Tag: whole-person wellness

by Libby

7 Questions to Consider When it Comes to Your Exercise Routine

Something that a number of my clients have shared with me is that it has felt to them like other eating disorder professionals / dietitians have conveyed the idea that they are “automatically being disordered” if they want to exercise or be physically fit.

Hmmm. *Skeptically scratching head.* I have to say I disagree!

I do think this is a tricky line to walk, as exercise and fitness intentions can certainly come from a place of being “mostly disordered.”

That being said, I don’t think that NEEDS to be the case. It’s all about your RELATIONSHIP with exercise, and your motivations for doing what you are doing. If your relationship with exercise IS currently disordered right now, we can work towards HEALING and CHANGING that. You can pursue physical fitness and exercise in a way that is genuinely and holistically healthy.

I am all about fitness and physical health in my own personal life, and love when clients and blog readers are passionate about this, too.

However, this wasn’t always the case. When it comes to working one’s way out of a completely unhealthy relationship with exercise, I GET YOU if that’s where you are at as you find yourself reading this blog post.

Based on my own personal experience and my work with clients, I have a lot of insight into what typically goes on emotionally and psychologically when it comes to a healthy versus unhealthy relationship with exercise.

Whether you are regularly exercising right now, taking a break, or thinking of getting back into it, here are 7 questions to consider when it comes to your exercise routine.

7 Questions to Consider When it Comes to Your Exercise Routine: 

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by Libby

7 Reasons to Eat More (or Enough) Dietary Fat

Out of the three macronutrients — fat, protein, and carbohydrate — dietary fat has to be my favorite! Give me all the nut butter, grass-fed / organic beef & eggs & butter, and plenty of dark chocolate (obviously) :).

Some of my favorite (daily) ways to consume dietary fat include peanut butter & whole-milk yogurt on my breakfast bowls, walnuts/cashews in my energy bites & bars, olive oil-based dressings & nuts on salads, oils & butters for dinner veggies & rolls, meats & eggs w/ dinner, and evening dark chocolate & other delish sweets to cap off a nourishing day of eats.

Thankfully the low-fat craze of the 90s seems to be less of a thing now, but so many people still seem to fear eating dietary fat!

Like all things food-related, not all foods are of the same quality, and therefore the “same food” can be healthful or less-than-healthful depending on its quality. High-quality, preferably organic sources of dietary fat (including saturated fat sources!) are EXCELLENT and NECESSARY for optimal health.

That being said, you all know I”m all about balance and I’m not going to bat an eye about eating processed desserts, non-organic meat/eggs, or seed oils once in a while. Unless there is a valid health reason to be totally black and white about a certain food, I’m not going to concern myself with eating “less-than-ideal” options once in a while. I know my body can handle this and it is perfectly fine!

We need to look at the big picture of our health, food patterns, and overall toxic load, and not miss the forest for the trees by obsessing over the store-bought cupcakes or non-organic ground beef we ate yesterday.

Dietary fat does NOT “make you fat.”

In fact, I would argue that avoiding high-quality sources of dietary fat puts you at *greater risk* for unhealthy weight gain (beyond YOUR body’s natural healthy weight range), due to the effect that not getting enough dietary fat has on things like our metabolism, hormones, and overall nutritional status.

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by Libby

True Health (Including Fitness/Nutrition) and Recovery are NOT Mutually Exclusive

A common dynamic I’ve noticed in the eating disorder recovery world is this idea that if you want to eat a nutritious diet and be physically fit you are clearly disordered in your food/exercise approach.

There is a fine line (that looks different for everyone) when it comes to what is disordered or not in someone’s food/exercise approach.

Just because you care about nutritious eating and being physically fit does NOT mean this is inherently problematic!

(In other words, how you are relating to nutritious food and exercise may be disordered right now, but it doesn’t have to be that way).

I find that dietitians and other eating disorder professionals who approach their work with clients in such a black-and-white way tend to turn off and lose trust with a lot of clients who genuinely care about these things, even if they are struggling and experiencing health and fitness in a disordered way at the current moment. This can manifest from everything from direct interactions with clients (“you are disordered for wanting to eat/be healthy” vibes) to marketing (i.e., always showing photos of eating disorder dietitians eating cupcakes, as if anything else would be “disordered.”)

