Do you have any trigger foods?   Are you afraid to keep certain foods in your house because you feel like you lose control with them every time you eat them?  There is a very valid reason why some foods feel triggering. Restriction. If you’re like most people, your trigger foods are triggering because you are restricting them. This was certainly the case for me when I was restricting food and following a bunch of food rules. Natural Scarcity Response  Potato chips are a common trigger food, so let’s use them as an example. Let’s say you love potato chips but you rarely let y ..read more

When I was in college, my favorite thing about Valentine’s Day was the day after.  My roommate and I would go to multiple stores and scoop up all the marked-down bags of conversation hearts.  For days, we’d eat handful after handful of those chalky, pastel hearts until there were no more to be found anywhere in town. Fat-Free Food RuleI ate the candy with gusto not only because I enjoyed its taste (unsurprisingly, my favorite childhood candy was Necco Wafers) but also because it was fat-free.  This was the fat-free era and like many others who were also following this l ..read more

What’s your relationship like with holiday eating? Do you love all the holiday fare yet feel overwhelmed by anxiety, stress, guilt or shame for eating in ways you typically don’t?  At night, do you lie in bed resolving to start a new diet or exercise program in January? Do you wish you could enjoy the holiday season without being distracted by all the food noise in your head?  If so, you’re not alone—and it doesn’t have to be this way. Many of my clients have discovered that after working on divesting from diet culture and eating more intuitively for a while, their experience wi ..read more

Along with all the delicious food, the Thanksgiving holiday often comes with an unsavory serving of diet culture. For a pleasurable, peaceful eating experience, keep in mind these Thanksgiving don’ts: 1. You don’t have to earn it.Despite what diet culture wants you to believe, you don’t have to do anything to earn your Thanksgiving meal. You don’t have to do an intense workout or not eat all day to deserve a spot at the table.  2. You don’t have to make up for it. Just like you don’t have to earn the right to eat, you don’t have to make up for your eating after the holiday by working o ..read more

The other day, I ate my lunch much earlier than usual even though I wasn’t hungry.  I had an appointment downtown during my regular lunchtime and knew if I didn’t eat beforehand, I wouldn’t be able to eat until much later. Experience has taught me this would turn me into one cranky lady with a headache and brain fog. During my dieting days, I likely wouldn’t have eaten before my appointment. Thanks to diet culture, I believed it was wrong to eat when I wasn’t hungry. Perhaps you have believed this, too. You might also feel this way with Intuitive Eating as there is a misconception tha ..read more

The other day, I ate my lunch much earlier than usual even though I wasn’t hungry.  I had an appointment downtown during my regular lunchtime and knew if I didn’t eat beforehand, I wouldn’t be able to eat until much later. Experience has taught me this would turn me into one cranky lady with a headache and brain fog. During my dieting days, I likely wouldn’t have eaten before my appointment. Thanks to diet culture, I believed it was wrong to eat when I wasn’t hungry. Perhaps you have believed this, too. You might also feel this way with Intuitive Eating as there is a misconception tha ..read more

Many years ago, I went to see a naturopath about some health challenges I was having. As part of my treatment, she asked me to eliminate some foods from my diet, including gluten. Desperate to feel better, I agreed to do so. I gave myself one last week to eat all my favorite gluten-containing foods. During those last few days, I vividly recall feasting on artisanal sourdough loaves from my beloved local bread maker.  I also raided all my favorite bakeries loading up on blueberry scones, chocolate chip cookies, veggie focaccia, chocolate fudge cake, and yes, more bread. The i ..read more

A big part of my work is helping people escape diet culture with all its punitive rules and restrictions and instead enjoy an ongoing sense of freedom with food. Over the years, I’ve talked a lot about what food freedom means to me.  For today’s newsletter, I'm excited to have some of my clients share what food freedom means to them. I find their responses to be incredibly inspiring. Perhaps, you will, too. Clients Share What Food Freedom Means“To me, food freedom means I only eat foods I actually enjoy. In the past, I would force myself to eat foods from my limited list of approved fo ..read more

I’m an avid reader and love losing myself in a good book.  My reading list is long, and I usually have three different books going at any given moment so I can easily turn to whichever one I’m in the mood for. Following are a few books regarding diet and wellness cultures, disordered eating, anti-fat bias, body liberation and more that I’m excited to dive into this summer. Perhaps you will be, too. Please note, I’ve provided links to Amazon but also encourage folks to buy from their favorite independent bookseller or to check out books from their local library. Fat Talk: Parenting in the ..read more

Many years ago, I went through a devasting breakup. I felt like my heart had been ripped out and drop-kicked to the moon. I was flattened by a level of sadness and depression I had never experienced before. I cried for weeks. My body felt weighed down by grief. As a result, I lost much of my appetite and my desire to cook.  My partner and I loved cooking together and the thought of doing it solo was just too painful.  Very little sounded appealing and I couldn’t stomach anything fresh.  The only foods that felt tolerable and manageable were buttered pasta and peanut-butter toas ..read more