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E28: The Intuitive Eating Breakdown you NEED to create clarity on this approach with Emily Rae, RD and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor
65 Plays1 year ago
Join in the conversation today while we break down the ins, outs, challenges, myths, and indications of/for Intuitive Eating: an anti-diet approach to health that looks to untangle the wiring of diet and wellness culture while recognizing the psychological AND physiological drivers of our intake.
Is intuitive eating just eating whenever and whatever you want?
Is IE just being complacent with your health and body for the sole purpose of improving your relationship with food?
Can you do IE while wanting to lose weight?
Do you learn about nutrition when doing IE?
OHHH the questions I get go on and on…
Today we discuss the 10 principles and what it looks like to go through the process of learning intuitive eating, go over who this approach is most appropriate for, and breakdown misconceptions and myths around the approach.
This was a fun one and SUPER valuable! Listen in :)
Emily Ray is an anti-diet and Health at Every Size-aligned registered dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor based out of Portland, Oregon. Emily is passionate about wellness and treating folks holistically- mind, body, and spirit. She also has over 10 years of experience as a Registered Yoga Teacher which informs her practice as a Registered Dietitian. Emily specializes in eating disorders, vegan nutrition, and fertility all through the lens of the intuitive eating framework
https://www.emilyraewellness.com/
You can also look into insurance coverage options working with either of us at:
Get your FREE guide to building better hunger cues here:
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Eating Between the Lines'
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Eating Between the Lines. I am your host, Therese Martinez, and I am so happy to have you here. If you want to untangle yourself from diet culture conditioning and get appropriate, actionable options to nourish your unique life and body, I'm going to dive deep into the nuanced spectrum of health to help you figure out what to prioritize in your journey without getting trapped in the extreme ideology of health optimization or total complacency. I am here to help you apply the science effectively, not rigidly, and get you feeling better in your body and mind. Here is how to eat between the lines.
Meet Emily Ray: Dietitian and Counselor
00:00:45
Speaker
Hello, hello, welcome back, everyone. Today, I am so excited. We are diving into the wonderful world of intuitive eating. And with us to break down this world is Emily Ray. She is a Fellow registered dietitian, she is an anti diet and health at every size aligned registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor based out of Portland, Oregon. Fellow Pacific Northwestern.
00:01:20
Speaker
Emily is passionate about wellness and treating folks holistically, mind, body, and spirit. She also has over 10 years of experience as a registered yoga teacher, which informs her practice as a registered dietitian. And Emily specializes in eating disorders, vegan nutrition, and fertility, all through the lens of the intuitive eating framework. Welcome, Emily, how are you? Oh, I'm doing great trees. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to chat all about this because it is my favorite topic. Yes, yes. I am so interested in diving in. I am. Yeah. How ah how are things going over in Portland these days?
Weather Chat: Portland vs. Spokane
00:02:05
Speaker
Things are pretty good. I feel like we actually just had like two days of like kind of stormy or weather, which is weird because usually it's like just totally sunny at this point. So we're kind of struggling with that. Otherwise,
00:02:16
Speaker
Things are pretty good. Once it starts to turn summer, everyone gets like really excited. It's like a movie scene like set or scene where everyone's like smiling at each other. And so it's like the vibes are pretty high over here lately. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Where are you again? Yeah. I was just going to say I'm in Spokane, Washington. Okay, yeah. So not quite as comparable-ish as like Seattle, Olympia. I'm from there, so I grew up in Olympia, but have been over here for the past, I don't know, 11, 12 years or something like that. And so ah can totally relate to like when the sun comes out, it's just there is a whole different vibe in the city kind of a thing. And it's just such a contrast. I feel like at this point, you know, June,
00:02:57
Speaker
We've put in our winter time. We've put in our spring time. It's like, we only get those few months, it feels like. And so it's like, come on, but yeah at the same time, yeah, yeah, totally. But at the same time with fire smoke season over here, and I guess actually over with you guys too, like past. Yeah. yeah I'm always like. ah kind of like okay with it raining a little bit more, but I don't know. Yeah, it makes you feel better. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so, ah so much to go over today.
Debunking Intuitive Eating Myths
00:03:31
Speaker
First, one of the reasons I wanted to have you on here is because I just went through my own training for intuitive eating. And I have loads of patients that are also interested in intuitive eating,
00:03:45
Speaker
and also just even components of intuitive eating, right? And I have a lot of questions and I also have a lot of patience with a lot of questions that have come and repeated over and over and over again. So I thought this would be a great opportunity to have an expert in Intuitive Eating on the podcast to break down some misconceptions, some myths, and also maybe provide some guidance and you know wherever ever certain people are at with this whole journey and process and just considerations to make in the decision-making process of even getting into something like Intuitive Eating.
What is Intuitive Eating?
00:04:26
Speaker
so Let's first start by kind of defining it. So what is intuitive eating? Yeah, this is a really great place to start because I think there's a lot of misinformation about this. And usually when people come in, like my own patients and stuff, they're like, Oh, yeah, I've heard of that. You just like eat whatever you want. And you eat only when you're hungry and you stop when you're full. And that is just such a and small watered down version of what it is, as you obviously know from doing even just one part of the training. um And so I really think intuitive eating is like that blend of bringing in like our own innate attunement and ability to
00:05:04
Speaker
find what hunger and fullness mean in our body. Also layered in with critical thought and thinking of like, when it regards like timing of meals or something like that, critical thought and like practicality aligned with our inner attunement. And then also the layer of gentle nutrition, which is really just nutrition without diet culture. But, you know, layering all three of those things together for them to work really synergistically is how I practice it and what like my general takeaways are from it. um
00:05:35
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. How did you get into this? Was there something, you know, a personal journey and story of your own that is something to kind of highlight with what brought you to intuitive eating or anything else?
Emily's Journey to Intuitive Eating
00:05:49
Speaker
Yeah, so once I graduated and finished my dietetic internship, became a dietician, I was like, cool, I have all of this knowledge, but I don't really know how to like get people to apply it. So there's like this per like piece of it that's like behavioral, right like where are people have motivations lying, like their interest in making change, but it really was like, everybody wants to make change or everybody knows, like oh, I'm supposed to be eating more fruits and vegetables.
00:06:14
Speaker
And I'm like, that's like the easy part. And it was kind of like boring. I was like, okay, cool. Like, yep, eat vegetables, eat fruits. Like, who cares? So it was so cool to know, oh, like there's this framework and I just kind of started hearing about it through really just kind of like looking at like more holistic lenses and um my yoga teaching background, finding out about intuitive eating was like, oh, This is actually how to teach people how to eat rather like as a process rather than just like this means to an end of like nutrition only. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So a little bit more kind of alignment with the, like the like ah efficacy essentially of your own, of like what you do, what you practice and such. Is that kind of where it the it meant? Yeah.
