Welcome back to the inspired
living with autoimmunity podcast.
I'm your host, Julie Michelson.
And today we're joined by Alana Vander
Sluis, certified intuitive eating
counselor, founder of freedom with
food and fitness, and the author of
freedom with food and fitness, how
intuitive eating is the key to becoming
your happiest, healthiest self.
In today's conversation, we're talking
about how tuning into our bodies and
stepping away from the scale will
lead to the true wellness we all seek.
Even if you are on a specific eating plan
to support your health, the intuitive
eating lifestyle can be incorporated
to help you create lifelong wellness.
Alana, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
I'm so excited to just, I'm sure
we're only going to scratch the
surface, but really excited to
learn more and share with listeners
about intuitive eating today.
But can you share, I know like, like
all of us, you have your own journey.
Um, that led you into, to be an
intuitive eating, you know, expert.
So can you share with us a
little bit of your journey,
Sure.
You know, like a lot of people
in this space, I came to this
work through personal experience.
So when I was in my twenties, and this
is all chronicled in the beginning of my
book, Freedom with Food and Fitness, I got
to the end of grad school and I was 22.
And it was really the first
time in my life that I didn't
know what my next step was.
I didn't know if I was going to get a job.
Where I was going to get a job, where I
was going to live, and this is what all
young adults go through this transition.
Um, but for me, it was very
difficult because I had a
lot of stability growing up.
I was very, I excelled at school.
You know, I always got A's.
I kind of knew the general
trajectory of my life.
And then after grad school, I
felt a little bit untethered.
and unsure and out of
control with my life.
And as many do who develop eating
disorders, as I decided to take
control over food and weight and
my body, because I felt like that
was something that I could control.
And that was like a safe space
for me to, uh, take hold of.
And, you know, what started as.
a quote unquote innocent goal
weight became this obsession with
what I was putting in my mouth,
how much I was eating, when I was
eating, how much I was working out.
And as I just said, it
became an obsession.
It, it It morphed into a series of
undiagnosed eating disorders because
I was still, uh, you know, and I'm
going to use quotes a lot because I
challenge a lot of these notions, but
I was a quote unquote normal weight.
And in fact, a lot of people thought
that I was very fit and very healthy.
And what they didn't realize was the.
obsession behind it and the mental anguish
that I was going through and also the
physical anguish I was going through.
My nails were getting brittle,
my hair was falling out, all
of these physical symptoms.
ironically in the pursuit of
health, you know, you know,
made my health kind of crumble.
Um, and you know, I was stuck there for a
while because I didn't want to get help.
I felt like that meant that there
was something wrong with me.
Right.
Um, and I eventually I
found these podcasts.
Uh, about women talking about intuitive
eating and this idea that we as women
don't have to constantly be pursuing
weight loss or pursuing a smaller
body in order to love our bodies and
embrace our bodies and feel confident
and feel empowered in our food choices.
The food choices didn't have to be
about eating as little as possible.
to gain a certain goal weight.
It could just be honoring our body when
we're hungry, when we're full, when
we're, and it was, it like it blew my
mind because I, you know, like most of
us, we grew up in a household with female
figures who were constantly dieting
and watching what they were eating.
And that's what we did.
So it was such a radical notion for me.
And.
It felt so liberating and so free and
I, I wanted to be healthy and I've
always wanted to be healthy, but I
wanted to do it in a way that wasn't
going to trigger this obsession anymore
and intuitive eating fit the bill.
So I, I really dug deep into the
literature, into the studies, into
podcasts and social media, and I adopted.
This, this philosophy, this practice,
and it, it, oddly enough, letting go of
the calorie counting and the weighing and
the measuring and just listening to my
body has made me more healthy and more
fit than I ever was when I was sick.
which is amazing and, and Bravo.
And that's, it's such a.
It's the key to wellness
is listening to our body.
Like our body is always giving us
information and we tend to tune out
and to a point where we just don't
even receive the information anymore.
So I think whatever healing journey
anybody's on, you know, if that,
if that's like the one thing they
can start with is just tuning in
and listening to those messages.
Um, let's back it all the way up.
What is intuitive eating?
Yes, great question.
