You Get One Earth Suit
You don’t have to love your body.
But please don’t fall for wellness cultures’ encouragement to view your body as pieces and parts and sections.
You get ONE earth suit.
Be kind.
.
.
.
.
When negative body thoughts arise, get curious about what’s going on. Where are you? Who are you with? Are you adequately nourished? Have you had a hard day? Or an easy one? Even if what you are concerned about is true, is it helpful? To spend your time there? You might not be the best person to talk to yourself about you right now.
Be kind.
Negative body thoughts need not lead to actions that don’t serve your whole self.
You are a whole person. You are in a whole body. In every moment, on every day, for as long as you are on this planet, more is going right for your body, than is going wrong.
INCREDIBLE.
#bekind #bodyimage #bodyposi #nourishnotpunish #allbodiesaregoodbodies #dietitiananna
Let's Talk About Unsexy Self Care
Last week was hard. It marked the end of my seventh week at home. With close proximity to my husband, my dog, and no one else.
I felt tired, in a way that I have never felt before.
I slept & wanted more sleep.
In this moment, I’m grateful for unsexy self-care:💊MEDS.
I was diagnosed with MS when I was 15 years old. I was confused, I was scared, I was sad. I went to my therapist regularly & my psychiatrist briefly - both in duration & frequency. I went through the usual rigmarole to find the right antidepressant and finally landed with one that lifted my mood & kept me feeling normal. Phew.
I stayed on the med through high school, college, & grad school, and when I was happily settled in a REAL job, I was feeling really good. Life was good. I didn’t need the med anymore. So I decided to cross titrate and stop.
Fast forward one month-ish. I’m watching TV and that ASPCA commercial with Sarah McLaughlin singing in the background comes on. (Remember this one?!) And I start to weep.
I love animals. Don’t get me wrong. But a cat commercial? That shouldn’t be a thing to make me cry. So I went back on my med. Update: my neurologist recently prescribed a med for pain. It’s also another class of antidepressants.👌Two are seemingly better than one as I’m in a brighter place. Happy surprise.
The desire to not need medication can be really strong. For whatever reason. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had conversations with humans who feel that they shouldn’t “need,“ psychotropic medication. The fact is, we don’t determine how our brain chemistry works. Or whether or not it doesn’t always help us feel good.
If you need meds to feel like your best self, I see you. If you don’t want to be on meds, I see you. If you don’t need them, I see you. If you’re reluctant to try them, I see you.
It is my hope that cat commercials - or the equivalent - are not making you cry. (or feel anxious or panicked or whatever you feel) l am proud to say that they don’t make me cry anymore. Other things do, sure, but because I am on antidepressants, I’m not depressed. Even in this odd, long moment.
Moral of the story, unsexy self-care matters.
How are you doing?
Supporting Essential Employees
Thank you for your work.
Thank you for prioritizing humanity.
Thank you for an effort that those of us outside your circle will never understand.
Please know that you matter. That healing your relationship with food and body is important and that you are allowed to have needs in this frightening moment, too.
I see you.
I care about you.
I’m grateful that you’re on this planet.
If you are a COVID-19 essential worker who is in the midst of a struggle while also supporting the planet in our greatest struggle, I’d like to offer you support.
I am unable to provide individualized health or nutrition support but would be happy to host a regular Zoom community call for essential workers. To talk about your needs, your current challenges, and the things you were contending with before you were focused on the needs of the world.
If you’re interested, please send me a message here. If you know someone who might benefit from this support, please share this post.
Big love and gratitude,
A
#essentialworkers #freesupport #community #healthcareworkers #healthheroes #frontlines #thankyouessentialworkers #stayhome #giveback #supportessentialworkers #virtualsupport #socialgood #actsofkindness #peoplehelpingpeople #firstrespondersfirst #zoommeeting #haes #antidiet #antidietdietitian #eatingdisorderdietitian #dietitiananna
How are You Connecting to Your Body?
How are you connecting to your body in this moment?
In this moment where disconnection might feel preferable. In this moment where the ground perhaps feels less settled than you’d like. And breathing deeply requires a little, or a lot, more effort.
How are you establishing connection to this vessel that has made today and yesterday and all the days before, and all the days that will come afterward, possible?
