There’s plenty of information out there on the health challenges that accompany being overweight, but being underweight comes with its own set of challenges, especially on a fertility journey. In today’s episode, a previous guest, Nicole, visits us to talk about her journey with weight gain and nutrition. She gets real about the role of being underweight as a factor in her fertility journey and tells us about the window you need to be in to support your fertility journey. We touch on false perceptions around weight and health, and how receiving positive feedback on being thin can have a negative impact. Nicole introduces us to the metaphor of a spider web to illustrate food fears and food avoidance and gives us some insights into her own history with food aversions. Next, we dive into the essential role of fat in satiety, and the dangers of faking your health, before exploring the impact that peers and parents can have on food perceptions. Nicole gives us her thoughts on control as a driving force for food choices, the power of being open-minded, and why magazines, shows, and social media should also be showing how diets work. Self-talk is our next topic, and we discuss its impact on those around us, as well as why we all know what it means to be willing to pursue something, for ourselves. We talk about why you should get rid of everything that encourages poor habits, until you don’t have to and what it means to change your perspective to eat intuitively. In closing, Nicole tells us why it is important for her to be an open book and wants to help others, and why she is so thankful for the progress she has made on her journey. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• The lack of information around being underweight and the impact on fertility. 
• How being underweight was a factor in Nicole’s fertility journey.
• The role of weight and the window you have to be in to support your fertility journey.
• False perceptions around weight and health.
• The metaphor of a spider web to illustrate food fears and food avoidance.
• The role of fat in satiety.
• Nicole’s lush, thick hair as a testament to her good health.
• Why eating low-calorie, ‘filler’ foods, doesn’t support nutrition.
• The impact that peers and parents can have on food perceptions and over or under-eating.
• Control as a driving force for food choices and the power of being open-minded about food. 
• Why magazines, shows, and social media should also be showing how things work.
• Thoughts on self-talk and how it influences those around you. 
• Why we all know what ‘willing to pursue it’ means for ourselves.
• Nicole’s sister’s positive perspective on weight fluctuations.
• Changing your approach to eat intuitively.
• Why Nicole considers herself to be an open book and wants to help others. 
• Why Nicole is thankful for her progress.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

RMA of New York

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole

Mount Sinai Hospital

Fertility Forward on Instagram