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Ep 10. Gym Culture without Weight Loss Challenges: Bringing HAES®, Intuitive Eating and Body Positivity into Fitness

28/4/2020

Gym culture can be incredibly toxic for people struggling with body image and eating concerns. Monique Jephcote, APD, PT and Intuitive Eating Counsellor, is infusing weight-neutral principles into the fitness world with compassion, respect and gusto.

In this episode:

How and why Monique opened her non-diet private practice soon after graduating
HAES just makes sense: “Every single body deserves dignity and respect” (and weight loss dietetics is SO boring!)
Monique’s lived experience of disordered eating recovery from her days as a competitive bodybuilder (including the fun, sassy “Beyonce” side of things)
“We get obsessed with food when we’re under-eating”
How Monique never disliked her body as much as she did when she was closest to society’s ideal body shape
The contrast in body diversity and body acceptance between the bodybuilding VS powerlifting scenes
The myriad ways diet culture manifests in the gym setting
On being a non-diet dietitian in a gym, and dealing respectfully with weight-centric fitness professionals: “We don’t know what we don’t know”
The way Monique is challenging perspectives on weight and health in the gym world
The importance of informed consent, body autonomy and compassion regardless of whether clients take a weight-centric or weight-neutral approach
Low energy availability or RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), Hypothalamic Amenorrhoea in female athletes, and the problem with dismissing menstrual disturbances as “just what happens to active women”
Monique’s experiences with Vipassana meditation, and where this fits in with her work as a dietitian and fitness professional

Links:

Monique's Instagram
The Intuitive Dietitian on Facebook
Monique's website
Support the show by becoming a Patreon!

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Essential oil ingestion: Just DON'T Do It

6/10/2019

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Got gut health issues? Down some OnGuard Softgels to sort out what-must-be candida.
Everyday detoxification? A few drops of lemon essential oil in your water everyday will have your liver squeaky clean in no time... all without having to eat an actual lemon!
Want to feel the spiritual benefits of frankincense oil extra swiftly? Chuck a few drops of that stuff down the hatch and feel your consciousness expand...

No, no, and dear God, NO.

In short, essential oil ingestion can incredibly be dangerous unless prescribed by a qualified herbalist, naturopath or aromatherapist. Not a distributor for an MLM essential oil giant who has no health qualifications or expertise besides what their team leader has passed on to them.

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The alternatives to dieting

30/9/2019

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"I'm SO confused by all the diets out there! Everyone says something different. How do you know what to eat, when to eat it, and how much of it to eat?"

This is one of the most common questions I am faced with in my nutrition counselling practice. It is usually asked by a client in an exasperated, overwhelmed tone of voice, accompanied by hands being thrown up in the air!

So I'm going to attempt to answer it here.

In my experience there are two levels at which you can know something to be true.

The first is to know something at the level of the intellect. This is where logic, science, traditional knowledge, past experience and “common sense” coalesce to inform and direct us.

The second is the deeper level of intuition, instinct, or “just feeling” something to be true. This more feeling-based truth happens “below the neck”, in the vast landscape of the body that lies beyond the brain. It may be described as feeling in your heart, sensing in your gut, or knowing in your bones that something is true for you.

Another way to think of it is that we have two different navigation or GPS systems that can help us to arrive at a personal truth: intellect and intuition.

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The Wellness Diet Cycle

17/7/2019

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The typical person I see in my clinic is female, in her 20s, 30s or 40s.

She goes to yoga and only shops at organic markets. She makes her own bone broth, vegetable juices, and paleo "treats" (because gut healing is good, and dairy and sugar are "bad").

She spends a small fortune on vitamins, probiotics and herbal supplements.

She is very health conscious, sometimes bordering on being obsessively so.

She has seen numerous health practitioners prior to seeing me.

And despite her utmost efforts to be healthy, she has long list of seemingly obscure health conditions. The list of signs and symptoms I see in these women goes something like this:

Headaches, migraines, intense cravings, cold hands and feet, sleep problems, rough dry skin, brittle hair, hair loss, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), dizziness, brain fog, low energy levels, low body temperature, constipation, low libido, bloating, indigestion, frequent need to urinate, anxiety, panic attacks, loss of muscle mass, heart palpitations, frequent colds and flu / thrush / UTIs / herpes outbreaks, unpredictable emotional swings, severe PMS, irregular periods, missing periods, infertility.

