Bjerke Nutrition and Wellness

04/22/2024

🩵🩵 Your hunger is not your enemy.

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Appetite suppressants may kill your hunger cues, but they do NOT eliminate your body’s need for fuel.
Think of it this way— just because you silence the alarm doesn’t mean there isn’t a fire.
I’ve been having this conversation A LOT in relation to weight loss drugs and folks who are under the impression that if they “don’t feel hungry, they don’t need to eat.”
And this couldn’t be further from the truth.
If anything, when taking a drug that acts as an appetite suppressant it’s important to be MORE intentional about eating, simply because your brain won’t be receiving those signals as clearly from your body.
Killing the hunger signal may mute the “food noise,” but it doesn’t eliminate your body’s need for consistent, adequate, balanced nutrition.
Remember, your hunger is not the enemy.

01/16/2024

It’s no wonder that by the time we are teenagers, so many of us have a ruptured relationship with our body and end up adopting “the body project."

We are made to believe the body must be tightly controlled, that thin equals healthy, that one meal or day of eating has the power to heal or kill us, and that all we have to do is get this calories in/calories out equation right.
It is an inauthentic and unsustainable way to occupy a body and violates the body trust we believe is a birthright.

The truth is, bodies exist on a spectrum and come in a variety of presentations, abilities, shapes, and sizes. There have always been fat bodies and there always will be fat bodies, just as there have always been short bodies and tall bodies.

Bodies are not supposed to fit into the narrow range stated in the BMI chart, and they are not meant to stay the same as we age. We should not be expected to weigh in our seventies what we weighed in our twenties.

Bodies—and health—are always in flux, from the moment we are conceived in the womb until the moment we die.
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-Image Description-
A golden graphic by Center for Body Trust that reads: Body Trust Tuesday - As we age, we spend more time thinking about the body (objectifying it) than being in the body (experiencing it).

12/06/2023

09/26/2023

All human beings have a right to access enough enjoyable food to meet their needs without experiencing guilt or shame.

When you’ve done the work to neutralize food and truly have unconditional permission to eat and enjoy it, you eat what you want without conditions of how much and how often. You don’t put up false food fronts, where you deny yourself the foods you want and perform healthy eating when you are dining with others, only to go home and binge on the food you really wanted. And your eating experiences are free of guilt or shame— before, during, and after eating.
You show up with a blank slate to each eating episode. There’s no making up for the past and there are no last suppers because the next diet isn’t starting tomorrow.

You are healing from years of deprivation. It’s going to take some time for eating to feel calm and settled.
Remember, you can't just read about this stuff and embody it. It takes practice.
And if you let yourself experiment with the concept of unconditional permission to eat, the experiences, collected over time, will help you rebuild trust and be more connected to your yes’s, no’s, and not now’s.

Photo by AllGo - An App For Plus-Size People via Unsplash
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-Image Description-
A split background of pink and blue with a photo of a couple eating preparing food in their kitchen. Text reads: Body Trust Tuesday - We're not advocating for the kind of permission where you have to meet certain conditions to eat. We're advocating for unconditional permission to eat & enjoy food.

06/30/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100063732692651/posts/739307841536966/?sfnsn=mo&mibextid=SDPelY

I talk waaaaayyyy too much in parenting 😂

My child has definitely told me to “Just stop talking!”

And the other day I was trying to give some ‘helpful’ baseball thoughts… and he said, “Ugh! You always say that.”

Pretty sure the night before, my husband told me I need to step back.

That’s a whole other conversation not for this segment ;)

However, I might be a bit of a teacher. If you’re with me, if you like to explain, A LOT, please please let me know I’m not alone!

I share with you in wanting to help our children have an understanding about all.the.things… and this includes food, nutrition, and bodies.

I often find myself thinking about how my kids should eat their protein because they’re going to be hungry if they don’t. Or noticing they haven’t had any produce and wanting to encourage them to eat some.

But the truth is, when it comes to nutrition, teaching in the traditional sense is generally not helpful.

Eating is actually a quite intuitive process. Think about a baby who cries for food and pushes away when they’ve had enough.

A toddler eats a couple bites and then throws the spoon and all the food on the floor when they don’t like it or have had enough.

Our bodies give us signals about what and when to eat. And we want to keep those signals intact.

When we start teaching about what they should or need to eat, it takes aways from the internal awareness they already have.

Instead, we can better ‘teach’ by role modeling. Provide a variety of food options to offer exposure. Eat a variety of food yourself. Have your child help in the kitchen and get familiar with food. Serve meals that include carbs, protein, fat, and produce.

And allow your child to listen to their body. This requires you trusting them (not always easy) but also instills trust in themselves. 💛

05/24/2023

"'Why should I trust my body?" isn’t the question, really.
It’s this: Who told you that you couldn’t?" - Sam Dylan Finch ❤️

Reciprocal trust requires open communication with your body: checking in regularly, acknowledging what is needed, and responding as best you can, given your capacity and resources.
Eating consistently and predictably, for example, may not always be possible if you experience food insecurity.

Sometimes you listen to your body’s signals and follow the wisdom, sometimes you are unable to. Either way, you have an experience of tuning in and noticing what happens next. The information gathered over time, with curiosity and kindness, will help you rebuild trust with yourself and your body, and you’ll have a stronger belief in your ability to handle whatever comes your way.

