Nutrition Unfiltered

Thanksgiving is a holiday that’s famous for putting a ton of attention on one single meal, which can feel overwhelming if you’re working on your relationship with food. In this episode, I’m sharing tips for managing anxiety around food and body comments from family members, the importance of eating consistently throughout the day, and how to include traditional foods in a balanced meal. I’ll dig into setting boundaries with family members and enlisting support from family and friends you trust. My goal is to help you prepare so you can enjoy your Thanksgiving in a mentally and physically healthy way. 

Resources mentioned:

• For more help preparing for Thanksgiving, check out my Nutrition Recovery Workbook!

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• Protein, carbs, and fats are all morally neutral. One isn’t “good” while the other is “bad.” It's just food. This meal is the same way.  Turkey is protein, stuffing is a carb, and green bean casserole has a combo of carbs, fat, and protein. So if you like them, put them on your plate and enjoy ‘em!
• You have to watch out for yourself and protect your mental and physical health. If that means creating a boundary around food talk, or around body talk, that's perfectly okay. 
• I want to encourage you to have the things that you enjoy. Like, the actual real foods, not the “diet” substitutes you feel will make the meal “healthier.” You're going to enjoy the meal way more if you eat the foods you truly enjoy.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates. 

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates: 

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

If your social media feed is filled with posts like “do THIS to cure your PCOS” or “best supplements for lowering your cortisol levels,” then chances are you’ve been searching for solutions for your symptoms. When you chronically don’t feel well, it can be so upsetting, but it’s still important to turn to research-backed sources for your questions. In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Brotherton, RD on the Enhance Nutrition team, to debunk some myths associated with thyroid and hormone health to hopefully give you some science-backed next steps. Michelle also shares her own experience with thyroid dysfunction and how medication supports her thyroid health.

Connect with Michelle!

• Enhance Nutrition Website
• Instagram - @nutritionwchelle
• TikTok - @nutritionwchelle

Resources mentioned:

• Listen to Episode 1: Why TF Does Diet Culture Co-Opt Intuitive Eating?

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• One of the biggest symptoms of hormone issues is the feeling that something is “just not right.” If you’re feeling uncomfortable, fatigued, or your cycle is suddenly irregular, reach out to your OB/GYN and get a referral for an endocrinologist.
• “Cortisol” is a big buzzword on social media, but cortisol fluctuations are a normal response to life’s stressors. It serves to protect us in fight or flight situations. We do want to keep an eye on cortisol levels when they constantly stay at a high level.
• You need to take the health approach that works for you. There is a stigma about taking medication to support your thyroid or hormone health, but many times that is the solution that actually works. It’s okay to explore holistic options, but we have access to life-changing medications.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year, but it can bring up a lot of triggers around food, sugar, and restriction for many people. In this episode, I’m sharing how to enjoy the holiday (and the candy!) while working on your relationship with food. Plus, my thoughts on the “Switch Witch” trend that’s emerged in the last few years.

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• There are no “good” or “bad” foods; all foods are morally neutral. A good place to start in building a healthy relationship with Halloween candy is challenging our beliefs that candy is inherently bad.
• Two big binge triggers are ravenous hunger and mental restriction. Make sure on Halloween that you eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day, and that you allow yourself to keep candy around to learn how to live with it without restricting yourself.
• Halloween is a great opportunity to help your kids build a healthy relationship with sweets. Ask them about which flavors and textures they like best, help them pay attention to their hunger and fullness cues, and don’t create scarcity or restriction around sweets.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

Many of our first messages about body image, weight, and food, came from our mothers and stick with us for decades. Now, we love moms and love being moms, but in this episode, Meghan Yoho, MA, LCMHC, joins Christy to discuss how we can unlearn those messages, avoid passing them onto to our own children, and when you should see a registered dietitian vs. a therapist when struggling with an eating disorder.

To connect with Meghan, email her at [email protected]!

