Quit Dieting for Good

I'm so exited to share this week's interview with Steph Gadreau! Steph is a mindful eating mentor who helps purpose-driven women develop body trust. (You can check out her podcast, Listen to Your Body, which I recently did an interview for as well!) She's on a mission to help women stop obsession over macros and thigh gaps; there are so many other amazing things to invest our energy and time into! In this episode, Steph shares about how moving from Paleo to intuitive eating impacted her personal life AND her business.

(And remember to hit subscribe if you haven't yet! We have some amazing interviews coming up after this one!)

How Steph Got Started

Steph's been working for herself for about 7 years. Before that, she was a high-school science teacher! She transitioned into the entrepreneurial world with her blog (which had been a hobby), and has since grown her own business, which includes coaching, a podcast, and more.

In the beginning of her coaching career, Steph got started by teaching Paleo. In her own life, this was actually a helpful stepping stone away from calorie counting. Eventually, however, she realized that she was still in the dieting mindset, and found herself learning more about intuitive eating! If you've done Whole 30 or Keto, you might have had (or currently are having) a similar experience! Now, Steph is fully invested in intuitive eating and personal food freedom, and those are core components of her coaching work!

Looking back, Steph remembers being teased at school for being a chubby kid. She always had a bigger body than her classmates, and she also entered puberty really early. (At age 10, she got her period.) After experiencing a ton of sickness that was keeping her out of school and making her miserable, her mom took her to the doctor. The report? She was "fine" and would grow out of it.

Being told that what she was experiencing "wasn't that bad" was really hard, and set the stage for Steph to distrust her body and its signals. After all, when she had thought that something was really wrong and been really sick, an authority figure was telling her that there wasn't actually a problem. Those sorts of

The Dieting Trap

Steph spiraled into a dieting trap, doing all the plans and calorie counting. She had a pervasive sense that something was wrong with her body, and constantly felt she needed to be thinner or smaller.

Eventually she got into endurance sports. They served as the perfect way to hide the level of intense exercise she was undertaking, in addition to the reality that she wasn't eating enough to fuel her body.

In her mind, Steph had a number that was going to change everything. She believed that when she weighed "that number", things were going to be different. One day she stepped on the scale and saw her magic number…and nothing changed. All that pressure and work, and in the end decreasing her body size didn't change her life or her problems.

With her marriage on the rocks and her body exhausted, she knew she needed to do something different. Enter, Paleo.

At first, Paleo was amazing. (And at the time, it was a stepping stone that helped her ease back from the intense calorie counting and low fat fixations she was used to.) Years later, however, Steph started to realize that a lot of her disordered eating, built on years of dieting, came into Paleo with her. Although she was feeling better and experiencing more energy, as well as focusing on enjoying physical activity rather than weighing a certain number, there was still a dieting mindset that impacted her life and way of being.

From Paleo to Intuitive Eating

When her passion took her into the field of nutrition, Steph discovered bio-diversity. This opened the gates to becoming an intuitive eater, and resulted in becoming a trained intuitive eating coach.

She was finally able to release her restrictions and hang ups around food like bread, which she hand't allowed herself for so long.

Moving into intuitive eating also helped her start to deal with other aspects of her life that weren't serving her. Judging herself all of the time for not being "perfect" or "enough" was a thread that ran through Steph's whole life. She found she had to do a lot of inner work and exploration to really start to sort through all of those ways of thinking.

Intuitive eating encouraged her to be kinder to her body, and also to her whole self. Learning that she could listen to herself, and trust herself, was life changing. She also realized that her own internal judgmental narrative was something that was fueled by a dieting mentality, and that the way we eat can exacerbate other things about ourselves.

Now, she sees that food is only one small slice of the equation when we are considering someone's allover health and wellbeing.

Outside the Paleo Guidelines

We all have a personal framework we've developed for understanding food and our relationship to it. The food we eat might be about our budget, our regional location, our lifestyle, our family, and our religions.

Want to move from Paleo to intuitive eating? (Or from any other diet or plan.) You don't have to throw everything out the window to become an intuitive eater! Instead, Steph encourages you to think about: what happens when you break your own rules?

For instance, if you currently follow the Paleo way of eating, what happens if you "slip up"? If you were to eat differently for a meal, or a day, or a week, would you go into a negative emotional space? Do you go into a spiral of blame and shame if you slip up, or "fall off the wagon"?

Leaning into the way you would react if you were to NOT follow a way of eating can help you understand what sort of emotion connection (and baggage) might be attached to that way of eating. So if you happen to enjoy eating Paleo or Keto-styled meals, great! But be honest with yourself if guilt and shame are playing a part in that choice.

When we berate ourselves for "failing", or try to restrict even more to "fix" a mistake, that's a sign that you're in an unhealthy dieting mindset.

Our Bodies Can Be Trusted

If you've used a calorie counting app, you know you put in your details, and the app tells you many calories you get to eat. That might mean you eat more than feels comfortable, or it might mean you're so hungry at the end of the day that you would eat a shoe! (I remember using dieting apps and eating extra calories just because they were "available"….even when I wasn't even hungry!)

If you're used to following plans or using dieting to tell you what you get to eat (or not eat), your basically learning to tune out your body so you can follow a plan. That's often signals a problem in your mindset!

When we rely too heavily on external rules, we can lose the ability to listen to ourselves and our bodies. Intuitive eating is a reminder that our bodies can be trusted. They do tell us what we need, and we can listen to what they're telling us.

Steph shares that learning to listen to her body was a process, and she had to make peace with some of her old ways of thinking. For her, that included moving from Paleo to intuitive eating one step at a time. She opened up to learning more about her body and its needs, and she learned to balance that with the physical activities that mattered to her.

To hear more about how Steph stepped away from overanalyzing eating choices, stopped making food "moral", and began to enjoy food with her family again, listen in to the full episode!

Kaitlyn Lyons is the owner of Delightful Movement Coaching, and she helps work-accomplished women attend to the non-work areas of their lives. If you've needed some extra joy in your life, this is for you! Kaitlyn helps women create more fun, enjoyment, and wellbeing…things that we sometimes lose in our daily lives. Prioritizing play is a powerful way to get back in touch with the things that truly matter.

Powered By Play

As an executive wellbeing coach, Kaitlyn helps work-focused women figure out what lights them up. This leads to greater enjoyment of life! Kaitlyn's 6 week group coaching program, Powered By Play, is a chance to get re-energized and bring FUN back into your life!

3 years ago, she was sitting in a cubicle as a project manager. Her job was highly visible, and she was working crazy hours to keep up with all of the challenges. Eventually, she burned out. She was waking up filled with dread, and going through the motions.

Instead of being the zesty, joyful person she remembered herself being….she just felt tired. At rock bottom, play seemed like an enemy. Kaitlyn had built a successful career of working hard and depriving herself of play and fun. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?! By chance, she happened to stumble across a TED Talk on play that opened her eyes to the reality that there was real science out there supporting the idea that we NEED fun in our lives.

