The idea of food addiction is controversial. Perhaps even more controversial is the current belief that ultra-processed foods, specifically, are not only addictive but intentionally designed to be so.
Feeling stressed? All caught up in thoughts and worries? It can help to get out of your head and into your body. One effective way to do that is grounding.
Do you feel like you need to strive for optimal nutrition? This sort of all-or-nothing thinking can interfere with health and happiness. Gentle nutrition and eating competence offer an alternative.
You’re in the exam room at your doctor’s office. Maybe it’s for an annual check-up. Maybe you’re there for a specific concern. Then it happens. They recommend a GLP-1 for weight loss. What do you do next?
If self-esteem and self-compassion were horses, self-compassion would win every time. Why self-esteem can fail you, but self-compassion can help you quiet your critical voice.
The pursuit of thinness can get so tangled up in the pursuit of health that it's hard to know if the actions you're taking are actually making you healthier.
How to quiet food noise is a hot topic. But weight loss meds aren't the only way to stop those cookies from calling to you from the kitchen. Here are three very different strategies.
When we know what behaviors and habits help us feel our best, you would think it would be adequate motivation for doing those things…yet often, it’s not. What’s the deal?
The "obesity epidemic" emerged in 1976-1980. Could dieting mothers in the 1960s and 70s have contributed? What clues does science offer?
Not feeling great about your body or your eating or exercise habits? Instead of falling for diets in disguise, consider what wellness really means.
Dealing with food pushers can take some of the joy out of holiday meals. Here's how to set your food boundaries and enforce them with grace.
Abundant research shows that if you are more self-critical, especially if you're also a perfectionist, you are likely to have less self-compassion and at higher risk of disordered eating or eating disorders.
Joy is a big part of Intuitive Eating and other non-diet approaches to health and
If you’ve ever had a bout of food poisoning, traveler’s diarrhea or the “stomach flu,” only to have some of symptoms stick around for the long haul, what may not have crossed your mind is that you suddenly developed irritable bowel syndrome.
When you struggle with negative body image, the possibility of ever having positive body image may feel like an unreachable goal. But research has identified several common themes in successful body image journeys.
Carbs have been getting a bad rap for quite a while. But carbohydrates come from plants, and many plant foods are rich in the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber that are vital to good health. In spite of this, carb-phobia persists. Here are some of the myths about carbohydrates that are getting in the way.
For many people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the low-FODMAP diet can feel like a miracle. But is the low-FODMAP diet right for everyone?
Anyone of any body size can internalize weight stigma, which can harm both physical and mental health. But when it comes to weight stigma, generally, all bodies are not in the same boat.
We often approach habit change with the wrong attitude. We criticize ourselves. We strive for “perfect” instead of “good enough.” We try to make changes that someone else says we should make, without really taking the time to decide what WE want. All of that is a recipe for failure.
If you have IBS and struggle with abdominal pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, can a low-FODMAP diet help?
This post is part of my “Know Better, Do Better” series, in which I revisit an old blog post that makes me cringe because my thinking has evolved substantially since I wrote it. Thank goodness.
Becoming more aware of your thoughts, feelings and emotions gives you more choice in the actions you take. This has two important benefits. One, it allows you to stop living on autopilot so you can begin to unhook from habitual, unhelpful patterns. Two, it makes it easier to respond rather than react to whatever's happening in you and around you.
Weight-inclusive care is an approach that assumes that patients of all weights are capable of achieving health and wellbeing if they have access to non‐stigmatizing health care. This approach also challenges the belief that a particular BMI reflects a particular set of health behaviors, health status, or moral character.
Does intuitive eating mean eating whatever you want, whenever you want, as much as you want? That's certainly what many people believe. The simple answer is, “No.” But I also want to give a disclaimer.
It happens to all of us. You see a photo of yourself and don’t like what you see. You’re getting dressed and hate how your clothes look on you. You’re in a body image spiral, and you’re in danger of circling the drain. Here's what to do.
