The problem with weight loss coaches and any other "expert" in the weight loss field is that they often base your ideal weight either on a chart or some other arbitrary weight goal that they think you should be. The problem with this is that it does not take into account your own body and its set point. We all have a set point for our weight, and trying to get down to a weight that is lower than your set point is harming your health.
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Have you ever thought about how many messages you see in one day related to diets, weight loss, eating “clean,” the latest exercise trend, cleanses, or some new means to “fix” or change your appearance, size, or shape!? If you think about the billboards you see when you’re taking the bus or train, or while you are driving, the ads you see on social media, not to mention the people you follow who may be self-proclaimed “wellness experts” - it can be really overwhelming! You are also inundated with the advertisements you see on television – whether they are direct advertisements or subliminally placed via product placement into movies or shows. Let alone the incessant diet talk that often happens between friends or family members, or the weight loss challenge or “wellness initiatives” that are being promoted at your workplace.
We are taking in these subliminal messages almost every moment of every day. There is one powerful motivator that fuels all of the messaging that surrounds diet culture and weight stigma and that is: MONEY.
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Our relationship with food in this country is not good. We have become so detached from our bodies that we eat based on the clock, while driving and texting, or what the latest fad diet tells us to do. Try these 5 simple things to help improve your relationship with food today.
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In honor of National RD (Registered Dietitian) Dayand because there are three of us here at Omni - myself, Melissa Preston, and Melissa Knudson- I thought I would do a special blog dedicated to the awesomeness that is being an RD. Here are some of the things that set dietitians apart from other wellness or nutrition professionals (taken directly from eatright.org):
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Your job is not to be perfect. Nobody ever told you that. At least not explicitly. Being a human is a funny thing. We are all are human. We all have limits. And misgivings. And bodily functions. Yet when we show others our limits, our misgivings, our bodily functions, we are embarrassed. We feel ashamed. We feel less than. We feel imperfect.
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If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating help is available. Follow this link to get screened, find treatment, or contact the helpline:
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support
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We are thrilled to announce a new member to the Omni Counseling and Nutrition Team, Abbey Gesing (she/her), Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate (LPCC)! Abbey comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience in trauma, body image shame, interpersonal violence, and disordered eating.
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If you binged on all your Valentine’s Day candy this weekend you are not alone. Research shows that 90% of people eat the entire box of candy in one sitting. Research also shows that I made that statistic up. If you are beating yourself up, from your binging… continue reading!
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The last two months, I was preparing for a presentation that I recently gave at the Colorado Association of Addiction Professionals Conference. http://www.caap.us/
The presentation was entitled “Eating Disorders, A Hidden Addiction”. When I was presented with the opportunity to co-present, I immediately jumped at it! It is one of my professional goals to speak at conferences, and this was the perfect chance to get my feet wet. I knew I would be nervous, but I thought I would be able to handle it since I’ve presented at and spoken in front of many high school and college classes.
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It seems like the human (or at least my) tendency is to distract, numb, and avoid being in touch with my needs because with being in touch comes a lot of personal responsibility. It is a lot easier – at least in the short term – to suppress my own needs and placate everyone else. That way I have a copout – another person or thing to blame when I am ultimately unhappy. This path may feel easier in the moment and appealing because it keeps everyone around me seemingly content. What I have also learned is that it is actually like self-torture in the long run because ultimately the person who is most important to me (me!) is not valued.
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Black and white thinking robs us from fully experiencing relationships. No person is perfect all of the time, nor are people bad all of the time. We lose when we expect people to always be a certain way and then they don't live up to our expectations. People are gray. Every person is unique and brings many different qualities to our lives. We are never going to be perfect. If we expect to be a ten, and we end up being an eight, we might equate it to being a zero. We are never going to be a ten because we are human. And that is okay! We are unfinished, always growing, always learning. If we were a ten right now, what would be the point of continuing to learn and grow?
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I was having this conversation with one of my clients the other day. We were sitting here in Omni’s office in Denver where we focus on recovery from disordered eating. We were discussing hunger cues and how they can sometimes be unreliable, and more importantly how they are not the only justification for eating. In fact that is far from the truth. There are a million and one reasons to eat that do not involve hunger. We discussed schedule, connection, and proximity to food as three reasons other than hunger that makes sense as rational times to eat. Here is a little more info on each of these rationales.
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I haven’t always felt comfortable with my body. In fact, I absolutely loathed and hated my body for 10 years. I not only envied models in magazines, but anyone who appeared confident. Friends, co-workers, random people on the street, anyone I knew that walked with their head held high and shoulders back. I thought the world of these creatures. I call them creatures because they almost didn’t seem real to me. I didn’t understand how anyone could feel comfortable in their body and I wondered how they did it.
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