00:06:59
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And like from ah just a truly like harm reductive standpoint, too.
Eliminating Diet Culture in Eating
00:07:04
Speaker
um i I'm really healthy at every size aligned and um weight neutral and fat positive. And so I was like, OK, I can't have all of these feelings and then not have like the ah practical skills to make sure that I am being harm reductive in my practice as a dietician. So it's kind of like embodying that like empathy and, you know, understanding and like honoring lived experience of people in their bodies and intuitive being just like went with that super well. Yeah, what Evelyn Tripoli, the co founder of intuitive eating, when I just went through her program, she would also emphasize just the
00:07:47
Speaker
The big like over overlying component of eliminating diet culture is being a huge part of intuitive eating. And the reason people diet is for intentional weight loss. So that's kind of like the tie-in that I'm kind of getting with with Ben. your approach and what so many people do when they also do intuitive eating and probably why it is so applicable also for folks that have disordered eating and eating disorders, correct? Totally. Yeah. Once people are not in an active eating disorder, right? Like if I tell them, follow your hunger cues, well, someone with an active eating disorder is going to be like sick. I don't have any, I will not eat. And that's like, we we don't want to do that. Um, so I think there's like the layers of that, of course. But once people are more stable, that's
00:08:34
Speaker
to me, like a nice landing spot for anybody like out after they, you know, do the big pieces of of healing their eating disorder and then how we like prevent relapse and do all those things. Yeah, intuitive eating is just like the most harm reductive, I think approach when it comes to nutrition and the most like you know, willing to honor the body and like empowering rather than like, here's the set of rules you have to follow. And right. Right. Right. That's really nobody really wants to hear that. And we also don't really need to in order to find health. Yeah. Yeah, totally.
Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorders
00:09:08
Speaker
I i find that one of the unfortunate things
00:09:12
Speaker
When being a dietician, honestly, just I feel like it's everywhere. like It's just, no matter who I'm talking to, there is a lot of layers or a lot of layers of diet culture ingrained in so many people. right and so There's this big gray area of someone not being clinically diagnosed with an eating disorder, but then still having all of these layers of disordered like behavior or thinking. And it's really hard to kind of measure and gauge as a professional, you know, utilizing some tools to do it. But is there something that you do to kind of, I don't know, assess that your own self?
00:09:56
Speaker
Yeah, this is a really big one. And I think people oftentimes come in like, well, I have disordered eating, not an eating disorder. And then we kind of find out, no, they look, they do have an eating disorder. It's just, I think so. And a diagnosis is really tricky and, you know, not in our scope as RDS. So, you know, usually we're using the help of like a therapist and stuff. Um, but yeah, delineating between the two, just like for me, something that I'll do is, um, And even for the patients, sometimes like they're confused. They're like, I don't really know how serious this is. Is this a big thing? um And so what I really look about at is the flexibility. like If I tell someone, hey, like you don't have any energy during the day, um well, and you eat like you know a protein and a vegetable. OK, you might not be having enough carbs. Let's try eating like you know a serving of rice in there and see if that changes. And if they come back to me and they're like, um yeah, I can't. I can't do that. like That's scary. I'm nervous. like I'm like, how are you feeling about that? right like Does it feel cool? Does it feel scary? right If they're scared about adding something like that, then I'll be like like, this doesn't sound like nutrition misinformation because I just told you and we built rapport and I'm now a trusted source and an expert on this and you're still nervous about it. I'm like, that gives me pause where I'm like, okay, we need to like
00:11:09
Speaker
you know, call in the full professional team or something. If they come back and they're like, I headed rice and I feel so good. I'm like, great, you know, yeah we can just awesome. Like they felt the benefits and everything. and you know They might have some like fear around it, but like they're able to make the change and there's no like backlash mentally from it. Or if it is, it's like minimal and we just kind of like keep going and like wire new connections of like learning for them. So if it's a nutrition misinformation problem and they have disorder eating because they're confused by diet
Who is Intuitive Eating For?
00:11:38
Speaker
culture, you know that's one thing. But if I tell them all the things,
00:11:42
Speaker
and they're not able to implement, then that's when I'm like, okay, this is a little more serious and maybe more alongside the eating disorder line than we might've thought. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And ah like kind of just gauging their response to a recommendation is this like essentially a really big part of that. That makes sense. It's also kind of tricky because there are so many food fears like inflicted on
The Process of Intuitive Eating
00:12:08
Speaker
everybody all the time and it really just becomes that challenge of it seems like at least having the proper
00:12:17
Speaker
giving the proper education to the individuals so that they can then kind of apply the recommendations with the appropriate knowledge, like you were sort of talking about as well. But that fear, I find to be so ingrained for so many people, it can still be really challenging for folks to change their dietary habits, even when they're kind of told that it's okay. Do you kind of- And I think that's the moment where I'm like, Oh, this is actually an anxiety thing. You know, like this is actually like, you know, cool. I'm giving you the information, but if you're not able to hear it, then that's kind of a separate thing. So sometimes I try to like pull it apart for them a little bit. I'm like, you seem like you have a lot of anxiety around that. And that's the root problem, not you thinking that, you know, chicken Alfredo is the worst food in the world. You know, it's like there's an issue here that's kind of being unmet. So I think it's like up to us as dieticians to be really honest and to be like, hey, like this is not
00:13:15
Speaker
you know, like there's something else here, you know, of of something that might not be fixed by me just giving you like, you know, a meal plan idea or something like this. And it's a little deeper than that. So I think with the right rapport, of course, you know, it's worth, you know, really identifying for people because sometimes they're like, this is just normal. Everyone's afraid of this food. Yeah, totally. I kind of want to talk about who you believe would benefit the most from intuitive eating where you know, it's more or less properly indicated versus folks where it may be contraindicated if that feels like it does exist. What would you say to that?