When you don't have fond feelings for your body, you might be hesitant to show more than a few inches of skin, even when the temperature rises. This can leave you physically uncomfortable for much of the summer..and interfere with participating in summer activities.
As with many ideas that suddenly start to grow in popularity, the central tenants of intuitive eating can be easily misinterpreted. If you're starting to practice Intuitive Eating, you may get some interesting comments and questions from family, friends and co-workers.
The current state of "body positivity" means the term has almost no meaning any more. That's why body liberation is the more empowered path.
I believe in the power of nutritious food. I’m well-versed in what scientific research says about the role of the food we eat in preventing chronic disease. But I also that nutrition is not the sole, and often not the most important, determinant of our health.
There’s this myth that adopting an anti-diet approach is also anti-nutrition. The truth is that you can absolutely eat a nutritious, balanced diet with lots of variety without being restrictive or rigid about it.
The key to understanding what Health at Every Size really is in their newly revised principles, which focus on bias-free healthcare access.
The Washington Post just published a hit piece on anti-diet dietitians. It shows how very little they understand about what they're attacking.
I’m often asked what “non-diet” actually means, both in general terms, and specifically when a
Self-compassion (and compassion) are infinite resources. You don’t need to fight for your slice of the compassion pie AND you don’t need to deny yourself compassion because someone “deserves it more.”
There are many things kids have to do that they may not consent to (like homework). But those things don’t do damage the way non-consensual dieting does.
What's authentic health? Authentic health happens when you weigh any external health advice against your own experience before deciding whether to incorporate it. This supports health while helping you break away from diet culture.
If you’re not celebrating intentional weight loss for any other reason, and you know that weight doesn’t equal health, should you congratulate someone for losing weight for "health reasons"? In a word, no. And here are more words explaining why.
Do you find it challenging to form habits that last? It may be because you haven't identified your values. And if you haven't, then you're not using values to guide your daily actions.
When you’re charting a path away from diet culture, it helps to be mindful of your thoughts and words. Are they still reflecting diet culture?
Food and body shame is futile, because it's not motivating, and perilous, because it does real harm. What to know if you're struggling.
Once upon a time, holiday foods stood out as highlights in a year of relatively simpler fare. But in today’s food environment, with its year-round access to delicious and even indulgent foods, it’s as if the holiday season has upped the ante, making the holidays feel like a minefield.
If you already tend to have anxieties about food, holiday eating can make you especially anxious. Here’s some food for thought about how to approach holiday eating that brings you joy and leaves you feeling good, too.
Why is it important to get more pleasure in your life? One, because you deserve it, and two, it can help your relationship with food.
What's wrong with the latest study supposedly showing how "successful" WeightWatchers is? So, so much. Let's start with the missing people.
If you’re intrigued by intuitive eating, or at least heard of it, you might wonder what you need to consider, or perhaps do, before giving it a go. Here are three factors that I think are important.
As a registered dietitian and journalist who used to write for The Washington Post, I was deeply dismayed by the clickbait “gotcha” journalism of their September 13 article, “The food industry pays ‘influencer’ dietitians to shape your eating habits.”
You know what bothers me? The idea that anyone needs to change their body to meet someone else's ideals. That "someone" could be a spouse/partner, a friend, a stranger, or society at large.
When you think of mindfulness, do you dismiss it as a trend? It’s true that mindfulness is trendy, but it also has deep, traditional roots that are backed by modern research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience.
Health may be a personal value, but it’s also become a yardstick by which to measure other people’s value and worthiness. Are we encouraged to have a health-based identity, to think of ourselves as healthy
When you’re moving away from a history of dieting and body dissatisfaction toward a future of intuitive eating and body respect, appreciation, or liberation, self-compassion can be a powerful tool.
Why can it sometimes feel easier to just keep trying to lose weight than it is to accept your body as it is? Here are some reasons why you can be exploring, even practicing, intuitive eating and body acceptance, but still want to lose weight.
