Food Freedom Course
Freedom and peace around food is not an impossible dream.
More than half my life was spent in a constant battle with food.
From the age of 13, my life was a series of diets.
I was either on a diet or off a diet, and I was trapped in a relentless cycle of guilt, shame and desperately trying to “fix” my body.
Every night I’d go to bed promising that tomorrow would be different. And then I'd find myself in a full-blown binge the next afternoon.
I consulted numerous experts – from doctors administering dangerous pills and injections, to celebrities with the latest eating plans and food rules. My list of trials and errors was endless – slimming clubs and weight watchers, psychics and hypnotherapists.
It took me decades to realize that restricting and trying to control my eating was keeping me trapped in this painful cycle.
When I finally learned to trust my body and break free from dieting, I reclaimed my freedom and peace with food.
Nowadays, I feel “normal” around food.
I'm able to go on holiday and attend social events without obsessing and worrying about what and how I'm eating.
I can leave food on my plate without any fuss. I’m able to have a few squares of chocolate without finishing the whole bar (something I never thought I’d be able to do!)
Buffets are no longer frightening places. And some nights I eat salad for dinner and some nights I eat chips... And that’s all good!
I’m better equipped to deal with difficult emotions and more accepting of my body.
I am so much kinder to myself – that critical voice is not so cruel anymore.
Making peace with food changed my life.
Taking this journey inspired me to leave my career in tourism and become a coach.
I created The Food Freedom Course so I could help other women to also find peace with food, eating, and their bodies.
You don't have to struggle anymore – this course will guide you to a life of freedom and joy around food, and help you discover what you are truly hungry for.
During the course, you will:
- Discover why restricting food and dieting does not and never will work
- Find out why you eat when you are not hungry
- Identify your triggers for overeating and binge eating
- Learn how to be more mindful around food and increase your awareness of your patterns and habits when it comes to eating
- Be taught practical tools for dealing with binge eating, overeating and mindless eating
- Learn how to eat the foods you love without feeling guilty and make eating enjoyable again
- Discover how to tune into your hunger signals and to stop eating when you’re full
- Learn how to deal with cravings and how to cope with difficult emotions
- Identify how to meet your needs better through nurturing self-care practices
- Develop your capacity for self-acceptance and self-compassion
- Discover how to find joy in do-able, mindful movement
- Reconnect with what matters most to you in life
How the course works:
- It’s a LIVE group course, taking place over 10 weeks. The group is a small group of minimum 6 and maximum 10 participants.
- During each call, you’ll get personalized coaching from me in a group setting so that I can support you.
- You will also have access to me in between sessions on a group forum, so I am with you every step of the way
- The course takes place online via Zoom.
- For the sake of privacy, calls are NOT recorded.
- The tools & teaching component is pre-recorded.
- We meet every week for 10 weeks with a break in the middle.
- Each session lasts 2 hours.
- Each session is divided into 1 hour of learning new tools and 1 hour for sharing experiences.
- There is additional support via email between sessions.
- The course is based on a combination of Mindful and Intuitive Eating.
- Sessions include meditation and practical mindful eating exercises.
The course includes:
- 10 sessions in total
- 10 x 2 hour LIVE sessions (calls are NOT recorded)
- Practical mindful eating exercises
- Audio recordings of teachings and meditations
- Additional support via email in between sessions
- Food Freedom eBook with notes, infographics and worksheets
- A safe and supportive environment to share and be heard
- 365 days of Mindful Eating Moments - a short email each day to support you on your journey to food freedom
This is for you if you want to:
- Learn an alternative way to deal with food without dieting, rules and restriction.
- Experience freedom and peace with food.
- Break free from strict rules and learn to eat guilt-free.
- Discover what hunger and fullness feels like and to listen to your body’s cues.
- Learn tools to become more respectful of your body.
- Finally let go of dieting, food rules and restriction.
- Learn to be kinder to yourself.
- Learn to trust yourself with food.
This is NOT for you if:
- You have an active eating disorder (anorexia or bulimia).
- You want a quick fix. Healing your relationship with food takes time. This course will get you started.
- You are not ready to stop dieting, let go of rules and try a different way.
- You want to lose weight. The course is about healing your relationship with food, not about weight loss.
- You want to learn about nutrition - most people who do this course know plenty about nutrition from years of dieting, this course helps you learn how to trust your inner wisdom.
“Xen is a wonderful facilitator. She is attentive, available and kind. I enjoyed the material, handouts and her availability. She was always concerned with each person and helping push through any barriers any of us were having. I enjoyed and trusted her very much.”