So intuitive eating, it is a
scientifically validated philosophy that
Is centered upon listening to body cues.
So, honing into and relearning how to
listen to your hunger cues, your fullness
cues, and your satisfaction cues.
And, you know, those who follow intuitive
eating, um, they find that they have
better body confidence, they find
that their vitals are actually better.
Um, their weight is more stable, so all
of the things that diet culture promise
us can actually come from simply learning
how to listen to your body again, and
there are 10 principles, and I, you
know, there's, you know, honoring your
hunger and your fullness, learning how
to cope with emotions with kindness,
how to incorporate what we call joyful
movement consistently into your life,
um, you know, it's all of these different
components, and and, and, and, and, and.
What you said before, Julie, to your
point, the key is listening to our
bodies, but I think it's the fear.
I think it's the fear that we individually
are somehow broken, that there's something
wrong with us, because everything we've
experienced with our weight up until
this point has kind of proven to us
That we can't trust our bodies, but it's
it's simply because we've been trying
to follow somebody else's plan for our
bodies instead of listening to our own.
So our calibrations are a little bit off.
Well, and I, I find to that point
growing up, um, I was always, and I,
I cannot stand this word because of my
experiences growing up, but I was skinny.
I was underweight, but
I, I ate, I ate a lot.
People always, you know, were like,
do you have an eating disorder?
Now I understand.
And I know I was celiac.
I had no, you know, I just
wasn't absorbing nutrients.
Wow.
if you looked at me, I
didn't look underweight.
I was just a skinny kid.
And if you looked at my dad, he
was a, you know, five foot 11 thin.
I mean, my whole family was just a thin
family, but I was the one, you know, they
used to just, I mean, he, and so I really
feel like across the board, even people
that have been able, women that have
been able to maintain a healthy weight.
We all have some kind of issues
around body image and, and all
the things you're talking about.
Right.
And, and so I just think it's such an
important conversation because I didn't
need a milkshake every day that wasn't
helping the milkshake with the raw egg.
I mean, it was, it was yummy, but
that was just a whole different,
you know, then I had to break the
habit of like, Oh, you're supposed
to eat a pint of ice cream every day.
Um, yeah.
And, and so I just really look forward
to a time, you know, I think as we
learn as, as women, hopefully we can,
you know, not do that same damage to
the next, my, my daughter calls me out.
Like if I say anything
that she hears, yeah.
And she'll call me out on it.
She'll be like, well, that, that's not
going to be good for me to hear or see,
or, you know, and I'm like, Oh, thank you.
I don't.
So there's still stuff in there.
I don't even realize
is in there and I'm 54.
And, and, you know, and I don't, I,
I've never had an eating disorder.
I've, you know, but I still
think we just tend to grow up.
Like you said, what's modeled
for us creates damage.
That's not even talking about, you
know, media, social media, all, all
those things, but even just in our homes
generationally, what's modeled for us.
And so what, what I love that I heard
because it's the same, I think whatever
it is that works for people, it's
not, it's, it's always a lifestyle.
And so to me, when you're including
joyful movement, that's, that
means this is part of a lifestyle,
this listening to your body.
It's really not just about food.
Absolutely.
It's it's really the whole picture
and That's what I do with my clients.
I have a group coaching
program called Defy the Diet.
And it's not just about healing
your relationship with food.
It's learning how to manage
your thoughts and your emotions.
It's about lowering your stress levels.
It's about, as you said,
the movement component.
It's about goal setting.
Because as you just said, we
all want to be a healthy weight.
We all want to be healthy.
But what does that even mean?
Right.
What is your unique definition of health
and does it align with Your values.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, cause I mean, any of us
could be social media's version
of quote unquote healthy.
We could be, have the six pack
and be super lean and super fit.
But to get there, those people who
are like do bikini competitions
and things like that, the amount
of work and obsession and.
exactness that they have to put
themselves through to get to that
isn't realistic for most of us.
So as you said, we have to find
something that keeps us healthy
through nutrition and fitness, but
also is something that is sustainable.
Because when people go on things like
intermittent fasting or keto, You
would have to maintain whatever that
diet is for the rest of your life in
order to maintain that level of health.
So if you're somebody who thinks
you can do keto for the next
40, 50 years, great, do keto.
