I've never been a fan of diets. I roll my eyes when I see diets and programs that are "weight lossy". My passion as a nutritionist has been to help women find the healthiest version of themselves while enjoying the foods they love. I worked as a health educator in chronic disease management for a few years, and developed an interest in blood sugar management. In the fall of 2020, I created a program called the Tired to Vibrant Method program. It was for women 40+ who wanted more energy and who wanted to lose weight without strict dieting. My program was "generous" when it came to carb portions and including their favourite foods. But I struggled with my messaging. I initially made my program about having more energy but I quickly realized that that was way beyond what I could handle since fatigue/tiredness has dozens of different 'root' causes. And since most of the women wanted to lose weight more than anything I I decided to turn my program into more of a weight management one. It's not what I wanted to do necessarily but it's what they wanted. I hated the messaging. I felt sleazy every time I used those two words together "weight loss". So I avoided it at all costs and instead stuck to "happy healthy weight". One of my Instagram posts was about my resistance with using those terms, so I was open about it. I received a comment from someone I knew many years ago saying how she struggled with weight issues and disordered eating her whole life. And it had started when her doctor told her at 13 that she needed to go on a diet (yikes!). She concluded by saying that it took her years before she learned to accept her body the way it is and learned to love her curves. So every time I posted anything to do with weight- even if it was "happy, healthy weight"- I cringed and thought of this friend. To my credit, "happy healthy" weight doesn't imply weight loss, but it still didn't feel right. One day I was at my part-time job and the phrase "intuitive eating" came to my head. So I googled it. I knew about it a little bit through some of the nutritionists I followed and one nutritionist in particular in the Hamilton area. I liked it but never thought it was quite for me. Until that day at work. I curiously looked at the certification requirements, the intuitive eating philosophy, and for the next couple of days couldn't stop thinking about it. And I registered. I read "Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch and I knew I had made the right choice. I felt so excited to be a part of the intuitive eating world. Instead of teaching carb portion control I can teach women to learn to eat without guilt, to say good-bye to dieting for good, to make peace with food and eating, and to love and accept their bodies with any size jeans. Intuitive eating felt (and feels) right. So here I am, at the start of my journey. I look forward to helping as many women as I can break-free from diet culture for good, including myself.
