If I wanted food freedom I would ...

Dear diary,

Dietitian Diaries #11

Dear diary, 

The majority of individuals I have the privilege to support are searching for food freedom, which when I was searching for it too I thought would feel exhilarating and wild; but actually it feels much more like coming home to yourself, like safety.

I thought I would share what I would do if I wanted food freedom and to truly heal my relationship with food ...

1. Eat enough food regularly : When we are under-eating our brains and bodies think there is a famine and move us into “survival mode”, which is why we often feel anxious, irritable and angry when we are hungry.

   It is natural for “enough food” to change each day depending on our activity, stress, hormones, sleep and mood so don’t feel you need to eat exactly the same each day; starting with three meals and three snacks is often a good beginning.

2. Think of my inner child or own children. : When we are thinking about the way we eat it can be helpful to think about our children if we have them, or our own inner child.

   Would we really want them to see us weighing out our food, spending hours deliberating over the menu, pulling ourselves apart in the mirror or tracking everything that passes our lips?

   By thinking of our children or inner child we can greet these behaviors with compassion, not shame and slowly start to change them, starting with easiest - or least hard!

3. Eat my cravings and add to them: Craving food is completely natural and normal.

   When we are feeling a little bit hungry we often want something high sugar which quickly picks up our blood glucose and feels energizing; however if we only have these foods at snack time our blood glucose drops again fairly quickly and we feel hungry again.

   This is where we want to keep in the food we are craving and add something with more nourishment to it to make it more satisfying. For example, adding yogurt and berries to a couple of biscuits will make us feel fuller for longer.

4. Reframe the belief that food should only be for meeting physical hunger.: Food is so much more than fuel, it is connection, memories, fun, soothing and pleasure.

   Learning to accept that food contains more than nutrients for our bodies and souls can help ease the shame and guilt that diet culture has taught us for eating food at other times when we are not feeling physical hunger.

5. Reflect on my experience of living in survival mode: Disordered eating behaviors are a sign that we are living in survival mode.

   When our nervous system believes that we are in a place of threat we often continue to engage in behaviors that increase our sense of dysregulation because our rational, thinking brain is offline.

   Overworking, excessive caffeine use, inability to rest, excessive use of social media, compulsive exercise are just some examples of this. It often feels like we are in a “tired but wired” state and a way to explore this deeper is to take time to see how else dysregulation shows up alongside disordered eating.

6. Remind myself that I am worthy of doing things that make me feel good.: Diet culture is part of capitalism, it feeds off people's vulnerabilities and markets and sells products which are unsustainable, lacking in evidence and keep people coming back.

   By reminding ourselves of an anti capitalist view this can support us take a step back.

   Repeat : “I deserve to spend time doing things that make me feel good.” “I am allowed to ask for help and I am worthy of receiving it.” “I feel less ambitious about my career than I used to and that's okay.” “I do not need to monetise my hobbies” “I am allowed to pace myself”.

7. Don’t obsess over protein.: Protein has so many benefits and we do need to eat it regularly, however we do not need to obsess over it.

   It is safe and healthy to enjoy meals that are not based around protein from time to time too, especially if there is a food rule around it.

8. Acknowledge that I deserve to eat: Nothing changes the fact that you deserve to eat, not the number on the scale, not your plans tonight, not what you ate yesterday, not how your clothes fit. 

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Be well nurtured,  Love Rachel 

Daily paper

Every day-ish (that I have capacity) I read a nutrition, eating or health focused research paper, here are the takeaways from this week; a little science for soul.

• Sexual trauma is associated with eating disorder onset due to different potential mechanism - alleviating body image pain through ED behaviours, shame and attempt to regulate emotions. Individuals with eating disorders are more likely to have experienced traumatic events than the general population. (Convertino et al, 2022)

• It is necessary to mitigate exposure to microplastics due to impact on different systems in the human body such as inflammation, alteration in the microbiome and chemical toxicity in the digestive system. Coughing, sneezing, mitochondrial damage in the Respiratory system and increased risk of infertility in the endocrine system. Lee et al, 2023)

Small act of nurturance *

A little more nervous system regulation and a little less nutrient depletion can change us, change the way we parent and heal the next generation. 

Almonds are rich in beneficial fats, fibre, proteins, vitamin E, vitamin B, minerals such as copper, calcium and magnesium as well as diverse bioactive compounds - phytosterols and polyphenols and are used as a natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Research suggest that regular almond consumption can support in the protection from chronic degenerative diseases as well as a decreased risk of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and metabolic syndrome,Try adding 30g almonds a day in your mid morning snack.

 *Generalised advise and not a personal prescription, please seek support from a dietitian or clinician for individual support and guidance.