Dieting to lose weight (even under the guise of “lifestyle changes”) is so normalized in our culture that it indeed feels normal. And if it’s “normal” it must be OK…right? Let me break this to you gently — not only can dieting lead to disordered eating, but in many cases, dieting IS disordered eating.
There are a lot of myths about intuitive eating. One is that you can’t learn or practice intuitive eating if you have a chronic disease. You absolutely can, because it can help you both enjoy your food while you're caring for your health.
Habituating to forbidden foods can feel challenging. While making peace with food involves some mental aspects, to take it all the way and habituate means actually practicing eating those foods.
One of the so-called “holy grails” of practicing intuitive eating is the day when you have become habituated to formerly forbidden foods.
“Body positivity” is a buzzy catchphrase that has deep origins. But is body positivity achievable, even in today's watered-down version?
The second edition of my book, “Healthy For Your Life” is now available on Amazon. This new edition is revised and updated as well as expanded, with 80 more pages, new recipes, and selected citations. It also has a new subtitle: “A non-diet approach to optimal well-being.” Here’s are some excerpts.
How does pleasure work with intuitive eating? If you are honoring the intention behind intuitive eating, then you are eating for pleasure.
Self-care is extra important in times of uncertainty. I’m always an advocate of physical and emotional self-care, because if you don’t take care of yourself, who will? So here's some food for thought, as well as some self-care tips for creating or refining an overall self-care practice that’s right for you.
What is a non-diet approach, and is non-diet weight loss really a thing? These terms are often misrepresented, either intentionally or accidentally, and twisted into something else. Specifically, into a diet.
It used to be 'health is wealth.' Now, health is a modern form of 'cultural capital.' For many people, this means performing 'health,' which can become harmful.
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about self-compassion. It also won’t be the last, because self-compassion is that important, including for easing shame and increasing motivation.
There are many words we can use to refer to bodies, including body size. When deciding how to talk about fat bodies, two words I've stopped using are "ob*sity" and "ov*rweight." And when I have to use the O-words, I use them carefully.
While moving toward Intuitive Eating and away from years or decades of dieting is work well worth doing, there are many reasons you might have struggled. Let me talk about some of the most common reasons.
There's a dangerous narrative that's been unfolding, and it's getting worse. Stealing the words and work of fat activists to sell weight loss.
Mindfulness supports habit change by helping us view "failure" non-judgmentally, with kindness and curiosity, making it easer start again. Mindfulness meditation offers a wonderful metaphor for this.
There are always spikes in interest in mindful eating around this time of the year. Unfortunately, much of that spike is because diet culture has tried to co-opt mindful eating for its own devices. In the process, it has twisted mindful eating into “careful” eating and “mind full” eating.
January is World Mindful Eating Month. While a dedicated month is a great way to call attention to this specific type of mindfulness practice, the reality is that mindful eating has benefits 365 days a year.
Today, there are more than 150 published research studies on intuitive eating. In spite of that, there are many misconceptions and myths about intuitive eating.
Can self-compassion improve your health? Yes. Numerous research studies have shown that self-compassion is important for mental and emotional health and well-being. While that’s not super surprising, this may be: newer research is also finding that self-compassion is important for physical health.
My take on each of the 10 Intuitive Eating principles, from "ditch the diet mentality" to "honor your health with gentle nutrition."
When you listen to your body, it's easier for you to protect your health and well being --- and keep yourself safe. Listening to (and trusting) our bodies is important all the time. I had to learn that the hard way.
Who says salad are just for summer? Even though the nip in the air leads us towards warm, hearty soups, stews, braises and roasts, don’t take salads off the menu. A well-composed salad that blends seasonal produce with substantial add-ins can be just as satisfying in the cooler months.
Non-diet, anti-diet, Health at Every Size (HAES) — these terms are showing up more and more in books, magazines, blogs and social media. I hear a lot of questions about what these terms even mean, along with, “Everyone eats some type of diet, so how can anyone be ‘anti-diet’?”