But for me personally, I wouldn't be
able to maintain that restriction of
nutrition, uh, long term without going
Well, and I think that bringing in the
intuitive eating and just intuition
in general, like I did, keto, keto
was a really, I grew up fat deprived.
We grew up in a family that was
afraid of fat, um, because that
was the messaging back then.
And So for me, keto was a really
important part of my healing journey,
um, and connecting that to intuitive
eating, intuitive lifestyle, I'm no
longer, I still try to stay higher
fat, lower carb, because that's how
I feel better when I, if I eat too
many carbs, I get inflamed, but I
don't, and I was never, I never, urgh.
You know, used a ketone meter religiously
or did any of the I just always listen
to my body and there was a point where
my doctor was concerned, you know, like,
oh, my God, your labs are horrible.
You have to stop what you're doing.
And I'm like, I feel good for
the first time in 15 years.
So I'm not stopping.
My labs did correct.
Um, but so I, I think we, we don't, none
of us should eat the same way for decades.
Like, that's not, it's, it is
not sustainable and it's not fun.
Like, where's the joy in that?
Like, that's
not,
exactly.
Because then you're chained to
whatever plan that you're on.
And, and I say, I say it in my book, I say
it all the time, intention is everything.
And it sounds like for you, keto was this
temporary phase where you were trying
to heal the messages that you got as a
kid, that fat was bad and to avoid fat.
So
well, it wasn't the messages.
It was actually my body, like
physically, like that, some of that
was driving my autoimmunity, you know,
just that imbalance and the lack of
like good omegas and, and the things.
Um, but you're right.
The intention is.
It's huge with everything we do.
Absolutely.
And, and as you said just now, and as
we were kind of saying before we started
recording, you have to be, like you
said, um, carbs inflame you, right?
So we have to be careful as intuitive
eaters that we are honoring the uniqueness
of our own bodies and our own conditions.
So.
You know, somebody else who doesn't
have celiac disease might be able
to have a higher carb, lower fat
diet, but that's not for you.
You know what I'm saying?
So you have to honor that and you have
to choose what foods feel good in your
body with that knowledge as well, right?
With it's and it's not or it's and
Right.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Um, which is, I think a perfect segue
of bringing together because a lot of
listeners, you know, either they're,
if they're not on a AIP or they're
gluten free or they're, you know,
maybe they've done food sensitivity
testing and they're avoiding certain
foods specifically, you know, for their
body as part of their healing journey.
So how, you know, how are.
How do we marry the two, right?
Because I do think, um, coaching
women that need a lifestyle
change, but had a history, have
a history of disordered eating.
I, it's, you have to be
really careful, right?
And so, and I don't, and that's
where I like, it's the same thing.
Like people think AIP is, you
know, this really strict diet and
it's not, it's also lifestyle.
It also includes all of those pillars
that you mentioned you work with
on your in your program, right?
It's not food is not.
It's like the low hanging fruit.
It's not the answer to wellness.
It's a component of wellness.
Um,
and
not have been that better.
That was, that was, that is.
Repeat that.
That was
It was good.
I'll have to go back and write that down.
No, really, though, it is,
we do, we start there, right?
Like, I have so many people, I'm sure
you do, too, that are like, well, because
that's the training we have, right?
Just tell me what to eat.
And I'm like, that's not
going to solve your problem.
You know, I can, you
know, or what do you eat?
I'm like, well, that's for my body.
Let's, you know, let's.
So how do we eat.
Okay.
shift to, because I think there are
a lot of people listening that have
some kind of a structured, probably
restrictive eating plan, or maybe they've
resisted making any of those kinds of
changes because they're afraid of that
restrictive plan, right, even if they
intuitively know there are things they're
eating that maybe aren't serving them.
So how do you marry that, the two?
Like, it doesn't have to
be either or, does it?
No, it can be and.
And it's so difficult.
I think we really have to I know
I'm a big fan of journaling.
I think it really serves us to sit down.
And really be honest with ourselves
in terms of, are we, with how we
eat and how we move our body, are we
chasing diet culture's thin ideal?
Or are we chasing true health?
Because somebody in a larger body
can still be healthy and Maybe that
is their ideal weight for their
genetics and their body structure.