The woman in question usually doesn't have every single one of these (although some do), but she will have a significant number (around 80% or more) of them.

By the time they've come to see me, many of these women have attributed this long and baffling list of symptoms to candida. Or a food intolerance. Or simply "being too fat".

And they've come to the conclusion (via Google or some health guru) that the obvious solution is to embark upon yet another restrictive diet. Anti-candida, low-carb, paleo, keto, GAPS, SCD, vegan, intermittent fasting, and raw are the usual go-to's right now.

And herein lies the root of the problem.

The Big Thing most health-conscious people are missing (that's ruining their health)

Most of the women I see in clinic do NOT have a food intolerance, candida, or an allergy to grains. I should add that I have been trained to recognise and treat food sensitivity and intolerance so am well aware of what that looks like. Although it is a valid and very real issue, about ninety percent of the time, food intolerance is NOT the causative factor.

The root of these women's problems is this: They are trying too hard to be healthy and as a result, they are eating too restrictively.

The biggest mistake I see women making today is trying too hard to be healthy.

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FIRST DO NO HARM.

12/3/2019

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A call to naturopaths to embrace a weight neutral approach to practice.

Primum non nocere. First, do no harm.

This is the first tenet of the naturopathic oath we all take on graduation day from college, and the most critical.

As naturopaths we strive not to add to the burden of problems of our patients. To refrain from further damaging their physical, mental or emotional wellbeing. To not intervene in such a way that will in any way harm.

Doing nothing is better than doing something that will cause harm.

In many ways, we are very good at abiding by this foundational tenet.

And yet... there is something insidious going on within the naturopathic profession that has not been called out. And despite our best intentions, it is doing serious harm to our patients, our profession, and ourselves.

That thing is a weight focussed approach to health. Whether directly or indirectly, promoting weight loss does irrefutable harm.

Even if it's weight loss "for health". Or weight loss "for fertility". Or weight loss just for the sake of weight loss, because "who doesn't want to be a bit leaner?"

To illustrate my point I'll set the scene. The other week I received two emails: one from a very well known nutraceuticals company promoting its weight loss seminar to naturopaths and other natural health professionals. The other was the exact same email, forwarded on to me from a major natural medicine education institution to its students.

This is not okay.

As I'll illustrate shortly, a focus on weight loss does unequivocal harm. This is in direct opposition to the first and most crucial naturopathic tenet.

It's 2019, and I propose that it's time that practitioners in the field of naturopathic medicine universally adopted a non-diet, weight neutral, Health at Every Size approach. For the sake of our clients, our best practice, and for the future longevity and validity of our profession, we must steer the ship away from the weight-centric doctrine it is starting to (and arguably, has) become and back towards true preventative and holistic medicine.

The kind of medicine that naturopathy sprang from. The kind of medicine that does no harm. The kind of medicine that treats the whole person, not a number on the scales.

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The laid-back parent's guide to baby's first solids

13/2/2019

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Starting a baby eating solids is a time of great trepidation for many parents. This might be because this transition from exclusive breastfeeding or formula feeding to family foods (which starts around 6 months and continues until between 18 and 24 months) is a very vulnerable time.

It's a time when patterns like "fussy" or picky eating, or babies not eating enough to meet their requirements can sneak in, leading to malnutrition or failure to thrive. Delays in developmental milestones around feeding can and often do occur unless good feeding and eating practices are set up, ideally from the start.

And of course, there's always the fear of choking.

No wonder this time can be such a big cause of stress for parents.

But in spite of the clear importance of this transition period, I don't think that it needs to be stressful or scary. I actually think that starting your baby on solids can be an enjoyable, fun and even relaxing time for kids and parents.

And in fact, by taking a deep breath and chilling out you can actually help your child learn to feed themselves in a timely manner, get all the nutrition they need, and have fun doing it.

I have a 12 month old and a 3 year old and they have both been proficient, happy little eaters for as long as I can remember. Here's how I navigated starting my kids on solids when they were around 6 months old, and beyond, all whilst being responsibly lazy.