This resulted in a 180 pivot. Kaitlyn started looking for how to create engagement and joy in her life. Despite holding the intention for fun….she couldn't make it happen. Fun turned out to be…..a failure!

Prioritizing Play for 30 Days

After more research and more studying, she settled on a 30 day play plan she created herself. For 30 straight days, she committed to PLAYING, and she did! Ultimately, it changed her life.

I shared that, as adults, I think it's so easy to get sucked into following the rules and doing what we think we have to do to be successful. If you're not having fun or enjoying yourself, however, I have to wonder what the point is! Kaitlyn noted that one of her early "AHA" moments was that she saw play as a vacation thing. What she found instead is that play and joy and fun are possible every single day. We don't have to wait until retirement!

Many high achieving people think of play as diversion. Instead, however, it's a pathway. The people who take a pause for fun are the people who have long term energy for their passion. The more we take care of ourselves and enjoy our lives, the more likely we are to be successful!

Prioritizing play is a way of prioritizing self-care. And self-care is always good for us!

When Kaitlyn mentioned saving play for special occasions, like vacation, I thought of my clients! So often, we save the "good" food, like chocolate cake, for special occasions. We think we have to wait for holidays and birthdays and vacations to enjoy eating things we love….when in reality, we can eat fun foods we enjoy every single day! We don't need to wait till some later fantasy time.

Before We Get to the Fun Stuff…

First, we have to check in with ourselves and find out what might be getting in the way of living with joy!

Culturally, we're used to running ourselves into the ground and NOT taking care of ourselves, especially when the form of care is playing. There isn't much messaging out there that supports our desire (and need) for play, so we might run into some internal blocks when we give it a go.

It's important that we recognize the need to pause and identify what sort of internal beliefs we might have about play so we can really let ourselves enjoy it.

Another problem: Cinderalla Syndrome. We say we "can't" play till all of our work is done. Kaitlyn says no! We have permission to pause, to take a play break, and to come back to our to do lists after we've taken a break. Because in reality….if you can't stop till all the work is done and there is nothing left to do….you're never going to stop. It will never all be done!

(Listen in to the full episode to hear a story about how this played out for my brother and I as kids!)

Don't Deprive Yourself Of Play

If you've been a dieter, you know how easy it can be to get into deprivation mode. That attitude can translate beyond our food journeys and into our lives! Fun and play have to get prioritized if you want to live a full, abundant life!

Kaitlyn notes that giving ourselves NEW beliefs about play can help with this deprivation mindset.

+ Play fuels my best work.

+ The more fun I have, the better work I do.

+ Play doesn't have to be long. (Take 10 minutes! Some of the most enjoyable things in our lives take 10-15 minutes.)

Sometimes we hold back because we think we need to be productive, and we don't want to "waste" our time. Play, however, is a brilliant paradox. When we engage in play, we create so many positive things in our lives that fuel our ability to live the lives we desire.

When we play, we lose our sense of ego and self-consciousness. We often get into flow states, and there aren't specific outcomes attached to it. And when we get into this state….our productivity in the rest of our lives can sky rocket! Why? Well, play allows our active brains to rest, and it also lights up the part of our brains that are creative and resilient.

In childhood, we pretty much rest and play, rest and play. There is no deprivation! Kaitlyn encourages you to think back to your early life; what did that young version of you LOVE? Where did she spend her time? What did she enjoy doing? Those are great ways to reactivate playfulness and fun!

And remember: If you want to stop depriving yourself, you have to get devoted to your own delight.

Fun & Enjoyment As An Adult

Kaitlyn remembers roaming free outside a lot as a kid, and she knows that sort of play really impacted her adult play styles. She loves to get outside and move freely!

Another childhood delight, writing, is something that she connects to playfulness and joy as well. As an adult, Kaitlyn uses these early memories of things that brought her joy and delight to tap back into a sense of wonder and delight when she plays now.

Practically speaking, it can be hard for adults to add play to their day when they're first getting started. Kaitlin recommends looking at is a sort of ongoing project. The goal isn't to figure it out in an hour; give yourself time to experiment and try things out.

Make a list of things that sound fun, and keep a "fun journal". Record the things you do for fun and rate them on a scale of 1-10. Be a scientist of your own play. What's working? What's not? There's no failures, just self-learning.

If you have just 10 minutes, be creative and see how you can fill that time. Kaitlyn shares that she knows how to juggle, and she keeps a set of juggling balls at her desk. She can juggle for 3 minutes, have lots of fun, and tap into a different part of her brain.

Coloring, doodling, dancing, taking creative photos, watching a hilarious video and laughing out loud, walking barefoot in the grass, climbing a tree, rolling down a hill, doing a magic trick, setting a puzzle….

There is no limit to what constitutes PLAY and what you might find delightful. Kaitlyn calls these play snacks, and encourages you to work them into your life in small increments throughout your day!

We're Seeking Engagement

So often we find ourselves in the kitchen when we're really seeking the feeling of being present and alive. What if sometimes you aren't physically hungry, but instead you're soul is hungry for FUN and play?

What are some ways you can feed your soul when that's what you need?

Kaitlyn shared she's been inviting people into "fun" dates recently. They might talk, but the goal is to play and have fun! That might mean playing a virtual game, coloring, or painting together. Inject newness and novelty into your lives and relationships as PLAY.

Breaking molds and shaking things up a bit can bring so much light and positive energy into your day. This is especially key now, as we continue to whether Covid (and smoke issues, here on the west coast)! Finding ways to have fun throughout the pandemic can help you maintain your mental health and stay positive.

Kaitlyn also notes that this is the perfect time to go inward and really connect with yourself and your own desires. Ask yourself what's fun for you, and be open to creative options that you can do alone, especially if that's not your norm. Learning how to have fun alone and play by yourself can be really life-giving. Give it a try and see what you can learn about yourself!

Today's guest, Marcella Friel, brings us the wonderful world of tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT). Marcella is a food and forgiveness mentor for health conscious women, and one of her specialities is using tapping to heal. In this episode, Marcella does a round of tapping with me that you can follow along with if you'd like to give it a try!

Tapping can be so helpful! Personally, I've been using an app called The Tapping Solution recently, and it's been a really excellent way to wind down and connect with myself.

In the upcoming months you'll be hearing from LOTS of guests, as I'll be taking a bit of a maternity leave. There will still be a new episode every Thursday, just fewer solo-casts until after the baby is born.

Food & Forgiveness Mentor

Marcella considers herself a food and forgiveness mentor for health conscious women. Her main tool? Tapping! This is also sometimes referred to as EFT or the Emotional Freedom Techniques. She has a book, two bestselling courses on The Daily Om, and an online mentorship academy all centered around healing our relationships with our bodies, food, and emotions.

Marcella shares that she grew up with an immigrant background, and never remember dieting as a young woman. The older women in her family didn't read fashion magazines or take part in "diet culture", so she didn't have much awareness or interest in that area.

Later, Marcella attended culinary school and continued to grow her interest in the healing properties of food. As she continued learning, she decided to combine tapping with her therapeutic food work. As she started hearing her client's stories, she recognized the power of using food to cope with emotional pain and trauma.

