My Approach
My title as a dietitian may suggest to you that I am a proponent of macro-counting, restrictive diets, and precise portion sizes. While my early years as a dietitian included each of these diet modalities, it wasn't long before I realized a restrictive mindset and feeling deprived backfires, leading people to mistrust their body and feel out of control with food. Without using restrictive diet modalities I will work with you to approach food, nutrition, and your body with a weight-inclusive framework based on a mindset of self-care not self-control.
As an anti-diet dietitian and intuitive eating counselor I use a behavioral approach to help you work towards your goals. While plenty of our time together will be centered around food, I will partner with you to discover what lies behind your relationship with food and any desires for weight loss. First, we must understand the motivation behind your goals before taking steps towards meaningful change. For many clients their relationship with food and their body is deep-rooted and stems from experiences in childhood and/or adolescence. This relationship is often further complicated by our pervasive diet culture that upholds the "thin ideal" and equates health, happiness, and success with a small body size. During our time together, we will work to unpack your experiences and challenge your thoughts about food, health, wellness, and body size.
Individual Nutrition Coaching
Our one-on-one coaching sessions will help you build body trust by becoming reacquainted with your body’s needs. After years (or decades) of restriction and rigid eating rules, you may find it difficult to recognize sensations of hunger and fullness. We will work together to deconstruct unhelpful beliefs about food, and I will challenge you to replace negative thoughts about your body with ones of self-respect and self-worth. Our sessions will be exploratory, but also goal-focused and action-oriented.
In the beginning we will meet virtually on a weekly basis and move to bi-weekly or monthly as you gain confidence in the work we are doing. Each week you will have tools and/or actions that will help you dive deeper into the concepts and behaviors we are working towards. With my support, and at a pace that feels safe to you, you will begin to nourish your body according to your internal cues rather than external rules. Progress will be measured in how you feel, the freedoms you have gained, and your quality of life. It will not be measured by numbers on the scale or your clothing size.
If you are working towards specific goals prescribed by your physician, our work together will identify the behaviors that will support your goals, while also highlighting the behaviors that work against them. Should there be a need, I can serve as your advocate when corresponding with your physician and healthcare team.
Family Feeding and Eating
Let's face it, feeding and eating can be stressful with young ones! Even with the not-so-young ones. Why do parents experience SO MUCH GUILT associated with feeding their family? The pressure on parents to raise children that eat plenty of the "healthy" foods, and not too much of the "junk foods" is enormous. But molding a child into someone that eats the rainbow is not your task. You are not failing if your child doesn't eat vegetables.
If you're concerned or even unsure about your child's eating habits, you are in the right place. As a mom of two picky and selective eaters, I have been there myself (and to some degree, I still am). Are you wondering how your child will be healthy if they refuse most foods? Do you fear your child's continuous request for cookies, candy, and sugar, sugar, sugar? Have mealtimes turned into to bribing, begging, and using reward-based rules just to get your child to take one bite? Are these battles working for your family?
I work with parents to help create peaceful mealtimes, where the caregivers and children each have their individual roles. Whether you have a slightly selective eater, or a extremely picky eater, we will collaborate to create mealtime routines and habits that decrease your anxiety and support your child's autonomy. I will encourage you to challenge your ideas of what eating should look like, and instead equip you with tools to confidently respond when eating doesn't go as planned. Ultimately the goal is to take the pressure off of mealtime, and to raise a competent, intuitive eater that has a positive relationship with food and their body.
~ An important note ~
Parents who still harbor uncomfortable feelings around food and/or their body may unknowingly pass their feelings and behaviors to their child. Getting support for your food and body image concerns is the greatest gift you can offer your child(ren), and is an important first step in raising intuitive eaters.
Speaking
Do you have a group of parents or educators that would benefit from learning more about eating and feeding dynamics with children?
I work with preschools, elementary schools, mommy-n-me groups, and more, to discuss the fundamentals in supporting children as they explore and learn about food and their body.
Fee
My fee has a range and I ask that you pay for what is affordable within that range. To determine if we are a good fit, I offer a free 15-min introductory consultation. I accept payment via Venmo or PayPal.
Insurance
I am an out-of-network insurance provider. This means that I can provide you with a superbill to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.