My Mission

My mission is to help those struggling in their own relationship with food and their body.

In my experience, diet culture has never helped anyone. But it’s not just me. It’s the 90% of people who lost weight intentionally and then gained it back, 66% gaining more than they lost (Mann et al. 2007). It’s the 35% of people who went on a diet and ended up with disordered eating. It’s the 20-25% of THOSE disordered eaters who then got diagnosed with an eating disorder (Shisslak et al. 1995) [someone do a more current study, please!]. It’s the dieters who ended up weight cycling unintentionally, not knowing that this may increase their risk for heart disease, insulin resistance, hypertension, and inflammation – regardless of their starting weight (Bacon and Amphamor 2011).

It’s the person living in a larger body who feels inferior to their neighbor based solely on body size because of what diet culture perpetuates. It’s also the person with obesity who receives lower quality healthcare due to weight stigma despite the best intentions of healthcare providers (Phelan et al. 2015). It’s the 80% of women and 70% of men who suffer from food guilt in America (Smith 2015). If any of this resonates with you, please know that it’s not your fault!

Diet culture surrounds us, with each new diet promising a better life, a “healthier you”, a you that you’ll be more willing to accept, or some other promised result entirely. Diet culture tells us that our self-worth and personal health are determined by our body’s size.

I long for the day that everyone can accept their bodies as they are, regardless of whether they will lose or gain weight in the future.

I long to see people enjoying food, savoring the food they love and leaving the food they don’t. I can’t wait for the day when people are able to navigate uncomfortable feelings without leaning on food to cope with them. I want to not only see people nourishing their bodies with good, nutritious foods, but also see them choosing the “less healthy” one because they know it will satisfy them better and lead to a more positive relationship with food and nutrition. I hope I’m alive the day that diet culture crashes and nourishing relationships with food and body thrive. 

In the meantime, my mission is to help those struggling in their own relationship with food and their body. You don’t have to suffer the rest of your life trying to create a body that’s culturally more “appealing” or socially accepted and following a diet that is neither sustainable nor enjoyable. You don’t have to choose between joy and self-deprivation. It IS possible to both enjoy eating and thrive. This will look different from person to person and the journey there will also look different for everyone. If you struggle in your relationship with food and how it relates to your body, let’s connect! I’d love to help you cultivate a more peaceful bond with food and/or your body!

My Philosophy

I take a weight-neutral, Intuitive Eating approach to help my clients make peace with food and respect their bodies. Intuitive Eating integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought to guide one’s eating as opposed to dieting and food rules, which often suppress hunger and fullness cues while also leaving individuals unsatisfied and energy-depleted. I want to teach my clients to trust themselves and their bodies when it comes to food and eating for their unique bodies’ needs. 

While I want to understand my clients’ feelings surrounding their body and know what their personal weight goals are (if they have any), I will ask my clients to put their weight goals on the hold while we work on new ways to hone into your body’s individual needs and make sustainable behavior changes. Weight may organically change because of these behavior shifts; however, focusing on weight-loss can distract from the bigger picture of overall well-being (physical as well as mental, social, and spiritual). 

When treating those with eating disorders I will request those desiring to work with me to also work with a counselor or therapist. I take a collaborative approach to best care for my clients. This collaboration involves a psychotherapist/counselor, medical doctor, and possibly a psychiatrist where needed. When necessary, I will refer a client to a higher level of care for their eating disorder and will gladly welcome them back to nutrition therapy once medically stable and appropriate. I am currently receiving professional supervision from Reba Sloan, RD, LDN who is an Elected Fellow of the Academy of Eating Disorders with over 30 years of experience counseling those with eating disorders. 

When counseling parents on cultivating positive eating experiences in their children, I will start by understanding the family dynamic in how it relates to food and body. I work with the parent(s) to help them empower their children by putting them in the driver’s seat at meals and snack times, allowing the child or children to listen to their hunger and fullness cues. We discuss the Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding at mealtimes and talk about the parents’ as well as the child’s role at the dinner table. Counseling parents on the importance of nurturing this natural, intuitive eater in their children may take anywhere from 1-3 sessions or more depending on the individual characteristics and needs of the family.