Even though she hadn't experienced dieting, Marcella had dealt with her own trauma and pain. Now, she's that food and dieting are not the answer to emotional pain and healing.

Tapping to Heal

I shared with Marcella that I found tapping after I had already healed my relationships with food. Even though it wasn't part of my early intuitive eating journey, I definitely see how it could play a powerful, helpful role!

She shares that the idea of emotional freedom found in tapping isn't about freeing ourselves from all negative feeling. Instead, it's about keeping emotions from becoming trapped inside. Too often, we hold onto heavy negative emotions, rather than allowing them to leave our bodies. This impacts the limbic system within our brains. Practicing EFT allows us to use tapping to release them.

As we call forward a difficult or stressful experience or feeling, we use our fingertips to tap against our skin, often on the head and face area. The tapping is used to down regulate our limbic system, and allows us to release.

Marcella shares that she used tapping to release shame and negativity around comments her sister had made about her body as a child. Even though they may have seemed like silly, childish things, some of those comments had stuck! EFT helped her release them, as well as the body shame she had held as a result.

Who Do You Think You Are?

When she started her career, Marcella kept feeling doubt around her ability. The words, "Who do you think you are?" kept ringing through her head.

Marcella worked with a tapping practitioner to revisit early memories that had created the belief that she had to be alone to ever succeed. With tapping, she was able to choose a new belief that was empowering and positive. By engaging in the emotional healing process herself, she was better equipped to work with others who desired the same freedom.

Another way to use tapping? To deal with the present! Recently, Marcella realized that the fires and environmental tragedy on the west coast had really been impacting her. Recognizing the amount of grief and pain she held, she used tapping to access and release it.

Tapping is part of soul healing. It's a chance to really transform at the deepest levels, and it is a powerful way to work through body shame, emotional eating (allowing yourself to feel instead of consume!), and disconnection with self.

If you're thinking your problem is "sugar addiction"….think again! As you resolve the emotional issues, you'll find your own, organic relationship with any food or substance that has felt problematic in your life

Archetypes of Feminine Power

Marcella shares that, with her clients, she uses the seasons to work with various female archetypes. This includes the Maiden, Mother, Queen, and Crone, and can encompass many ways of feeling and being. Throughout this rich cycle, client work includes tapping, reflection, wholistic nutrition, Ayurveda work, and more.

I love holistic approaches, because they show how many elements are included in our relationship with food! From relationships with power, to how we were mothered….food begins to connect to so many things in our lives. Tapping to heal is powerful because it allows you to enter into this relationship in a new way, and finally release things that have been pain points.

Marcella notes that this is one more reason why dieting just doesn't work. When you don't deal with the emotional elements of food, restriction and binging won't serve you in the long run. Instead, you hold things together as long as you can, and then everything falls apart. This is painful, and creates more shame and guilt, which usually kicks off another dieting cycle.

A Tapping Demonstration

Let's try it out! We're going to be using the phrase "I don't like the way my body looks." as a starting point. You can be even more specific if you have a body part you're specifically struggling with.

For tapping to heal, here is a basic framework to get set up:

1. Identify the issue you want to tap on.
2. Ask yourself what emotions come up around that issue: shame, disgust, overwhelm, panic, etc.
3. Gauge how distressed you feel about the thought/issue, using a 1-10 scale.
4. Create your set up statement by tapping the fleshy, outer part of one hand with the fingers of your other hand.
5. Move through the rest of the tapping points with a variety of statements and questions.

In our session, the statement we used to start with was:

Even though I feel __________ when I __________ I deeply love and accept myself anyways.

If you listen in, you'll hear how we move through different tapping locations and statements in our session. Tapping can feel really strange, because you use a lot of seemingly negative statements. However, speaking true things out loud (even if they are hard) while engaging in tapping can be a powerful form of release and freedom!

Honor & Acknowledge

Once you've honored and acknowledged a possible hard truth….you can start to question it. What if that "terrible" idea really isn't true at all? And what if you can actually choose a new belief?

Starting with a hard truth that feels really, really REAL and true is powerful, especially if you've gotten used to the overly positive self-help world that seems to always be pushing us towards positivity. The relief of feeling hard things, and even saying hard things out loud, is incredible.

If you haven't tried tapping before, you might find it a useful healing modality! (And if you don't connect with it, that's okay too!)

And if you do give it a try….I'd LOVE to hear about it. Send me an email or a DM and let me know how it goes!

Christina Montalvo is the founder of The Confidence Project. She's a personal trainer and intuitive eating coach, with a course called Diet Culture Drop Out. Today, we focused on counting macros. Christina has a really interesting story about getting started in the wellness space, and how dramatically her approach has changed since those early days! To learn why you shouldn't be counting macros, listen in today! (Plus, a few notes on why using your phone to tell you when to cook, workout, or go to sleep isn't the greatest idea.)

Reminder: You have two days left to leave a review of the podcast and get FREE access to my holiday workshop! This is a fun giveaway in honor of my 100th episode, and I'd be honored if you took part! Just leave your review and send me your screenshot. In November, I'll send you your access to the workshop and feel amazing throughout the holidays!

Anti-Diet Strength and Conditioning

Christina started as fat loss coach! Since then, she's realized her entire education was steeped on intentional weight loss. Being a personal trainer meant helping people lose fat….it just came with the territory. However, since then she's pivoted. Now, she owns an all-women's strength and conditioning gym outside of Chicago, where she's an anti-diet strength and conditioning coach.

Her first memory of her body being a "problem" was when she was 10 years old. That's when she started dieting, which launched her disordered relationship to eating and food. It was never considered disordered by others however; instead, it was applauded as what she "should" do to maintain her lifestyle and weight. During these time, she tried pretty much every diet under the sun. When she found counting macros, she thought she had found "food freedom", because she could eat anything she wanted.

Christina noted there was nothing and no one to point out how disordered and unhealthy all of this was. It wasn't until she was an adult that she was able to identify the fear-based, confirmation biased-based information that the diet (and nutrition) industry so often spread.

Freedom in Counting Macros?

During her honeymoon phase with counting macros, Christina thought she was living the dream of food freedom. However, that all came to a head as she realized it didn't provide the freedom from diet culture that she had hoped for.

The macro nutrient component to a food can be found in everything we eat. These are carbs, proteins, and fat. When you do macro-counting, you create a caloric deficit and then create a plan when you're "allowed" a certain number of macros for each of the big three categories. Some people add fiber counting as well.

If you're into macro counting, you're usually attached to a tracking app AND measuring and weighing everything. Serving sizes, number of ounces, and ratios of macros become all consuming!

In Christina's personal and professional experience, macro counting is limiting and based on control and restriction. You may be "allowed" to eat pizza….but as a result, you can't eat almost anything else for the day (or are restricted to very few items).

Macro Counting Wasn't Worth It

Christina would work hard in the gym, often doing two-a-days, and religiously track her macros. Eventually, she realized that for the amount of time and energy she was expending….the results weren't that phenomenal.

