This week I'm talking to Philly-area dietitian Heather Rudalavage. She takes a weight-neutral and health-at-every-size approach with her clients to help them achieve their health goals with compassion, empathy and a dash of humor!
We are talking about how diets don't work, how to manage stress eating during COVID-19, and how our default reaction to health problems is going on a diet and trying to lose weight. Our conversation includes:
Heather's life growing up and not ever thinking about diets or weight loss. She became a dietitian and felt like she was "doing something wrong" because she wasn’t fixated on weight loss and food rules like the rest of the world. Her first moments questioning her body came around the time of her three pregnancies and becoming a mom. Once she was a mom and questioning her body for the first time ever, her diet attempts never lasted longer than 24 hours. She started a private practice called Intuitive Nutrition before she knew anything about intuitive eating and the Intuitive Eating book by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. How she works in a doctor’s office and hears about various health concerns where people automatically default to weight loss as the “cure”. The importance of reflecting on a patient’s history with weight loss and if it hasn’t improved specific health parameters in the past, this is a sign that weight loss is not the answer. The dangers of starving your body coupled with jumping into intense exercise. The trouble with having orthorexic thinking and cutting out foods in an effort to improve health when the focus could be, “what can I ADD to my diet”. How cutting out foods or intermittent fasting can lead to binges on that food. Stress and emotional eating during this time of COVID-19 and being on lockdown, businesses closing, homeschooling, dealing with sick family members and loss - and how it wakes up a “sleeping dragon” within us. When things feel as out of control as they do during this pandemic, some of us are eating for comfort and others are restricting. Forms of self-care we can seek out during this stressful time. Checking in with yourself and asking “What do I need at this moment?” How we tend to go on autopilot with mindless eating and need to stop and ask “am I hungry” to determine if it’s really food we need or something else. How we can move our bodies in ways that work for us. It doesn’t have to be a grueling hour-long workout.Heather offers insight and tips to help you along on your intuitive eating journey, even during these sticky, stressful times.
Mentioned in this show:
Book - Mindless Eating - Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink, PhD
Heather’s support group on Facebook: Intuitive Eaters Who Believe in Health at Every Size
Heather’s free e-book, Your First Steps to Intuitive Eating
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Interested in working with me? There are two ways I can help you:
#1: My intuitive eating group coaching program, Intuitive Eating Foundations, launching May 13th, 2020!! Click here for details or to register.
#2: My private, 1:1 intuitive eating online coaching. Click here for details.
Not sure which is the right option for you? You can schedule a FREE 20-minute call with me to tell me more about where you're at in your intuitive eating journey and ask any questions about how we can work together!
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Consider joining my FREE Intuitive Eating & Body Compassion Facebook community!!!
Stay safe & healthy!!!