Maybe you are someone who truly does enjoy training for races and going to the gym, but these activities have become overly obsessive and disordered in how you are engaging with them. That does not mean that these activities are inherently bad, need to be “off-limits” for forever, or that you can’t engage with them in a genuinely healthy way in the future.

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by Libby

Benefits of Eating Regularly (3 Meals & 3 Snacks)

Today I wanted to do a post on some key reasons why eating regularly is beneficial – both from a nutrition and a relationship with food standpoint.

By “eating regularly,” I’m talking 3 meals and around 3 snacks per day, every 3 hours or so. Some people may prefer/need more like 2 or 4+ snacks, and some people eat a little more often or go a little longer in between meals, depending on hunger cues/personal preferences/schedules each day. BUT, I find these rules of thumb for regular eating rhythms tend to work well for pretty much everyone. (Since they are based on human biology & psychology!)

As an example (everyone is different!) you can see how I might incorporate 3 meals & about 3 snacks in my everyday eating here.

Oftentimes, a client will come to me eating only 2-3 meals per day and no snacks. Snacks might be viewed as “bad,” and the thought of eating more regularly may at first seem anxiety-inducing or counterproductive. However, it’s common that the client is experiencing a range of symptoms that can be vastly improved upon with regular eating rhythms.

These symptoms may include bloating, constipation/diarrhea, obsession/preoccupation with food, binge eating, chaotic eating, difficulty noticing or listening to hunger/fullness cues, lack of hunger cues, slowed metabolism, imbalanced hormones, feeling addicted to food, and more!

Once we begin to understand more what is going on and start to make gentle shifts towards more regular and balanced eating, these concerns start to improve.

Let’s explore some of the main reasons why I recommend eating regularly! (3 meals and ~3 snacks)

Benefits of eating regularly: 

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by Libby

How to Structure Meals & Snacks

Today I wanted to do a post sharing about the basic “meal structure” that I use in my own personal life and that I often talk about with clients.

Don’t be scared by my use of the words “meal structure” … this is a very loose, flexible, simplified approach to balanced eating!

I find that most people tend to do well having some sort of structure to their eating. Now, I’m all about eating something random when the mood strikes, but I do think it’s generally helpful to have some regularity and basic structure instead of winging it each day as far as food goes.

Not only will your meals likely be more balanced and nutritious, but it also can take a lot of unnecessary mental energy trying to spontaneously “reinvent the food wheel” each day. Without some intentionality to our eating, we are also more likely to under or overeat.

Libby’s Basic Meal Structure:

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by Libby

Some Thoughts on Gut Health (& a new exciting tool for my practice!)

Hi everyone! I hope your week is going well so far. Happy you are here! 🙂

How great has the sunshine / warmer weather been for those of you who live in Michigan?? Such an instant upgrade to the week!

I wanted to do a post today sharing some of my general thoughts on gut health AND share about a tool that I’ve been excited to be incorporating more in my practice over the past few months.

First things first! Some random gut health and candid dietetics processing:

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by Libby

Trade-Offs in the Pursuit of “Perfect” Food Choices

Lately I have been thinking about this idea of “trade-offs” in making food choices.

I think a lot of us find making trade-offs or compromises to be a natural/intuitive way to navigate health/wellness decisions in a number of areas of our lives.

A common example might be sleep. If you’re like me, maybe you value getting good-quality sleep, but from time to time you sacrifice your sleep in order to have a fun/later night hanging out with friends because you also see this as important for your emotional health and overall experience of fun/joy in life. Or maybe at other times you sacrifice sleep to travel, to provide emotional support to a friend or family member, or to get some sort of urgent/important task done.

Part of one of my key health values (good sleep) is sacrificed to some extent to support my some of my other health values (good relationships, fun, spontaneity from time to time, travel, etc.).

Another example that comes to mind is with toxic exposures. I do my best to limit my exposure to certain toxins and take a number of actions to do so. In my life this looks like using a water filter, running an air purifier in our home, buying products without certain chemicals or fragrances in them, avoiding moldy/musty buildings whenever possible, and buying mostly organic food. At the same time, I know I could go crazy trying to avoid toxic exposures at all costs, so I accept that I will do my best within my limitations/reality of the world we live in and not overly stress about it. I sacrifice some of my desire to  totally avoid toxins in order to exist/function in the world!

What is interesting to me about this idea is how many of us struggle with this idea of trade-offs or compromises when it comes to food and nutrition.