The celebration of losing .5 pounds, or of making incremental changes to her body, started to no longer make sense. As a result, she started thinking more deeply about her relationship with food and exercise. She started making changes in her own life and habit first. (At the time, she was teaching macro counting to clients as well!)

She would find that when her clients would participate in healthy activities, nothing mattered to them if the scale didn't change. Even when they were doing things that should feel really good in and of themselves….they weren't enough when the focus was on losing weight.

Christina also noted that professionals in the field, as well as clients, weren't prioritizing or celebrating behaviors that felt good AND that were good (like getting sleep, enjoying moving your body, and living a life you can enjoy), unless they could directly attach them to losing weight.

Tempted By Counting Macros?

Christina notes that there is something to be said about relying on technology, like macro counting apps, to tell you what to feed your body. A previous client of Christina's, who was macro counting at the time, broke her phone. She immediately spiraled, because she couldn't make eating decisions without seeing the "green bar" or knowing how she was "supposed" to eat, based on her app.

The idea that we need outside intervention and technology to tell us what food to eat is ridiculous. Humans are born knowing how to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom. We know how to read our bodies and understand what we need.

Rather than relying on external voices (diet industry! apps!) to tell us about our own bodies….what if we tried listening to our bodies instead? I loved that Christina talked about this, because it is so important! A few weeks ago I talked about my own relationship with my phone. I think we can all learn a lot about how technology interacts with our bodies, and how we sometimes use it to override our own biological cues.

Another issue? When you're counting macros, sometimes you're really hungry…and sometimes you're "force feeding" yourself plain chicken breast in order to meet the requirements of your macro plan. Rather than listening to your actual body and the needs she is communicating….you end up relying on "rules", restrictions, and often an app to tell you what you MUST consume.

So many of us are SO attached to our screens: TV, smart phones, tablets, and more! If that's you….be sure to listen in to this full episode!

Tracking It All!

Christina and I also discussed the current fad with tracking everything on smart watches. For instance, so many people track their daily step counts, and often 10,000 steps is the "goal". As Christina notes, that step number is arbitrary. It doesn't mean anything, and it isn't special or accurate.

However, many of us like to have yes/no, or right/wrong rules to follow. We like to think that when we hit a step number, burn a certain number of calories, or complete a certain sequence of events, we've done everything right! And we love being right, and feeling we've been doing the right thing…even if it isn't ultimately serving us.

Too often, people attach morality to fitness trackers. (Christina has a whole podcast episode on this HERE!) We think of ourselves as being "better" people when we do everything our trackers say we should be doing. However, the also means being unattached to our own volition. We end up stripped of our own power, following rules instead of listening to our bodies and following our own intuition.

When you have a chance, remember to leave a 5 Star Review over on Apple so you can get FREE access to the holiday workshop!

Today's guest, Judith Gaton, is a style coach for curvy women. She's also huge proponent of fashion for every body! Judith helps women love and dress the body they are actually in, instead of the body they think they want. We talk about our culture's obsession with "smoothness", and how to be confident in the whatever size we happen to be! This is a GREAT episode, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

There's ONE week left to rate & review the podcast on Apple and get access to the Food Freedom & Holiday Workshop (a $47 value!). If you want to enjoy the holidays this year while also feeling really good in your body, this is a super easy way to make it happen! Just send a screenshot of your 5 star review to [email protected].

Does Your Mindset Fit Your Outfit?

As a style coach, Judith coaches women to both love and DRESS the body they are in right now. No dieting or Spanx required! (Fashion is for every body, right?) According to Judith, you can feel good in your clothes right now. No change needed. Part of that comes from finding the clothes that fit right, and part of it comes from adjusting your mindset! Janky thoughts and a cute outfit just don't go together, so Judith helps you address BOTH sides of the equation!

After losing 60 pounds, Judith realized the shitty thoughts she had about herself hadn't gone away. Instead of a magical year with ALL the wins (which she thought was going to happen when she lost weight), she found that she was still struggling with the same problems. She still had the same mindset, and weight change hadn't fixed that!

Getting her own mind and body on the same page was the journey that led Judith to realize she could love herself at any size and in any moment. As she gained her weight back (and realized it was completely possible to love herself and dress well), she also found that a lot of women who had lost and regained weight were not coming to the same conclusion she was. Rather than feeling more free and accepting, they felt shame and frustration.

That difference in her journey (as compared against many other women's experiences) led Judith into her current career!

Fashion Industry Shapes

The fashion industry loves it fruits! Pear shape…apple shape…we've all heard the shapes.

Judith got sick of the way we are constantly being asked to categorize our bodies. (Or having them categorized for us!) According to Judith, it's BS!! When we're constantly taking in information about the shape we supposedly are, we also get a bunch of rules about what those shapes are allowed to wear.

We use the body shape tools against ourselves to impose regulations. We also end our categorizing ourselves in unkind ways….which is never great! Judith notes that information that we just use as information can be great. Once we stop using information as a tool and start using it as rules, however….things start going wrong.

These rules start to take all the fun out of getting dressed….and that's something that should always be fun!

Another way to consider this information is to ask if it's useful. If it's helping you have more fun and live your best life, great! If it's creating shame and making you feel bad about yourself, then it can go! There's no need to hang on to rules that don't serve you.

How Does This Make You Feel?

Judith had a client whose previous stylist had told her that her body and coloring was perfect for a classic style. Her secret? She HATED that style.

But she didn't tell the stylist, because it seemed like such an important "rule" based on factors about her body, shape, and coloring.

Judith helped her see that any style choice that made her feel unhappy about her clothes or body wasn't for her!

Does it fit your body? Your personal style? (Which is ever evolving as you grow and change!) Your lifestyle? Does it make you happy? Do you feel good in it?

There are so many questions that are more important than whatever "rules" may exist in the fashion world!

Judith also notes that there are so many ways to be fashionable. Fit on your body, as well as your lifestyle and your need for comfort, are all possible considerations.

Fashion For Every Body

You can buy clothes for the body you have…even if it's not the body you expected or wanted. This means wearing clothes that actually fit, instead of giving in to the temptation to force into the clothes that you "want" to fit! Judith encourages her clients to clean out their closets of all the things that don't fit properly. In her opinion, these old clothes that are too small are like little piles of shame!

Judith recommends that you get rid of them (or at least move them out of your sight!).

It is 100% worth loving your body right now, as it is. That includes comfortable clothing. You deserve to have bras and underwear that feel good, and are made for your size! When you insist on wearing things that are too small and tight, you're holding your body hostage to an old ideal that doesn't feel good. (You also might be interested in this episode on grieving your dream body.)

Your Body Is How it Should Be

Whether you're dealing with weight gain and or weight loss, Judith encourages clients to think of their bodies as being exactly the way they are supposed to be. Weight changes are not "right" or "wrong".

It's so freeing to look at your body and believe that it is exactly the way it should be! It releases you from all the shoulds, and allows you to appreciate it just as it is. No change needed. (That means you can dress it just the way it is also!)

