Nutrition for Performance vs. Aesthetic or Weight Loss Goals

My clients often come to me with two different types of goals: aesthetic and performance. What is the difference between nutrition for performance compared to weight loss or aesthetic goals? Aesthetic goals (weight loss or body transformation) With aesthetic goals, your main focus is using fitness and nutrition behaviors to transform how you look. This…

Obsessed with Eating Healthy – Is it Orthorexia?

It is not healthy to be obsessed with eating healthy. With social media, and the focus on all the “toxic” ingredients you need to avoid, it can feel like eating “clean” and carefully reading ingredient labels is the only way to eat if you care about your health. So, can you take it too far?…

Should I join Overeaters Anonymous?

Overeaters Anonymous is based on the 12-step program that originated with Alcoholics Anonymous. If you are struggling with binge eating, overeating, inability to lose weight, or yo-yo dieting… you might have asked yourself: Should I join Overeaters Anonymous? As an Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size dietitian nutritionist, my food & life philosophies do…

You are not addicted to food. Food is not addictive.

Am I addicted to food? “I’m just an addict. I just crave it, and I then when I let myself have a little, I can’t stop.” Have you ever called yourself a food addict? No, you are not addicted to food. I could debate the nuances of whether or not certain qualities of food are…

Weight Stigma – Discrimination based on body size

Weight bias or weight stigma = negative attitudes, discrimination, and stereotyping of people living in larger bodies. This bias is everywhere: in American/Western media & culture, the health & fitness industry, and the fields of medicine & dietetics. Yes, discrimination based on body size is real; it is harmful; and it is absolutely never “deserved.”…

My Nutrition Philosophy

If there is one core tidbit of “nutrition” advice that I can pass on to you, it is this. This is my foundational philosophy when teaching any and all nutrition concepts. We cannot make choices about food in a vacuum that sucks out all other factors and puts nutrition as the one and only factor…

Hunger / Fullness Scale – Listening to Your Body Cues

Do you think it’s simple to listen to your hunger & fullness cues to tell you when and how much to eat? News flash: For most people, it’s not! It takes practice to develop that higher level of attunement with your body. By applying Intuitive Eating principles to your daily life, listening to  hunger cues…

Fullness in Your Throat? Feeling Full After Eating a Small Amount?

If you feel fullness in your throat, it might be getting in your way of nourishing yourself and developing a healthy relationship with food and your body. Stop interpreting this symptom as a sign that you should stop eating! Just because you are feeling full after eating  a small amount… This does not mean that…

Intuitive Eating Tips – Your Guide to Making Peace with Food

My latest article written for HealthQuarters! Read on for intuitive eating tips to guide you in your journey to ditch the diet and develop a healthy relationship with food. We tend to think of diets and meal plans as the IKEA furniture instruction manuals to healthy eating: a little complicated, but worth the effort. But…