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• Think about how you feel your weight is holding you back through perfectionist, societal standards. Instead of waiting until you hit a certain weight to enjoy things, think about how you can still enjoy the event in the body you have right now.
• Even if you aren’t saying things to your kids that promote poor body image, they are picking up signals based on how you treat your own body. Things like body checking yourself in the mirror or constantly getting plastic surgery can confuse our kids about how we “should” look. 
• One of the best things you can do for yourself is to wear comfortable clothes, regardless of the size. Once you feel comfortable in the clothes that will be on your body every day, then you can dig into the emotions behind your body image.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

In this episode, Christy is joined by Katie Wolf, a registered dietitian on the Enhance Nutrition team. They discuss the prevalence and triggers of disordered eating in college-aged adults, the impact of social media on health and weight loss trends, and the signs of eating disorders to look out for. Plus, Katie debunks the societal obsession with “chemicals” in food, and the myth of sugar addiction. This is a spicy one, y’all!

Katie Wolf, MPH, RD, LDN is a Registered Dietitian in Charlotte, North Carolina focused on eating disorders and disordered eating treatment. Katie's goal as a Dietitian is to assist clients with finding peace with food and their body through a non-diet, "all foods fit", and weight neutral approach. 

• Website
• Instagram

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• Eating disorders can emerge in college age adults because of the stress that sometimes comes with living on your own, in addition to a need to take control during this stressful season. 
• Planning and cooking your meals on your own for the first time can feel intimidating. Start with a cookbook that has basic recipes for beginners, make a list to take with you to the grocery store, and use that as your guide while shopping. You’ve got this!
• There has been a lot of fear mongering surrounding sugar and “chemicals” in foods. Everything is a chemical, even water, and sugar isn’t going to hurt you in moderation. Be wary of uncredentialed influencers and social media posts that spread fear about “toxic” ingredients.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

If you could just lose enough weight to wear that trendy outfit, get a cute guy to notice you, or look like you “belong” in the gym, your life would be so much easier, right? Not necessarily, but it’s easy to think so when we’ve been told over and over that thinness is the ultimate goal. In this episode, I’m sharing the true behind-the-scenes both mentally and physically in the typical shiny “after” photos you see on social media, and how you can feel better about your own body today. 

Check out my Nutrition Recovery Workbook to learn more about nutrition, heal your relationship with food, and practice tools for taking care of your body and mind!

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• When you think about the lengths people typically go to to lose weight, the “after” isn’t as happy and glamorous as it looks online. There is often so much restriction or over exercising happening that the person has a lot of weight-related thoughts taking up a lot of mental real estate.
• There is definitely a high that comes from losing weight, especially when we get positive reinforcement from people around us. If the weight comes back, it can often make people feel worse than they felt before they lost the weight.
• If you feel like losing weight will solve your problems, identify why you want to lose weight. If you want to improve mobility, work with a physical therapist to learn specific exercises. If you want to wear cute clothes, buy yourself some cute clothes in your current size.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

Many of the reality shows we watched in the early 2000s perpetuated disordered eating behaviors and extreme weight loss in the name of “health” and vanity. In this episode, I’m sharing my reactions to these clips, my key takeaways as a registered dietitian, and how my honest initial reactions to these clips when they first aired.

TW: The clips in today’s episode discuss weight gain, weight loss, and body image in ways that can be upsetting to some. Please take care of yourself and feel free to skip this episode if it’s not for you.

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• Separating our internalized messages about thinness and fatphobia from what is actually best for our bodies is hard, but a registered dietitian can support you in healing your relationship with food.
• Turning to food for emotional support is a very common experience for people. Carbohydrates help our bodies produce serotonin, a “feel good” hormone, which is why we tend to crave bread or sweets when we’re looking for an emotional boost.
• It is completely normal and healthy for your weight to fluctuate through the day, let alone within a week. Some things that contribute to daily weight fluctuations are hydration, eating food, your menstrual cycle, and when you last had a bowel movement. 