One way to keep up to date on the fit of your clothing is to set a timeframe (like every 2 weeks, or each month) and try on all your clothes. Get rid of what doesn't fit, or is worn down and needs to go! (Looking at you, ratty underwear!)

If you use this timeframe-based plan you can slowly replace clothing a few pieces as a time, rather than waiting until a majority of things are uncomfortable or worn through and needing to replace all of them at once. Slowly but surely, you'll be able to build a wardrobe that fits your life.

Dressing a Postpartum Body

Judith recommends new underwear for sure! Things are shifting and moving, and it's an act of self-care to make sure you're adjusting too.

Another option is to consider buying or renting maternity clothing in smaller size. These clothes tend to be comfortable and work well as you're adjusting to a changing body that's still going through lots of shifts!

Give yourself time to find your "new" center. Your body has done so much, and you can honor it by being open to dressing it in new ways that suit it. Above all, have fun with it! Dressing should be fun, and fashion can be enjoyable for every body!

(And remember: elastic has a shelf life! If you're maternity pants aren't working any more….it might be time for them to go!)

To Spanx, or Not to Spanx??

Around minute 23 Judith and I go deep on….

SPANX!!!

If you've tried using Spanx to fix your body image problems…or if you've ever worn them and wondered if it's "bad" to do so….or if you LOVE your Spanx and feel like a queen when you put it on…you need to listen in to this episode! Remember that fashion is for every body, and you don't "need" Spanx for that to be true for you!

(Biggest take away? TALK to yourself! Be real. Be open. See what you learn.)

Elaine Williams (Coach Elaine) is the creator and emissary of the V.I.B.E Method. She helps women align their health and fitness goals with their soul purpose. Today, we talked a lot about the weight of our thoughts. Once you start you're intuitive eating journey….you start to feel lighter. Elaine helps us understand the WHY behind that powerful thought transformation!

Reminder: you can get FREE access to my holiday workshop when you leave a review of the podcast! Just create your review and email me a screenshot, and I'll get you access. (You can DM me the screenshot if you'd prefer too!)

A Journey Towards Wholeness

Elaine started out early in life as an athlete. She quickly related food to being able to keep up with sports. That included carb loading and "free" patterns of eating whatever she wanted. Eventually she suffered an injury….and found that she kept eating as if she was really active, even when she wasn't.

Basically, Elaine's eating patterns didn't catch up to her injury. This started her on the journey of embracing harmony, as she was determined to find what a harmonious relationship with food, body, and energy could mean. As she grew older, this interest led Elaine into her current career. Now, she loves to help women find a more purposeful relationship with food and with their bodies.

Something that stands out as a pivotal moment in her journey is the college basketball injury that redirected her life. Until then, Elaine had planned on being a professional basketball player. Her back and neck injury caused her to finally ask this question, however: What can I live for that I love? Answering this question changed her whole trajectory.

A Healing Journey

During her 10+ year healing journey, layer after layer was revealed. Elaine found herself trying physical and mental healing opportunities. She chose to be curious, and to dabble in anything that presented itself.

Needing to go deeper still, Elaine found herself working on emotional healing. This is what began to feel transformative. Emotional and spiritual healing intertwined to create a magical experience. Having passed through so many layers to reach healing, she feels this can best be described as a sort of alchemy that was achieved after she surrendered her own agenda and control.

Whether you think of this as spirit, God, alchemy, the universe, or anything else….Elaine found healing that works! She notes that timing is essential, as you must be able to meet each layer with presence. You can't bypass any part of the journey, and you miss the essential gifts along the way that enable you to embody what you learn.

Bringing Food Into the Picture

At first, Elaine had no idea that she had an unhealthy relationship with food. That discovery came after a hard breakup, after which Elaine found herself controlling her food as a means of controlling "something" in her life.

She realized that she was engaging in a domination-based relationship with food, as result of needing to feel in control of something in her life. Because everything else felt like it was falling apart, food felt like something she could do something about. Now, Elaine would ask someone in that position to ask themselves: When will that shift? How long do you have to be in that dynamic with food before you realize it's not working and make the choice to start changing.

In her own journey, Elaine doesn't remember exactly how long it took her to notice and change this issue. She speculates it might have been around 10 years! Something she noticed was that, in addition to beginning to control her food, she started becoming secretive. It's as if she was going inward to hide what she was doing, and to withhold the truth to others.

"I Need Help"

Recognizing the power of the impulse and obsession of food control caused Elaine to seek help. She knew that she was the one who had initiated this imbalanced food relationship, and she knew she create change.

One thing she noticed coming up a lot was the need to "re-choose" the kind of relationship she wanted with food. When she was tempted to pull back or return to old, control-based habits….she had to consciously choose to reengage with the choices and lifestyle she desired.

Finally, the obsession and control-based eating ended. Elaine encourages you to not give up if you find yourself struggling. Simply notice, and choose to reengage with your healing.

And noticing and reengaging could take a few hours…..a few weeks…a few months. There is no "wrong" time to notice, and it's never to late to reengage! Like Simi Botic shared with us, "It's not failure, it's feedback." If you take time to listen to the feedback you're getting from your body, then you can always create change. There is always something to work with.

The Weight of Thoughts

We usually aren't taught about the weight of thoughts in school, or from our families. But the reality is, our thoughts can truly weigh us down. They carry a weight, an energy, and they absolutely do impact our lives!

Most of us have about 60,000-70,000 thoughts per day. On average, 70-80% of those thoughts could be thought of as having a denser "weight". If a large majority of our thoughts have that heavy, energetic weight….of course we feel them! And if you can start releasing those thoughts, we can literally start to feel energetically lighter.

Engaging in higher frequency thoughts activate lightness, and allow us to feel lighter! The weight of thoughts can drag us down…but also create buoyancy and joy within as well. Once way to start decreasing the heavy weight of thoughts is to start considering the narratives we are carrying. All too often we have thoughts from our parents, families, religions, societies, and other in our minds and bodies. But no matter where those thoughts came from, we can take the initiative to release them and free ourselves from the weight.

Once clients have talked about their thoughts and beliefs, Elaine brings in the V.I.B.E. Method. This starts with visioning, which involves grounding into an awareness of what has happened in the past while also envisioning their empowered, higher self. This vision of both the past and the future enables them to identify patterns and make aligned choices to move forward.

There is a lot of healing involved here, including from past trauma. The more we allow ourselves to see, however, the more we can heal, release, and move forward with courage.

Today I'm sharing a few quick life updates on me and the pregnancy! I'm also going to share how intuitive eating and pregnancy actually have a surprising number of similiarites!

Psstt! Have you listened to the 100th episode? ALL of the past guests shared their incredible self-care tips. Take a listen, and try the practices that resonate with you! And remember – when you leave a review and send me a screen shot, you WIN!

Pregnancy Updates

If you'd like to hear more details about my first trimester of pregnancy and intuitive eating, you can listen in to THIS previous episode. In trimester two my nausea calmed way down – woohoo! Not too long later, however, the heartburn kicked in. That's not something I normally deal with, so it's very noticeable in my body!

