The Bio

I’m Shelley Chapman, your Food Relationship Coach™. I’m glad you’re here. Go ahead. Take a seat honey, because we have some things to talk about, work through, shift and create!  You might be wondering if it’s possible to ENJOY food again and LOVE the way your body looks and feels.  Yes, honey, it’s absolutely true and quite doable!

Bon Appetit Magazine, Busted Business Trips and The Start of this Whole Shebang!

My parents knew early on when my mom would find me reading Bon Appetit just for the fun of it.  Or perhaps it was when my dad nearly lost his highly ranked status in the Best Friend’s Club because he forgot to bring me back my customary culinary souvenir on his trip from Germany.  Maybe it was the fact that while most children were appeased with ice-cream from the truck, I much preferred a brownie sundae from Baskin Robbins which later matured into Hagen Daaz.  For whichever reason, it was, my taste buds were giving way to flavors from far and beyond to teach me about the world and ultimately my self.

Brown Sugar Pop Tarts, Divorce, My Rise and Fall

It was 1997, I had discovered make-up and high heels. Graduation was two years away and I just figured out my social circle.  Things were cool. Then came the news. My parents were getting a divorce. Blasphemy + Scandal = Shame.  At least that’s how it felt in my 17 year old head, because all of this time I thought we were the Cosby’s.  Then I discovered just how quickly Brown Sugar Pop Tarts and Oreos could make me forget that I was soon going to be a statistic, in a single-parent household with an absentee father. This discovery would turn into a 7 year war in which my emotions battled it out on my body.

Hello My Name is Shelley and I’m an Emotional Eater and it’s not all bad!

Yep. While I wouldn’t have dared said this out loud back then, it is absolutely true.  How scary it was at that time, living in an emotional whirlwind of food.  Each moment, secretly wishing that this bite of brownies would take all the pain away for good.  Yet, through the journey I’ve come to embrace emotional eating.  You may be thinking, embrace?  Yes! Embrace. If you’re grappling with your food relationship, you’ve come to the right place.  I completely understand how it feels to

• feel alone AND lonely
  
• feel scared
• experience shame and guilt
• feel humiliated
• hate yourself
• wish that this life is not your own
• eat beyond comprehension and despise yourself even more afterwards
• wish that you could just STOP
• feel out of control
  

It’s okay you’ve come to the right place.  Especially if you’re ready to…

• heal and get to the root of your emotional eating
• wear the bikini, the dress, the pants you’ve been “weighting” for
• experience more fulfilled relationships with food, your significant other, your career, your family and most importantly your SELF
• take responsibility for how you got here in the first place
• be open to new tools and techniques of exploring your food relationship and body
• enjoy chocolate cake again WITHOUT any GUILT!
• express yourself RADICALLY, loudly and AUTHENTICALLY

Am I some sort of Therapist or something?

I am YOU.  Harvard University trained me in my Master’s studies in Human Development and Psychology.  Spelman College groomed me to better understand the psychology of women, especially the unique experiences of women of color. And LIFE prepared me to meet you + share + deliver all that I can offer in the name of healing, confident bodies and delicious food relationship journeys. I’m not a therapist, psychologist nor psychiatrist.  And I can help you right where you are. We’ll unpack the underlying emotions. We’ll help you shift to a place of healing. You’ll release the guilt. You’ll have sexy bodies. You’ll enjoy food.  You’ll improve your relationships. You’ll love life.

I Know You’re Ready. (you wouldn’t have read this far if you weren’t )

I created a special online 30 minute workshop called Guiltless Indulgence with 8 Strategies to help you Stop Emotional Eating. It’s Free. It’s yours. As often as you need it.  Go ahead and get it.