Intuitive Eating
It’s something that is totally catching on these days. And it’s something that I am thinking about, listening to, and wanting to learn more on.
From my *very limited* understanding, it’s all about listening to your body, clueing in on what your body is telling you, and actually tasting and enjoying the eating experience. What a novel idea that is! You mean shoving down a meal on the go while doing a million things isn’t going to end up being that all that healthy? Cue my life re-evaluation.
I think the rationale behind Intuitive Eating, is also to eliminate the 'good' and 'bad' the binging and cheat days and just eating more balanced. I seriously can't wait to learn more.
Food stands for so much. If you think about it, food is a huge part of so many moments in our lives. It’s tied to emotions, experiences, and traditions, and it’s something that can bring so so so much joy. But also maybe some guilt? Maybe some yo-yoing on the scale? Maybe food has turned into the antagonist in your story. Well, my friends, it’s time to flip the damn script on that! And we are here to help with our upcoming workshop on Intuitive Eating hosted by Renee Little, RD and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.
Renee Little is someone I have been following on instagram for a while now - and if you’re not, you should! Link to her profile and website will be at the bottom of this post. Renee helps her clients create a peaceful relationship with food (which sounds great to me!) through her practice, The Ambitious RD. I am so excited that Renee will be leading a workshop at Without Co. on January 22nd.
I wanted to pick Renee’s brain ahead of our workshop, to get the conversation going, to get people thinking about food and their relationship to it. Let’s dive into that little chat:
What was the initial draw for you to enter the dietician world? Has your professional path been what you envisioned it would be when starting out?
I haven’t been asked that question for some time! I’ve been practicing as a dietitian now for just over 15 years so it was quite a while ago that I first entered this profession.
Looking back on my early decision to choose this career it was definitely driven from a place of being quite health and nutrition obsessed. I thought striving for health and a thin body was of such a high importance that this led the development of my own struggles with food and my body.
It wasn’t until I found intuitive eating much later in my career that I could finally feel more at home in my body and at peace with food. Studying and embracing intuitive eating in my own life has completely changed how I practice as a Dietitian which I never envisioned when I first entered this field.
I love your messaging around repairing our relationships with food. What makes you so passionate about this topic?
Thank you! I am so passionate about giving people an exit strategy from the dieting cycle because I have lived in the chaos that is dieting and I understand how oppressive it can be in people’s lives.
The peace that I now experience with a change in mindset from restriction to healing my relationship with food is so freeing and empowering. I want others to have the same opportunity to make this shift as well and improve their lives.
This time of year there are so many dieting messages, what’s one thing you think we should all consider?
Yes, there are a lot of diet messages, especially this time of year. One thing I would want people to reflect on is that each one of us has the power to curate our own social and media environment.
We all have choice over which social accounts we follow and the types of media that we consume. I would recommend that this January start with a clean sweep of social accounts. Unfollow any accounts that cause negative body comparison, those who post before/after pics, promote diets or dieting behaviors.
Start following body-positive, non-diet accounts and individuals with a range of ages, body shapes, abilities and sizes. This will start to create a more positive social experience and has been proven through research to have the power to influence body image.
My chat with Renee really got me thinking
What accounts am I following that aren’t adding anything positive to my life? What is my internal dialogue around eating? Did I even taste the salad I just ate for lunch?
I hope this information gets you thinking too! And as we move through the resolution time of year - remember, be gentle with yourself. And, if you want to learn more about intuitive eating join us on January 22nd, and scoop up your tickets at the link below. Did I mention each participant gets a 60 minute complimentary consultation with Renee? Count me in.
Link for tickets: https://relationshipwithfood.eventbrite.ca
follow Renee on Instragram (seriously, go do it!): https://www.instagram.com/the.ambitious.rd/
Check out Renee's website: https://www.theambitiousrd.com/