00:13:53
Speaker
Yeah, so people that would be great candidates for intuitive eating are, frankly, also the people who are open to it. like It is the harder path. I'm really upfront with everyone about that. like Following ah rules from a diet, it's strenuous and like hard and can be upsetting like and not healthy for us, but it's a little bit easier. like It's harder to go on a journey of like attunement. And sometimes there's ah people that sometimes might have a hard time or there's a lot of like complex trauma there or you know that your body isn't a safe space to be in. So I think that we need to be really conscious of like we're asking someone to be in their body and that might not always be a safe place for them to be in. um And neurodivergence you know people with autism or ADHD there's I think it can be for everyone but but guided with a provider that understands like here's the caveats like yeah like you might have to use you know practical hunger the principle of like
00:14:47
Speaker
you know, eating when you're not hungry because you know, your body needs fuel. Like if you're super anxious or let's say you took your ADHD meds and so you can still intuitively eat, but just know that your intuition, it's going to be a little bit different midday when your meds are at their high peak versus at night when they're gone. So, you know, there's different things like that. So I think there are people that have maybe a harder time navigating it on their own and need that expertise alongside it. Um, But I think it's it's hard for me to think of anyone that it's it's not a good fit for that they couldn't take some tenants to it, except I think if they're drastically in an eating disorder because it requires you to have mental space and capacity to build that skill up. Um, you know, if you're already like, you know, doing yoga all the time and you're really in your body and you have felt sense and attunement and everything, it's real easy for you to sign to intuitive eating and might not require that much extra work. But if you're someone who does feel pretty disconnected from your body, if you're going through like the biggest stressor of your life, it's probably not also the time to dive into intuitive eating because it's a lot of work and it brings things up. So sometimes it's like.
00:15:56
Speaker
Yeah, like we're not going to go down this path if it's going to be even more stressful. Or maybe right now, you just really need a little more structure rather than diving into that attunement. Or it might be like upsetting to the person because they're like, I can't ah can't feel this right now. And it's just not. Yeah. um Yeah. Okay. So this kind of takes me into wanting to break down the process a little bit, maybe just kind of like an example play by play, but also a breakdown because intuitive meeting has 10 principles, right? That's a big part of it is there's like these 10 principles and some of the things that you just mentioned where it's like,
00:16:31
Speaker
you know, listening to hunger cues, creating more attunement, which can also be like interoceptive awareness, which is the hunger, fullness cues, feeling like you have to go to the bathroom, right? Having a greater connection to your body. A lot of people, I believe, just think that due to intuitive eating, you jump right into listening to your body and just following anything and like giving full permission to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. There's this massive anxiety around that permission giving, but really truly there's a process to this and the process recognizes the psychological and physiological variables that go into it. And there is a little bit more of a, of a play by play. Can you kind of talk ah about what this process may look like? Someone comes in, they want to talk about intuitive eating. What is it like? What, how do you take them through intuitive eating? Yeah.
Challenges of Intuitive Eating
00:17:25
Speaker
Um, this is a great question and of course a very, so much person to person, but I think like the first thing that I'm going to think about is like, where are they coming from? Right? Like, are they still in restriction mode? Like, are they still like, Oh, I don't eat any of those foods. A lot of times when I get people that are interested in it, they're like, Oh, I've been down the dieting path. Like I've dieted like I'm over that. I've read the research. I understand like the intentional weight loss isn't for me. I don't want to do it anymore. I'm seeing all these like negative side effects, weight cycling and so forth. Um, so ah lots of the times when they're in, I'm trying to assess like what rules do they have? Like are, are we doing all of that stuff? Where are we on like the pendulum swing? Cause you're right. People coming from restriction are then going to be in that like kind of overdoing it phase where it's like, Oh, I didn't eat ice cream for 10 months and now I ice cream every day.
00:18:14
Speaker
Um, and that can continue for like a really long time. I mean, I've seen like, you know, six months of people just like gritting through like, Oh my gosh, I i can't feel better around this food. Right. And, and we try it out and and we try a habituation, like putting the food back in their diet more or something like that. Um, and it's really different for every person. Sometimes we're immediately doing something like that. Sometimes it's like, that feels really highly stressful. We are not going to just do it because that's how like, you know, Ideally, we want everyone to have a relationship with chips where they can be in the house and we're not thinking about them constantly and we take some out and we want them and we put them away and it's easy. Sure, that's like the end goal, but I'm gauging a lot in the beginning their stress levels like around food and outside of like, hey, how much of this can you tolerate right now? Like if you're dealing with like a personal like huge issue or you're going through a big transition at work, maybe we don't also try to habituate chips right now. If that's like a triggering food for you that like feels out of control. yeah um
00:19:10
Speaker
So I think it's like that kind of um slowing people down and the like you don't have to be like the perfect intuitive eater. That's not what this is about. It's really just about like systematically going through. I use the intuitive eating workbook a lot um and kind of going through and being like, where do you land on all this? Like, are you ready for this? And I like the way that the workbooks laid out because it's really like Okay, does this feel okay? like If not, let's spend more time here. yeah um you know We don't need to rush because so much of the time they're just rushing, rushing, rushing. And it's like, listen, like yeah sometimes you gotta be so real with people and be like, you've been dieting for 20 years. like This is going to take so much time to undo. And again, it's really hard. It's gonna be really hard. There's something so cool waiting for you on the other side, but it's not gonna be easy. And it is easier for you to just go on a diet again. And I think that's
00:19:59
Speaker
We have to be really honest about that same way that we do with intentional weight loss pursuit of like, Hey, you know, you might end up gaining weight from this process. That is the statistical likelihood. So yeah here's the deal or. You know, if you're going to eat 1200 calories, you're going to have to do that for the rest of your life. And do you really want to do that? Like, is that really supportive to everything else you have going on? And yeah, that went off in a tangent, but oh yeah and question yeah, it totally does. But it kind of, so if I'm kind of hearing this and dissecting this a little bit, it sounds like with taking someone through intuitive eating,
00:20:30
Speaker
You essentially apply skills and provoke thought through different questions that like I see a lot in the in the workbook, but and otherwise to kind of help people reflect and kind of untangle some of their own wiring while also giving skills and, oh, what's a better word than homework. like something along those lines. So, you know, like things that they can trial out at home and then and with guidance, right? So it's not just like, hey, you know what you mentioned habituation. and It's not just like, hey, like include this much as much as possible and, you know, see what happens. It's like, hey, include this and also check into your body and kind of create a little bit more mindfulness and awareness around the situation and how you are feeling and bridging the gap between that, but you know, kind of body, mind, and in creating awareness for individuals with their own responses and reactions to these foods. While I think the overarching thing as well, like principle, oh, gosh, I'd have to look at these, but like, like first principle, it's like rejecting diet mentality is I
Psychological and Physiological Influences
00:21:39
Speaker
believe. Yeah. And then, yeah. And so,
00:21:42
Speaker
you know, with someone that sake is coming in that has been so tired of dieting so much. um And I say diet, like, I feel like people think about dieting. And this while this is true, where someone follows a, you know, a 1200 calorie diet or a ketogenic diet or paleo, I also consider it the diet mentality just general rules that people have and fears of food that they have, right? There's still those kinds of layers, whether it's like an official quote, diet. And so when if people come in with all of this wiring for so long,
00:22:17
Speaker
And they come in desperate, you know, just really wanting to like, Hey, I don't, I don't want to follow a diet again. I still kind of want to lose weight though. i think You know, that's almost yeah always still the case. Of course. Or, Oh, as long as I like do what I'm supposed to do, I'm definitely will lose 20 pounds. Totally. Totally. that's narrative um it Yeah. Yeah. And so I think that such a big part of getting into intuitive eating is constantly reviewing, assessing, reassessing the person's relationship with diets and diet culture and rejecting the diet mentality. Because if you pull weight loss motives out of the equation,
00:23:04
Speaker
people get far more connected to their body in different ways, right? Because of all of these narratives that have been inflicted on us for so, so many years that like you do this for weight loss, right? And so it seems like through the process, that's such a big part of it. And then when then you meet the person where they are at in terms of skill development, um kind of ah tools and other, what's another, what is the word that I'm looking for? Not homework, but like things that you tell them to do at home, I don't know. I think it's kind of, it kind of is homework, like supplemental activities or something, like an actor way, but.