Not everybody is meant to be
thin, but a lot of us chase that
thinness under the guise of health,
but then we're doing all of these
unhealthy, restrictive, disordered
behaviors in order to get there.
So I think one of the First steps is to
really journal out and be honest with what
is your intention with following a certain
meal plan, a certain exercise program.
And Don't shame yourself if you find out
that you really are chasing this thin
ideal or this diet cultury, you know,
wellness cultury version of health because
it's what we've been taught, as you
said before, there's so much messaging
that we've, that we've received not only
from gen, you know, generations before
us, but also now with social media.
It's everywhere, it is constant,
and we take that messaging after
a while and believe it to be
objective truth, and it's not.
So there are a lot of women that
walk around thinking that thinness
equals health, that thinness equals
confidence, because that's what we're
fed, but it's not necessarily the truth.
It's not, it's not at all.
So, so journaling is, is where you start,
kind of just going inward a little bit.
yeah, because one of the one of the
biggest components of my coaching program
is a play on cognitive behavioral therapy
I I want my clients to realize that
their thoughts create their emotions
which drive their actions So to get down
on paper and be really honest with what
are your thoughts about health about?
body confidence about
exercise, about weight.
And once you have those thoughts out in
front of you, you could start to tease
out which of these are actual objective
truths and which of these are things
that I've been conditioned to believe.
Which of these can I challenge?
And which of these do I want to keep?
And which of these do
I want to get rid of?
And replaced with something
that serves me better.
I love that.
I too, in my coaching,
we start with mindset.
know, because it all comes
down to our thoughts and our
emotions and our, our judgments.
And so it's, it, you know, I used to, in
the beginning, like, get to that, right?
We would start with diet or we'd start
with, and now it's like, oh no, we start
with, you know, what are those stories
going on in there and how do we, you know,
let's shift to what serves you better.
Yeah.
Um, so I love that.
And I, I, I used to be very Um, I
would get frustrated with if people
would come in and, you know, they,
their driver was to lose weight and
they had all these health issues.
And it used to frustrate me because it
was like, no, I would like, we're here to
be healthy and the weight will fall off.
You know, like you said,
you'll find your ideal weight.
Like when you're doing the
things that serve your body.
That just happens.
And people used to laugh at
me, you know, what do you mean?
My weight will fall off.
I've been a yo yo dieter for 60 years.
I'm like, well, we're going to shift.
Um, and now it's like, I'll take whatever
your motivation is, but we're still going
to, we're, we're still going to start with
mindset and focus on health and wellness.
And weight is just a by product of that.
I mean, I was, and I shouldn't have
been shocked at this point because I
was already an intuitive eater, but
I felt like this experience that I'm
about to tell you about just kind of
reconfirmed the power of intuitive eating.
When I was pregnant, right?
Gained weight.
Had the baby.
I went back to just Listening to
my hunger, fullness, and satiety
cues, I moved my body half an
hour a day, but I was consistent.
I didn't do any crash diets.
I didn't, uh, you know,
take out any food groups.
I didn't punish myself with the exercise.
The weight just fell off.
It fell off.
I was back to my normal
weight within a month.
Which is insane.
A lot of women are like, fight to get
the weight off, and some, some of them
never get it off, and it's because
they're not listening to their bodies.
They're trying to do these crazy
fad diets that they hear other
women did to get the weight off, and
they're not listening to themselves.
So true.
So, so true.
And, and I know people looking
at you would be like, well, of
course, look at you, you know,
All the time, I get
know, I know, I know people are
like, well, you don't understand.
And I'm like, I didn't eat this way.
I didn't live this way, you know, for
the first 40 years of my life, which is
You know, why I was sick to begin with.
People think, you know, I've
never had fast food or never ate
junk food or, you know, never.
And they're shocked when they hear like,
yeah, I used to do all the things that
the average person in America does.
Um, and now I listen to my body.
I could, couldn't even, some of
that I couldn't even imagine.
Yeah.
And, and, and, and to answer that, because
I, I'm sure some of your listeners are,
if this comes out on video, they're
gonna look at me and be like, well, yeah,
skinny girl, like, what do you want?
