Welcome to another episode of the Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast. In this segment, I happened to speak with Sumner Brooks, a registered dietitian (RDN), mom, and eating disorder specialist who spent 15 years working in nutrition. Her involvement includes providing nutrition therapy for adolescents and adults, public speaking, and pursuing advanced training in trauma-informed, weight-inclusive healthcare.   Today, Sumner shares her knowledge working with clients at all levels of the eating disorder spectrum. Which includes the following: Why she decided to divert into intuitive eating, the journey of writing her book, as well as some tips on how to create a supportive environment that helps support children with their food relationships. I hope that this episode will shed light on your food journey.   [00:01-5:30] Opening Segments

• Introducing our guest speaker
• Sumner shares her experience with her first job
• Why did she become interested in intuitive eating?
• Why did she decide to specialize in eating disorders?  

[5:31-11:46] Raising Intuitive Eaters

• Co-writing a book and raising awareness
• How did they structure their book?
• Her take on weight stigma
• Risks and consequences of eating disorders 
• Understanding the food problems within the status quo  

[11:47-16:00] Creating a Supportive Environment that Supports Children

• Helping kids fall in their natural ability
• Supporting children as they follow their internal body cues
• Allowing children to give opportunity to act out to their internally driven biology  

[16:01-27:01] Consistent Feeding Structure

• How do parents deal when their child is a picky eater?
• Associating eating time that is calm and safe
• Opinion on nutrition classes in schools  

[27:02-35:36] How important is it to focus on your relationship with food?

• Sumner’s take on public health and food accessibility 
• How important is it to educate parents on how to deal with their child’s eating habits?
• Dealing with fat phobia as a parent
• Pathological dieting  

[35:37-42:30] Parenting styles that will help their kids find their place and development 

• Helping parents to think critically 
• Parents-children communication 
• There’s always opportunity for repair and healing
• Encouraging parents to ask food inputs to their children 
• Giving children choice and opinion   

[42:31-43-26] Outro

• Where to find Sumner?  

Resources Mentioned:

• Sumner on Instagram
• Amee on Instagram 
• How to Raise an Intuitive Eater
• Division of Responsibility 

 

Tweetable Quotes

“There’s not a right way to feed a child, everyone is coming from their own cultural heritage, their own traditions, their own preferences and differences due to economic situations.” - Sumner Brooks   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode.   You can connect with me, Rachelle Heinemann on Instagram, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected].