Picture this. Early morning sun streaming through the window, you have your (most likely a bit procrastinated?) project in front of you, you adjust your horse blinders, activate your tunnel vision, and become obliviously passionate at the task ahead of you: *write write write* *read read read* *click click click*. Let the hyper-focus flow commence... 

Time passes, how long you’re not sure.

Your vision has blurred, your brain is pulsing, and you make the courageous decision to check what time it is. Here we are again, old friend.  You did that fun ADHD thing *again* where you hyper focused past the point of rational rhyme and reasoning. Oops! 

Nourishment and hydration were far away concepts during those hours and you’ve reached the state of ravenous reptilian brain. All earnest sense of “I planned on making this…” have *vanished* and your kind compassionate frontal cortex (and all the organs for that matter) are patiently waiting for...

So you’re here because intuitive eating sounds intriguing, but you just have no idea where to start. It’s ok - we’ve been there too! We’ve rounded up 5 actionable steps to start intuitive eating. Try 1-2 a week and call it your jump start month, or take allll the time you need. If you think about it, reading this article is already kinda the first step - so you’re killing it already! 

Recognize that diet culture is harmful and weight loss is not equivalent to health

You may still be on the fence about this whole ~intuitive eating~ thing - that’s okay! The best way to get clear about what you want is to learn the facts. Unfortunately, folks are told over and over by medical professionals (including dietitians) that losing weight is necessary, when there actually isn't robust or causal research behind those recommendations. What we do know is that 95% of people who lose weight intentionally, end up gaining all or more back within...

Intuitive eating has been a buzzword for quite some time now, and it's likely that you've come across various opinions and perspectives on the topic. With countless articles, blog posts, social media discussions, and even dubious spin-offs claiming the name of intuitive eating, it can be challenging to navigate the sea of information and determine the truth about its benefits and drawbacks. In this post, we'll break down the advantages and disadvantages of intuitive eating, highlighting that these factors vary depending on the individual. So, whether you're new to the concept or a seasoned pro, keep reading to learn more about this popular approach to eating.

Let's start with the good stuff and dive into the benefits of intuitive eating!

The Benefits

• A more balanced relationship with food 
  • Research has shown that practicing intuitive eating can lead to a more balanced relationship with food, decreased stress and anxiety around eating, and an overall more...

What is Health?

What is health, really? Is health itself a state of being? A set of behaviors? A performance? Is health a delicate balance between an individual, genetics, and environment? What we do know, is that if you ask 10 people what health means, you’ll get 10 different answers. There are multiple realms of health - physical, emotional, social, spiritual, mental - any of which may be more important to you than another. There may even be aspects of life that are more important to you than health, like personal goals or values. And that’s the point - whatever it means, health is personal!

What is Healthism?

Now, what is healthism? The term healthism was first coined by Richard Crawford in 1980. He defined healthism as the increased pervasiveness of health to all areas of life, and the promotion of health to a super-value that allows moral judgment. He argued that health was inherently political and due to healthism, the definition of health has become so...

 So you’ve heard about intuitive eating, but you don’t know if it’s for you because you live with a chronic health condition. There are 10 principles of intuitive eating, focusing on rejecting diet culture, finding your hunger and fullness cues, discovering satisfaction in food and movement, and gentle nutrition. While a chronic condition may pose a barrier to one or more of the principles, it is possible to start by focusing on the components that are within your ability. Read on to find out how you CAN eat intuitively with diabetes, PCOS, or any other chronic condition!

What About My Weight?

Many chronic health conditions carry the stigma that they are caused or worsened by weight, but clinical research has still failed to definitively show this to be true. Weight or BMI is not indicative of health. Those in the “overweight” or “o—-” BMI category lead just as long and healthy lives as those in the “normal” BMI...

Did you just see your tenth (or ten millionth) content piece about “new year, new me”? Let’s all say it together - ugh! It’s time for a new year celebration again, and with that comes all the diet industry ads and allll the pressure to make new year’s resolutions around health and body size (and just like every year, they come with that golden promise that “this time, you will make it work”!). Before you start your goal list (or don’t), can we invite you in for a little chat on why you should not make a new year’s resolution to lose weight? 

Weight is not a behavior

Read that line again. Weight is not a behavior, and it’s not something you can directly control over the long term. Which means it’s not realistic to make a goal about controlling or changing weight. Research shows that there is little support for the notion that diets lead to lasting weight loss or health benefits. In fact, about 75% of...

Whether you're a newcomer to intuitive eating or a seasoned vet, pleasure in food can sometimes still feel like a dirty word. Allowing and enjoying pleasure in your eating experience goes against everything diet culture stands for, like self-control, denial of pleasure, and avoidance of "bad" foods.

The intuitive eating principles describe pleasure in food as one of the most basic and important factors in feeling satisfied or content with food. So eating for pleasure is important, and in this blog, we'll answer 4 questions about food/eating and PLEASURE. 

What are some of the psychological health benefits associated with food enjoyment?

• Pleasure of any kind (including pleasure from food) leads to a release of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) in the brain. Dopamine is often referred to as the “feel good chemical” because it activates the reward pathways in the brain, which helps to promote happiness, calmness, motivation, and focus.
• ...

Self-esteem can be a major area of confusion and heartache for many (ok, probably most). In order for our clients at Wise Heart Nutrition to truly experience progress in healing their relationship with food, we typically have to spend some time addressing self-esteem. First of all let’s clarify what self-esteem really is and why it’s important to our everyday lives. Then we’ll get to the good stuff - 5 steps to improve your self-esteem. 

What exactly is self-esteem?

Self-esteem is your subjective sense of overall personal worth or value. The key word here is subjective - self-esteem may not be based on reality, but rather our perception. Similar to self-respect, it describes your level of confidence in your abilities and personal attributes. 

Some sources that contribute to low self-esteem include:

• Living through negative or traumatic experiences
• Lacking access to positive support systems
• Engaging in or taking actions that...

What If Body Positivity Isn't The Answer?

When you are first exploring what it would look like to not dislike your body, as media at large directs you to do, the body positivity movement can be met with rolled eyes and thoughts of “are you kidding me” and “that’s wayyy too hard”. And yeah, when starting from a place of hatred, disgust or dismissal of your body, it can seem an impossible task to ever reach a place of love, appreciation, and acceptance. Enter body neutrality. 

While self love regarding our bodies is important, it’s not always attainable in our society where we are constantly flooded with messages about an “ideal body” that are rooted in white, colonial, and fatphobic systems. Here are some important reasons why body-positivity and body-love aren’t going to work for everyone: 

1. The mainstream body positivity movement isn’t actually inclusive of ALL bodies (The original creators of...

Are nutritional guidelines helpful for everyone?

Dietary variety (eating lots of different foods from all the different food groups) has long been considered a pillar of “good nutrition”. Blanket dietary recommendations like this are intended to support the greater population, but when these guidelines are solely focused on nutrients and physiological health, many groups of people get overlooked, left out, and placed in a disadvantaged position where health and wellness (when measured by whether or not a person is meeting a given recommendation) are essentially out of reach. And when these folx continue to chase after an impossible standard, other aspects of health (mental, emotional, relational, financial, etc.) suffer… and that isn’t really supportive of health at all. 

When we talk about health, instead of trying to fit everyone into one box, we need to consider and understand what is REALISTIC, CONTEXTUAL, ACCESSIBLE, POSSIBLE,...