And what I say to that is, first of
all, anybody who's coming Into listening
to this conversation with that mindset
still believes that thinness equals
happiness and success and health.
Um, so, so, you're, it's, they're kind
of conflating me being thin with me
having everything that I want somehow.
I have bad and good days
just like anybody else.
Life is still 50 50 for
me, just like anybody else.
But the other thing that I do want to
tell your listeners if they kind of
feel that way is, when I was a hundred
pounds, which I'm 5'4 so that is
grossly under what I should ever be.
I still hated my body.
I still didn't feel like it was enough.
And that was the moment, that was one
of my light bulb moments, where I was
like, When is it going to be enough?
And I have clients that
are in thin bodies.
I have clients in larger bodies.
And all of them feel like
they're not small enough.
And that's because what's really
going on when we feel like we need
to be in a smaller body is we're
looking for what I call salve.
We're looking for one of
four core needs as humans.
So salve is safety, acceptance.
love and validation.
Those are the things that
we're looking for when we're
trying to chase a smaller body.
Cause again, health doesn't equal fitness.
So when you're searching for fitness in
particular, what you're really again,
looking for is safety, acceptance, love,
and validation, because we're programmed
to believe that we're in a, when we're in
a thinner body, we will have those things.
We'll feel safe in a world
that values thinness.
We'll feel accepted in a
world that values thinness.
We'll have love because every movie,
TV show we've ever seen with a leading
lady is thin and pretty and young.
Hmm.
And we'll be validated.
People will be like, Oh my
gosh, you look so great.
What have you done?
What diet were you on?
We want all of those things.
And it's natural to want
all of those things.
But chasing a smaller body in order
to get those things doesn't serve us.
Right.
I love that.
And I think that's a, it's
such a wonderful piece of it.
It's like, just pause right
here, pause, take a breath.
Drop into your heart and you know, which
one or two or three or four of those
things are driving Your your patterns.
Oh,
And there's no, there's no shame in it.
And,
no
again, as I said before, journal
it out and be honest with yourself.
I mean, I am honest with
the fact that I now realize.
That my search for thinness was I
wanted external validation when I
was a kid and growing up, it was
getting the A or getting the award or
being an extracurricular activities.
And I fed on that.
I loved that.
And then when I felt I didn't have
it anymore, dieting and getting
a smaller body was my way of
getting that external validation.
Again, it was it was filling the void.
So, and, and that's, you know,
of course, that's not something
that I wanted for myself.
That's not something I, I'm proud
to admit, but it's the truth.
Well, and that's why we have these
conversations is because it's
gonna resonate with people, right?
It's not I used to be so hesitant to share
my story because I just wasn't somebody
who talked about myself Publicly, right?
Like who wants to hear my story?
And then I was like, Oh my gosh, I
can help people if I share my story
and you're sharing your story because,
you know, that's the, um, this is
exactly because people need to hear
the hope is one day these conversations
and books like your book are going
to kind of drown out the rest.
The messaging that people are getting from
social and on even just regular media, um,
you know, we've got, we have to balance
it out and then again, it's the same that
that generational, you know, anybody who
goes through your program or, you know,
it's peaked by this conversation or reads
your book or is hopefully, you know, their
daughter or their daughter's daughter.
Isn't going to grow up the same way
that the past many generations have,
Absolutely.
And it is generational.
Disordered eating is
absolutely generational.
And I'm happy that I broke the pattern.
And I have a three year old son, so I
don't have a daughter, but I feel like
it's important for him too because,
and we won't get too much into this,
but you know, men are also getting
a message of how they should look.
And the, the, The semantics are
different, the terms are different, right?
They're told to be strong and fit
and all of these things, but I also
want him to have an idea and an
image of what a woman who doesn't
focus solely on her body looks like.
How she backs her body, how she feeds
her body, how she moves her body.
I want him to see that.
But it's yeah, it's it's a generational
thing and I love especially work as a mom.
I love working with other moms
because I want them to be the
change makers in their lineage.
I think that's so powerful.
it is.
It's huge.
Look, we know, you know, women
drive the family's health.
Right.
Yet, somehow, we got kind
of lost in the mix there.
And, and so this is, it is in that
sense, um, again, to me, it's just
all about empowerment, um, and again,
not just for your own personal health.