00:23:43
Speaker
Yeah, totally. i I think it almost is that. You know, just like different things that they can trial out trial and error, right. And kind of taking them through this process, talking them, talking with them about what they experienced and then revisiting and then and then building upon that through these 10 principles. Is that is that kind of. Yeah, totally. Like and even like another example of it is like food journaling, like, OK, if someone's going to food journal, right, like, um like take photos of their food or, you know, write a description or whatever. then like we can go back through that day in and like an intuitive eating lens where they're like, oh my gosh, I ate all these chips. I don't know why I ate chips. um Clearly, I'm thinking about chips today. and They're like, I just want to eat all these chips. And I'm like, well, OK, let's look back. like Let's do like our detective work and like go through and look at it through this neutral lens that intuitive eating allows us to do and think about the additive principles of nutrition. Where I'm looking at that, I'm like, well, you ate chips because you went to the grocery store after work and you hadn't eaten for five hours.
00:24:43
Speaker
So then you ate 500 calories of chips because you were 500 calories hungry for a meal because that's what you needed at that moment. So it can be so validating to people to be like, Oh, like, and it just immediately like sucks all the guilt out of the situation. Cause it's like, no, that's just exactly what your body was biologically going to do. So when people learn about that through their own data, they're like, Oh, like that makes so much sense. Like. I don't do that nearly as often on days when like I've had, you know, adequate food or whatever your situation is, of course, it varies person to person. But yeah it's like I think intuitive eating offers us that neutrality and the curiosity rather than judgment of being like, why did that happen? Like, that's kind of weird, like, you know, rather than just being like, oh, my God, now I'm a terrible person.
00:25:28
Speaker
sucks so bad and guilt and shame are not motivators as a researched conclusion. So, you know, it does not doesn't even really help um to feel guilty or shameful about it because it just makes it worse. So, yeah, I think giving people the freedom to be neutral about it is kind of like shocking and cool for them in a space when normally we're like, you know, Like, that's gluttonous. That's sinful. That's this. It's like, whoa. Like, hold on. Let's just look at what actually happened. Yeah, totally, totally.
Principles of Intuitive Eating
00:26:00
Speaker
um I want to kind of talk about these 10 principles and dissect a few of them. um Do you know them off the top of your head? I just have them pulled up. i Oh, cool. OK. Will you break down and just like kind of list for right now the 10 principles? What are they? Yeah.
00:26:19
Speaker
So number one, rejecting the diet mentality. So really kind of being like weight loss is going to be on the back burner. We're not centering that in our experience because, you know, that is really an attunement disruptor. I'm thinking about just how we can restrict ourselves. um Honoring your hunger, biologically fed that there's different types of hunger that we'll consider in that kind of principle, like practical, like we mentioned with the ADHD meds, you have to like eat even if you're not hungry sometimes, that's normal. um Making peace with food, unconditional permission to eat, um principle four is challenging the food police, then discovering the satisfaction factor.
00:26:58
Speaker
um Feeling your fullness, cope with your emotions with kindness, respecting your body, movement, feel the difference, and the last one is honor your health, general gentle nutrition. Okay, so to go back to just a couple of these, I want to talk um talk about just a little bit as a breakdown. You know, I would recommend everybody go and either look, look these 10 principles up or go back, rewind and listen to them again, because what you'll see and what you'll note with these 10 principles is that we are looking at psychological and physiological layers of the influence of behavior and intuitive eating.
00:27:39
Speaker
takes both of those considerations and really tries to get the body to listen to both, but create, have clarity when listening and understanding what's happening, right? It's like, um you know, I kind of like to think about when I talk with patients sometimes about food intake, getting intentional and proactive, it's about understanding and connecting the dots of how that food is going to affect you. And when you're intention intentional and proactive, that doesn't mean that you will naturally change that food and that intake. It just means that you understand the impact, right? And I think that that's
00:28:24
Speaker
part of kind of this process is just creating more awareness so that you're not on the back side being impulsive and reactive and then not knowing what the heck just happened, right? Which I think is what happens to so many people across the board with food intake and not really understanding how they are setting themselves up in so many ways. And so Making peace with food and challenging the food police. I think, uh, well, that one, let's see you and rejecting the diet mentality all kind of go under that umbrella of understanding the psychology. Would you agree with that? Yeah, totally. Yeah. It's a lot more. I just went through chapter the challenge, the food police today with someone. It was totally all about like reframing thoughts and
00:29:12
Speaker
Yeah, there's a lot of like kind of self work in those chapters of more of like mindset shifts around it rather than like this is the exact like practical. There's practicality in it too, but there's it's a lot of like thoughts. And then in the physiological, physical realm, honoring your hunger, discover the satisfaction factor. I would also consider that almost feels like kind of a hybrid to me and how am I like- Yes. Yeah. It is a hybrid. Feel your fullness and movement, gentle nutrition, also kind of a hybrid. Respect your body. What's respecting your body?
00:29:54
Speaker
Respecting your body like the like a description of it. Mm hmm. It's really talking about this is the chapter that kind of talks a little bit about body image like all bodies deserve dignity. They're actually redoing the workbook specifically, I believe this year um to kind of include a little more like um like social justice oriented things in there, because it's not like super like current right now. yes um But yeah, talking about kind of like respecting like your genetics and, you know, thinking like, okay, like when people come in and say, well, my body will definitely like get 20 pounds lighter if I do this. It's like, well, you know, what if it doesn't? Is that okay? Like, are you cool with that? Like, what if your labs improve and all these things happen, your endurance is better and you don't lose weight? Like, is that okay? You know, so kind of talking people through that.
