Enjoying ______? Cool.
Enjoy football? Cool.
Enjoying food? Cool.
Celebrating? Cool.
Not celebrating? Cool.
Watching the game? Cool.
Not watching the game? Cool.
Eating special food? Cool. Your body has your back.
Not eating special food? Cool. Your body has your back.
Drinking? Cool. Be safe.
Choosing not to drink despite the irritatingly sexist ads that urge you to “do so responsibly?” Cool.
The Super Bowl is a football game. It will introduce us to commercials that we will see for the next several months. It will definitely include those stupid beer commercials with the squires and knights. Probably Flo will make an appearance. It will probably include a lot of commercials for trucks because you know, people who watch football drive them…
It will probably have its fair share of diet culture mumbo-jumbo. Please, please, please do your best to keep this in the rearview. Diet culture makes money on making people feel like shit. Period.
I’m watching the game casually. My partner and my dog. No booze and no special food. And I’m probably going to record every commercial that makes me feel offended and then share the WHY I’m offended with you...TBD.
You made it through the holidays, fam. You survived the start of 2020! You’re okay! Better than okay. You’re amazing.
And you can absolutely make it through a football game. 🏈 Thinking of you!
#superbowl #superbowlfood #superbowlcommercials #superbowlguilt #dietculturesucks #eatwhatyouenjoy #football #sports #eatingdisorderrecovery #bingeeating #bulimia #orthorexia #arfid #osfed #anorexia #food #eatwhatyoulove #todayisaday #antidiet #dietitiansofinstagram #rdchat #rd2be
It's Called Balance
It’s called balance. More appropriately, it’s called homeostasis. Your body loves it and will do whatever it can to achieve it.
I am so tired of the cultural elevation one type of eating disorder behavior while condemning others. These behaviors occur in concert with one another.
This is not about willpower.
This is not about effort.
This is not about not wanting it enough.
This is about maintaining equilibrium. If you have been stuck on the pendulum of diet or disorder, swinging from one end to another, for a period of time, please be gentle with yourself.
Extremes beget extremes.
Be gentle. YOU’RE SO HUMAN.
#EatingDisorderRecovery #EatingDisorderDietitian #antidiet #weightloss #weightgain #weightneutral #bodytrust #AnorexiaRecovery #anorexia #bulimia #osfed #arfid #bingeeatingdisorder #BingeEatingDisorderRecovery #orthorexia #orthorexiarecovery #BulimiaRecovery #0SFEDRecovery #ARFIDRecovery #wellness #fitness #bodyautonomy #exercise #balance
Hey 50K!
Hey friends!
It’s been a while, so it makes sense to do another introduction! And somehow, we just hit 50K! WOWWWW.
I am so very grateful that you are here.
My name is Anna. I am an anti-diet, Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and specialize in the treatment of eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image distress.
I talk a lot about eating disorder recovery, diet culture, body reclamation, and why-I-hate-wellness-culture here. I also talk about the realities of living as a disabled human and as a human with a chronic illness.
Increasingly, get ready for this page to be about social justice. Of all kinds. I do not believe that being selectively woke is particularly helpful to anyone. I’m evaluating how I want to show up in the world, and in doing so, plan on sharing what I learn as I go.
I never dreamed of having a social media family like this. And while social media will never take the place of individualized nutrition support, I am delighted to be here, to be human, with you. Your presence here makes a difference, in this community, and to me. So from the deepest of the deep, thank you.
On a personal note, I don’t believe in fate, but I do believe that I was made to do this job.
I would not trade this for the world.
I became an eating disorder dietitian because someone I love lived with an eating disorder. In the last 11 years, I have worked at all levels of eating disorder care, and now exclusively in private practice. I have treated many thousands of people. I remember a lot of names and even more faces.
Thank you for being the greatest of teachers. You’ve made this hard work worth everything.
Instagram fam, YOU, have made me certain that I will be able to continue to do this work I do love, regardless of my degree of disability. What a gift.
I’m deeply honored that you’ve chosen to hang with me. Connecting on social media is a big deal and one that I take very seriously. Look forward to getting to know you!
#disableddietititian #antidiet #haes #eatingdisorderdietitian #ms #dietitiansofinstagram #disabled #disability #ilovemyjob #gratitude 📸 @rachlynsey
Body Grief is Real
In a culture that suggests that there is one way to have a body.
In a culture that suggests that there is one body to be attained by all.
In a culture that combats body change, at all cost.
In a culture that does not celebrate body change as a part of healthy evolution and growth.
Bodies are supposed to change.