So, so how does somebody who, you
know, like, where do people start?
What is, what's a good place to start?
Because for so many people, know, just
even tapping into intuition at all,
right, listening to your body, listen,
all those things that we've kind of were
taught to shut down in school, like,
we just really had lost touch with, um,
you know, at, I don't know, at least my
experience was it's, it's about logic
and it's about, you know, I remember
always teaching my daughter, like, if the
hair on the back of your neck stands up.
get out of that situation, right?
Like we, we need to be tapping
in, we get all these cues.
So how does somebody
even, like, get started?
The first principle of intuitive
eating is rejecting the diet mentality.
So the diet mentality are all of
those external messages that we
get about worthiness and weight and
health and calories and dress sizes
and macros and all of these things.
So I would say to comb through any media
that you consume and get rid of anything
that talks about dieting or weight loss.
So go through Instagram, Facebook, all
social media, go through any magazine
subscriptions and just, as you said,
use kind of The gut check, right?
If you're scrolling through social media
and you see posts that make you feel
bad about yourself, that make you feel
comparison itis, just make you feel
icky in any way about yourself, mute
them, unfollow them, start combing out
all of that diet mentality, because
the more we get that message of diet
mentality in our head, the harder
it is for us to break free of that.
So I would say that is a good first step.
I like that.
I like that.
That's something that everybody can do.
Um, I, it's funny, like I could hear
listeners objections already to like,
you know, I, I think, um, Especially,
I would say women in their 60s tends
to be like that group that'll come in.
Um, I usually try not to mention any
like companies or anything, but I'm
going, I can't tell you how many women
have come in and you know, I've, I'm
a lifetime yo yo dieter and I'm now
a lifetime Weight Watchers member.
And I'm like, that re That
right there, . Like that's,
That's it right there.
if it worked, you wouldn't
need to be a lifetime member.
Like, so, you know,
let's shift all of that.
So I, you know, I can, I, I know
like initially there's this knee
jerk reaction to like, no, if I'm
not on a diet, I'm going to, I
don't know, eat till I explode.
Like, I'm not sure what they're
afraid of is gonna happen
Yeah, well, that's, that's another
thing to, to journal out is
what, what do you think the worst
thing that is going to happen?
And once people actually explore that
fear, they either realize that it's
so improbable or that it's irrational.
You're not going to gain weight,
gain weight, gain weight,
gain weight until you explode,
right.
you know?
And yes, in an intuitive journey.
You might gain weight initially
and have it fall back off because
your body's trying to recalibrate.
So there is that flux period,
but women are so It is okay.
It happened to me!
You know, I, I initially gained weight
at first and it was scary because of my
conditioning, but I, I knew I couldn't
go back to that yo yo dieting and that
cycling, that weight cycling, because
that weight cycling is Much worse
for you than being a stable weight is
that's what the study you can look up
the studies But you know, it's it's
it's very hard because especially with
women we're never told to trust our
own intuition We're never told to trust
themselves So it's a very scary concept
But if you stick with it and you have
somebody that can hold you accountable
That is an expert that that can show you
that it gets better and it gets easier,
it, the whole process becomes easier.
That's it.
It's so true.
Um, and it is, it's the same like
what I said with, you know, my labs
looked ugly as my body was adjusting.
And then all of a sudden, you know,
Issues that I had in my labs, my
entire life that I thought was
genetic gone, changed, fixed.
So I really like, and I have to, this
was way earlier in the conversation,
but I want to circle around and throw
my 2 cents into those images of, you
know, the, the, the bikini competitions
and the, the, I actually disagree.
That's not healthy.
It's not healthy for anybody.
And those people have health issues later
from doing that to their bodies for, you
know, unless it was like a brief visit
into anybody who's, who's, who's Living
that way for an extended period of time is
going to have health consequences later.
I see it all the time.
You know, they're especially when they
get to an age where they're starting to
have a family or wanting to have a family.
And lo and behold, they can't because they
never allowed their body to even have.
You know hormone cycles and and so,
you know, what we think have been
told is pretty and should be healthy
or you know It's just not healthy.
No, it's not that chapter eight.