00:30:40
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Okay. I just wanted to kind of create a little clarity for folks that may not really understand that. but Something to note with number seven, cope with your emotions with kindness. I think this is also something that is in that so psychological realm a little bit, but can sort of be again, a hybrid. Evelyn again had talked a lot about not pathologizing utilizing food for comfort. And I just, I love that because I also talk about how food is a sure thing, right? It's like it's a sure thing when it comes to
00:31:18
Speaker
The enjoyment, out depending on the food and the person and whatnot, but like people can have certain foods where you know it's going to make you feel a certain way and it's going to be, it's going to give you a response. It's a sure thing. And it can be utilized to help you feel a certain way in an acute fashion. It's just the considerations around impact than thereafter guilt, shame that follow and, or like utilizing it as the only tool that you have right in the tool belts or, um, any other kinds of considerations with this one. Yeah. No, I love that you brought that context up. Sometimes I'll often kind of relate as like, if you're feeling lonely and you decide, okay, I'm going to have a cookie.
00:32:04
Speaker
that's not going to stop you from being lonely. It's going to give you like a short term happiness. And maybe that like short term happiness then is able to propel you into the, a true coping mechanism for it. But like a cookie, like like a Tate's cookie is going to be the same mostly every time, depending on like, you know, production, right? Like if you're to call a friend, well, they might like piss you off. Like they might make you upset. So like cookies aren't going to do that. So totally like it's really stable. It's a really stable coping mechanism. And a lot of times people who have been through like deep traumas, like Thank God that food was there for you type of thing, which um is awesome. But yeah, I think it's like it's the flip side of it and maybe like the harsher side of it is that food is not going to fix those things. And like it's not going to be like a long term thing. We have to normalize the fact that you have to have an emotional connection with food and that's normal. I think it's like people are constantly told that it's not OK to have
00:32:58
Speaker
emotions tied to food and that it would be so weird and like anti biology for us to be around food you need it to live. um So it's weird but yeah totally I think it's like really just holding space for the fact that it can play a role but it will never be able to be that the full story of the coping as long as you have the other the space to actually explore the other things because sometimes like if we're dealing with like deep, like big emotions or depression or something like that. Maybe you don't have the ways to get out and do something or you know find help in that way. And yeah, like, thank God food is there. Yeah, yeah, totally.
00:33:37
Speaker
Oh, I feel like that is so important to recognize. i There is just a lot of messaging out there that makes me feel like I need to be robotic around food, you know, and that it is like just a willpower game and a these are nutrient dense foods and you should only be eating these foods and the this and the that. And it's like, it just puts a lot of pressure on people. And I feel like we were talking about this prior to starting the recording, but So much of diet culture and wellness culture is disconnecting body and mind, right? It's creating a bigger gap between the two. And intuitive eating is a way to pull yourself back to yourself, right? Like understand and the the body on a whole.
00:34:29
Speaker
Um, what are your kind of thoughts with that? And maybe even talk about how yoga then plays a role in with what you practice. Yeah. This is like, um, I'm thinking of the book called reclaiming body trust. Have you heard of this one? Oh, I have. I've heard of it. I have not read it yet. It's really good and I think it's like first like in this process we have to identify like why we're disconnected like what happened and actually like how we are all wired to be disconnected because you know I live in Portland Oregon you can kind of guess the rest about everything but it's like
00:35:02
Speaker
The demands of like our capitalistic system are really tough. like We are told to like work through lunch. like We're told, like oh, you have this errand to do and that to do. like You can't possibly take time for your own needs. like That would be really selfish. and so Our culture here in the US is really counterculture to that connection. and In fact, it's like it's better for us as consumers to be insecure and not know what to do and search for answers outside of ourselves, constantly try to outsource everything because we have no personal power. um And that I think is really from the system and isn't really in any of like our control really. And we all just kind of have to like, oh, figure that out and then start to like kind of crawl back from that. um So, you know, the caveat is the system is not changing and that is not going to happen. And that sucks. And I think we need to have a moment of Sadness about that, but there are like individual things that we can do to kind of push back against that which I think is like stuff like yoga of being like no like I am actually going to take 60 minutes to like be with myself and see what happens right or like why am I so afraid to like
00:36:09
Speaker
just let myself kind of speak through this. Or you know I have patients who are like, gosh, now that I eat regularly, like I have to have lunch. like I can't ignore myself anymore. And I'm like, yeah, that's like kind of the deal. like that was kind of that was That was what we were working on. And they're like, damn it, but but like also like cool. like But it's it is like we are just totally, I think, validating every step of the way to ourselves that like we are hardwired by our environment to not have a connection like this. And so it's it's a really big, um like rebellion and and kind of protest and like counterculture for you to have this connection. And so it's really hard. So I think like finding community in that, whether it's like reading a cool book, like Reclaiming Body Trust, which actually has like community opportunities on their website too. Do you know who the author is? Yeah, it's Dana. Oh gosh. body Reclaiming Body Trust, a path to healing and liberation and
00:37:03
Speaker
It's written by Dana Sturdevant, RD, and then Hilary Knavey, who is a counselor. ah um They're like the body trust people. They they do it in in Portland. um They're very, yeah, just kind of like like recognizing that this is the system. And so, yeah, we can totally make different little shifts with ourselves, but you know I think first, before we do any of that, we have to acknowledge that like the world does treat people in smaller bodies better than those in larger bodies. And that is real. Your lived experience is super, super real and and should be honored. But does it mean that you want to then try to shrink yourself in order to make everyone treat you better? Or does it mean that you want to like work on that perception and try to find people that you know are going to kind of lift you up in that space and and find your connection to yourself because you totally deserve it? um
00:37:59
Speaker
Yeah, oh it's a, it's a radical framework, really. And to I think she's trying to get more Evelyn as women do as they age, get more radical over time. And I think Evelyn is definitely on that path and has like changed wordings and different parts of intuitive eating over time to reflect that. Yeah. Yeah, i I really like how she continues. Well, how she and Elise, you know, I don't know who does what essentially, but yeah they they continue to kind of refine, you know, the the principles and the approach. And that just reminds me of like the bonkers amount of research there is on intuitive eating that was like
00:38:44
Speaker
i You guys, it is there is so much research on intuitive eating and all with outstanding results. i mean In terms of like quality of life, they've even they mean they've done a ton with like lab markers and all of that too and and improvements in in health. and but there's, it was, I mean, she could just like, she just recited off so many different studies and like, like all the time. I mean, I'm sure she just talks about them all the time anyways, but it was, that that was super cool. And it just, I think it it is an ah evidence-based approach. It's not just some foofy, like, let's see what happens when you don't have rules or something like that, you know? um And I thought that that was really cool. It is so cool. And, and to really see like the,
