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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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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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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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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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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The holiday season is upon us, and with that you may be subjected to a whole new level of diet culture rhetoric. As we know from my blog about diet culture– it is the status quo – and therefore many folx are not even aware of the fact that they are spreading diet culture messaging. Ugh. In our office here in Denverwhere we provide mental health and nutrition counseling for people with eating disorders, disordered eating, and/or body image struggles I have printed out the Intuitive Eating Bill of Rightsso that clients can remember their rights throughout this holiday season. It is a helpful reminder of boundaries you can set to take care of yourself while celebrating with family or friends.
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Self-care is about honoring and nurturing your self. It is about setting boundaries, getting acquainted with what matters to you and what your needs are, and setting your life up in a way that is attentive and supporting of you! Self care is attuning to your wants, needs, and desires and creating a life that allows you to meet those for yourself. It can look a million different ways – but the intention behind self-care is to fill yourself up so that you are equipped – emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually – to tackle your day-to-day tasks and obligations.
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If you think about it, inspiration is all around you when you take a minute to soak it in. I am grateful for all of the sources that bring me inventiveness, creativity, and joy on a day-to-day basis. I hope that this post reminds you to seek your own sources of inspiration in your recovery, your path of self-growth, or simply in your everyday experiences.
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The work of body acceptance is not isolated for you as an individual. It is not only about learning to accept yourself, likewise it is about the collective and learning to accept everyone and fight for justice for all bodies. If the world we live in continues to uphold unrealistic beauty and body standards, we will never find acceptance for ourselves. In order to accept your body you must also work toward accepting ALL BODIES. The work is in dismantling the ridiculous standards that are set by diet culture and the patriarchy.
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I believe it is important to understand the connection between diet culture and white supremacy because I hope it stirs something up within you, that the hierarchical structure (white men being at the top) of our society is wrong and something needs to change. We must be the change. In order to make change happen, we must let go of dieting and spend our energy and time focused on ways to fight against diet culture, which in turn means fighting against white supremacy and the ways in which it oppresses all of us. This is ultimately for the collective, not just for your individual recovery from dieting, disordered eating, or an eating disorder. If we want to achieve individual recovery from disordered eating, we must also fight for this for the most marginalized of bodies and identities.
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I have been thinking a lot about my values recently. When I first started grad school I remember I was assigned a paper in my Intro to Counseling Theories class and the task was to write about my values. Aside from doing a values card sort with my therapist, this was the first time in my life that I had taken the time to think through my values. I recently reread the paper that I wrote about four years ago, and was surprised to see that my values have not really changed all that much, even though I feel I have grown as a person a lot over these last four years.
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Today’s blog is not really related to our typical topics or norms at Omni of disordered eating, chronic dieting, social justice, and/or body image. However, this topic is unavoidably present for me right now and feels most authentic for me to write about, so here we go. This one is for anyone out there who is or has experienced a significant loss.
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Nourishing movement ideally comes from a space of self-acceptance and body respect. That does NOT mean you have to love your body. Coming from a place of acceptance allows room for you to learn what feels nourishing, rather than aiming for a certain number of calories burned or X many steps.
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“Diet Culture” is a term that Melissa and I use all the time and we realized it may be a confusing term for many of you. Diet culture is also all around us, which means it probably impacts your life on a daily basis, possibly without you even realizing it. I want to explain what we mean when we talk about diet culture.
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On this 4th of July, what can you do to create more space for freedom in your relationship with food? What can you do to strive towards creating a more equitable society where the 4th of July has the same meaning and celebratory vibe for ALL? My hope for ALL people today is a day of peace with food, and in all other aspects of life.
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The myth that thin=healthy and fat=not healthy is just outdated and based purely in a societal fear of fatness. This myth really makes my blood boil. There is SO MUCH research out there that proves this theory/bias/opinion/myth wrong.
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Are you tired of counting calories, obsessing over what foods are healthy and what foods are unhealthy? Do you label foods as “good” or “bad”? Do you judge yourself based on what or how much you have eaten? Do you spend way too much time thinking about food? Are you ready to embrace ALL food and change your perspective? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Intuitive Eating may just be the path for you!
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