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

Most women know they will experience menopause in their 50s, but very few women know that there’s an entire hormonal change that happens before menopause: perimenopause. From hot flashes to weight gain, this unpredictable shift can have us feeling out of control of our bodies, so in this episode I’m sharing how to care for yourself nutritionally during this time, what exactly is happening in your body, and some commiserating about the oh-so-lovely changes that 

Resources mentioned:

• Get on my email list to sign up for the next round of our If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother Group Program! 

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• Perimenopause can happen anytime between your mid-30s to your 50s. Fifteen years is a huge window, but everyone’s body is different, so unfortunately the time window is very unpredictable.
• Some of the symptoms of perimenopause include irregular periods, mood swings, sweating, slower metabolism, and dry skin. All of these lead to women feeling out of control of their bodies, which can be really frustrating.
• It’s important to make sure you’re eating enough protein to maintain your muscle mass (which decreases as we age), do strength training exercises, consume magnesium-rich foods, and eat a balanced diet that has carbs and healthy fats.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen tons of TikToks, magazine headlines, and news stories about the Ozempic craze. Is the medication the magic weight loss drug people have been waiting for, or is it another fad diet in disguise? In this episode, I share the science behind how semaglutide medications work, what they’re commonly used for, and whether they’re effective for long-term weight loss.

Check out my Nutrition Recovery Workbook to learn more about nutrition, heal your relationship with food, and practice tools for taking care of your body and mind!

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• Ozempic, which is one name-brand of the GLP-1 injection - is a semaglutide. Semaglutide medications have been studied for way longer than they’ve been popular, and are an effective way to treat diabetes long-term.
• As you’ve probably seen on social media, GLP-1s have been shown to be effective for weight loss, though we don’t know if it’s effective long-term. One of the ways it contributes to weight loss is the reduction of food noise, reducing your appetite and constant thoughts about food.
• If you’re considering a semaglutide to help you with weight loss, identify what your weight loss goal is and why you want to lose weight. Regardless of whether you take it, you have to adopt healthy behavior changes, like eating more produce and exercising regularly, to avoid weight regain.

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube

Loving your body every day, in every article of clothing you put on, is probably an unrealistic expectation to put on yourself. Feeling negative about your body every second of everyday sounds straight up exhausting. Might I present a middle ground to live in? It’s called body neutrality, and it extends from a concept called body respect. In this episode, I break down what body neutrality means, how to come back to a neutral place from negative thoughts, and action steps to build more confidence in your daily life.

Check out my Nutrition Recovery Workbook to learn more about nutrition, heal your relationship with food, and practice tools for taking care of your body and mind!

Some key takeaways from this episode include:

• Body respect is an incredibly important concept. No matter how you feel about your body, your body deserves respect. Care for it by eating nutritious foods, drinking water, going to the doctor, getting enough sleep, etc.
• Make sure the content you’re consuming is good for your mind. If you find yourself feeling bad about your body because of the social media accounts you follow, curate your feed to show people in all body sizes enjoying their lives.
• In body negative moments where you’re second guessing an action, try the “opposite action” technique. When you have the thought of “I shouldn’t wear this” or “I want to hide and not attend this event,” do the opposite. Wear the outfit, attend the event, and let yourself take up space. You might enjoy it way more than you thought you would!

Nutrition Unfiltered is the place where nutrition science meets sass. We tackle the tough nutrition questions with science, education, and experience all while making it fun and unfiltered. Get ready to learn and listen as dietitians shoot it straight. Nutrition Unfiltered is hosted by Christy Maloney, RD, LDN, CEDS-C CPT, the Founder of Enhance Nutrition Associates.

Connect with Christy + Enhance Nutrition Associates:

• Christy’s Instagram
• Buy the Nutrition Recovery Workbook
• Enhance Nutrition Instagram
• Enhance Nutrition Website
• YouTube