"Be laid-back about solids introduction. This early stage is mostly for fun and games."
- Ellyn Satter RD, child feeding expert

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5 Flavours to Eat for Health

23/1/2019

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In Chinese medicine and in Ayurveda, the hallmark of a balanced meal is the inclusion of all of the flavours. By including all of the flavours in a meal, you’re going to feel very satisfied. And satisfaction is a crucial element of enjoyable, intuitive eating. One of these flavours is bitter, a very important taste that many of us are missing on our plates.

Throughout Spring and Summer in my Southeast Queensland neighbourhood, edible weeds pop up everywhere including in my own my backyard.

Under the kids’ trampoline out of the lawnmower’s reach, I find dandelion greens, sow thistle, billy goat weed, sheep sorrel, and wild carrot, among other largely unknown yet freely available sources of nutrition*. At the farmer’s market I uncover a similar array: mustard greens, endive, chicory, kale, parsley, rocket.

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Witches don't diet.

6/9/2018

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It's 6am, and I'm tired but excited. My 8-month old baby girl, with whom I co-sleep, is up at 5:30am every morning crawling around our bedroom. As I type this she's pulling apart my pile of yoga props and dismantling the crystals, candles and oracle cards that decorate my bedroom altar.

But she's not the main reason why I'm particularly tired and simultaneously excited this morning. In the middle of the night I was up for over 2 hours as a bunch of information and the backbone of this blog, among other things, was downloaded seemingly out of nowhere into my mind, demanding to be written down. It happens from time to time. It's the only time I feel sleep deprived and am cool with it.

So.

Witches don't diet. Let me explain the title of this crazy midnight-inspired blog. Starting with the "witch" bit.

Witches

Up until recently I've felt really uncomfortable with calling myself a witch. My concept of a witch was someone who was a wise woman or man, and a respected elder of years past. One who was a healer, a shaman, a master of herbalism. One who helped and served others in his community. One who understood nature at a deep level, who communed with nature and viewed herself as a part of it, not in command of it.

In our climate of cultural misappropriation, and of hashtags like #witch, #witchvibes, and #blessed, it seemed cliché, cutesy, and just icky to label myself as a witch. I rejected the label and the bastardisation I believed (and still to some extent believe) went with it, much in the same way I once rejected yoga culture, hard.

Sure, I align my energy with the wheel of the year; I observe the sabbats, seasons, and the cycles of the moon.
I use multiple tools to connect with and sharpen my intuition, including but not limited to meditation, embodied practices like yoga.
I love nothing more than to spend hours wandering by myself in the forest - although these days I'm usually accompanied by little people.
I use divination tools such as oracle cards and occasionally scrying.
Despite being scared of ghosts, I feel the presence of long dead loved ones and communicate with them, not frequently but from time to time.
Most mornings I cast a circle, set an intention, burn sage, commune with my ancestors, journal, and/or read oracle cards.
I have had visions of past lives, my own and those close to me.
I have created multiple altars and sacred spaces around my home. My family is just used to having weird stuff including talismans and many sage sticks lying around the place.
I work with the elements of nature and use herbs daily, and crystals sometimes. The main reason I am undergoing a degree in naturopathy is to add clinical herbalism to my tool belt, yet I also talk to plants and try to connect with plant spirits.
I cast my first spell at age 17 and it worked so well I got frightened and didn't cast spells again until my late twenties when I decided I wanted to get pregnant. That, too, worked incredibly well.

Despite all of this, I have long rejected the label of witch. Not wanting to frighten my Christian friends, or freak people out, and not wanting to further disrespect the archetype of wise healer and elder I hold in my mind.

When my spiritual teacher unflinchingly pointed out that I was, indeed, a witch, I immediately recoiled. I told her I didn't feel comfortable with that term, that I felt it was overused and misused. Perhaps at some level, collective long held negative connotations and echoes of painful ancestral memories sounded through my psyche; the centuries when the word 'witch' led women to be tortured, drowned and burned at the stake stored as warnings in my cells.

