jenniferellen

What Does it Mean When We Talk About “Modifiable Lifestyle Behaviors”?

Weight-Neutrality & Health Series Part 2**

Diet culture has co-opted health behaviors, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can re-make your relationship to health in meaningful ways that have nothing to do with your weight.

How many times have you heard the phrase “It’s not about weight, it’s about making healthy lifestyle changes“? But what does that mean? Can we really pursue health without thinking about weight? (spoiler alert- YES WE CAN!)

But What About Health? Weight-Neutrality & Health Series Part 1

Health at Every Size

It seems like we are constantly being bombarded with messages about our health, and what is best for our health. We get them from mainstream media and social media, health care providers, so-called ‘wellness gurus’, friends and family… heck, we can even get unsolicited health advice from strangers on the street or in the line at the coffee shop!

In my work as a body liberation and health counselor, one of the most common things I hear when I talk about learning to trust our bodies without rules, lists or apps is…⁣

⁣

“BUT WHAT ABOUT HEALTH?”⁣

3 reasons Why #bodyliberation Is For Everyone

Body Freedom, Food Freedom, Health at Every Size, Yoga

I have just completed a month-long Body Grievers body image course with the incredible Brianna Campos. It was an incredible group of women, all at different points on the path to body acceptance and body liberation.

One of the things that I noticed right away, was just how much suffering and distress can come up when our bodies don’t meet the supposed picture of health/wellness or beauty. I quickly came to realize that this truly is necessary work for ALL of us, not just those who are suffering the most.

Interoceptive Awareness. What is it? Why is it important?

Body Freedom, Food Freedom, Health at Every Size, Yoga

WHAT IS INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS

Interoceptivity, or interoceptive awareness is the ability to become aware of and evaluate internal body signals. We all have this ability. For example, we know when our bladder is full, when we are cold or hot, and when we are angry or anxious.

It’s the CORNERSTONE of self-care, because it’s the way that we become aware of what we truly need.

self-care + authenticity= TLA (true love always)

Body Freedom

February is known as the month of love, and what better way is there to celebrate, than to cultivate a deep and abiding love, one that lasts forever- the love for yourself?

“If I build a home within myself, a palace of peace created with my own awareness and love, this can be the refuge I have always been seeking” ~Yung Pueblo

What I Gained From Leaving Diet Culture

Body Freedom

Recently, I have been looking through old photos, searching for one from a trip to Scotland several years back (I found it! This is me, on the shores of Loch Ness). As I was searching, I saw SO MANY photos that I never posted or shared with friends and loved ones because I ‘looked fat’.

Dealing with Food Guilt and Body Shame During the Holidays

Uncategorized

One thing that I talk about a LOT in my work with clients is resilience. Resilience is the unsung hero when dealing with any challenge. It tells us that difficult things are inevitably going to occur in our lives, and gives us a pathway to deal with them in a way that allows us to not only make peace with the challenge, but to actually come back stronger than before.

During the Holidays, we often deal with difficult/complicated feelings around food and our bodies, so I wanted to share a resilience process to help you navigate those feelings in a way that affirms food and body freedom, and trust in yourself.

3 Things to Eliminate From Your Wardrobe as #selfcare

Body Freedom

Wardrobe cleanout as #selfcare ??? YOU BET! Getting rid of the 3 following items will start to build #selftrust by showing your body that it deserves to be comfortable and clothed in items that fit your glorious here-and-now body!⁣

1- Underwear ⁣ Is there anything that tells your body more fundamentally that it isn’t ‘right’ or ‘worthy’ than wearing bras and underwear that are too tight, leave angry red marks on your shoulders, hips, belly or chest, ride up your butt, or are just plain uncomfortable? Nope! Let that shit go, my friends .

DEBUNKED- 3 Myths about Weight and Health

Health at Every Size

Lately, I find that I hear three things a WHOLE lot, when it comes to weight and health. Because they are garbage, lol, but pervasive, I thought I’d break them down, and offer some good news instead, so here we go:

Myth #1:Thinness=Health

Fact: Lots of thin fools are metabolically unhealthy, and lots of fat folks are metabolically healthy! We just can’t tell someone’s health by their size! Oh, and while there is some research that shows that initial weight loss can improve health risk factors short term (6-18 months), there is no long-term research that suggests that weight loss is sustained beyond the 3-5 year mark for 95%-98% of people. AND bio-markers of health like insulin resistance, cholesterol levels and blood pressure all return to pre-weight loss levels within that same time frame, whereas if people adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors like stress reduction, mindful movement and intuitive eating, those biomarkers remain in healthier ranges.

The good news: Adopting a Health at Every Size approach to health promotion has been shown to improve those same bio-markers in the long-term and the healthy habits like increasing dietary quality and mindful movement are sustained- a claim that the weight-loss industry can’t make.

My Journey Into and Out of Diet Culture

Body Freedom

Until relatively recently, I could not remember a time that I felt at ease in my own skin. Some of my earliest memories- prior to kindergarten, were of comparing my (completely normal, pre-school) body to my rail-thin, cousins’ bodies. They visited for a month in the summers, and we practically lived in the sprinklers and in the play pool. Alongside the memories of fun and sunburns, I also remember thinking that my swimsuit should hang off my bum the same way that theirs did. That’s how early the body comparisons started for me.