Thoughtful Nutrition

04/23/2026

Being stuck in the diet cycle doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

It means you’ve learned a set of beliefs that were reinforced over and over again.

Those patterns don’t just disappear when you stop dieting.
They can linger, but they can also be unlearned.

Here’s what that can look like:

🥑 Relearning body trust

Letting your body (not food rules) guide when, what, and how much you eat.

🥑 Practicing body neutrality

Shifting the focus away from how your body looks and toward what it does for you.

🥑 Diversifying your media

Curating your feed so you’re not constantly absorbing the same harmful messaging.

🥑 Exploring Intuitive Eating

A framework that helps you reconnect with hunger, fullness, satisfaction, and so much more!

🥑 Seeking support

You don’t have to figure this out alone. ❤️

Some days will feel easier than others.

But every step forward is proof that you’re building a more peaceful relationship with food and body.

04/22/2026

Before I healed my relationship with movement, this is what my exercise routine looked like👇🏻

👉🏻 Spending 1-2 hours at a traditional gym until I burned a specific amount of calories on a cardio machine.

👉🏻 Overdoing leg day so badly that I ~literally~ could not walk up and down stairs for 1-3 days afterward. Repeat weekly.

👉🏻 Doing hours of fasted cardio until I felt like I was going to pass out.

👉🏻 Absolutely destroying myself at the gym 7 days a week. No time off.

Now that I've healed my relationship with movement, this is what my exercise routine typically looks like now👇🏻

👉🏻 2-3 dog walks per week

👉🏻 Climbing 3x per week

👉🏻 Running 2x per week

👉🏻 MTB 1x per week

👉🏻 Hiking 2-3x per month

👉🏻 Regular stretching

The biggest differences?

1️⃣ It's no longer about calories, it's about health and sustainability.

2️⃣ It's not a rigid routine. I give myself grace and take days off.

3️⃣ I choose activities that I truly enjoy, versus mindlessly hitting a cardio machine.

4️⃣ I spend more time outside.

5️⃣ I'm never fasted, I'm always properly fueled (and hydrated).

6️⃣ I'm exercising because I love myself, not because I hate myself.

04/21/2026

Signs you might be stuck in diet culture👇🏻

🥑 Distrusting hunger cues

Years of dieting teach us to distrust our hunger, to wait until a certain time, drink water instead, or “earn” food with activity. This disconnect weakens your ability to sense and respond to hunger.

🥑 Moralizing foods

Labeling foods as “good,” “bad,” “clean,” or “junk” creates unnecessary guilt and shame. These labels reinforce the idea that eating certain foods makes you virtuous or “bad.”

🥑 Restricting before events or meals out

Skipping meals to “save up” for a special occasion is a form of dietary restraint. Studies show that restrained eaters are more likely to overeat later once the restriction breaks.*

*see recommended article for references

🥑 Weighing yourself regularly

If your mood depends on the number on the scale, diet culture still has a grip on you. Frequent weighing is linked to lower body satisfaction and increased disordered eating, especially among women.*

*see recommended article for references

🥑 Comparing your body to others

Diet culture thrives on comparison. It’s good at convincing you that your worth depends on how your body measures up. Social media intensifies this pressure.

🥑 Equating health with weight

Diet culture convinces us that health can be measured by size alone. However, research shows that people in larger bodies can improve metabolic health through behaviors alone.*

*see recommended article for references

🥑 Exercising out of guilt

Exercise shouldn’t be punishment for eating or a way to “earn” rest or food. This guilt-driven approach can lead to compulsive exercise, which research links to higher rates of eating disorder symptoms.*

*see recommended article for references

🥑 Fear of fullness

Diet culture equates fullness with failure, as if eating until satisfied means you’ve lost control. But fullness is a biological signal that your body has received enough fuel.

Interested in learning how to break free? Keep an eye out for my next post!

04/17/2026

*gasp* 😧

Things I do as an anti-diet dietitian that would put SkinnyTok in a coma👇🏻

🥑 I don’t track calories or macros

Rigid tracking is difficult to sustain in the long term and can increase preoccupation with food. Instead, I rely on internal cues like hunger, fullness, energy, and satisfaction.

🥑 I eat more on days I’m hungrier

Appetite naturally fluctuates based on activity, hormones, sleep, and stress. Responding to those changes supports metabolic needs and helps maintain stability over time.

🥑 I keep “fun foods” in the house

Regular exposure to all foods reduces the sense of scarcity and urgency around them, which can decrease binging and improve overall relationship with food.

🥑 I eat carbohydrates on their own

Carbohydrates are a primary energy source. They don’t need to be “balanced out” to be valid or appropriate. They can be eaten based on preference, access, and need.

