The Art & Science of Eating

The Art & Science Podcast is taking a break!  But don’t worry, you can still reach out to Jessica at [email protected] if you have any questions.  You can also work with her individually. 

Keep working on fighting diet culture!!  Keep finding new ways to love your body and food. 

Hello and welcome back to the Art & Science of Eating podcast! Grab a blanket and find a comfy space to tune into today’s episode with Dr. Kelly Kessler.

Dr. Kessler is a licensed physical therapist and certified Strength and Conditioning specialist in the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). However, her story originally started with shaping her body through her personal workout routine and ultimately developing an eating disorder. In healing and caring for her body, Dr. Kessler’s take on enjoying life pivoted from a focus on weight loss to enjoying what she loved to do the most. 

Get to know more about Dr. Kelly Kessler over on her website, and if you haven’t already come join us over on our Facebook emotional support group the Comfy Spot!

I’ll see you there!

Victoria Evans is an Intuitive Eating coach that uses her experience with disordered eating, to help others find their own food freedom.  In this episode we hear her story of how and why her eating disorder developed and what steps she took to recover.  

You can learn more about her here: https://www.victoriaevansofficial.com/

Victoria’s favourite book recommendation is The Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges. 

Welcome back to the Art & Science of Eating podcast!

It’s a huge step to reach out to a professional for help, because being vulnerable can be scary!  Jessica’s goal with her clients is to create a safe place where people can explore ways to heal from disordered eating, emotional eating and binge eating without shame, without useless “helpful hints”, but understanding you as a human being with needs and a need for unconditional support.

In this week’s question, Jessica answers an interesting question: how does she approach working with her clients? After working as a dietitian and clinical counsellor for 15 years, it's become so natural to collaborate with clients that it feels like the answer to this question is to follow the natural flow. Other points featured in this week’s podcast include:

• How Jessica got into working with others as a dietitian
• The disempowerment that clients feel
• How could we approach clients in a comfortable and secure manner

If you would like to work with Jessica or are searching for a dietitian that does consultations similar to Jessica, feel free to send an inquiry through [email protected], or [email protected]. 

Hello!

One topic that has been frequently discussed for a long time has been the myth of food addiction.  As a note, addiction is a large subject on its own and the current studies are somewhat nebulous on how it could affect our relationship with food.

Despite this, Jessica discusses the question of how to practice eating intuitively if one feels like they have a food addiction.  Jessica references several literature sources on what is addiction (see the transcript), and hypotheses on food addiction’s etiology.  Take with a grain of salt that this episode scratches the surface on the topic of addiction but is tailored from a food lens.

If you haven’t already, hop on into the community Facebook group: The Comfy Spot. You’ll never have to feel alone struggling with food when you have the support of not only the comfiest group, but also the people in it!

Feel free to drop any questions for or ask to be featured on the podcast at [email protected].

In this week’s episode, Jessica receives a question from a member from her Facebook community group, The Comfy Spot, about what is Gentle Nutrition and how that can be applied to someone who has or had actively engaged in dieting behaviours. Furthermore, Jessica speaks on being mindful of ourselves, giving ourselves the time for self care when needed.

Does raincouver ever give off a chilling vibe?  Sort of like how we  can get an uneasy feeling about our bodies from the judgement and shaming of eating.  We don’t need to feel this way if we could regress to a time where we felt self-love and care for our bodies from food, and more of this is talked about in the podcast!

For more, Join us at The Comfy Spot - a Facebook community group filled with lovely people who support those who struggle with binge and emotional eating. Find encouragement from several people and more.

The school year is upon us which raises several questions on the adversities that adolescent students deal with. As a student, these questions pop in and out throughout the school year, and in particular one question that is often on people’s minds is how do I perceive my relationship with food?

In today’s episode, Jessica brings Jen, who is a student counsellor, onto the show to discuss how school-age children perceive their relationship with food in the body.

 Additionally, they also traverse the realms of sexualization seen on social media. Both highlight not only the milestones that sexualization has achieved, but also points out regressive downturns. 

Also, check out the Connected Eating program! This program is intended to get members off diet restrictions and back to healing with food. If you’re feeling hesitant, or have any questions, feel free to set up a phone consultation through our email: [email protected]

Join us at our Facebook group: The Comfy Spot. We’re a supportive community with a focus on eating healthy and wellness. NO diets whatsoever. Not to mention we’ll also be reading The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor. I’ll see you in there!

Do you consider eating as a method of self-care? Oftentimes, unrecognized influences by diet culture can jeopardize our connections with food and our bodies. It’s hard to determine what is perceived as a healthy diet, or how we should feel about ourselves when eating.

In this week’s episode on the Art & Science of Eating podcast, Jessica discusses the two constituents of emotional eating, from which she will support her clients in the upcoming Connected Eating Program. That is, she touches base on the physical urge:

• What does the body need and how to deconstruct restrictions formed on the influence of diet culture

And emotional urge:

• Understanding emotions and supporting people with the addition to food; not without food

Consider joining Jessica’s online Facebook group, “the Comfy Spot,” to get connected with like-minded individuals who are striving to push for happy eating and strengthening relationships with food. 

Mark your calendar as the Connected Eating Program’s registration opens September 6th!  If you have questions or want to know if this is a good fit for you,  set up a quick phone chat with Jessica through our email: [email protected]

In this week’s episode of the Art & Science of Eating, Jessica and her guest Shannon explore the question: “How do I develop intuitive eating skills for myself and my 7 year old?”.  She explains for Shannon: 

• To understand hunger-fullness cues better when under stress.  
• How Ellyn Satter’s “Division of Responsibility in Feeding” can be used for both Shannon and her 7 year old son

Links to Ellyn Satter’s website on her “Division of Responsibility in Feeding”.  Ellyn also has wonderful books in this area!

In this week’s episode, Jessica tackles the popular intermittent fasting diet. We answer the question, “is intermittent fasting really for our health or is it just another restrictive diet?” Jessica breaks down the science behind  intermittent fasting as well as the potential long term effects and what it means for those of you that struggle with emotional eating.

Want us to answer your question? Email us here at [email protected]

Connect with Jessica on Instagram: @shiftnutritioncounselling

If you want to hear more “The Art & Science of Eating”, be sure to subscribe and tune in for new episodes