Thoughts are Tricky Things
Thoughts are tricky things. Sometimes they’re based in fact, sometimes they are based in fear, and sometimes they are based on misinformation.
Just like feelings, we can’t control our thoughts. But we can control our actions.
This is a challenging one, but I want you to give it a try.
Thought: my body might change during quarantine.
Is it helpful? No. Your body might change. You might gain weight. And if you do, you are just as worthy and good as you were before your weight changed. Diet culture preying on folx mid-PANDEMIC is infuriating. Weight gain is not a worst-case scenario here.
Thought: I can’t eat comfort/packaged/preserved foods without ‘making up’ for them later.
Is it helpful?: nope. Whether or not you feel anxious about it, give yourself permission to eat all the foods. If that feels scary, try incorporating anxiety-producing foods in the context of eating meals. All foods fit. Self-soothing with food is an ingenious mechanism. There is a reason that eating leads to dopamine release. Brilliant. Anxiety is temporary. You have staying power.
Thought: if I stop this diet, my body might change.
Is it helpful?: Nope. It’s true, your body might change, but we know that diets are famous for being unsuccessful long term and leaving the eater feeling responsible. Moving away from dieting might be the hardest thing you do. If you’re not ready for that yet, you are welcome here.
Thought: if I eat this food, I’m going to feel guilty.
Is it helpful?: No. Guilt is not a feeling that should be associated with food or eating! Challenge the heck out of this one! Is that part of your story? Or was it someone else’s story before it became yours?
Thought: I don’t deserve to eat this.
Is this helpful?: Absolutely not. Deservedness is not something that applies to food. Similar to air, you deserve to eat. Without earning a thing.
Some of the concerns about what might happen if you take care of yourself with adequate food & rest may be valid. And the consequences of not taking care of yourself are far more dire. They disconnected from your life. Even in this virtual connection land, connection matters.
IS THIS HELPFUL?
How will you use this today? 👇
Unfollow Accordingly
We’re nearing the end of mental health awareness month. Never has there been a moment like the one we’re living through. And if your mental health has taken a hit, you are not alone. As one way to support yourself, I’d like to invite you to review the input you’re finding on social media.
Leaving this here as a reminder that unfollowing is a superpower.
Protect your mental health.
Please.
Questions to ponder about who you follow.👇
Am I being challenged to think in a new way? Am I learning, even if I’m uncomfortable?
Am I paying for a message or a service that I trust has been developed with my best interest in mind?
Am I being supported by following this human?
Do I feel empowered by this message?
Am I comparing my story to theirs in an unhelpful way?
Are these messages helping me to feel better about myself? Leaving me feeling worse?
If I DIDN’T see a person’s post or story, would I feel better?
Review your following list.
Unfollow accordingly.
Big love,
a
Eating Disorders Don't Have a "Look"
What does a person with an eating disorder look like?
That’s a trick question.
There is no “look” that denotes the experience of living with an eating disorder. None. Zero. Anything that you believe visually represents what it means to live with the most lethal of all mental illnesses is built on prejudice.
People of all shapes and sizes.
People of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
People of all genders.
People of all races.
The SINGLE unifying trait of those who experience eating disorders is the pre-existing condition of being human.
Throw all of the garbage, stereotypical assumptions about what it looks like to have an eating disorder out the window.
Recovery happens. But not if we only respond to bodies that have changed visibly. Or fit into some foolish pre-judged category of who is vulnerable. Or who isn’t.
If you’re struggling, please get help.
I believe you. I believe in you.
I hear you. I’m listening.
I see you. I’m looking.
#edrecovery #eatingdisorderawareness #eatingdisorderprevention #lgbtqcommunityhealth #weightstigma #haes #inclusionmatters #bodyposi #bopo #nobodyshaming #normalizenormalbodies #speakyourtruth
You Don't Need to Manage Your Weight
You don’t need to manage your weight.
Anyone selling “weight management” as a strategy for health promotion is selling a product that will more likely result in a demotion of physical or mental health or both.
No, thank you. ✌️
#weightmanagementisntathing #antidiet #antidietculture #dietculture #riotsnotdiets #diet #intuitiveeating #edrecovery #fatliberation #fatpositive #haes #thereisnowrongwaytohaveabody
Let's Get a Little Personal....
Hi friends!
There are a number of new humans hanging around, so I thought it made sense to do another introduction!
My name is Anna. And I’m so glad that you’re here! I am an @iaedpfoundation Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor. I specialize in the care of humans living with eating disorders, disordered eating, those moving away from diet culture, and all things body image. I practice using a weight inclusive, HAES®, fat positive, and social justice-oriented lens. I bring those ideals here, too.
I’m also a full-time disabled human. I’ve lived with MS for the last 20+ years.
If you’re new here, expect to read a lot about combating diet culture, eating disorder recovery, moving toward body trust, and disability lessons that I’m learning and sharing as I go. If you’ve been here for a while, I’m so glad that we are connected. Thank you for being here.
I never expected a social media experience to be as intimate as mine has been, and I am most, most grateful.
Let’s get a little personal, shall we?
I have a great deal of respect for the English language, and love to write. And I’m good at it. One of my dreams is to write a book. In the meantime, I’ll keep writing here.
I like most all food and eat with excitement. I miss sharing meals rn.
Dislikes: salmon, smoked foods.
I am terrified of cows 🐄 and am the bug 🕷 wrangler in my home.
