Trying to fight off the urge to restrict or body check in an emotionally intense or vulnerable state without having a plan ahead-of-time is like telling yourself to get to the other side of the pool faster than Micheal Phelps ‍.

Defeat is pretty much all but guaranteed.

BUT, when you intentionally prepare for the roadblocks on your body image and food freedom journey before you’re face-to-face with them, it’s a whole new game! Using the Micheal Phelps example, what if you realized that no one said you had to swim? (Jet ski, anyone?) Today, I’m going to walk you through a simple strategy that will help you know exactly what you’re going to do the next time you’re faced with a Micheal Phelps-sized battle on your food freedom journey. 

This strategy helped my client reduce her binge eating frequency by 90% in 1 month!

One of my sweet clients came to me with a 20-year struggle with bingeing. She used this behavior as a source of...

Have you ever confided in someone on a bad body image day only to get this response: “Hey, just remember you’re fearfully and wonderfully made!” Why is it that this scripture doesn’t seem to help for more than 15 seconds, or sometimes, not at all? In this episode, I brought on my sweet friend, Heather Creekmore, a Christian author and host of the Compared to Who podcast, who led us in diving deeper into this beautiful piece of Scripture! She shared: 

•  Why Psalm 139:14 never worked for her
•  What she knows NOW that is making a lasting impact on her body image  

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I Know, I Know! But…

When you hear Psalm 139:14, do you ever give this response ?

What do we do when we KNOW that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, but that truth doesn’t seem to cut it for us? Heather was in the same boat. Growing up in a Christian...

What if I told you that by changing the way you think, you can change your body’s physiological response to stress ()?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve experienced your fair share of stressors both mentally and physically. Stress was a constant battle for me until I learned how to lean into it and deal with it in a way that didn’t leave me exhausted.

That's why today, we’re discussing:

• The #1 mistake people make when trying to deal with stress

• Crazy facts about your body’s response to stress

• How social connection can actually heal your body from the effects of stress

• Next steps for a better relationship with stress

If you’re freaking out over that fear food your dietitian just told you to tackle, are juggling school and work, or are just having one of those days with your kids, welcome, friend!

Dealing With Stress: The #1 Mistake

Unfortunately, stress is unavoidable. The Global Organization for Stress found...

Today, you’re going to get a sneak peak inside my signature food freedom and ED recovery program, The Joy-Filled Eater Course!

Inside, I regularly bring in guest experts such as therapists, women’s health experts, and strength trainers that address areas within their expertise. (You can check out the course HERE!) 

In this training, I interviewed chef and culinary nutritionist Kris Dovbniak about conquering fear foods in the kitchen. Kris is a classically-trained chef with decades of experience in the culinary world. She is also the owner and recipe-developer at Healthy Mama Kris. More importantly, she is a busy mom of two with a passion for sharing real food recipes for real families that are really delicious. Today, you’ll learn:

• Kris’s personal disordered eating struggle
• How you can conquer fear foods in the kitchen with nutrition in mind
• Super cool tips for whipping up satisfying, delicious dishes
• Next steps for learning basic cooking skills...

Food. Has. No. Calories.

What ?! Yes, friend, you read that correctly.

Today, I’m going to break down some major misconceptions that the diet industry is dying to convince you of. This simple explanation of how your body actually works might be the key you need to stop obsessing over that infamous number on the nutrition facts label. So, if you pour loads of mental and physical energy into counting or burning calories, it’s time to take back that precious time and finally learn the truth. 

Lessons From Greg

I had a client (we’re calling him Greg), who struggled with food obsession and overeating since his pre-teen years. As we went through his food-related thoughts and behaviors in session, he told me that he had hung up a chart in his home that contained lots of “healthy” things that he thought he should be doing.

One, specifically, had to do with calories.

He decided that having a low-calorie diet was “healthy”, but it only...

How much weight do you carry?...

I’m not asking about the number on your digital scale, but about the burden you carry because you never think your body is good enough.