Course Details
Wednesdays on Zoom (starts 5 February 2025)
February 5, 12, 19, 26
March 5, 12, 19, 26
April 2
Follow-up session a month after the course.
12:00pm - 2:00pm ET
10:00am - 12:00pm MT
11:00am - 1:00pm CT
9:00am - 11:00am PT
5:00pm - 7:00pm UK
7:00pm - 9:00pm SAST
This is a LIVE course limited to 10 women, calls are NOT recorded.
Choose your price.
The price is based on the gift economy principle, there are 3 options:
EQUITY price for those who earn less income.
STANDARD price for those earning an income, who can cover the investment of the course.
SUPPORT price for those who can afford the cost of the course AND support others in need.
BONUS:
Book now and receive the How To Handle Eating in the Holidays course for free!
Scholarships and payment plans available.
Please send an email to arrange.
“Xen's Food Freedom course was life-changing for me. It helped me finally understand that food does not need to be my emotional crutch - it truly gave me the freedom to enjoy my food in a way that feels good to my body - and to take away real strategies to keep me from falling back into bad habits and thought patterns. The group discussion was invaluable and helped me realize I'm not alone in my struggles and Xen's gentle, soothing teaching approach created a nurturing environment - not judgmental in any way!”
Who teaches The Food Freedom Course?
I’m Xenia Ayiotis, a certified Intuitive & Mindful Eating Coach. I am a licensed Be Body Positive Facilitator through The Body Positive. I am also a certified Life Coach through The Life Coach School. I have been working as a coach since 2011, helping women heal their relationship with food.
I came to this work through my own food challenges. I struggled with food and body image issues for over 30 years. I was a chronic dieter, struggled with severe restriction followed by binge eating, and negative body image. I was fortunate enough to find Intuitive Eating and Mindfulness. Coaching has helped me transform my relationship with food and my body and my life! For this reason, this work is very meaningful to me. I have seen and experienced how recovering from a dysfunctional relationship with food can transform every aspect of your life.
My purpose is to help successful, mature women who have been struggling with food challenges for decades to finally find peace with food and live a meaningful life of freedom. I feel privileged and grateful to share this work with women. I offer private one on one coaching sessions, the Food Freedom group course, retreats and workshops.
Course Outline:
- The problems with dieting and how and why we need to let go of dieting
- The purpose of eating and the different types of eating
- Examining food rules, are they useful?
- Recognising the different levels of hunger
- Learning to recognise and respect our fullness
- What’s the difference between satisfaction and fullness?
- Getting to know the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger
- The 9 different types of hunger
- Practical mindful eating tools to help us be more aware whilst eating
- How to work skilfully with urges and cravings
- Emotions and Eating
and
Mindful Emotional Eating - Dealing with overeating and binge eating
- The link between anxiety and eating
- Learning to accept and befriend your body
- Discover the joy of mindful movement
- The art of self-care: recognising and honouring our needs
- Meditation and eating practices
- Examining what you are truly hungry for? What would be better than food?
“In addition to 1-1 sessions with Xen, I decided to join her 10 week group course. Meeting other women struggling with similar issues around food and eating was insightful. It made me realise that I don't struggle alone, that my problems are common, that there is nothing wrong with me. Because I found it easy to extend compassion to the group members, I began to apply more compassion to myself and my struggles with eating too. We formed some strong bonds over these 10 weeks. Learning together and supporting each other was so uplifting. Hearing other members getting coached, I often found I could apply the same helpful strategies offered by Xen to another group member to myself. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity and for the wonderful women I met in the group. If you're hesitating to join a group out of a fear of feeling exposed, please be courageous and try it out. You only share what you feel comfortable with, and by the end, you won't want the group to end! Thank you Xen for this incredibly powerful group course.”
Course Details
Wednesdays on Zoom (starts 5 February 2025)
February 5, 12, 19, 26
March 5, 12, 19, 26
April 2
Follow-up session a month after the course.
12:00pm - 2:00pm ET
10:00am - 12:00pm MT
11:00am - 1:00pm CT
9:00am - 11:00am PT
5:00pm - 7:00pm UK
7:00pm - 9:00pm SAST
This is a LIVE course limited to 10 women, calls are NOT recorded.
Choose your price.
The price is based on the gift economy principle, there are 3 options:
EQUITY price for those who earn less income.
STANDARD price for those earning an income, who can cover the investment of the course.
