Feeling Good in Your Skin (and Your Clothes)

Have you ever stood in front of your closet, surrounded by clothes, and thought, ‘I have nothing to wear’?

It’s a feeling I know well—and one I’ve come to realize has less to do with the clothes themselves and more to do with how we feel in our own skin.

When we are healthy, I’ve found, we feel better in our skin, which naturally leads to feeling better in our clothes—especially the ones we already own. But when we’re far from our center, nothing seems to fit. We can have a closet full of garments and still feel like we have nothing to wear. This often leads us to seek outside fulfillment, like buying a new piece of clothing. But here’s the thing: that new purchase doesn’t solve the inner health issue. It doesn’t address the root cause. And it’s not exactly kind to our financial sanity, either.

What if, instead of buying something new, we turned inward and asked: What does my body actually need right now?

Why Approaching Health Matters for Walking the Talk

Health—unifying the physical, mental, and emotional spheres—is the foundation for feeling good. Blindly trying to walk the talk in sustainability, fashion, and apparel feels almost impossible when we’re disconnected from ourselves. But walking the talk in sustainability, food, and health isn’t straightforward either.

Just like sustainability isn’t about perfection, health isn’t about rigid rules. It’s about finding balance in a way that works for each of us.

This is why I felt it was important to weave the pillar of “approaching health” into Walking D Talk. Shedding light on the tensions, trade-offs, possibilities, and opportunities in health—through a compassionate lens—, while being responsible with the environment, feels like a worthwhile venture.

Why “Approaching” Health?

I chose the term “approaching health” intentionally. The word “health” alone feels charged, often tied to rigid ideas or black-and-white thinking. “Approaching health,” on the other hand, is active. It’s an intention, an effort. It conveys the greys.

Health isn’t a static state we arrive at once and for all. It’s a journey, a rhythm, a process of listening to our bodies and responding with compassion. There are phases, stages, and moments in our lives where we’ll come closer to or drift further from the equilibrium that holds us in a healthy state.

What’s needed to balance us in one moment or context might not be what’s needed in another stage of life. Being healthy is a process—one without one-size-fits-all or once-and-for-all prescriptions. It’s influenced by how we approach it.

Each body is unique, and generalized prescriptions often fail because they don’t honor individual needs. So when sharing on an open platform, I felt it was more accurate and appropriate to refer to “approaching health.” My intent is to help guide us in this process, bringing forward tools that support each person in driving their own healing journey toward a state of healthiness.

Compassion and Listening as Foundational Tools

Healing isn’t just about what we eat or how we move. It’s about how we listen to our bodies and respond with compassion—not asking for more, not giving less when the body manifests its needs. And accepting the answers change as we move into new phases of periods of our lives.

This is a practice.

It’s about tuning in, noticing the signals our bodies send us, and meeting those signals with care. It’s about recognizing that health isn’t a destination but a relationship—a dynamic, evolving connection with ourselves.

An Invitation: The October Chew Commitment

As we begin exploring the idea of “approaching health” in WalkingDTalk, I want to invite you to take a small but powerful step toward reconnecting with your body and emotions.

At first, I thought about encouraging you to simply start registering your body’s signals and emotions—a practice that’s clear and intuitive for some, but perhaps too abstract or overwhelming for others. So, I asked myself: If I had to choose one simple, effective action to help us connect back with our bodies, what would it be?

Chewing.

Yes, chewing.

Chewing is the first step in digestion, but it’s also so much more than that. It initiates the process of breaking food down, embedding it with saliva, and preparing it for the body to absorb. But beyond the physical, chewing has a calming effect—it slows us down, reduces anxiety, and helps us tune into our environment and, ultimately, ourselves.

It’s a simple, costless, and controllable action that brings us into the present moment. A small act of self-care that can have a surprisingly big impact on how we feel.

So, I’m inviting you to join me in the October Chew Commitment:

For the month of October, commit to chewing your food more intentionally. Slow down. Notice the texture, the taste, the process. Aim to chew each bite at least 30 times (or 40 if it’s meat), or simply until it feels ready to swallow.

And here’s a question to reflect on: How often do you actually think about whether your food is ready to swallow?

This isn’t about perfection. Instead, lean into the curiosity of what surfaces. What happens when you slow down and truly taste your food? How does your body respond? What do you notice about your hunger, fullness, energy levels—or even your surroundings? Is it challenging? Why?

I’ll be sharing tips, reflections, and encouragement throughout the month on Instagram, so be sure to follow along. And if you’re joining the commitment, let me know in the comments or on social media—I’d love to hear how it’s going for you.

Let’s start this journey of approaching health together, one bite at a time.