We love these words by Sam Dylan Finch:
"'Why should I trust my body?' isn’t the question, really.
It’s this: Who told you that you couldn’t?
When did you begin to doubt your own resilience and adaptability?
When did your body become a target instead of an ally?
When did punishing your body become your default orientation to your own gorgeous being?..All my body wanted was for me to live. My eating disorder wanted me not to exist. I'm going to trust the parts of me that fiercely cling to life— and I'll remain grateful, receptive, and willing as I relinquish the illusion of control so that I can live a vibrant life. Unrestricted, unapologetic. Full."

Photo by Marissa Price via Unsplash
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-Image Description-
A faded pink and peach graphic by Center for Body Trust with a photo of two older folks with young children on their lap sitting at a table with food and drinks in a sunlit orchard. Text reads: Body Trust Tuesday - Body Trust is reciprocal-- you are working on attuning to, discerning, and trusting the ways your body talks to you, and your body is working on trusting that enough food will be eaten consistently and predictably.

05/18/2023

REPOST: art & caption by Morgan Harper Nichols ❤️
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via Morgan Harper Nichols: When you cannot see yourself in the future and you can’t imagine how something beautiful can come your way, remember: you are free to take this day by day. Start in the margins of this very minute…for within it, there are dozens of seconds you did not plan for but, you have already lived through.

You have effortlessly collapsed in and out of them, and already lost track of them, like a billion endless bright stars in the dead of night, you cannot count every second, but they are all a part of your life, as countless stars are suspended in the sky.

Even when you have no idea what could possibly be down the road, and you have absolutely no idea how this next year will go, you still have this second, and just like that, you’re already on to the next one. Somehow, you kept going, even without noticing.

You are moving right along,
you are moving right along,
even when you feel stuck
in the present moment.

You made it another hour.
You drew another breath.
You found boundless peace
without knowing what came next.

This is growth. This is progress.

Breathe deep. Breathe deep.
This simple act is a brave start
in taking the time you need
to do the things that heal your heart.

MHN
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-Image Description-
A white graphic by Morgan Harper Nichols with three blue flowers peeking out around the edges and script that reads: I am worthy of the time it takes to do the things that heal my heart.

05/09/2023

There are lots of misconceptions about self-compassion.
Many people believe they will simply throw in the towel if they are gentler with themselves. Or they will end up in a place of passivity or not caring.

What we are actually talking about here is not giving up, but rather, letting go.

There is a difference between tough love and holding yourself gently accountable. There is a difference between how integrity and brute force look and feel.

Love is a verb, yes? An action. So we keep at it.
Feeling in alignment and in integrity with yourself creates the conditions for a solid place to land when you mess up. A gentle place. A real place. Meeting yourself in your humanity is the work.

Photo by Austrian National Library via Unsplash
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-Image Description-
A black and white photo of a person looking into a lighted vanity mirror. Text alongside reads: Body Trust Tuesday - The way you talk to yourself impacts your health and well-being, just as much if not more than doing whatever it is that makes you feel so full of self-loathing.

04/05/2023

💗

Restrictive eating plans call on the parts of you that want to seal up the internal and scary broken bits with something that looks smooth and shiny on the outside but leaves the inside raw and untended.

Having the "perfect body" is a pursuit we are introduced to in formative years. We learn, often before puberty, that the body can be changed, and should be changed if there is the presence of fat.
We hear more about weight loss than we do about eating disorders, despite their commonality and lethality.

Our wise and capable bodies have strong physiological and psychological responses to food deprivation.

Control is the lie. It is the promise that comes through whiteness and dominant culture, it appeases the patriarchy, it is fodder for those who sell solutions to "the problem" of fatness without ever acknowledging the aftermath of pain that leads to internal fragmentation and body blame.

Photo by Claudia Soraya via Unsplash
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-Image Description-
A white graphic by Center for Body Trust with a photo of a person obscured by a sheer curtain. Text reads: Body Trust Tuesday - Restrictive eating plans need disdain & self-loathing, they rely on your surviving and striving self, instead of your rooted or thriving self.

04/01/2023

Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach (4th Edition) by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

03/27/2023

REPOST: image & caption by Virginia Newman (she/her, a.k.a. TheRadicalDietitian on instagram) ❤️ https://bit.ly/3JKOAMB
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via TheRadicalDietitian: Our bodies are the site of our stories. Listening to our bodies deeply is not something we are shown or taught within the dominant culture, quite the opposite we are told to ignore, minimize, and control the signals from our bodies.

When we start to nourish if that is accessible to us, the body has space to heal and our brains have space to begin a deeper more attuned listening.

The process can be messy, uncomfortable, and lonely. Oftentimes when people take the leap towards healing the suffering of staying the same is greater than the risk of the unknown.

This is brave work, and you are worthy and deserving of healing.
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-Image Description-
A white graphic by Virginia Newman (she/her) with an anatomical heart over a small shelter lined with plants and flowers at the bottom and text above that reads: Your body will lead you towards your deepest healing.

03/20/2023

REPOST: Cole Arthur Riley/Black Liturgies ❤️
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-Image Description-
A green graphic by Cole Arthur Riley (she/her) via Black Liturgies that reads: You can have hopes for your future self without degrading your present self.
Self-punishment is not love.
Self-hatred is not growth.
Healing doesn't come by tearing holes in yourself.

03/07/2023

March is National Nutrition Month and its the perfect time to Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition - Tune in to learn more about the 10th Principle of Intuitive Eating.

03/02/2023

02/27/2023

To learn more, connect with our dietitian who is here to support you on your healing journey.

02/27/2023

Today starts Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Our relationship with food and body matters. Tune in to learn more.