feel. I think it’s safe to say that McDonald’s and Doritos are not beauty foods. But have you ever considered that they might be disempowering foods, too?

What you eat literally creates who you are from a cellular level on up. The food you’re eating today is literally creating your cells, your blood, and building (or weakening) your organs, skin, hair and nails. It’s affecting your thoughts, your energy levels, your moods and your entire vibration. Food is really that powerful.

What you eat can either enhance or detract from your beauty and your power as a woman. Consider how what you’re eating is making you feel, and then consider if it is empowering you to be your gorgeous, radiant and beautiful self… or not. For me, eating loads of fresh fruits, leafy greens and a rainbow of veggies and other whole foods is how I eat to feel my best.

To eat in any other way simply gives my power away.

Imagine if your food choices were actually helping you to be more beautiful, more powerful, more magnetic, inspiring and attractive to all of your heart’s desires. How would this affect your confidence? Your attitude and mood? Your business? Relationships? Your ability to create, influence and succeed?

How free would you feel to pursue your dreams? And how big would you allow your life to be?

I see far too many women hold themselves back from really receiving the life they know they deeply desire simply because they don’t feel good about how they look. I think it’s time for women to take a stand for themselves and for their dreams by being as beautiful, radiant and powerful as they can possibly be. I think it’s time to acknowledge the high price of not being your beautiful self, and to do what only you can do for you.

Decide to empower yourself through daily choices that truly serve and support you. To do anything else is simply giving your power away.