Being disabled and quarantined, simultaneously, has brought me to a place of new connection. Of appreciating little things that I would never have celebrated before. Of appreciating the fact that I feel my feet hit or slide on the ground, (I haven’t always) and I can type on my phone with two hands, (a skill I thought I had lost, and is transient) and I can just BE in my body without needing to justify it by doing or accomplishing or attaining a thing.
I am connecting to my body by noticing sensation. Responding when I can.
I will never be the same after this.
And I am grateful.
How are you connecting to your body right now?
#bodyconnection #mindbodyconnection #ms #chronicillness #eatingdisorderrecovery #disabilityawareness #mindfulpractice #nourishyourbody #nourishnotpunish #antidiet #nodiets #thisisms #invisibleillness #innerwork #dietitianapproved #dietitiananna
Processed Food is Good Food
Do you know what we don’t have time for in this moment?
Fretting about consumption of processed food.
When I say “processed food,“ I imagine some perceive that description to mean something negative. Not so.
The processing of food is doing anything that makes it accessible/plausible/palatable for human consumption.
This is not the time for condemnation of food. Any food. All food is good food. All food fits. Processed. Or not. And if we are being honest, the only way to actually acquire unprocessed food is to pull it out of the ground ourselves.
Quinoa, a grain product that is certainly elevated by diet culture, is processed. It doesn’t grow in a bag. You can’t eat it without cooking it.
The homemade loaves of sourdough bread that I’m hearing all about are processed. Mixing flour with water and kneading is processing.
Cutting food. Peeling food. Cooking. Reheating. Microwaving. All processing.
And if something has been processed ahead of time, to make your life easier, that is food, too.
Frozen food is food.
Canned food is food.
Dehydrated food is food.
Premade food is food.
Restaurant food is food.
Packaged food is food.
Processed food is good food.
How would your relationship with processed food shift if you approached it with less judgment?
#food #antidiet #antidietculture #processedfood #allfoodsfit #allfoodisgoodfood #foodfreedom #nofoodrules #dietculturedetox #eatingdisorderrecovery #goodmoodfood #dietitianapproved #dietitiananna
Bodies are so Smart
See also: your body cannot differentiate famine from dieting.
Bodies are so smart. When there is inadequate food available, they slow down to conserve energy. Metabolism slows, rate of digestion slows, brain function shifts.
This is by design. This is to keep you here. And for all the wisdom that our bodies have, they do not have the ability to differentiate between dieting, semi-starvation, and states of famine. When the body is not getting enough food, it is not getting enough food. This applies to mental and physical restriction.
If you are following food rules, if you have a list of good and bad foods, if you believe that you can’t be trusted with a specific food, if you don’t allow yourself to enjoy foods, expect to think about food all the time. So many of my clients get annoyed by this experience. This is biology focusing you on survival. And until your body has enough food, and lack of judgment around food, for a long enough period of time, and feels trusting that it will be cared for thoughtfully, these messages will keep coming.
This message applies to all bodies.
Diet culture wants us to believe that we can outsmart our bodies. And in truth, for a short time, some of us can. But thankfully, the wisdom of our bodies persists, despite any diet culture-oriented intervention we may attempt. I don’t blame you for wanting to diet, you are welcome here if you actively are dieting. You’re welcome here if your relationship with food is not as you would like it to be.
If you don’t have adequate access to food, I appreciate that you may have a deeper understanding of what this is like. If you do have adequate access to food, please know that food is not an enemy. That diet culture is a liar and that your body is trustworthy. And your body is so smart and will work to protect you at all cost.
#food #eat #nutrition #nourish #allbodiesareworthybodies #diet #eatingdisorderrecovery #nourishnotpunish #antidiet #allfoodsfit #intuitiveeating #nodiets #ditchthediet #healthcoach #wellness #rdchat #rd2be #dietitiananna
Kindness is a Requirement
This is the hard part. Or one of them.
Moving away from diet/disorder/body preoccupation is hard work. And work that won’t be likely congratulated or appreciated or largely understood by the humans around you.
Trust that congruence is possible. And acknowledge that congruence means actively challenging the messages that have gotten you to right now. Not impossible, but certainly not simple.