00:39:35
Speaker
fact that like, it's just a return to to ourselves. Like this is like this idea of it, like, yes, it's a framework and there's a process, but it's really just like eating how you decide to eat. Like it's really not, you know, and that's why I like it. And, and I know there's certain anti diet dieticians that are like, oh I don't really want to subscribe to like a certain, you know, ideology or whatever, or there might be, you know, this might not work for neurodiversity or whatever it is, but I just think ultimately like, This framework is really just like of the return to self. And so it's hard to um it. You can really make it your own. And I totally agree. It changes. I've seen it change people's lives. Like people like quit their jobs. and People go back to school. Like there's always these other like little ripples that happen or, you know, they just feel
00:40:23
Speaker
so much better whether it's like they don't have acid reflux because they're not you know eating tons at night and nothing during the day or you know there's definitely like things like that that exists that aren't very measurable and then there's just like the peace around it and the oh I'm not a project to be fixed anymore I can pursue health without weight loss I didn't even know that was an option until just now Totally. I think that that's actually like master segue into highlighting the dental nutrition component, but like the fact that
00:40:55
Speaker
there are so There's still an educational process that can happen with nutrition. It's not just like some free-for-all. There are so many dieticians that practice intuitive eating, and it doesn't mean the sessions are just all about dismantling diet culture. It can be, but there are still a decent amount of education that comes with how shifting meal timing and composition of meals can potentially impact the way that you feel and such. But it's not necessarily giving rigidity to rules. and What would you say? Is that kind of am my? Yeah. Yeah. No, I think that's that's so real. And I think that actually sometimes that structure and what you just described
00:41:39
Speaker
gives you the ability to feel your own attunement. Because if you're not eating regular meals, well, I don't even really put any stock into what your attunement is saying. Because if you don't have the basics you know and you you don't have access to your attunement, so unless you're eating three meals a day, sometimes if people are really frustrated, I'll be like, listen, have you eaten three meals a day for three months ever? And they're like, no. And I'm like, okay, well, you know, let's give that a shot and then let's gotta go from there. um like it's that And it's actually okay that you still feel really discombobulated and that would actually be like what I'd expect. um So totally, I think it's like that um like making sure that the basics are covered is part of that. And also even like the people that are seeing me for not intuitive eating reasons,
00:42:21
Speaker
I mean, they're getting intuitive eating lens information from me the whole time. Like um like a really good example of this is um talking about, like well, what like milk do I get with my coffee? like This is just like a random thing that I think is so like intuitive eating aligned. And even when people know they're not getting that like intuitive eating from me and they just want nutrition information, I'm like, well, this is this is what the deal is. like We were talking about, do you get soy milk or oat milk or almond milk or dairy milk and all these different things. And I was sharing with someone, I'm like, well, for me, like if
00:42:55
Speaker
I'm going to eat something with like like a pastry with my latte or something. I'm going to veer more towards like soy milk because it has eight grams of protein. so I'm like, okay, cool. like That's going to really give me a little bit more sustained blood sugar spike, not so crazy. I'm going to feel a little bit better. and I'm just not going to like eat my pastry. yeah you know If I'm just getting a latte And I'm always going to get soy milk because I like soy milk, but like, you know, you might be like, Oh, I'm at a situation. All they have is odor almond. Am I going to freak out and lose my mind? No, I'm just going to get one of those. Like it's okay. You know, like having the flexibility built in with that, yeah I think is really important and being able to hold all of those nutrition thoughts of like, Oh, I like to get soy milk.
00:43:35
Speaker
in my latte with a pastry because it has protein and that's helpful for my blood sugar. And then there's also, yeah, and if I know that that's not going to be an option at this place, I can either like go with the flow and my body's resilient and it can take one time of me having oat milk and a pastry together. It's going to be totally fine. Um, and also like, I could like have a snack on the way, make sure I'm not like so going into it with a blood sugar of negative 10. Like, you know, so but like, Oh, okay. Like that actually makes a lot of logical sense. And you're like, right. Even though it's like an intuitive eating thing, you're really just giving them nutrition information that's not harmful. Because if I were to say, well, you better have this every single time, or, well, you know, this is really the best. And like, if I guess you could have oat milk, if, you know, you're in a bind, like that's such a different vibe than saying like,
00:44:20
Speaker
Well, I don't know like what's happening around that behavior. I'm being really curious. Totally. It reminds me, I just like to like people would just see so many other practitioners just be like, well, don't have the pastry because it'll spike blood sugar and spiking blood sugar is unlike the worst thing in the world. right? It's like, and that's the most unhealthy thing, right? It's like, yeah, say that there's not, you know, just considerations of what you might feel like it tastes better. And if you hate oat milk, then don't get oat milk, right? if it You know, it's like, even if it's your thing. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's about like rice all the time. Like brown rice versus white rice. Like they're really not that different. If you're having a big bowl with like Brussels sprouts and beans and whatever, like you don't have to have what, like there's no point to like yeah choke down brown rice. I'll be like, what? Like that's such a weird, but like you might add another point. Like I think it with oils or like saturated fats, like with coconut oil, I might be like, yeah, if you're like throwing coconut oil in your smoothie and cooking everything you eat in it, I'm going to be like, okay, like, you know,
00:45:22
Speaker
maybe we could do something different that you would find equally satisfying that would have less saturated fat. But like, I'm not, if you really like curries, like I'm obsessed with like Thai curries, like I'm never going to stop eating those like that's not ever going to be my plan. Like, you know, I want to eat those. And so like I might think like, OK, like I know I'm I usually get a good amount of saturated fat in my diet, so I might not cook this in coconut oil or butter. I might think about olive oil and instead because I'm looking at the whole picture rather than like one little minute decision in time. And I think that's what the holistic pieces is like.
00:45:56
Speaker
at valuing the whole picture rather than one specific moment, which is really hard in diet culture and even just in disseminating nutrition information to the public because you don't have that time to talk to people about the nuance of their diet. So everyone just hears, coconut milk is bad because it's high in saturated fat. And it's so hard to explain the extra pieces and take into account your preferences too, because that's huge. Totally. I think it's like, oh, I just had so many thoughts that just went through my mind where it there there are just so many layers to this process right of intuitive eating. We have, as I mentioned before, the psychological layers. So perhaps the pastry and the morning is something that someone has like not allowed themselves to have for 20 years. right And maybe the pastry is something someone has in the morning because it's just a really quick convenient option and they don't have a database of other options.