🥑 I eat before I’m overly hungry

Waiting until extreme hunger often leads to eating past comfort and feeling out of control. Eating consistently supports more regulated intake and stable energy levels.

🥑 I use fats like oil and butter without strict measurement

Dietary fat is essential for hormone production, nutrient absorption, and satiety. Using it flexibly supports both physiological needs and meal satisfaction.

🥑 I choose the version of food I actually want

Satisfaction is a key component of eating. Consistently substituting foods with lower-calorie alternatives can increase cravings and prolong mental and physical hunger.

🥑 I don’t weigh myself

Body weight is influenced by many factors beyond health behaviors and does not fully reflect health status. Focusing on behaviors, labs, and overall well-being provides more meaningful information.

And most importantly... None of this negatively impacts my overall health.

In fact, these behaviors are associated with improved relationship with food, reduced disordered eating patterns, and more sustainable health habits over time.

04/16/2026

Micromanaging every food choice so it fits your rules vs knowing that all foods can fit into a healthy life? 🤔

One keeps you stuck in a cycle.

The other gives you your peace back.

Health was never meant to feel this rigid👏🏻

04/15/2026

My relationship with my body has changed tremendously over the past several years👇🏻

I went from under-fueling to properly fueling my body so it can do hard hikes, climb rocks, and so much more.

I went from avoiding being in photos to asking people to take pictures of me. I want to be in the memories too.

I went from using exercise as a form of punishment for what I ate to seeing as a celebration of what my body can do.

I went from obsessing over food rules to Intuitive Eating and an all foods fit approach.

I went from being terrified of hunger, because that meant I had to eat, to honoring my hunger and listening to my body's cues.

I went from obsessing over what I look like in a bikini to enjoying the sun and learning how to actually relax on a beach day.

I went from chasing thinness like it's my life's purpose to actually chasing my purpose in life.

I went from expecting myself to look perfect in every picture to realizing that pictures don't always capture reality, like how pictures of sunsets never do it justice.

I went from dressing myself for aesthetics reasons only to dressing for function and comfortability.

I went from logging every bite of food in My Fitness Pal to deleting the app and never counting calories again.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

None of this would have been possible if I hadn't worked hard to heal my relationship with my body. Every day I'm working towards nurturing a more positive body image for myself.

This is possible for you too! You can work towards a more positive body image and watch your life thrive❤️

04/13/2026

New article! Check it out👇

Stuck in diet culture? Spot 10 sneaky ways it might be influencing your thoughts and habits, and learn how to break free.

Stuck in diet culture? Spot 10 sneaky ways it might be influencing your thoughts and habits, and learn how to break free.

04/13/2026

Your body was never the problem 🫶🏻

​The problem was the impossible standards, the toxic messaging, and the industries that profit from making you feel like you’re not enough.

​You were taught to shrink yourself, literally and figuratively, but what if you stopped believing the lies? What if you decided to exist fully, just as you are?

​Your body is not the issue. It never was ❤️

​Which one resonates with you the most?

04/09/2026

Wellness trends I’m seriously over, from a dietitian who’s tired (part 2) 🫩😩👇🏻

🥑 Superfood obsession

Superfood isn’t a scientifically defined term, it’s just a marketing label. No food is “super,” and your body doesn’t need a gimmick to be healthy.

​🥑 Alkaline water or pH balancing foods

The body tightly controls its pH levels. Eating alkaline foods or drinking fancy water won’t change it. There is extremely limited evidence that suggests otherwise.

​🥑 Collagen

Taking collagen isn’t bad for you, it’s just not necessary. It’s also not magical. It’s just expensive and aggressively marketed by influencers.

​🥑 Fiber-maxxing

Fiber is great, but maxing it out can cause bloating, gas, constipation, digestive discomfort, and potential nutrient malabsorption. Fiber-maxxing is a great example of proper health advice taken to the extreme.

​🥑 Electrolyte drinks

Influencers sell electrolytes like daily life depends on them. Electrolytes are helpful for heavy exercise, excessive sweating, or illness. Otherwise, overdoing them is unnecessary.

​🥑 Bone broth

Bone broth is fine, but it’s unnecessary and expensive. It’s really just warm, overpriced water marketed as a miracle. Don’t fall for it.

​🥑 Intermittent fasting

Women’s hormones are sensitive to energy restriction. Intermittent fasting can increase stress hormones while also disrupting reproductive, hunger/satiety, and thyroid hormones.

​🥑 Clean eating

Clean eating has no official definition. Clean eating = whatever someone decided sounds healthy today. It’s a made-up standard, not a science-based guideline.

​🥑 Detox teas and cleanses

Your liver and kidneys detoxify your body naturally. Most "cleanses" just give you expensive p*e. Your body already does this for free.