I've definitely thrown up a lot more in this pregnancy than the last one. I also feel like I'm SO much bigger than I was at this point in my last pregnancy. That might partially be from this being my second pregnancy, and partially because last time around I was still teaching yoga at this point. I can NOT imagine doing that this time!

Recently I've also noticed an increase in hip pain. That's normal, from what I hear, but it's definitely not super fun. This time around, I've also been getting weekly progesterone shots. Since Cooper came early, we're trying to get closer to full term with this one! (Although when I imagine getting bigger still, I'm not sure how it's going to happen!)

Similarities Between Intuitive Eating and Pregnancy Trimester One Similarities: Intuitive Eating and Pregnancy

In your first trimester of pregnancy, you often end up eating a lot of carbs. You might be averse to veggies, or might be trying to ward off nausea. Either way, it's usually different than your normal eating patterns!

Similarly, when you start intuitive eating, you're suddenly free to eat anything. And lots of time, women find that they are drawn to carbs that they've previously restricted! The early stages of intuitive eating tend to feel really different than any way you've eaten before, and that might include an aversion to veggies and a bit of carb loading. And that is completely fine!

Trimester one often holds some body image stuff as well. You don't usually quite look pregnant yet…but you're pants start to not fit well, and you don't feel like yourself. When you start with intuitive eating, this can happen too! You might feel a little bloated, your pants might feel strange, and you're in a strange limbo.

Trimester Two Similarities: Intuitive Eating and Pregnancy

Often in trimester two your body starts to crave more diversity again. You can eat more veggies, and you might even find yourself craving a salad. Even though there are still a ton of changes happening, you feel a little more at home in your body.

The second stage of intuitive eating is often like this too! You'll find yourself working in more colorful fruits and vegetables, not because you "have" to but because you actually want them. You're body has started relaxing around foods you've previously restricted. You're learning and growing a lot, but you're starting to settle in and feel a bit more comfortable and confident.

Hunger/fullness becomes more important during this phase of intuitive eating as well. You'll start to play with what satiates you, what feels right at different times of the day and for different activity levels, and what works for your body.

Similarly, during your second trimester of pregnancy hunger/fullness are important. Physically, the baby is pressing against your stomach. You might find that you need to eat smaller meals, or do more snacking during the day. Even if that isn't your "norm", you may find that you need to adapt in order to do what's right for your body.

Recently I realized that when I order my usual order at our favorite sandwich shop, I was feeling STUFFED when I ate the whole thing. I used to always eat my whole order! I realized that things have changed with the pregnancy…and that I should adapt as well. Last time we went I ordered a half order, and it was perfect.

During your intuitive eating process, you don't have a baby pressing into your stomach that reminds you to evaluate your fullness levels! You may need to tap into your body a little more intentionally, and really check in.

Trimester Three Similarities: Intuitive Eating and Pregnancy

In the next stage of intuitive eating, you get to focus on self care! This typically happens once you've figured out your fullness level and are back to eating the foods that feel right for you. You've also usually invested some time into your body image and self-love.

I'm comparing this to the third trimester of pregnancy. Things are still changing, of course, and it's key that you learn how to holistically care for yourself. The third trimester of pregnancy is all about the self-care! Same with intuitive eating. Long-term, it's about self-care that provides the balance to continue making choices that feel good, rather than simply turning to food.

For me right now (in my pregnancy), that means movement! I find I feel best when I do yoga or some other form of movement. It helps me sleep better, it reduces my aches and pains, and overall makes me feel better! (And it's FUN! I can't stress how important fun is when it comes to movement!)

I've also been doing projects around the house, like preparing the nursery and getting organized before the baby comes. My emotional needs have also been super important to pay attention to. There is so much happening in the world (and state) right now, not to mention in my body! Self-care is a key element of my holistic process.

Self-care also helps me NOT eat my emotions; both as a pregnant women and as an intuitive eater! Finding ways to make myself feel good and care for my full self (body, mind, emotions, relationships, etc) allows me to make choices that leave me stronger, happier, and more rested.

(And if you've recently been pregnant, you might be interested in my postpartum body confidence interview with Brittany Woodard!)

Welcome back! Last week was a self-care smorgasbord with ALL my past guests. What a fun way to celebrate 100 episodes of Quit Dieting for Good. If you missed it, you can find it here (and learn about the PRIZES you can win)! Today, Summer Innanen joins me to talk about body image. She'll share how loving your body doesn't have to apply to only physical appearance. This episode is amazing for all women who could use a fresh perspective on body love!

The Weight Loss Quest

Summer is a professionally trained coach specializing in body image, self-worth, and confidence. Her own body struggles started early, and she experienced decades of chronic dieting with many binge/repeat cycles. She also had a tendency to over-exercise (something Julie Newbry and I dive into on Ep. #87!) on her quest to "lose the weight once and for all".

She honestly thought that is what she was "supposed" be doing. Now, she sees the time, energy, and investment she put into pursuing that goal weren't good for her or her body.

Summer even quit her corporate job to pursue nutrition. She wanted to help other women eat "right" and lose weight as well, since it was something she was obsessed with in her own life. Eventually, however, she realized that she was hurting herself. Gradually she started to learn more about self-acceptance, self-love, and intuitive eating.

When she realized that every single client coming to see her was there because they hated their bodies….she realized she needed to change how she worked with people. Now, Summer specifically focuses on body image with her clients.

Self-Love Misconceptions

Summer's work now has almost nothing to do with food. If her clients are processing in that area she recommends intuitive eating resources, but she focuses her coaching efforts on body image. She's found that our relationship with food naturally changes when we address our body image and self-love.

She notes, however, that loving your body doesn't HAVE to mean loving what you see in the mirror. One of the biggest misconceptions with body image work is that it's all about how you look. And although there is nothing wrong with loving how we look, it's the very surface level of body image work!

Often, we feel the way we feel about our bodies because of various identities we hold, experiences we've had, and messages we've received. It comes down to self-worth, and our beliefs about our own worth. This comes down to inherent self-belief. As Summer notes, this isn't just a matter of learning to find yourself attractive. It's so much deeper than that!

Loving Your Body As It Is

Too often we've been that our worth is dependent upon our desirability. When this is what we believe, of course we want to look in the mirror and think of ourselves as attractive! However, you can find yourself worthy & desirable — without changing anything about your body or appearance. This practice of separating worth from appearance can help relieve some of the stress you might feel about your body.

Summer also noted that many women hear about self-love and loving their bodies and feel overwhelmed and guilty: they take on the mindset of "I should love my body….and now I'm doing that wrong too!" There is so much freedom in letting go of that pressure and allowing yourself to simply BE, without needing to judge or evaluate anything.

Letting go of your own expectation about how you "should" feel about your body can help you take your body love to another level!