Please be gentle with yourself in this process. Kindness is a requirement.
#haes #bodyimage #eatingdisorderrecovery #dietrecovery #nodiets #dietitianapproved #riotsnotdiets #nourishnotpunish #selfkindness #selfcompassion #mentalhealth #mentalhealthadvocate #dietitiananna
Have a Body? Awesome
Despite the timing, the seeming global pause, spring is happening in the Northern Hemisphere.
Be grounded in the rhythms of the planet. She has us. And this year, let’s skip the horrific body shame show that is seasonal preparation for a thing you already have.
Have a body? Awesome. It’s beach-ready.
And the pools and beaches will open.
And I hope you don’t waste a single second questioning whether or not your body belongs there. Your right now body.
And this message is for all humans.
Anyone who identifies as female.
Anyone who identifies as male.
Anyone who identifies as non-binary.
Thin. Fat. In shape (which is not a look) or not. All races. All abilities.
All bodies.
I haven’t seen any #beachbody preparation BS this year. Yet. I imagine that it will arrive, despite the global pandemic we’re living through. Because diet culture knows no bounds and has continued to demonstrate its lack of integrity or interest in the human condition. Insert middle finger here.
We have better things to do than to aspire for a thing we already possess.
Happy Friday, lovelies.
And speaking of spring, if you live in a space where it is safe to get outside, I would love to be included in your adventure. Tag me in stories to add to the #inaccessibleviews collection!
#spring #seasonalpreparation #dietitianapproved #sandandsun #antidietculture #eatingdisorderrecovery #allfoodsfit #allbodiesaregoodbodies #allbodiesarebeachbodies #antidiet #wellness #dietculture #bodypositivity #bodyimage #bodyautonomy #allbodies #dietitiananna
Be a Rebel
If there were ever a time for rebellion, this is it.
Do the next, harder thing.
Small steps count.
Halt diet culture talk in its tracks.
Log off of conversations, excuse yourself from unpleasant chats. >>> Provide education in support of yourself. In support of those who can’t speak for themselves. Or save your energy.
Commit to eating regularly. And adequately. And in a way that satisfies. Physical restriction and mental restriction result in the same preoccupation with food.
All food is good food.
All food is good food.
Practice self-soothing exercises before you eat. Lots of my clients are experiencing IBS symptoms right now. If you’re feeling the same way, compassion. You’re not alone. And grounding yourself before eating can be helpful: identify 3-2-1 things that you can see, smell, feel, hear. BREATHE. Grab a sensory item: a worry stone, a stuffed animal, a pet. BREATHE.
Create a self-soothing mantra. “This food is safe. My body can handle this food. I am safe.” Or whatever feels right to you.
Get rid of clothes that don’t fit. You don’t have shoes from 3rd grade, you don’t need ANYTHING that served a past version of your body.
Step away from the scale. Or break it.
Break a food rule or two.
Get curious about where the rules came from. Are they yours? Did they start with you? Your guardians? Your friends? How old are they? Would you offer them to someone you love?
Diet culture is loud and dogmatic.
Be a rebel. Magic happens there.
.
Also, I know I’m missing a comma and I hate it. 🤦♀️ A lot.
#antidiet #foodrules #nourishnotpunish #nourishnotdeprive #intuitiveeating #eatingdisorderrecovery #dietculture #dieting #foodfreedom #edrecovery #antidietdietitian #dietitianapproved #dietitiananna
No Feeling is Final
No feeling is final.
(Sigh)
No feeling is final.
(Inhale)
No feeling is final.
(Exhale)
No feeling is final.
(Inhale)
No feeling is final.
(Feel your feet on the ground, your tush in your seat, your body rooted to the planet. The same planet we all share)
No feeling is final.
(Let yourself feel them. All of them.)
Keep feeling. You’re in good company.
#quarantine #haes #healthcoach #healthateverysize #effyourbodystandards #feelings #beauty #selfcaretips #keepgoing #taketimeout #bepresent #goodcompany #nofeelingisfinal #mindfulness #bopo #yourmindmatters #iweigh #supporting #happyearthday #earthsuit #dietitiananna