When you face resistance, whether physical or mental, meeting that resistance with compassion can help you overcome limitations (real or perceived) in favor of growth and improvement
Stress isn't always a bad thing, but when you are struggling with chronic stress, especially if it creates allostatic load, that's bad news for your physical and mental health.
How do you view food? Is it fuel, is it pleasure, or is it a bit of both? Obviously, food is fuel for your body, but food is also pleasure.
We come in all shapes and sizes, and we all have eyes. When you "like" someone else's body, are you admiring it or or are you coveting it? It's an important distinction.
This post is part of my “Know Better, Do Better” series, in which I revisit an old blog post that makes me cringe because my thinking has evolved substantially since I wrote it.
Diet culture is just one of many social systems in which people are treated inequitably. It often overlaps not just with ableism, sizeism and healthism, but also with racism, sexism, ageism and classism.
Do you feel like you are always hungry? It's easy to think you should be able to control, or ignore, your hunger, but that’s easier said than done.
If you’ve explored intuitive or mindful eating, you’ve probably crossed paths with hunger scales. Maybe you tried using such a scale, and found it tedious, or even hard. Maybe you wondered, “Is this even helpful?”
There are certain Mediterranean dishes that just scream "summer" and ratatouille is one of them, although honestly this dish will work any time of year, even if the staple ingredients—eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes—are not in season. I enjoy making a big batch that I can eat for days, especially when it's too hot to want to cook every evening.
This post is part of my “Know Better, Do Better” series, in which I revisit an old blog post that makes me cringe because my thinking has evolved substantially since I wrote it.
The good news is that eating with permission and without restrictions doesn’t have to translate to a food free-for-all. It also does not mean trading control for binge eating. At least not for very long. But how you approach trading restriction for permission may matter.
I had avoided cold soup for years, but this fresh, easy, rustic gazpacho is a winner when the temperatures are soaring...or when they're not.
There are few things I love more than a food myth. More specifically, busting a food myth. In today's post, I want to bust a few myths for you, including a few that have a lot of dogma behind them. I'm also including links to some of my past article for The Seattle Times or The Washington Post on these topics.
Looking for some summer reading? I have some body positive (or even body liberation-oriented) picks for both fiction and non-fiction. These are books I’ve read recently, or am currently reading and enthusiastically recommend!
Whether you’re a worrier, a planner, or are just too busy, when you spend most of your time lost in your thoughts, your experience of life gets short shrift. Because when you’re thinking, you aren’t noticing and experiencing the present moment. You aren’t mindful.
Over time, visual food cues might lead us to eat when we’re not hungry more than we would if those cues weren’t present. We’re eating because we are seeking a reward, and that reward isn’t (or isn’t only) the satisfying of hunger.
“Does mindful eating work?” If you mean, "Does it work for weight loss?" then settle in...we have some unpacking to do.
In this complicated world (even more so the past few years), nature may be one of the best antidotes to stress, and one of the best self-care tools at our disposal.
Meal planning can feel like just one more “to-do,” or it can trigger anxiety from past dieting attempts. On the positive side, meal planning can help you meaningfully connect with your food.
If you want to be active, you should be able to be active, regardless of your current fitness level, body size or physical limitations. Here are some inclusive fitness resources that honor body diversity.
A few unfortunate secrets about nutrition science are that it's usually not all that groundbreaking, and that it's totally fatphobic.
Perfectionism does not lead to happiness, and it can prevent us from living a "good enough" life. Unless we turn to self-compassion.
The advice is given so often that’s it’s become gospel: to control your appetite, eat small, frequent meals. But research suggests otherwise.
Have you ever wondered who created the obesity epidemic? Look no further than Big Pharma, who had a lot of weight loss drugs to sell.
While cravings could be based on a nutritional need, most stem from other factors. So should you indulge cravings...or ignore them? The answer depends on what your craving is really telling you.
Size-inclusive clothing brands make more than just good business sense...they offer both style and social justice. Here are some of my picks.