Your body does not look like it did when you were in high school, because you are no longer in high school. This is a good thing.
And maybe you have dedicated time to changing your body, and maybe you have been successful, in doing so. And maybe you have not. And maybe you have wished for a body you don’t, can’t, won’t have.
Blown out birthday candles with the wish for a different body.
Thrown pennies into fountains.
Wished on lucky stars.
It is unrealistic to suggest that you will not have feelings about your changing body. It is also unrealistic to suggest that your body will not change. You are alive. Living things change. This is good. And in the vein of realism, grief is allowed to be part of the process. And as I am learning, in the context of living with a chronic illness, grief is an emotion that is perpetual. It changes shape. It takes up more time or less. But it is in the background. It is part of my story. And holding it as part of the story, makes it feel better.
You are allowed to feel whatever you feel about your body. And I hope that regardless of how you feel, you will do your best to take care of it. Grief is not best managed by cruelty.
Happy weekend, lovelies.
#haes #eatingdisorderrecovery #bodyimage #grief #allbodiesareworthybodies #nourish #heal #aging #disability #compassion #change #evolve #antidiet
Stay
Anyone else have those days? When the things that you say to yourself about yourself are not the most gentle or generous?
I KNOW THAT I DO.
I want to clarify something about the tone that I use on social media.
There is a very specific reason that I am emphatic about having a strong weight-inclusive, HAES® informed message. There is a very specific reason that I am direct in messaging about all things eating disorder recovery. There is a very specific reason that I am unapologetic about moving away from all things diet and wellness culture. There is a very specific reason that I speak about body image and body acceptance in the way I do. There is a very specific reason that I don’t mince words about wellness culture interventions for chronic conditions.
There is a very specific reason that I say hello and send best wishes on my stories. Daily.
The reasons that I show up in this fashion is because diet culture is unapologetically loud. Eating disorders are convincing and noisy and persistent. Wellness culture is pervasive.
I am one voice. More specifically, I am one person. I can’t beat wellness culture or eating disorder messages, and I certainly can’t beat diet culture. But it matters to me that I show up with an assertive voice. Because the voices I’m combatting? They are super assertive. And are going nowhere.
The reasons that I am this assertive? They have names. They are people. They are my clients, my colleagues, my friends. Sometimes, they are for me.
The reason my tone is different in my daily hellos? Because I am a whole human.
I am fiercely protective of this space. And sometimes, I’m going to miss the mark. Sometimes I’m going to take things seriously, too seriously. Sometimes, I feel like I could show up here better, more. And then, I breathe. And I know that the people who are here, are meant to be here.
So while I might not be the best person to talk to about myself today, I’m still here. And you might not be the best person to talk to about you today, either.
But stay. Offer yourself COMPASSION. Check in again later.
Body Info > Nutrition Info
Have you ever eaten a food that you believed to be adequate, and were annoyed to find yourself looking for something else? Sooner than you felt comfortable with?
Maybe this eating experience started by checking a black and white label. Assessing calorie totals, or grams of protein or fiber or some other thing that promises to tell you about what ought to feel sufficient or satisfactory. And maybe you have a food that you’d really like to eat, but because of that black and white badge, you skip it. And try something else that ‘should’ keep you happy or full or not distracted by food. But then you eat something else. And something else. And something else. Nothing is doing the trick, and by the time you eat the originally desired food, you feel mentally exhausted and physically dreadful.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
This is what happens when we allow black and white labels to dictate food choices. This is outsourcing body wisdom. This might work, short term, but can’t, ongoing.
This is why I LOVE working with satisfaction. Satisfaction is individual. It is subjective. It cannot be predetermined by checking a label. It can’t be appreciated if energy needs are not being met consistently. Satisfaction relies on all of your senses.
Satisfaction is like a fingerprint. It’s unique. It either IS or ISN’T. And yours, alone.
Body information is so much more important than nutrition information. Seeking satisfaction is health-promoting behavior. GET CURIOUS.
Preference > Position
PREFERENCE > POSITION. Every time.
This concept applies to much of what is discussed in my office: Food choice. Movement selection. How people feel about food and eating, and how people feel about moving their bodies or not.
There is extraordinary power in acknowledging and knowing and trusting your preferences. If there is a certain food that you genuinely do not prefer, or a certain exercise style that is not preferred, excellent. You know you.
But this gets tricky when wellness culture pops it’s nose into decisions and instead of offering you choice, suggests that there is a correct way and an incorrect way.