Last book I read: Such a Fun Age by @kileyreid
Currently reading: Girl with the Louding Voice by @abidare_author
I love nature. I miss being able to experience it as I once did, and took for granted, in an able body. This is why inaccessible views exists. If you have a moment, check out my highlights; we’re nearing 400 photos + videos from around the world.
With almost 10,000 views. Wow.
I cry almost every time someone tags me in an outdoor story.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
.
.
.
Your turn! Introduce yourself, share a fun fact, why you’re here, what you’re reading/watching/listening to, anything!
Lots of love,
a🤍
Let's Legalize Ugly Food
When was the last time you saw images of unpretty food shared on social media?
In bad lighting. On an unadorned surface. Without a ton of color or texture.
Without a person included? (Generally, a white person with thin privilege, just the right amount of skin showing, in athleisure, looking as casual and calm and cool as can be?) Or a random product placement. (A pair of sunglasses left whimsically on display, as if the photo was casually snapped.)
Aesthetically pleasing food is wonderful. But diet culture, privilege, and fear-mongering have made preoccupation with pretty food a real thing. Because pretty food is the stuff that will heal or cure or prevent the side effects of being human. At least that’s the story.
Kale (always) and açaí or some ‘immune-boosting’ berry (not a thing) and avocado (because green fat > fat of another hue. again, not a thing) and some lean, possibly plant-based protein.
This is not a judgment about the aforementioned foods or the humans who consume them.
At all.
I’m one of them.
AND
I’m proud to also eat ugly food, too. Join me?
Wellness culture invading our plates is so uncool.
Making assumptions about eaters is equally (if not more) uncool.
Let’s celebrate ugly food. Uncurated. Unpretty. As it is.
Join me in the #ieatuglyfood club.
What is your favorite not so attractive food?
Swipe >> to see some of mine.
(Also, last night’s din.)
#foodliberation #allfoodsfit #allfoodisgoodfood #antidiet #antidietculture #dietitianapproved #uglyfood #dietculturedropout #fdoe #nofoodrules #dietculturesucks #riotsnotdiets #foodfreedom #eatwhatyouwant #eatuglyfood #dietitiananna
Guilt is a Terrible Dinner Date
If you’re feeling guilty as a result of eating a food, or putting a halo on another food, your eating experience is not as nourishing as it could be.
1️⃣ Humans who spend time worrying about weight status or the impact of eating ‘guilt-inducing‘ food on their bodies are more likely to feel out of control with food.
2️⃣ Guilt may lead to feelings of helplessness and feelings of being out of control with food.
3️⃣ Identifying a food as “forbidden” increases desirability and cravings for said food.
4️⃣ If #weightloss is a goal and food is identified as guilt-inducing vs. celebratory, desired weight change is not observed.
5️⃣ Dieters who rate pleasure as unimportant when choosing food show more signs of eating disorders & lower psychological well-being compared to other those who value pleasure.
The point? Enjoying food is a part of health. Unless you’re allergic to a thing, all food is fine.
Guilt is a shit dinner date.
Kuijer RG and Boyce JA. (2014)
Lindeman and Stark. (2000)
#intuitiveeatingofficial #eatwhatyouwant #allfoodsfit #nourishnotpunish #guilty #notguilty #bodytrust #haes #intuitiveeating #dietculture #antidietculture #nondiet #antidiet #bodyrespect #dietitiananna
Thank You for Social Distancing
The more I think about this, the more frustrated I become.
I know it’s getting warmer. I know it’s hard to not be with your friends. I know that in the same week that the @cdcgov recommended that everyone wear #masks, cities and beaches and private pools were opened.
People are thinking about #summer plans. The plans that they made last year, the plans that they have been looking forward to.
The PLANS.
And I know you don’t think that your #plans are more important than the interrupted plans of humans who are suffering from #Covid. Or more important than the plans of the humans who are caring for those who are suffering from Covid. I know you don’t think that.
But the more that I think about social distancing, the more I think about #socialjustice. Staying at home may not be for you, but it is for the people around you. It is for humans who live in oppressed bodies.
It’s for the Black and Brown folx who have been the subject of the news for the last months...with mostly white anchors reporting with astonishment at the high rates of infection in these populations. As though lack of equitable access to #healthcare or the ability to not work or safely distance is a shock. It shouldn’t be.
It’s for the humans who live in larger bodies who have been living in a weight stigmatizing society forever. Who are carrying the burden of an elevated allostatic load because weight-based discrimination and oppression is real. And these humans are now being told, falsely, that their bodies are high risk for infection. #haes
It’s for the #disabled #folx who rely on delivered meals and prepared items and safe entry and exit from pharmacies and doctors offices. Those who navigate the planet with assistance, and those who are made to go it alone.
It is for humans with compromised immune systems who will need to stay inside longer if you don’t.
If you are under the impression that the #quarantine, or stay at home order, or closure of your social club is about you, you’re mistaken.
If you think not following SD guidelines is NOT an issue of #racism, #fatphobia, #weightstigma, and #ableism, you’re mistaken.
Thank you for #socialdistancing.
Speak Gently
Be kind.
Speak gently.
Your body hears everything you say.
#bodyimage #selftalk #selftalkmatters #boposi #bekindtoyourself #speakgently #yourbodyislistening #dietitiananna
You Matter
Today.
Tomorrow.
Always. ♥︎
#youmattertome #gratefulyourehere #youareenough #morethanenough #frommetoyou #sayit #nutritiontherapy #antidiet #antidietdietitian #dietculturedetox #eatingsupport #eatingdisorderrecovery #disorderedeatingrecovery #dietculture #dietculturedropout #dietrecovery #dietitiananna