As an overwhelmed new mom, Rachel Nielson finally acknowledged that she had an eating disorder. She had been coping with stress and heartache through both undereating and overeating for almost ten years, and her negative thoughts about herself had become all-consuming. She didn’t want this struggle to continue impacting her growing family, so she sought help from a counseling center near her home.
As part of her therapy, Rachel learned about a mindset called “intuitive eating” which taught her how to trust, respect, and listen to her body. She gave up dieting and the inevitable “Last Supper eating” that comes along with it, and she now chooses to love and listen to her body instead of punishing and manipulating it.
Listen in as April and Rachel discuss a few of the basic principles of intuitive eating and exercising.
SHOW NOTES
“Listening To and Loving your Body through Intuitive Eating” Podcast Outline
Unhealthy Stress or Habits? Break the Cycle! (the first podcast that Rachel and April recorded)
The Surprising Way I Confronted My Eating Disorder (a powerful narrative that Rachel wrote about facing her eating disorder)
Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch (ten principles summarized here)
Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon
How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubrey (Rachel’s counselor)
Mommy is a Person (post by April about a Mom’s “Bill of Rights”)
Power of Mom’s Radio–Episode 80: The Calorie Myth with Jonathan Bailor
Rachel Nielson loves birthday surprises, summer sunsets, and a handsome man named Ryan. She taught high school English for five years before deciding to be a stay-at-home mom to their son, Noah Atticus, who was born in August of 2011. His little sister, Sally Grace, arrived in July of 2014. Rachel and Ryan consider both of their babies to be miracles, as Noah is adopted and Sally was conceived through IVF. When Rachel is not caring for the littles or picking up the house for the 100th time, she writes for Power of Moms and keeps a family blog about motherhood, infertility, adoption, eating disorders, her ridiculously cute children, and the ups and downs of daily life. Nothing gives her more satisfaction than capturing in words the deepest feelings of her heart.
Feature Image from Shutterstock; graphics by Julie Finlayson.
Music from Creations by Michael R. Hicks
Audio editing by Christy Elder
Another fabulous podcast that has changed my thinking!
I especially love the reminders about our bodies’ set point and how we need to think about exercise. I have been doing SANE eating & exercise mostly because my husband’s doctor told him he needs to lose weight and because I have been wanting more energy without having to spend large amounts of energy thinking about what to eat. Eat more vegetables? Yes! I can do that! Simple! Through SANE I have discovered some of my favorite foods- broccoli & hummus (YUM), spaghetti squash, butternut squash soup, and roasted cauliflower. And I love the energy that I get from eating those things that I enjoy.
However, I’ve been doing it since November and I’ve only lost 5 lbs (I was hoping for a little weight loss as well) and I was actually just telling my mom the other day that I think it’s my body’s way of telling me it’s done and this is just the weight I’m going to be, and I’m okay with that.
I think since doing SANE and the eccentric exercise I’ve lost some of what I love about regular exercise, and after listening to this I think it’s time for me to get back to that. A year ago I ran a 10k at the best shape I’d ever been and I literally ran the whole thing with a big, goofy grin on my face because it was just SO much fun! (Yes, everyone thought I was crazy.) I also love jumping on the trampoline with my kids. And just recently I was at my daughters’ gymnastics class and I decided I was tired of sitting there being jealous of them doing the splits- I want to be flexible too! (I am SO not flexible) So I am incorporating a flexibility program into my daily routine because I think it will be a great way for me to love my body even more.
I remember one time a few months after I’d had a baby and I had taken my kids to a park and we had to climb a LOT of steps to get back up to where we’d parked. This required me to put on my backpack (with all the diaper gear) pick up the baby in one arm and use the other arm to throw the stroller over my shoulder and hike up the steps. I did, and thanks to the running I’d been doing I wasn’t even out of breath at the top. It was in that moment that I realized THAT was why I wanted to stay in shape and be healthy, because it made me a better, stronger, happier mom, regardless of the numbers on the scale. It made me feel capable and awesome.