00:46:50
Speaker
that's a very different situation, right? And a kind of a different evaluation of the response and how a person would kind of go about like treading lightly with certain recommendations and considerations, right? And that can be, again, part of this process, depending on where a person starts. It's like, there may be a lot more of experimentation with certain foods and getting like to combat the food police to combat all of these diet culture narratives, there's going to be probably a lot more experimentation, including foods that people, they have not allowed for a while, and that might feel uncomfortable. And that's why it's also important to understand how they impact and affect you. ah You know, if your blood sugar is fluctuating drastically all the time, because you are all of a sudden eating all of these foods that you took off limits, you're probably not gonna feel great. And, you know, there's going to be benefit to a trying these foods, but it's also helpful to know
00:47:49
Speaker
how else to minimize variables of what your response thereafter is going to be, which is where the dietitian nutrition education comes into play because that's such a root of so much of this. If people just think that they can well, and they can eat what they want when they want, right? But there are more considerations to be had. In nutrition, we look to minimize variables, right? Like, there are so many influences to what we eat, why we eat and physiologically throughout the day, how we slept, what our stress level is, like there are so many
Reconnecting Mind and Body
00:48:28
Speaker
things coming in all the time trying to impact our own ability to listen to self and body. And So if we can minimize those fluctuations by having three balanced meals a day, it's amazing what happens to people and their their connection to self and patterns overall, right? It's yeah it's a huge part of it.
00:48:50
Speaker
People come in all the time like, I think I've been cheating disorder. And then like after a few weeks, I'm like, turned out you had, I don't eat during the day disorder. right You just never ate during the day. And then all of a sudden they're like, Oh my God, I was walking around like this for so long. And I just was totally under fueled. And that's. what happened. And so it's like, yeah, I think giving people a chance to listen to their body, like I think the the word really is like structure is like, there has to be some structure and intuitive eating is not without structure, like in the done in the correct way, that would be a misunderstanding. um It's not without structure and with thought for, you know, the extra pieces that that give you the structure so that then you can explore those things. Like, that's why there's like a self care assessment of like, hey, like if you score really low on the self care assessment, like
00:49:36
Speaker
you don't need to be thinking about how do I habituate ice cream? You need to be thinking about like, how do I invest in my community or how do I, you know, like find spirituality or how do I do these different things? Because if you try to just add all that in, it's really stressful. And so it's like adding in things like that for the sake of, well, I don't know, we're supposed to be breaking rules. Like we'll just all eat ice cream every day. Like, well, that's not really, that's not the plan at all. And that would just be like setting you up for failure, not because I'm so afraid of them eating ice cream all the time. but because I'm afraid of like how that will feel for them. like I'm afraid of like how that feels in their in their body, sure, like the felt sense and like their health, whatever, but also just like the distress. and I think if we set people up on a distressing path, then that's really confusing for them. and so I think it's like up to providers to know like when it's appropriate to like add in layers like that and and you know really just engaging how the person is too, because they'll also tell you like what they're ready for.
00:50:33
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, totally. um oh There's just so much i I want to talk to you about. We didn't even like tap into so much of like fat phobia. the other oh There's just like so many other things, but I want to be respectful of your time. Did you have anything that you kind of wanted to touch on prior to wrapping up here? I think the um what you just said, the like the side of untangling and like understanding the fat phobia thing. Sometimes like often when I work with folks, I'll like you know kind of clasp my hands together and be like, weight and health are like this in our society. And so people automatically think, well, if I'm doing the healthy things, I'm going to lose weight or you know all of all of these things. And so I think it's really like, intuitive eating depends on you and in your success
00:51:19
Speaker
it sustainably doing it. Cause if you do it thinking that you're going to lose weight on it and then you don't, maybe then you stop doing it or then you stop trusting it. So I'm always really hesitant how much I'll be like, Oh yeah, maybe that would happen because I'm sure I don't have a crystal ball, but like, you know, anyways, I think it's really important that we start just like pulling apart the pieces of weight and health, like interacting with each other. Um, because yeah, that can be one piece of the puzzle and it can be information for us. but it's it's not as linked, right? And also like health and beauty standards, because that's really what I mean when I say weight, honestly, like health and like you fitting into like the the model of like beauty standards in general. So I think like we need to understand that actually pursuing health usually means like a lot of the times that you're moving away from beauty standards and you're moving away from weight standards, quote unquote, whether it's BMI or just like how, you know,
00:52:15
Speaker
like old white dudes at the top want us to look. So it's like, you know, there's only like, you have to decouple that otherwise it will be so hard to be successful because there's just no way. So I love this is actually, I think this is what I talked about a little bit on my last, ah last podcast where there's just that massive association with health and weight and it has created a disconnect with what health actually like is and means. What is that like for you with what you talk about with patients of how to gauge because, you know, eating a serving of vegetables can have people feel okay a day eating eight servings can have some people feel a different way a day. And it's like, I think with intuitive eating, people kind of get caught in the weeds after they've sort of been in it for maybe a little bit of time with like, can I do more here in a nutritional sense? Like, can I, is there something else I can do to improve my health?
00:53:12
Speaker
in a different way because I get it. I'm i'm not weight set weight focused anymore. I just am curious.
Health Markers and Personal Growth
00:53:18
Speaker
like And so from the practitioner side of things, this can be like a hard line to tread sometimes when for so long like the association of measurement had been around weight for the individual. And and then also just like figuring out other ways to gauge how health, like, because I find that people don't know what they don't know, either. It's like, if you feel if you're just going off of energy, and they say, like, I've got okay energy, it's like, okay, then do you just accept that they have okay energy? And that's that? Like, how do you gauge it? How do you go about that? Yeah, good question. So I think a lot about processes, right? Like, are you having like, great productive bowel movements every day?