She gently reminded me that "witch" comes from the word wicca, which means wise. Witchcraft in ancient history was known as "The Craft of the Wise" because most who followed the path were in tune with the forces of nature, had a knowledge of herbs and medicines, gave counsel and were valuable parts of the village and community as healers and leaders.

My teacher showed me that in my haste to retract from cultural misnomers and in my disdain of anything trendy, I had perhaps forgotten what a witch really is.

In the words of author Lisa Lister, a witch is "a woman in her power. She is wise, a healer, someone who is aligned with the cycles of Mother Nature and the phases of the Moon."

A witch is a woman in her power. Her intuition is strong and she listens to it and trusts it. She sharpens her intuition like a knife and uses it to cut through cultural bullshit, allowing her to stay true to herself. She knows the difference between intuition and the voices of fear.

I know many wise, intelligent, heartfelt people who meet this description. Social and environmental justice warriors fighting for gender equality, opposing weight stigma, and lobbying to stop deforestation. The fiercely compassionate and scientifically justified proponents of the Health at Every Size movement. Herbal medicine masters who are fighting to grant cancer patients access to plant medicine that could save their lives in a medical climate where natural medicine is viewed with suspicion and derision.

They are all witches. And so am I.

And if you're still reading this, chances are you are, too.

Intuition

I agree with the notion that a witch is a woman (or man, but I'm mainly talking to women within my platforms) in her power. And a woman can only be in her power by regularly listening to, honing, and trusting her intuition.

Intuition is rooted in the body. Think of the words we use to describe intuitive hunches: I had a gut feeling. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I felt it in my bones. I knew it in my heart.

Think of the times your intuitive, instinctual nature has kicked into gear. When somebody has stepped into your space and something feels "not quite right". When you know your child is in danger and you check they're still in their sandpit only to realise they're about to cross the road by themselves.

When you sense the presence of a loved one who has passed on, something around 75% of us report having experienced. When you recognise a soul mate or lifelong friend by how your heart feels and the tingles running down your spine. These are usually gut feelings, a body sense. Not calculations you've made in your head.

Dieting and the religion of thinness have cut down many a modern day witch, leaving a gaping hole in our collective wisdom and capacity to heal ourselves and others.

Dieting

Intuition is rooted in the body. Food rules keep you up in your head, disconnected from your body.

Food rules keep you up in your head, disconnected from your body. It's hard to notice your witchy hunches and intuitive body-felt messages when you're mostly in your head thinking about food, eating, and/or your body.

When you're spending hours googling gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free recipes instead of doing your practice, whatever that practice looks like for you.
Calculating, compensating and calorie budgeting instead of nurturing your innate gifts, talents and skills.
"Saving yourself" all day for a dinner out with friends and starving in the process, dwindling energy stores that you could otherwise have spent honing your craft.
Being so cut off from your hunger and/or fullness cues and your body, that intuitive messages seem a distant memory or a far off concept, rather than a daily normal experience.

It's hard to stay connected to your spidey senses if you've skipped breakfast AND lunch, all you can think about is how hangry you are and how you could probably hold out for another hour before you really "need" to eat.

So many women I know (myself included) do a bunch of weird shit that has the capacity to - consciously or otherwise - sharpen our intuition. We wear crystals, read oracle and tarot cards, journal, meditate, practice yoga... all in an attempt to "be more intuitive". Or more accurately, to connect us to the wisdom and intuition we already embody.

But food rules pull us right back out of our bodies and into our heads. You can wear a bone necklace made by a Hopi shaman, burn sage until the neighbours call 000, and do a three-hour headstand atop a giant piece of clear quartz... but as long as you're still stressing about how much sugar you ate yesterday, you're going to stay largely shut down to your intuition.

Intuitive eating

Intuitive eating, intuitive EVERYTHING.

For women whose slavery to the thin ideal has cut them off from their full witchy capacity, intuitive eating is a way to open a doorway to intuitive living. As I once heard another non-diet advocate say, "Intuitive eating, intuitive EVERYTHING."

Intuitive eating asks that we begin listening to the hunger and fullness cues of our bodies. But that's not all. It also offers ways to reject the diet mentality and let go of the religion of thinness so pervasive in our cultural and inherited conditioning.

