My Philosophy
The Lens Through Which I Work:
I believe in the power of whole foods to provide our bodies with the important nutrients needed to have function, health, and quality of life. I believe that sustainable food systems are vital to our overall health; to me this means (among other things) buying locally when we can, reducing waste, and sharing food bounties with our friends and neighbors.
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I encourage making meals at home on a regular basis because I believe it is time to make room in our lives for our food. It is time to recognize that eating well and having a positive relationship with our food means we need to spend time with it. A shift in thought and acquiring basic skills will eventually provide, in the least, some neutrality when it comes to prepping and cooking, meal planning, and grocery shopping, and at the most, some joy and sensuality.
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I encourage growing your own food, not to claim first and foremost that it is “better” for you but because simply getting outside, kneeling close to the ground, and witnessing the power of nature and joy of watching a plant come to maturity under your care has enumerable benefits to your physical health and mental wellbeing.
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I recognize that for some folks, food is not available with regularity. Or that a person may not have a stable home life in which to spend time making meals. There are important considerations to take in when discussing food:
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Is there access to enough food?
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Are resources available to prepare their food?
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Does a person have a damaged relationship with food and their body?
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Is there a medical diagnosis that needs to be considered?
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I believe in looking at the root of what’s going on with poor food relationships. Having a damaged connection with food can look like many things:
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Dieting on any scale: periodically to chronically
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Counting calories
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Avoiding eating with others
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Habitually placing moral value on food items: "good" vs "bad"
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Poor body image
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Guilt eating certain foods
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Food preoccupation
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Hiding food
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Loss of control around food
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Restrictive eating habits
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Food rules
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Aversion to cooking; the kitchen becomes a battle ground
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Overwhelm at the grocery store
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Eating to self-soothe
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Often times finding the root cause includes looking at a number of different types of suffering:
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Perfectionism
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Poor body image
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Low self-efficacy
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Trauma
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Food insecurity
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Shame
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Depression and anxiety
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Eating disorders
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Disordered eating
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At times, an individual can learn about their conditioning and habits on their own through self-discovery, self-compassion, and with tools such as journaling or meditation. Other times it is best that one seeks professional help from a licensed counselor or a physician to work with while also engaged in healing relationships with food and body. I will encourage this additional support and be a resource for clients to find the right care.
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Seemingly unrelated, poor relationships with food can be traced back to our relationship with self, our awareness of self, the presence or absence of self-compassion, and outward influences that drive negative behavior. The work to begin unraveling it all is often daunting. As a result, it is easily set on a back burner in our busy lives, meanwhile mental and physical well-being continues to be affected. Exploration of these pathways is unique to each individual. There are common themes most certainly, but lived experiences are innumerable. Developing skills in self-compassion and finding support to cultivate awareness and patience with ourselves is the beginning.
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Are you ready to find peace with food?
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Contact me to schedule your free discovery call. We can chat about what your beginning looks like.