I go over the dangers of the perfect body
Oh, I love it.
about the bikini competitors and how,
yes, we could all have that dream body
that we want, but at what cost and it
basically costs the rest of your life.
So it really is a lesson.
What do you value in your life for sure?
And yet to your point about, you know,
trying to conceive if, if your body's
not getting enough nutrients, it will
delegate that energy and those nutrients
to your most vital bodily symptoms, your
circulatory system, your respiratory
system, your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver,
it, it, you know, your, your reproductive
system is more of a secondary system.
You don't need it to survive.
So your body will shut that off.
Yes,
one of the reasons, you know when we
talk about stress management Right?
We all live in this chronic stress
state, which does shut down things
like digestion, fertility, you know,
you don't have to be able to conceive
if you don't outrun the tiger, right?
Like that's just the way our
bodies are designed, right?
It doesn't matter if you digest
lunch or can conceive if,
you know, the tiger gets you.
Unfortunately, we live in that
state all the time, unless we're
taking steps to balance that out.
Um, so it is, and, and Depleting your
body or taxing your body that way.
That's a that is chronic
stress at a whole nother level.
I mean, the stress can be
literally physical too.
So, um, you know, just changing that
conversation around what is healthy,
like what actually is healthy and pretty.
I mean, go to a museum and look
at artwork from centuries ago.
And look at what the women look like.
Right?
Like, that's what was
appreciated as beauty.
Like, we, we've, like, we're at the
complete opposite end of the spectrum.
I would say somewhere in the middle
would probably be, you know, ideal, or
depending on who you are, where you land.
Right?
Like, I, Should never have been trying
to, you know, artificially pack on
weight, you know, then what happened
was I went gluten free, you know, at
the same time that my Hashimoto's was in
full swing and my rheumatoid arthritis
was, you know, off the, and all of a
sudden I was, I was absorbing nutrients
and it was like a whole different.
game because then I was
like, well, who am I?
I don't, you know, I
don't know this person.
So that it was just fun.
But as I got healthy, I came back
to just, you know, settled in
at like, this is kind of my way.
And I would say we all have.
especially women, a little
bit of a fluctuation.
Like, there is no one number
that's ideal for anybody.
Do you agree?
Like, that we should have
this, like, range of here?
I feel best when I'm in this range.
there's, there's something called,
um, weight set point theory.
So weight set point is a range where,
uh, each individual body feels best, you
know, most optimal, most, most vitality,
most energy, and everybody's is different.
It's largely genetically determined, but
unfortunately, the more that we diet,
the more, the more chance that your
weight set point actually increases.
with
Say that again!
So the more that we diet,
chronic dieting can actually
increase your weight set point.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's the problem, right?
Like, that's the, you know, that's
that yo yo of, and why people
tend to bounce higher each, maybe
not each go round, but over time.
Over time, absolutely.
And I mean that weight cycling, that up
and down, that, that puts so much stress
on your body, so much inflammation.
Uh, it increases your risks of
diabetes and heart disease and
str like all of this stuff.
It's really scary, but you know,
diet, you know, diet programs
don't tell you about that part,
Right.
Right.
So walk us through a little bit.
Tell me, tell us a little
more about the book.
Great.
So, yeah, the book is called
Freedom with Food and Fitness.
Uh, it's a super easy
read, super quick read.
Um, it really helps you to love your
body at any size, create sustainable
nutrition and fitness goals.
It really explains the science behind
how diets disconnect us from our body
and how to really change your mindset
around food and fitness and what What I
really love about the book is that, you
know, there is an intuitive eating book
by the founders of intuitive eating.
I felt like it was more philosophy,
like the conversation was more about
philosophy, it was a little more of
an esoteric conversation and I wanted
to Write a book for women that was
really grounded in practicality, like
really actionable tips that you could
implement the day you read the book.
Um, for things that we all think about
with our busy schedules, like how can
we meal prep as an intuitive eater?
How can we as women get more protein and
without, you know, feeling like we had
to choke down egg whites all day long.
Like, how do we, how do
we get this stuff done?
How do we fit in?
Time for consistent exercise when
we're, you know, so busy, right?
It's busy, busy culture.
So how do we do all those things?