One caveat: If you've been chronically dieting, or you're in a semi-starved state, listening to and honouring your hunger and fullness can be difficult and complicated. This is where getting help from a non-diet practitioner can be of great value to re-nourish your body first so you can begin to receive and interpret those messages correctly.

Witches don't diet

Witches don't diet. It's impossible to be deeply connected to your intuition while you're still tracking macros like there's no tomorrow, you're not eating enough, or you're deadly afraid of carbs.

Getting a balanced, satisfying and adequate intake of food can ease mood swings, panic attacks, anxiety, and mild depression. Mental health takes a dive when we're in a state of semi-starvation as the body struggles to construct all the neurotransmitters it needs to remain healthy. Intellectual clarity and intuition is improved when the mind receives proper nourishment.

It's time to stop wasting your energy on the illusion of weight loss or maintaining a low weight as if that's the most important thing in life. It's not.

Sister, we need you. Now is the time to hone your craft, shine your light and offer your healing gifts, and dieting is only stopping you from reaching your magical potential. The world needs your witchy-poo self, and it needs it now.

Author

Casey Conroy is an Accredited Practising Dietitian, eating disorder specialist, herbalist in training, yoga teacher, and coming-out-of-the-closet witch.

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I'm recovering from an eating disorder: can I still be VEGAN?

18/10/2017

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I work with a lot of yoginis and yogis, alternative lifestyle leaders, animal rights activists, and environmentally conscious folks. I also work in the field of disordered eating.

So naturally I often find myself in the situation where I'm chatting with somebody who is very keen to heal their troubled relationship with food... but they don't want to budge on their vegan ideals.

This person may have been through the psychological hell that is a full blown eating disorder...

... OR they may fall into the spectrum of disordered eating on the end of the continuum that wouldn't be classified as a clinical eating disorder, but disordered eating and disordered body image - an issue that faces a significant number of women in Australia.

OFTEN, they've experienced both.

The big question here is, "If I'm actively recovering from a clinical eating disorder - or any other form of disordered eating - can I be vegan and still get better?"

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Summer body WOES are made in winter

20/8/2017

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It's the end of winter, nearly spring. This is Imbolc - the time of metaphoric rebirth. Half way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, this is traditionally a time for purification and spring cleaning in anticipation of the new surge in life approaching.

We may well still have a few cold snaps ahead of us but the energy has shifted.

Both energetically and in the natural world, now is the time we see new growth following the seeming dormancy of Winter. Imbolc is a time of hope, a time filled with the excitement of new possibilities for the future, the time for manifestation of whatever dreams we've been seeding over winter.

And troublingly - but not surprisingly - there are plenty of body-shaming industries ready to capitalise on the collective feelings of hope and excitement that coincide with the change in season.

One industry that plays a huge part in forming the mass constructed social expectations placed on bodies associated with this time of year is, of course, the diet industry.

Being late winter when the growing warmth is reminding us of the bikini season 'just around the corner', this is when we hear an escalation of mantras like, "Summer bodies are made in winter" along with increased pressure to buy those programs and products that employ this infuriating rhetoric.

The marketing strategies of those selling diet plans, weight loss products, 8- or 12-week training regimes and body-beautifying yoga challenges adopt this kind of tagline in order to incite a feeling of urgency or even panic in those who, shamefully, 'still haven't started working on their summer body.'

Well fuck that.

I say, "Body shame is perpetuated by stupid sayings like 'Summer bodies are made in winter.'"

Your body is not the problem. Your belief that your body is the problem, is the problem.

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Casey's blog

Ep 10. Gym Culture without Weight Loss Challenges: Bringing HAES®, Intuitive Eating and Body Positivity into Fitness

Essential oil ingestion: Just DON'T Do It

The alternatives to dieting

The Wellness Diet Cycle

The Big Thing most health-conscious people are missing (that's ruining their health)

FIRST DO NO HARM.

The laid-back parent's guide to baby's first solids

5 Flavours to Eat for Health

Witches don't diet.

Witches

Intuition

Dieting

Intuitive eating

Witches don't diet

Author

I'm recovering from an eating disorder: can I still be VEGAN?

Summer body WOES are made in winter

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