Regardless of your size, race, gender, sexuality, or dieting history,
you deserve kind, compassionate support!
What exactly is Intuitive Eating (IE)?
IE is FREEDOM! Instead of focusing on things like calories, macros, and good foods/ bad foods, IE puts you in control. At its core, IE is a blend of tuning in and respecting your body’s innate wisdom, gentle nutrition (how foods feel in your body), and developing/ preserving a positive and healthy relationship with food. It’s a recovery program for chronic dieters and/ or those recovering from an eating disorder.
I will be there to support you as we begin to work on health behaviors that can lead to wellbeing regardless of your weight.
So, I just eat whatever, whenever? I've tried that before!
This is certainly a COMMON misconception. With IE, there are no forbidden foods - but there might be foods that you need to avoid because of allergies, etc and there may be foods you want to limit because they don't feel great in your body.
If you have tried legalizing foods in the past but still find yourself binging on them or feel like you "can't control" yourself around them, working with a professional can be a game changer and lead to success!
Why IE and not another diet?
In short, because diets don’t work. Even lifestyles such as WW, Whole30, or Blue Zones lead to weight regain for about 97% of people within 1-2 years. The stats for GLP1s are not looking that promising either for long term weight loss.
Restricting that causes sudden weight loss- whether from dieting, surgery or injections, causes your body to enter survival mode.
The most consistent result of restriction is weight gain, over the long term.
97% of people will regain the weight, HALF of those will gain additional weight, leaving them heavier and more distrustful of their body. To date, there are over 100 published studies demonstrating the health benefits (physical and mental) of intuitive eating.
I think IE sounds really great and I am ready to give up dieting but what if I still want to lose weight?
Join the club! Of course you want to lose weight! In our current culture, almost all of us have internalized the message that small bodies are healthy bodies and if you are not actively pursuing smallness then you have given up on your health. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
But I get it - breaking up with dieting is hard to do! In our work together we will do a lot of unlearning so we can move forward with body acceptance, learning body trust, legalizing food and improving wellbeing!
I don’t have any willpower, if I let myself eat (fill in the blank) I won’t be able to stop. Shouldn’t you just tell me what to eat?
I am a dietitian, of course, I could just tell you what to eat, but I have a feeling you already know what you are supposed to be eating. If I told you what to eat, that would be a diet and diets are easy for me to hand out and they are widely available online!
BUT, I have a feeling you have been there done that. IE is different, it teaches you to think about food differently and allows you to begin to trust and honor your body’s wisdom. Think about it, if you weren’t so busy trying to follow diet rules, you would have more opportunities to tune in to your body. Intuitive eating is not about depriving yourself, it’s about finding that happy place of body autonomy.
I am concerned about my child, her pediatrician says she is overweight, underweight or has lost too much weight too quickly.
nI am so glad you are here! Having a pediatrician mention your child’s weight can be scary and can bring up so many feelings for parents! Depending on the age of your child, I can either work with them alone (usually much to the teens’ relief) or I can work with just the parents and not involve the child at all. If your child is younger and you are the one in charge of shopping and cooking I can help you develop an action plan that will work for the whole family.
Can anyone use Intuitive Eating, what if I have diabetes or high cholesterol?
Eating intuitively is a safe and healthy way for everyone to eat.
Do you accept insurance?
I am currently a provider with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Highmark, Anthem, Aetna and Cigna. Your sessions may be covered 100%. Every plan is different so if you would like to use insurance please complete the insurance information and I can have my biller check your coverage. You can also call the number on the back of your card to verify if your plan will cover nutrition services.
If you plan to pay out of pocket, you can use an HSA account. I can also provide an invoice that you can submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement.
I am ready to schedule! What are the next steps?
The next step would be to book a discovery call (or just let me know a good time to reach out along with a phone number). This will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have and decide if we are a good fit.
As always, if you have a serious health concern, you should speak with your physician. Information on this website is not meant to replace regular care with a medical professional.