Instead of saying “I prefer to eat fruits and vegetables regularly,“ the message becomes “I am THE KIND OF PERSON who eats fruits and veggies regularly.” This might seem like a subtle differentiation, but I don’t think it is.
Having a strong position about food actually takes away your choice. It does not allow for growth or change or development of authentic preference.
Position is solid. It is unwavering. And, in my experience, is brittle and leads to fewer choices.
Preference, on the other hand, is fluid. It acknowledges that preferences change, and leaves room for a change in opinion and a change with experience.
To illustrate this point, I will use myself as an example. I don’t enjoy salmon. Because this is a preference, I can go to a restaurant or a party or a friend’s house and eat salmon and be fine. I might not love them the most, and that’s okay. I will eat again.
If I had a very strong position about salmon, for example, It might go something like this… “I am not a person who eats salmon, so I won’t be coming to your party, and I won’t be coming to that event, or I will eat later.“ And perhaps salmon is not a great example here…If it doesn’t feel right for you, play with some diet culture trends. (Gluten, Whole30, paleo, etc.)
If you are making choices based on positional beliefs, I welcome you to consider evaluating your preferences. They might be the same, but the energy of the preference is different.
Happy eating this weekend! Play with this!
*allergies need positions
Boring Food is Still Food
Moving away from diet culture and disorder means freedom with food. And freedom with food hopefully means variety, adequacy, flexibility, excitement, and fun.
AND
Sometimes food is boring. Sometimes food is eaten because we know we need energy, we know we need to perform a task, or do a job, or simply need fuel to be alive. Sometimes we eat something simply because it is around. Not because it is something that we want or that we are craving or that necessarily leaves us feeling excited. Not because it is the best thing we’ve ever eaten.
And this is so hard when we are newly free from the handcuffs of diet culture or disorder. When we might be interacting with food freely for the first time in a long time, or maybe for the first time period.
And of course, because this permission and flexibility and freedom is new, it feels like everything we eat should be the next BEST thing.
This, to me, is one of the beauties of intuitive eating. As we give ourselves permission to eat food, we can also give ourselves permission to eat food that we don’t deem to be exceptional.
There will be more food.
There will be more exciting eating opportunities.
Boring food is still food.
Humans Have Needs
Humans have needs. This doesn’t make you needy. It makes you human.
Humans can’t do this life thing alone. This doesn’t make you needy. It makes you human.
My friends, you are allowed to ask for help in the process of being a person.
Even if you don’t want to be a bother.
Even if you don’t want to rely on another.
Even if you don’t feel comfortable asking.
Even if you don’t know how you’ll be received.
Even if asking has been unsuccessful in the past.
Even if you don’t know exactly what you need. But are willing to be curious.
Especially if you want to be more successful in your experience of being.
You may have been raised with the strong message of independence trumping all. You may uphold this ideal independent of messages from another human.
Please don’t misunderstand independence & unnecessary self-reliance.
We are so much better, together. Together is how we fight diet culture. Together is how we change the narrative about idealized bodies. Together is how we fight racism. And fatphobia. And patriarchy. And homophobia. And transphobia. And ableism. Together is how we heal from diets and disorder.
Together is how we change the narrative of having need.
T O G E T H E R.
So I invite you to be a human with needs. Because your need is OUR need.
This is one of my favorite parts of IG; community. Whether you have a real person or people to share your needs with, you can be seen and acknowledged here. I’m unendingly impressed by how you show up for one another.
Let’s start the week together!
In that vein, what do you need right now?
You Have Permission to Snack
I don’t know why snacking is something we encourage our children to do, but move away from as adults.
Life gets busy. Stress gets in the way. Perhaps we think about diet culture more than we did as kids. Perhaps we have the belief that snacking is an unhealthy behavior. Maybe a belief that eating between meals is off-limits.
This is diet culture. This is family culture.
This is socially accepted among adults, adulting. Ugh. Let’s be kids, again!
Many of us have memories of the excitement of coming home after school, in search of an after-school snack. And if you were fortunate enough to have a healthy relationship with food that time, and access to food, I imagine you looked forward to this snack!
Human bodies do not operate like vehicles. We do not have an external gas tank to provide us with fuel when we need it. We always need it. Our engine runs, always. Eating regularly allows our engine to run more efficiently. It promotes happier digestion, a more stable mood and less erratic interaction with food, itself.
Not that you need my permission, but in case you do: You have permission to snack. Many times a day. Every day.
Going back to the afterschool snack conversation, what was your favorite?
My go to? Tortilla chips with microwave melted cheese with blue 🔹 gushers.