So there's dozens and dozens of tips and
tricks in the book that make it really
simple to start coming home to trusting
your body without having to, you know,
rely on a diet to make you healthy.
And, yeah, it's
Amazing.
Uh, so, and it is, I love the,
cause was it 1995 that the, they
coined The intuitive eating.
97, somewhere, somewhere in that, yeah, in
Okay.
Okay.
So I mean, it's, it's interesting
because it's, I feel like you're
starting to hear about it more now.
Um, but yet it's been around for a while.
You know, I think social media, I
think social media, I think that it
really allowed for the body liberation
movement to mobilize together all across
the globe and build up this voice.
This is like, we as women don't
have to cater to your thin ideal.
We don't have to distract
ourselves by dieting.
Instead of dieting, we're going
to do some other cool stuff
oh my gosh, the energy resources,
just even the mental energy
resources that are freed up.
When people aren't thinking
that way is is amazing.
If there's anybody out there listening
who's part of a corporation or an
organization where you want someone to
speak about that, I love speaking to
groups of women about that, about the
time, money, and energy that we waste on
diets and how we can reclaim that back
to, you know, do whatever we want in our
life, whatever your dream is, whether
it's being an entrepreneur or being the
best mom that you can or whatever it is.
So I, yeah, it's, it, The conversation
is much bigger than weight and food,
it's, it's, we can go into patriarchy,
we can go into all of those things, but
it's just, it's, it's so interesting,
It is it really is and it's you know, we
didn't we didn't get here overnight and
and so hopefully between you know, the
book you're the programs like you said the
just The spread of knowledge on on social
media, these conversations, hopefully
we're gonna start to shift it back.
So I love it.
I know you already gave us a
lot of places people can start,
but this is your opportunity.
You can circle back.
You can add something different.
What is one step that listeners can take
starting today to improve their health?
Okay, well we already said reject
the diet mentality, we already said
journal out what you consider health
to be, but the, the thing that people
can do today, get rid of the scale.
Ah.
Smash it.
Donate it, throw it,
whatever you gotta do.
Reliance on that number will keep
you stuck in trying to manipulate
that number instead of listening
to what your body actually needs.
I haven't weighed myself in years.
When I go to the doctor and they
ask me to, I say no thank you.
I don't want to know.
I want to Just tap into
how I feel and what I need.
Some days I eat more, some days I eat
less, and I'm just going to honor that.
And I feel better doing that.
So get rid of the scale ladies.
Dump it.
Love it.
Ah, such good advice.
And so many people are probably thinking,
some people are celebrating like,
yeah, you know, I can toss my scale.
And other people are like,
no way I could not ever
girl's crazy!
just try it.
And if you're not ready to get rid of
it, like lock it away or give it to
your next door neighbor at a hold or
That's the thing I did at first is
I put it in my basement and I just,
and make a promise with yourself.
Say one week, I'm going to do this for
one week and if I hate it and it doesn't
work for me, I can always go back to the,
you know, torture of dieting that worked,
you know, that felt safer to me, but give
yourself a week and just see what happens.
Love it.
Such good advice.
So, before we wrap up, listening on the
go, which is how I listen to podcasts,
um, if they're not gonna, I'm not great
always at checking show notes, where's
the best place to find you if people are
like, Hey, this is really resonating.
I want to know more.
Yes, and if they I want to hear from
everybody who took a nugget away from
this feels inspired by this I'm at freedom
with food and fitness on Instagram at
freedom with food and fitness on Facebook
freedom with food and fitness dot com.
The book is called freedom with
food and fitness if you want to
pick up a copy of the book it's at
Amazon Barnes and Noble bookshop.
org wherever you get your books, I
would love to hear from everybody
I'm mostly on Instagram so.
Freedom with food and fitness.
DM me.
Let's have a conversation.
I have, as we talked about
before, I have a program, an
intuitive eating coaching program.
It's virtual.
So anybody out there who felt inspired,
wants more support, come find me.
Awesome.
Thank you so much, Alana.
You've shared amazing gold with us today.
Of course.
Thank you, Julie.
For everyone listening, remember
you can get the show notes and
transcripts by visiting inspiredliving.
show.
Hope you had a great time and enjoyed
this episode as much as I did.
I'll see you next week.