Let's say someone in your family is working really hard to develop healthy habits.  They've started exercising, they've been adding more vegetables to their diet, they've created more boundaries in their lives to support their mental health.

And they've lost weight.

Whether that weight loss was intentional- or a product of less stress, moving more, less calorie intake- here's what we've known about weight loss.

Here's one weight loss study of MANY  that show that the long term success rate of weight loss is low.  2 years later many will regain, 5 years most will regain all if not more than what they weighed in the beginning.

Even if you've never gone through a 'weight loss transformation' yourself, I bet you can imagine how awful it would feel to get praise and validation on your health journey in terms of how your body looks, only to regain that weight back down the line.

In addition, you never really know how someone lost that weight- no matter what they decide...

If you've ever wondered what kind of experience an anti diet fitness coach provides, I got you.

When we work together, I do:

Meet you right where you’re at, and build programs that are progressive, challenging, and specific to your goals and needs
Support your development of a regular exercise routine, but also honoring the rest you need
Break down your ‘why’ for exercising and get clear on the way diet culture has shaped your relationship with movement
Check in via text and phone each week to dig deeper on ANY issue shared that’s affecting your health
Provide feedback on form and proper exercise technique
Give you support in gentle nutrition if you need it (what’s what when it comes to fat, fiber, protein-education without rules)
Support your journey with Intuitive Eating

Things I DON’T do when we work together:

Take measurements, weight, or ask for before or after pics
Put you on a meal ‘plan’ or ‘program’
Teach you hacks to...

I recently came across this pic from December 11 years ago, and it made me sad.

Sad because it’s probably 1 of maybe 3 pictures of me pregnant- and I don’t think I have a single one from my first pregnancy with my daughter.

Sad because I focused so much more on what I DIDN’T like about my body back then, instead of what it was amazingly and incredibly creating.

Sad because although I didn’t enjoy being pregnant (like AT ALL), it was a really special time for my husband and I. Especially that first pregnancy that was a struggle to create, when it was just us and we had no idea how our lives would change.

Sad because the woman behind the camera is gone now, and although I have so many pics of her and her grandbabies, I have so few of her and I during these times.  Of the memories of how much she loved both me and these kids, from the very moment they were created.

All that to say...

Take the pic.

Body image messes with you, makes you believe...

I took a hike with my daughter and her friend recently.

And yup, we talked about fitness, food, and some of the misinformation about both out there (obvi).

They asked me about some of the stuff they see on social- ‘can you get rid of hip dips?’- to the consistent talk about calories in calories out.

When we came across a group of older woman having a snack break- who commented about hiking SO they could eat- we talked about never needing to earn your food.

And because they got weighed in gym class and sent home with a BMI report card last year, I know what messages they’re getting there (my son is currently watching ’Super Size Me’ in health class and every day is a debrief of that bullshit. If you don’t know how harmful that movie is @maintenancephase) has a fantastic episode that breaks it all down).

Your children, your nieces and nephews, your friends kids- they are paying attention.

Not just to how you talk about food, but what YOUR...

Since I know many of you are/will be dealing with a house full of candy- maybe for the only time this year- I thought it’d be a good time to talk about this.

First, it's important to note that the biggest predictor of binge eating is restriction. 

Second, no matter where you are on your path of having a healthier relationship with food, there's no morality in eating the whole bag (or more).  

AND there's likely a reason (especially if you're in camp only-once-a-year).  

Sometimes there's more to it- not just restriction, but lack of enough food during the day or week, high stress levels, not enough sleep, etc.

And sometimes, we just want it all and eating the whole thing is a conscious choice.

The thing that make both situations neutral is AWARENESS.  

Binging gives us an opportunity to look at the self care pieces we might have missed (like eating enough, sleeping enough, keeping stress levels in check).  

And figure out what we needed in that...

Your weight can fluctuate from 5-8 pounds EVERY DAY for just some of these reasons:

Your body retains water after a workout to help repair muscle damage

For every one gram of carbs you eat for energy, a lower risk of cardiac diseases and production of healthy gut bacteria (among other things), you retain 3 grams of water

The medicine you take that makes your life infinitely better may cause you to either retain water OR change how your body absorbs and stores glucose

When you drink an excessive amount of alcohol, you weigh less- since alcohol is a diuretic- until your body starts retaining water from the foods and drinks you consumed in your drunken state

For many of of us, stepping on the scale works to reinforce the idea that we can and SHOULD have control over that number.

And so often that number determines not only how our day goes, but how we feel about ourselves, our value.

Whatever your relationship is with your scale, it’s always worth asking yourself if using it to...

Hear me out on this one folks.

“I just can’t keep that stuff in my house- I’ll end up eating it all” is a common refrain I hear so often- from clients, friends, you all here on IG.

And I absolutely spent MANY years keeping foods I deemed ‘addictive’ or ‘unhealthy’ out of my own house too.

A pint of ice cream would disappear REALLY fast.

But here’s what I’ve learned- not only from my own experiences with Intuitive Eating, but in years of digging into the research of dieting...

Restriction- in a real physical sense but also when you mentally label foods to avoid- is the BIGGEST predictor of binging.

If you never allow certain foods in your house, then OF COURSE you’re going to eat it when you get your hands on it for ‘just this once’.

I don’t believe any food or ingredient- nope, not even sugar- is addictive (and the studies that say sugar is as addictive as cocaine were done on AND were determined after...

Or is it because we live in a society that is deeply rooted in anti-fat bias? A post for another day…

I’ve said it before and you know I’ll say it again: weight loss (or gain) is not a behavior, it is an outcome. For a large variety of reasons- that is ALSO for another day.

So often, weighing less is given credit for a whole lot of things it shouldn’t be given- like our health, our importance in society, our happiness.

So before you feel a way after hearing someone’s ‘successful’ weight loss story (reminder that you have no idea how they really achieved said weight loss), consider that there are things you can do that will make you feel better too.

Get more sleep. Eat nutrient dense foods and get exercise if you have the access and privilege. Get outside more. Connect with friends. See a therapist.

And remember that weight loss doesn’t have to be a part of that equation in order for you to feel better.

Friend and family can be the worst offenders when you’re done with diets and want support.

If I had a dime for every person who told me about their loved ones who ‘didn’t get’ them not dieting anymore, well…I’d have a LOT of dimes.

The casual way in which people share their diet tricks and offhand comments about how ‘bad’ they were for eating the brownies last night can be overwhelming sometimes.

And can make you feel like you’re the only one who isn’t avoiding gluten or carbs.

Diet culture and the ‘wellness’ industry is LOUD. And EVERYWHERE. And no one is unaffected by it.

Not even those closest to you.

Three ways to offset these messages…

Diversify your media. Do you see people of all shapes & sizes doing the things, or is your view of health on your screen presented by mostly thin, white humans? No judgement; there’s a huge lack of diversity when it comes to the wellness industry and who gets a...

There's a history behind how you feel about your body shape and size.

I’m white, thin, non disabled, & cis gender- and those are just a few of the many privileges I have that must be acknowledged to be an effective coach who works with humans.  Period.

And I continue to learn from people of color with lived experiences and knowledge in this field- and you should too.

So here’s just a quick synopsis of why I coach the way I do, and a list of resources at the bottom.  The more education you have, the easier it is to see how racism and fitness are linked to each other ...

Why do we idealize thinness?

A big part of it stems from the 1800’s, when white European men felt they needed to create a bullshit evolutionary hierarchy to place themselves at the top. So they ranked people according to physical traits and catalogued them to fit their narrative.

These men decided that fatness was a sign of ‘savagery’- only because it was a trait they were seeing...