SUPPORT price for those who can afford the cost of the course AND support others in need.
BONUS:
Book now and receive the How To Handle Eating in the Holidays course for free!
Scholarships and payment plans available.
Please send an email to arrange.
“It feels so free not to diet anymore. The course has helped me get to a much healthier place with food. I have more energy because I am not binge eating anymore. I am enjoying food more with no guilt! And the best thing is I am so much kinder to myself. Thank you Xen, for a great course!”
“This course was amazing! Xen is a fantastic facilitator and was very available and accommodative throughout the entire session, never leaving anyone hanging or waiting to discuss issues that might come up. The class content was balanced and the absolute best. After several failed coaching experiences in the past, I feel I now have a good understanding of my relationship with food. I feel I have the tools I need to take control of my life and honor my mind and body. I highly recommend it!”
Questions or queries?
to find answers to frequently asked questions...
Who is The Food Freedom Course for?
This course is ideal for you if you:
- Have a history of dieting, food rules and restriction
- Are ready to stop restricting and dieting
- Want to feel free around food
- Want a more relaxed and peaceful relationship with food
- Want to get a taste of Mindful and Intuitive Eating and the non-diet approach
How does the course work?
Once you purchase the course you will receive all the documentation and the Zoom link which will be the same for each session.
Each week, you will receive the session booklet.
We meet on Zoom. Please arrive 5 - 10 mins before each session. The first part of the session is the teaching component.
The 2nd half is sharing, coaching and questions. We start and end off with a meditation.
The day after each session, you will receive the audio recordings for the tools and principles of each session.
I am not comfortable with using my video and with sharing in the group. Can I still take part?
You are welcome to simply listen.
If you prefer to keep your video off, that’s absolutely fine!
Our intention is to create a safe, non-judgemental space for everyone.
What if I miss a session?
The teaching part of the course is pre-recorded so you will have access to the audio of each week’s session.
Live sessions are not recorded in the interest of privacy.
Do I need to have any prior knowledge of Mindful or Intuitive Eating?
Not at all! The Food Freedom Course gives you all the information you need on Intuitive and Mindful Eating principles.
I am familiar with Intuitive and Mindful eating. Will this course offer me something new?
Yes. Absolutely! If you’re already familiar with Intuitive Eating and Mindful Eating, this course will help you establish more of the principles and show common obstacles and challenges to applying the various principles.
I’m struggling with an eating disorder. Can I take this course?
This course is designed to help people with a history of yo-yo dieting and dysfunctional eating make peace with food. It’s not meant for people with active eating disorders or those in the initial stages of eating disorder recovery. If you want to discuss this, please email me so that we can talk about it.
Are there any scholarships if I can't afford the course?
There are only 10 places in the course. There is one scholarship available to a person with financial difficulties, it’s a pay what you can option. If you would like to apply for this scholarship kindly send an email.
Are payment plans available?
A payment plan can be arranged by request. Please send an email to arrange.
Ask A Question About The Course
If you have any questions about the course that weren’t answered above, click below to ask yours.
Please fill in the form below with your questions.
“I am so grateful that I found Xen. Whilst I had many challenges Xen's gentleness, kindness and knowledge guided us through the weeks slowly changing my 40 year battle with food, stigma and body image. Thank you.”
Course Details
Wednesdays on Zoom (starts 5 February 2025)
February 5, 12, 19, 26
March 5, 12, 19, 26
April 2
Follow-up session a month after the course.
12:00pm - 2:00pm ET
10:00am - 12:00pm MT
11:00am - 1:00pm CT
9:00am - 11:00am PT
5:00pm - 7:00pm UK
7:00pm - 9:00pm SAST
This is a LIVE course limited to 10 women, calls are NOT recorded.
Choose your price.
The price is based on the gift economy principle, there are 3 options:
EQUITY price for those who earn less income.
STANDARD price for those earning an income, who can cover the investment of the course.
SUPPORT price for those who can afford the cost of the course AND support others in need.
BONUS:
Book now and receive the How To Handle Eating in the Holidays course for free!
Scholarships and payment plans available.
Please send an email to arrange.
“I just wanted to thank you for the absolutely amazing course, with all the details and materials plus your strong and compassionate presence in the sessions. It has changed my life substantially. You are totally brilliant as a teacher and as a coach. I have worked with many coaches in my lifetime and you are truly something special. You remember every little detail expressed by each of the participants. How do you manage this? It is amazing. Please keep doing the good work.”