You may feel like…

  • You have to eat the “healthiest” food at every opportunity
  • You are harming your health whenever each food choice isn’t “perfect”
  • You feel anxious eating foods from a restaurant or that a friend made when you don’t know exactly what’s in it
  • The only or “best” way to make a food decision should always be based purely on nutrition factors

What I’ve found in working with clients and in my own personal experience is that whenever we so overly fixate on “nutrition in the name of health,” our overall health (physical health included) suffers.

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by Libby

10 Healthy Fat Sources to Include Regularly

Do you avoid, or intentionally incorporate, fat into your diet?

It seems to me that many people are under the misguided impression that fat is always something to be avoided, and that consuming a higher-fat diet will lead to weight gain or worsened health.

My general nutritional opinion is that it is more the quality of fat in our diets that matters, and that it is generally other factors (like chronic stress, overload of processed foods (including many unnaturally low/non-fat foods!), sedentary lifestyles, etc.) that lead to poorer health outcomes.

Eating a diet full of high-quality fats is essential for hormonal health, brain health, immunity, energy, nutrient absorption, and more!

My appreciation for this macronutrient was recently reinvigorated as I was learning more about the story behind one of my favorite cookbooks, Run Fast, Eat Slow. Elyse Kopecky, one of the co-authors, had been a competitive runner since her preteen years and still hadn’t had her first period by the time she went off to UNC to run cross-country in college. Predictably, the doctors she saw prescribed the birth control pill to induce what we know is an artificial period. Not one suggested she alter anything in her diet/lifestyle!

After college, Elyse tried several times to go off the pill to have a natural cycle. Time and time again after waiting and even nixing the running, her period fail to make an appearance, leading her to repeatedly return to the hormonal birth control band-aid “solution”. It wasn’t until moving overseas to Switzerland and experiencing a whole new way of eating that Elyse had her first natural period at age 30! She left behind her low-fat, processed foods diet and filled it with satisfying and nourishing high-fat foods like whole milk yogurt, aged cheeses, butter, egg yolks, and grass-fed red meat.

Elyse started her first natural period after only a couple of months of eating this higher-fat, nutrient-dense diet. (And noting no noticeable changes in body size or composition). Later on, despite being told by doctors she would have trouble getting pregnant due to her period history, Elyse got pregnant immediately with her first daughter!

You can read more about her story here or listen here.

Reflecting on Elyse’s story and my own story of using higher-fat foods to get my period back and balance my hormones has re-inspired me to be even more intentional about incorporating more quality fat into my meals and snacks throughout each week. Read on for some of my favorite fat sources to incorporate, as well as ideas for enjoying them in especially delicious ways!

10 Healthy Fat Sources to Include Regularly: 

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by Libby

Ways to Increase Iron Intake + Absorption

Today I thought I’d do a blog post discussing a bit about IRON. Iron is a common micronutrient deficiency in the populations I work with and it can take a little intentionality to be consuming adequate amounts of iron in your diet on a regular basis (and in ways that promote optimal absorption – more on that later).

In this post we will be thinking about:

    • Why is iron important and who is at increased risk for iron-deficiency anemia (IDA)?
    • What are common symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia?
    • What are some ways I can increase both my iron intake and my ability to effectively absorb the iron I do consume?

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by Libby

10 Whole-Person Tips for Hormonal Health

Over the years I have read several books and many articles online about tips for improving hormonal health that seem to make things overly complicated, in my opinion, and potentially, when followed, end up doing more harm than good. These protocols advocate for eating only a very specific list of foods in addition to suggesting very specific forms of exercise and other life habits for each phase of your cycle. While I think there is some truth to these suggestions (for example, basic principles like eating iron-rich foods like red meat and doing lower intensity exercise when you are on your period) that can be helpful, I generally think extensive, black-and-white protocols like this way overcomplicate things, adding unnecessary stress, rigidity, and confusion. This is the LAST thing you want if you are having hormonal problems, as the root of a lot of hormonal imbalance issues is unhealthy stress (in any and all forms – physical, mental, emotional, environmental etc.).

SO… in the spirit of making things LESS complicated and hopefully MORE effective, I have for you in this post ten of my top tips for hormonal health. Between an eating disorder, recovering from an eating disorder, lots of other life stress throughout college and beyond, and genetic predispositions to certain hormonal issues, I have (unfortunately in many ways!) plenty of experience dealing with hormonal imbalance myself. NOT FUN as hormones affect basically everything.

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