I am grateful to have a mom who has always been a great example to me of how to love my body. She is very petite and has always been slender as well, but I never heard her talk about food as anything but something to be enjoyed (and she was always a good example of choosing & enjoying healthy foods and also heartily enjoying dessert!) and I remember after my little sister was born and I went to visit her in the hospital we walked in the room just as she was doing her morning stretches. She did them every single morning- toe touches, stretching, etc.- and she still does. Not because she wants to lose weight (she doesn’t need to and never has) but because she loves her body and loves how those things make her feel. She is 70 now and I love that she can comfortably get down on the floor and play with my kids (she also runs her own horse farm so she can also comfortably toss bales of hay and deal with wily foals!)
Sorry this comment was so long, I just wanted to say thank you for this reminder, and it is also so important for me to remember to pass this on to my kids.
Wow, thank you for sharing these experiences! It sounds like you are a truly intuitive eater who was raised by an intuitive eater! I loved the story about your mom doing her daily stretches in the hospital right after giving birth. So inspiring!
I wish we could have all the mothers in our community jump on the podcasts with us and share their own stories–so thank you for taking the time to come and comment. You experiences add so much!
I have been on a search for what will work to change my disordered eating patterns. I have a history of eating disorders and thought I had “overcome” them to realize that I haven’t. I still struggle with the self-loathing you described as well as disordered thought patterns. However, I have food intolerances to wheat and other foods. Working with a naturalist doctor I had improved health staying off these foods (and lost weight as a result) but now I’ve realized they have become “bad” foods and I’m in an even more vicious cycle of disordered eating. Do the resources you cite address how food allergies and intolerances that literally make you sick (as opposed to a person just labeling a given food good or bad) play into intuitive eating? I basically took the health food eating plan and made it in my mind into just another eating disorder. It aggravated my disorders and now I just can’t seem to “get back on track” and have immense guilt associated with what I’m eating. Do you have any resources addressing how food intolerances factors into the intuitive eating? Thanks so much
PS- I’m the weirdo neigborhood Mom jumping on the trampoline in the yard, singing and smiling to myself. Haha I totally get your rollerblade story.
GREAT question, Beth! The resources that I mentioned in the podcast do not go into a lot of depth about food intolerances, but I recently took an online class called “Stop Fighting Food” from Isabel Foxen Duke, and she discusses this topic. Here is an article with her brief answer: http://isabelfoxenduke.com/not-restricting-with-medical-restrictions/
One of my favorite quotes from the article above is this: “When a ‘normal’ eater eats something that they ‘shouldn’t,’ it has little to no bearing on their core self-esteem. They don’t think about it beyond the thought ‘I might pay for this on the toilet later.’ A ‘normal eater’ who doesn’t eat gluten because they’re allergic, doesn’t see themselves as an unloveable fat pig when they choose to eat gluten — they just see themselves as a person who’s about to feel sick. They don’t attach further meaning to it, and are thus truly able to let it go, rather than spiral out of control, raiding the cabinets for anything that isn’t nailed down.”
If you feel like you would benefit from professional guidance with disordered eating, I suggest googling “Intuitive Eating counselor” with the name of your city. That’s how I found my counselor. There are also lots of online resources and even classes if you spend some time searching.
Thank you so much for commenting, and keep jumping on that trampoline! That’s awesome! xo
Thanks! I will look into it further. Hopefully this was an answer to my quest for something that would help me overcome this issue once and for all (with work and over time:)
I really enjoyed this podcast and learned some new things! Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to listen and comment! We appreciate having you in our community of mothers!!
This was wonderful! I love the honesty and the open conversation…I also love the parallels to teaching our kids. Thank you for packing so much information and hope and inspiration in such a quick hour!
Thank you, Danielle! April and I could talk for hours, and even though we did our best to limit ourselves, it got a little long! Ha! But I’m glad you found it helpful and packed with information. Thank you so much for your support!!!
I am a Mommy who thrives on 20 minute walks, and 8 minutes of abs.
And, @aprilperry, I rollerblade!!!
You gals were awesome on this topic. Nice honesty, and sensibility.
Julia!! I want you to be part of my rollerblading club. I’m starting a group on Facebook called, “Rollerblading Introverts: Let’s Skate Alone…Together.” I’ll let you know when it’s up!
Thank you for your kind words. 🙂