Today, I’m sharing the mic with my friend and fellow-podcaster, Jennifer Taylor Wagner, to help you answer the question: “how do I see my body as good, even when it doesn’t feel that way?” Jennifer shares:

• Her own body image battle that began in Kindergarten and bled into her adulthood
• Tips to break the scale’s power over you
• How you can begin the journey of body-trust when your body doesn’t seem trustworthy
• What it means for your body to be GOOD, and you can see it as such—just the way it is, right now.

Jennifer’s Story

Growing up, Jennifer’s body was bigger than most of the bodies around her. As a result, she was mocked and bullied from Kindergarten onward. The negative comments she received scarred her and eventually became part of her...

Ask yourself this question: "What makes dieting so attractive to me?"

I’ve found that, when it all boils down, diets feel safe because we don’t have to make our own decisions. If we follow all the rules and the diet causes chaos, fails to bring the promised results, or makes us feel miserable, we're not the one to blame—the diet is. 

In episode 6 of The Joy-Filled Eater Podcast, we’re hanging out with Chrissy Kirkman, executive director of FINDINGbalance and the host of the Old School Food Freedom Podcast, and we’re going to help you navigate:

• Decision fatigue and menu planning when you’re no longer dieting
• How to decide what to eat when nothing sounds good
• ‍ Why you may be having trouble letting dieting go for GOOD
• Strategies that you can use NOW to simplify weekly menu planning

Wait, What's Decision Fatigue?  

Decision fatigue is exactly what it sounds like: becoming exhausted from making decisions. It sounds strange,...

Do you ever feel like your body image journey is going nowhere, no matter how hard you try? Throughout my career, I’ve heard so many women repeat the same thing: “I wish I didn’t think about my body so much, and I want to see it in a more positive light.” If that’s you right now, this episode is most certainly for you, friend. Today, I’m going to show you the #1 reason your body image might not be improving, the 4 different types of body image that you might struggle with, and action steps you can take to break free from negative body image. 

First, A Lesson From My Teenage Driving Mistake :

Back when I was a brand-new driver in high school, I made a HUGE mistake that could have gotten me into a ton of trouble. Being an efficiency-loving 15-year-old, I tried to drive my new champagne-gold Camry with both feet. (Have you ever tried to drive like that?) Here's what happened...

One day, I was sitting in my car in a nearly-empty church...

Have you ever felt completely energy-depleted after a full night’s sleep or gone crazy around a certain type of food when you thought you were "in control"? If so, keep reading! Symptoms like these and more might be your body telling you that your hormone health is out-of-whack and needs some support. Today, my good friend Olivia Wagner and I are talking about:

• How to know if your hormones are out-of-whack

• How to ditch temporary band-aid fixes 

• And steps you can take NOW to start balancing your hormones for improved menstrual health, reduced stress response, and a better chance for a healthy pregnancy

But first, let's get to know Olivia:

About Functional Dietitian: Olivia Wagner

Olivia is a functional dietitian who specializes in issues such as PCOS, period problems, and infertility. She helps women just like you discover and address root causes of their health challenges with personalized nutrition, realistic lifestyle support, advanced lab testing,...

Have you ever been triggered by negative body or food-related comments made in the pulpit or a Bible study, but didn’t know how to react? If so, this post is for you! Today, I’m going to show you 4 ways diet culture can show up in the “big C church” and offer 3 strategies to battle it.

Before we jump in, I want you to know that questions are super valuable in the study of God’s word. If we don’t ask hard questions and lay Bible teaching against the truth of God’s word, we are letting someone else be our Bible. People don’t always get it right; that’s why I always encourage you to bring what you hear in this podcast and blog to the Lord in prayer and filter it through Biblical truth! Don’t get me wrong—the church is absolutely essential for spiritual maturity and development, but it is also crucial that we dig into the Word ourselves! 

Before we can overcome diet culture in the church, we have to be able to...