00:54:04
Speaker
Right. Like is there like what's the antioxidant content of your diet? Like do we do we have variety in your diet? You know, like these are like the level ups, right? Like yeah we just need adequacy, then macro nutrients, then like these little like level up things if you you're lucky to work with someone this long. So I think about like the different layers of it. um And so, yeah, I think about things like that. I think about like whatever management of, you know, a condition that they might have. Like how does it feel like I had someone who was taking a lot of gabapentin for like pain and stuff, and then when she started eating right, she started sleeping better, and now she takes less gabapentin. Things like that happen. like Where are we at with those? like Where are we also at like um with like preventative things and longevity? like If you have you know history of cancer in your family, like oh do we want to like go down the route of like prevention for that? like Let's check it on your fiber. like Are you having 35 grams of fiber a day? like
00:54:53
Speaker
There's so many different little pieces. And so sometimes I'll bring to their attention like, wow, like you, when we first started meeting, you were having acid reflux, you were having, you know, like inconsistent bowel movements. And now like your detox pathways are working. Like it's happening. Like now you're having this, like, so I'm like, wow, that's like a really big indicator of your health. They'll be like, Oh, okay, great. You know, like nobody really thinks about that or like hormone health, like in female bodies too. Like, Oh, okay. Where are we going with that? Like, are you having pain-free periods? Like, just so many different things of like how you're feeling and how your body's operating. And then also like, yeah, like the, I mean, huge privilege involved at this level, right? But it's like, are you sweating regularly? Are you supporting yourself? Like what environment do you live in? Like what are you up against in your health and like your longevity? Like every, you know, woman in my family has osteoporosis. Okay. Well, let's do the deep dive on like calcium or, you know, things like that, because
00:55:50
Speaker
I think once the diet mentality is out of the way, then we can get like really granular on things and like actually they're going to be able to take that info in and not freak out about it because we've done so much like, well, you know, it's really important for you to have calcium. Okay. But if you don't eat dairy, Oh, that's cool. We can still figure that out. Or like, Oh, like if you don't really. you know, want to you don't like Greek yogurt. Okay, yeah, we can figure that out. Like they know now like there's room for flexibility in there. And so when we give this person the gentle and and nutrition information, or when we look at these different measurements of success, I think energy is also like a pretty big one to sleep quality, whatever, yeah all those kind of like non scale victories. um
00:56:33
Speaker
I think it's and and but also ability for them to move through their lives better. Like, you know, they have better relationships because they're not hungry all the time or whatever. um yeah You know, all those different things. I think drawing attention to like the little things. And I oftentimes will be like, this is the privilege of not pursuing weight loss. Like the privilege of not pursuing weight loss is that you get to think about all this other stuff. Cause if we're just thinking about weight loss, then I don't really know if you're going to get enough calcium. Like all I'm focused on is putting you, I would never do this, but all I'm focused on is like putting you in a caloric deficit and sending you on your way. When we reach our goal, you don't get all this stuff. You're not allowed. So it's like this thing where people are like, well, shit, like I want that. Like, what do you mean? Like, of course I want that. I want to know all those little tiny things about my body. And it's like, well, you know, you have, you have to let go of this piece because otherwise we'll never know. And yeah, and we don't have enough time. Cause if we're sitting there in this rigid,
00:57:24
Speaker
you know restrictive place or or even just restrictive at all in any way I'm like well I would tell you to eat full fat dairy to like help your ovulation but like wait you're not you're not able to because weight loss is the primary thing so it's really like weight loss to me is like the barrier of exploring everything else and so I like nine times out of ten even if someone comes in like I want weight loss so bad explaining that to them they're like we Oh, like I didn't even know that or like, oh, I just like went to the doctor and they told me they had to lose, I had to lose weight. So that's just kind of what I'm doing. And I'm like, well, you know, what about like all this other stuff? And they're like, well, that's actually what I want. I've just been taught that weight loss equates to all of those. it lead ah yeah right So it's like, um, actually weird. Cause that's never happened to you. And they're like, yeah, I know it. Totally. Yeah. This is so bizarre. I don't really know what to do. And I'm like, well,
00:58:14
Speaker
I know, like let's talk about intuitive eating because it is totally like that difference. But I think it's like, even if you're not doing intuitive eating, it really is just like the putting the weight loss on the back burner while making space for the fact that it's normal to want weight loss. Of course you do. You look around and you know, everybody wants that and everybody wants you to lose weight. That is true. Like people around you want you to be smaller. That's a thing. like everybody will treat you better. That's real. Like all of these things are like, we know their real experiences based on people's lived body, you know, experience. And so I think acknowledging all of that and also saying like, yeah, I totally get it. It sucks.
00:58:52
Speaker
but here's what you have to give up to get to that space. And then people are like, ew, no, I don't want to do that. Like nine times out of 10. So I feel like I don't care. And then I'm like, well, maybe we have a problem in the more of the eating disorder realm. But it really is like just a lack of info for people. And I think us and the intuitive eating side need to understand that because it's not like unwillingness from a lot of people or like, you know, oh, they just can't let go of this. It really is like many times they're just not showing the option. So. Yeah. I think I answered that. I don't know. Totally. Yeah. it's ah It's so, so true. And I just, I love it because it's such a good little wrap up of the like continuation of the process, right? We sort of talked about a little bit of the beginning phases that then the evolution of working with someone
00:59:39
Speaker
in the intuitive eating in space can take a person to you know the other realms of improvement of health where they can be so cloudy to touch on that and in the earlier stages. And it's why it's important to have a process with it because you can't really jump steps and have it be super effective. But really this highlights like getting out on the other side makes your whole body work better. And it's not just about have a better relationship with food, like, obviously, that's wonderful. And so important. But it is, to me, it's a lot more than that. It's almost like I don't even like to market intuitive eating as improving your relationship with food. Because it's like, people will see that I feel like and just kind of
01:00:26
Speaker
like think that, you know, they'll they'll kind of be like, oh, well, I'll just be like, I don't know, uncomfortable in my body, but I'll have a better relationship. And I just have to, I'm just accepting, I'm just being complacent to wherever I land. And ah and to highlight the fact that it's like, no, no, you know, there is some, there is can be some structure around this to help you get more connected to your body while dismantling diet culture and wellness culture influences. and get you to a like a ah place in your life where you are utilizing food in a healing fashion, as well as giving yourself permission to have these foods that have been off limits for whatever X, Y, and Z reason for so long, at least like not putting them on pedestals, which is a whole reason people have the cycles that they do in the first place. So yeah. yeah Totally. and And what people find from that process, like in the
01:01:19
Speaker
At the end stages, I was just meeting with someone today and she was like, it's so weird. I like crave salad now. Like I want to eat that. And I'm like, yeah, like that's that's a normal piece of it. Same as ice cream. Like there's you are going to have those feelings about foods. It's just now she feels this is like over a year of work together. But it's like she feels so much more neutrally about things that there's space for her to actually allow an interest in those foods rather than just feeling like a like you reaction because she was only allowed to eat salads for so long. And now it's like, oh, like now that every food's back in, like actually there's like a reclaiming of, you know, those, those things. And so I think that's also what waits on the other side is like the inclusion of, of all those foods. And yeah, like your singular is taking them off the pedestal. Yeah. it's It's a pretty big reward at the end. Yeah, totally. Uh, well,
01:02:12
Speaker
Ignore my 18 other questions we didn't get to today, but maybe another time. Emily, where can people find you? Yeah, so they can find me at Emily Ray Wellness on Instagram, and if they like to get in touch, my website is EmilyRayWellness.com. Excellent.
Conclusion and Contact Information
01:02:34
Speaker
All righty. Well, that's a wrap, y'all. Please feel free to reach out with any additional questions. And if you want to work with Emily, um you can reach out too. I can add a link ah to the show notes for that as well. And otherwise, have a wonderful rest of your week. Thanks again, Emily.
01:02:57
Speaker
Thank you so much for listening today. If you found this information valuable, please share this episode and give it a review. They truly help a ton. If you want additional support and information, you can head over to my website, teresmartinezrd.com, where you can snag my free guide on how to improve your hunger signals, get on my email list for regular juicy content, or apply for the next round of my signature program, restoring nutrition intuition. Otherwise Instagram at Teresa Martinez RD or my Facebook group fed fit and fad free nutrition with Teresa are always places for more content and support until next time.