Summer's Personal Body Love Journey

Summer shares that her own journey with body-love involved a recognition of how she had desired validation from others. So much of the pressure to look a certain way was about having other people SEE that, and as a result to like her, to be impressed by her, or to think positively about her. This part of her journey involved letting go of people pleasing and the need for validation!

She also had to let go of control and settle into surrender. This required her to release her own expectations and allow what WAS to simply be.

Gradually, she was able to relax into the understanding that she is good enough, just as she is. There is no need to force her body into looking a certain way in order to control the way other people think about her. And she doesn't need to change anything about her body in order to be more deserving of worth, value, and acceptance.

Summer notes that the diet industry often gives us a sense of false hope. When we see a new food program, or start a new diet, we get a little dopamine rush of excitement. We imagine all the ways in which we are going to be better, stronger, thinner (more deserving of love and acceptance)…and it fuels our drive to reenter the dieting cycle. Letting go of that can be hard! In fact, we might even need to give ourselves time to grieve the loss of this magical "dream" body that we've spent a huge part of our lives seeking.

Loving Your Body

When you accept your body for what it is, what do you let go of? Shame, guilt, pressure, stress, body-hatred? All too often diets are disguised in packages of hope and glittering promises…but in reality the don't serve us at all. Loving your body is a choice that can help you accept yourself fully.

Once you've made a bit of body-love progress, it can be really hard to wake up and have a HARD body day. And yet…they still happen! Summer suggests that if (and when) this happens to you, don't catastroph-ize it. Instead, tap into what you're actually feeling. Not thinking! Feeling. (Thinking might be: I hate my hips. Feeling might be: I feel ashamed.) Are you feeling stressed, ashamed, frustrated, anxious? Try sitting with that. Acknowledge that it's there. You could try journaling, or even sharing it with someone that supports you.

She also suggests considering what else in your life might be contributing. For instance, one of Summer's most recent body-shame experiences occurred shortly after her dad unexpectedly passed away. She realized she was completely overwhelmed with grief and sadness, and her body immediately triggered an old coping mechanism: shame over something "wrong" with herself that she needed to fix.

Feeling Your Feelings

It can be easier (in the moment) to pour yourself into body-hatred rather than to fully sit with grief and shame. When you give yourself the opportunity to really just sit with your feelings and let them be, however, you may be able to find that your problem really isn't your body. This is a perfect opportunity for a self-compassionate response. Offer yourself whatever you would offer to a friend or child who was going through this same situation.

Self-compassion can feel strange if it's not something you're used to practicing. Be patient with yourself and be willing to sit with things you might usually repress or push past.

Also – don't forget to care for yourself. Summer notes that often she'll have clients going through a downward spiral, and when she asks them what they've done to care for themselves….the honest truth is NOTHING. No time for self-care! And yet, taking that time to care for yourself, even in a small way, can be a huge step towards bringing things back into balance.

Friends, this is EPISODE #100 of Quit Dieting for Good. Wow! I can't believe there have been so many amazing episodes, guests, and insights. During the two years I've been podcasting I've moved across the world (Switzerland to California), eaten amazing food, met wonderful people, and continue to live through a global pandemic. (Plus, I have a baby on the way!) Through it all I've been able to come here every week and connect with you, and that's been my favorite thing of all. This week, I'm bringing you a self-care celebration!

Spread the Love!

Episode #100 is such a fun milestone, but that's never been my goal. Quit Dieting for Good is about spreading the message that all women can live joyful lives — no dieting required! Food freedom and body confidence have always been important parts of my message. Now more than ever, ALL women need to hear that they can be free from diet culture!

Will you help me share that message (and this self-care celebration!) by taking action? You can leave a review wherever you listen (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podchaser, Player.fm, etc). Once you've done that — I'd LOVE if you would share this episode with your friends & family members!

And here's something super fun! Whoever leaves the FIRST review will get a personalized notebook of your choice from Papier! The next TWO people will get gifted an intuitive eating book (we'll check in with each other first so I can make sure I choose one you don't already have!). And the next FIVE people….you get something too! A Starbucks gift card so you can go get a coffee, tea, pastry or whatever you're craving.

And for everyone else — if you leave a review between now and October 31st, I'll gift you free access to my $47 Holiday Food Freedom Workshop.

In order to make sure I don't miss anyone, here's what you need to do:

1. Screenshot your review!
2. Email the screenshot to [email protected] or send the pic to my Instagram DM's.
3. That's it! PLEASE be sure to send me the screenshot, because I can't see reviews from other countries, and I know I have lots of international listeners. I also don't want anyone to miss out on awesome prizes!

Prioritizing Your Own Self-Care

Long-time listeners know that I ask every guest to share their favorite self-care tips at the end of every interview. Since this is episode #100, I've gathered a LOT of tips! None of them require tons of time and money (as fun as a week at a spa would be, it's not on today's list)! They are meant to be easy, fun, enjoyable things you could try today!

Before we get to the guest's tips, let me share mine:

Choose 2-3 self-care ideas that you can do every single day, and do them! In addition, have a rotation of 5-10 other self-care activities you can practice throughout your week.

First of all, you should have something you can do every single day, just for you, that feels good. It might be something you already do, but pinpointing it as something you do specifically for yourself can feel really good. (And serve as a reminder that you DO take care of yourself.) If you can't think of anything, create a few easy options you can work into your daily life.

I have two things. First, a five minute meditation I do before bed. I enjoy it, and it makes me feel good! I also write in my gratitude journal every night after my meditation.

Have I ever skipped a day? Yep! But when that happens, I don't beat myself up. I just get back to it the next day. I know it makes me feel really good, and I make it a habit to prioritize it, even when life is a little crazy!

Throughout the week, I also like to read fiction books. I add in other kinds of meditation, make tea or get a chai latte, and work on craft projects. I LIKE to do things that make me feel good! In fact, I even make an effort to plan these things into my week. I look for moments and opportunities to practice self-care and create space for myself to BE.

Need ideas? Keep on listening, and be prepared to jot down the ones that resonate!

A Self-Care Celebration Sleeping & Resting

"Sleep is so underrated. It's amazing how people just obsess about food when there are so many other basic health self-care things that are equally if not more important than the food that we're eating."

• Isabel Foxen Duke

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on rest!

Movement, Meditation & Breathing

"I made sure at least 3 days at week I was working out. It was more for mental clarity and to feel like I was doing something to take care of myself."

• Angela Holliday-Bell

"Get into the body, which is the best place to be."

• Isabelle Ysebaert

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on movement, mediation, and breathing!

Daily Intentions & Self-Talk

"So often when we have a negative emotion come up, we're so quick to suppress it or distract ourselves from it and label it as bad. It's not. Feelings are meant to be felt…you can look at it as your body communicating with you. Just sit with it. Let it be, without labeling as good or bad. What you resists persists."

• Chelsea Gross

"Take a step back and ask: What is one little thing I can do for myself today? Communicate to your body: I see you, I hear you, I'm listening."

• Claire Chewning

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on setting intentions and positive self-talk!

Treat Yourself!

"I got myself a new nightime face cream and have been doing it each night, and it's felt so fun and luxurious!"

