Are you tired of yo-yo dieting?  “Neural plasticity not only allows us to learn and adapt, but also to heal.” —Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation Wrestling with cravings, conflicted about what to eat, feeling like you’ll never be able to break free from the cycle of on-and-off dieting or establish positive eating habits for life? You are not alone—so many of us have been there. But did you know that research shows that making lifestyle changes based on an understanding of your own neuroplasticity can lead to lasting transformation in your eating habit ..read more

Learn how the lessons in The Four Agreements may lead to a healthier relationship to food and your body—and curb disordered eating Our self-talk can prop us up or hold us back, keep us going or slow our stroll. The words we say can be motivating and expansive, or they can be limiting and narrow. How we talk to ourselves impacts how we talk to others, of course. Interestingly, our self-talk also impacts how we eat. It makes sense, then, that learning a language based in truth, compassion, and love is beneficial. As is following a code of conduct that teaches us to be authentic. One renowned bo ..read more

If you are struggling with food or an eating disorder, these helpful points may offer you the nudge you need to change your relationship to food.  Many people with eating disorders look healthy. The good news is that the science of epigenetics tells us that having an eating disorder is not inevitable based on your genes alone.  Regardless of weight, positive body image predicts better health outcomes and protects against disordered eating.  Eating disorders in boys and men continue to be under-recognized, even though they experience higher mortality rates. 1 death every 52 minu ..read more

Quiet the Urge to Eat Impulsively or Mindlessly, or to Start a Diet This post is more personal than most because meditation impacts me on a daily basis. I have been studying mindfulness and meditation since high school. However, in the past 10 years, meditating has become an important component of my daily self-care rituals. But this is not about me, it is about one more evidence-based habit you can practice on your path to finding food freedom and other benefits as well.   What is meditation? “The term meditation refers to a family of self-regulation practices that focus on training ..read more

You eating disorder treatment plan may warrant extra care if you have experienced trauma. If you’ve experienced trauma and have an eating disorder, you’re far from alone. It’s not uncommon for people with eating disorders, especially binge eating disorder, to have a history of trauma. Because lingering effects of trauma can affect your recovery from an eating disorder, understanding and addressing any trauma in your life and getting the support you need can be a critical part of your treatment. What kinds of trauma affect eating disorders? Trauma is our emotional response to a terrible event ..read more

Is emotional eating getting in the way of finding freedom with food? Learn to manage and overcome it. “It may be time to consider other ways of relating to your eating, yourself, and the many, many food choices we face each day. Mindful eating is simply another powerful way of relating to your experiences of food, your relationship to your body, and the joy that is possible in savoring your experiences. Then moving on to the many other parts of your life that eating nourishes and gives you energy for!” —Jean Kristeller Hunger is not the only reason we eat. We may turn to food to fill an emoti ..read more

Getting weighed during visits to the doctor can lead to avoiding health checkups in the future. Get tips on how to speak with your provider about alternatives. “Empirical evidence demonstrates that the belief that weight stigma can be an effective tool to encourage weight loss amongst people living with obesity is a societal misconception.” —Brown et al., 2020 For many people, regardless of their size and weight, stepping on the scales at the doctor’s office can be triggering—and harmful. In my clinical work as a psychologist, children, teens, and adults have shared with me the very negative e ..read more

Adopt a Growth Mindset and Make Positive Change Our brain is an amazing warehouse of ideas, emotions, information, dreams, reasonings, and calculations. By some accounts, we generate at least 60,000 thoughts per day. That’s a lot of thinking! It’s no wonder, then, that a great deal of research has gone into how we think and see ourselves and the world. More than 15 years after the terms “growth mindset” and “fixed mindset” were coined, our outlook continues to be a major subject of study. Evidence shows that having a fixed mindset can keep us stuck, set us up for failure, and diminish the desi ..read more

How do your body and mind react to long-term stress? Polyvagal Theory can shed some light on what you experience and help you cope better. What is survival mode? Stressful stimuli cause a physiological and psychological response called our survival mode. This mode involves the release of stress hormones and the activation of our stress-response systems. Our mind and body become focused on combating danger. Survival mode originally evolved to help us handle threats. When we cannot escape or fight, which are states of physiological hyperarousal, we are wired to freeze, a state of hypoarousal. Bo ..read more

The good news: 80% of those who accessed professional mental health services report that they benefited from the help they received! As we all know, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the past two years have been particularly stressful. Whether it’s due to isolation from loved ones, fear of illness, disagreements over vaccines and masks, losing your job, or having to head back into the office after working remotely, COVID-19 stress seems to have infiltrated all of our lives in one way or another. “There is a divine order, a divine flow to our lives. We don’t need to have all the answers. But o ..read more