• Paige Schmidt

"Using essential oils in the shower. Pop some lavendar oil in…steam it up, and it just feels luxe. It's beautiful."

• Susie Garden

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on treating yourself well!

Routines & Rhythms

"I am a believer in the morning routine. This is the rudder for your day."

• Ashley Conway

"It's creating a non-negotiable routine…that supports me in practices that help my wellbeing."

• Michelle Grant

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on setting routines that feel good!

Journaling

"Every night I write the 3 things I am most grateful for. It really helps you change your mindset about things and remember the good things in your life (and your body)!"

• Victoria Welsby

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on journaling!

Social Media Self-Care

"Instagram shows you more of what you already look at….and you can pump the brakes on that and ask, "What do I want to be seeing more of?"

• Kira Onysko

"While you're scrolling your feed, if you have any sort of negative feeling, unfollow that person. We get ot control what we're following and seeing…start filling your feed with accounts that showcase all body sizes."

• Maria Simpson

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on social media self-care!

Making Self-Care Fun

"We need to be able to do feel good things that are easy. And we sometimes need to feel that sense of accomplishment as humans."

• Alyssa Tennant

"Don't feel selfish for taking 10 minutes out of your day to learn something you're interested in."

• Julie Newbry

Listen to the full 100th episode for ALL the amazing tips on making your self-care celebration FUN!

Choose Your Own Self-Care Celebration!

So many amazing ideas! I hope you choose the ones that make you feel excited about self-care (and share this episode so the women you love can do the same)!

Keep on practicing in your own life, and don't forget to send me your screen shot once you've done your review. Not only will you be helping me and this podcast, you'll be helping women around the world learn that dieting is NOT the only option they have!

This week's episode features Lindsey Kane, the Director of Nutrition at Sunbasket. I started getting meal kits for family meals because cooking (and planning, shopping, and putting together meals) just hasn't been that fun lately! Ordering meal kits has been easy, enjoyable, and oh so delicious. AND….once I was on Sunbasket's email list I started getting messages about intuitive eating. How amazing! Since the messages were being written by Lindsey, I knew we had to talk!

*If you decide to try Sunbasket from my link, I get a little bonus (and you get $35 off PLUS 4 free bonus gifts)! But I promise, I'm only recommending them because I've been using and loving the products.

How Lindsey Got Her Start

Lindsey, a registered dietitian based out of San Francisco, shares that Sunbasket is a meal kit delivery company. They have pre-prepped meals, as well as oven-ready options. You can get organic produce, clean ingredients, and delicious recipes delivered weekly!

Growing up, food was a big part of Lindsey's family. She associated it with family and memories. She also loved the independence of packing her own lunches and creating wonderful food. As she went on to study science & anatomy and play various sports, she started getting more interested in nutrition and its role in our lives.

The concept of food as medicine got Lindsey excited to weave her passions together and become a dietitian! However, she realized she didn't want a "traditional" dietary career. In fact, at the end of her schooling she was afraid she might have picked the wrong major. She didn't want to have a reactive role; instead, she wanted to work with prevention!

First stop? A grocery store job that let her interact with customers, provide workshops, and really get engaged with nutrition on the ground level.

I Don't Know That the "Dieting" Method Works….

It didn't take Lindsey long to start feeling that the dieting method wasn't working in real life. Clearly not everything from the classroom was translating into real life success in the real world.

Looking back, this is where she started shifting towards a different message. When she arrived in San Francisco, she joined the start up world and started applying all the feedback she had been getting from her previous work in nutrition. Her experience and new found confidence inspired her to change her messaging and really engage with the intuitive eating world.

Knowing that traditional messages about food, health, and dieting weren't working for people gave Lindsey the drive to share a different message. Part of that included realizing that "health" involved so many more components than just food. Your social, mental, emotional, and physical lives are all part of your overall health.

Meal Planning & Diet Messages

Lots of diets really on strict meal plans that advocate restricting various foods or food groups. Planning your meals does NOT have to be about following a diet, though!

Lindsey acknowledges that meal kits sometimes play into this. In fact, some meal kit companies actually have pretty heavy diet-related messaging. However, you don't need to feed into that!

When you look at meal kits and other meal planning services, you get to make choices based on what appeals to your needs and tastebuds. Lindsey shares that she makes her choices based on what looks good when she chooses. She knows the meals will have a variety of vegetables and proteins, but she doesn't examine all the nutritional details.

She advises you sign up with any "meal plan" you want (Chef's Choice, vegetarian, etc) and, within that, feel free to mix and match to choose the meals that appeal to you. Based on customer ordering habits, Lindsey has seen that many customers are searching key words (like paleo, keto, grain free, etc) to find meal planning services that will work for them. For that reason, Sunbasket does arrange their meal kits within those parameters. However, she is pleased to notice that many customers don't restrict themselves to only those meals.

Fighting Diet Culture

As a practitioner, Lindsey notes that having a safe space to process your own food beliefs is so important. And if you found your way to Sunbasket because they offered a sort of meal plan that you see through the lens of dieting, that's fine! Once you're there, however, she hopes you might expand your understanding of what it means to eat intuitively and to enjoy fresh, exciting meal choices.

Not to be pessimistic, but Lindsey also points out that diet culture isn't going away any time soon. For that reason, she's a believer in developing coping skills and resiliency. Sometimes you have to put your own blinders on!

At the end of the day, ask yourself: Will this food serve me? This question applies to your physical body, your emotional needs, and your overall sense of wellness.

Does Lindsey Use Meal Kits Herself?

When Lindsey first started at Sunbasket, she could see how awesome it was…but she didn't plan to use it. After all, she figured she enjoyed doing her own shopping and cooking. (She didn't "need" help!)

Now, however, she finds herself ordering frequently. She loves making the decision about what to eat at the beginning of the week, and knowing she'll have the ingredients she needs to make fun, creative meals. Sunbasket helps her stay out of a rut of repeatedly making the same basic meals, and helps her continue to feel creative and inspired in the kitchen as she tries new recipes.

In addition to her Sunbasket meals, Lindsey notes that she still likes to frequent her local farmer's market to get extra veggies and other fresh goods.

Satisfy Yourself

Lindsey loves the intuitive eating principle of the "satisfaction factor". At Sunbasket, she works hard to make sure that taste and satisfaction are major priorities.

As people are able to focus on being hands on and creating flavorful meals, she hopes they'll begin to enjoy their food journeys more. Personally, I really appreciate this! I enjoy cooking, and I want to make real food that truly tastes good.

After a whole lot of takeout (that was fun for a while, and then felt really blah), I've really enjoyed coming back to the kitchen and making food again. I've REALLY enjoyed not having to go shopping for ingredients. In addition, ordering meal kits has made the end of this pregnancy so much simpler.

The variety and new flavors, choosing my new recipes each week, and being back in the kitchen has truly satisfied me — and that's something I can get excited about!

If you're getting curious about meal kits, I'd invite you to check out Sunbasket and save $35 on your first order today!