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5 thoughts

1. Two things I’ve seen/heard lately and loved.

The first one comes from @sarahbnutrition

The second was something Robyn Nohling said in this podcast

2. In a couple weeks, we’re going to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a family vacation.

My mind has been feeling busy lately and it’s been hard to calm it down.  I’m excited to have a week to reset/recenter/refocus and really just implement some new mindfulness strategies…hello, meditation practice (i’ve been trying to meditate consistently for awhile now and am struggling with it).  Anyways…if you have any recommendations for adventures/eating in Jackson Hole, let me know!

3.  A few readers have emailed and commented about being in a larger body.

One reader said, “when I read posts about you having accepted your body and it’s current weight, in my mind I view it as possibly easier for you, or someone your size to do, as your body is still accepted as small/thin/whatever in society.  Mine is not. I am plus-sized (kinda hate that term for various reasons), and I’m not ashamed of that, but I have this strange, perhaps defensive, feeling when I see bloggers or RDs who are so much smaller than me, telling me I should just accept my size.  I feel that society judges people who are my size more when eating certain things than they do a thinner person, as I’m expected to be constantly in a stage of attempting to be “healthy” or lose weight because of my size.”  The commenter went on to say (which I appreciated so much), “I sincerely hope this does not come off as rude or as an attack at you personally, I just have been struggling with these feelings lately and figured voicing them would result in helping me, or others possibly feeling the same way, find solutions.”

If any of you listen to Christy Harrison’s podcast, then you know that she talks frequently about thin privilege and how it is easier for those in smaller bodies to be accepted in our society.  So to the commenters/emailers who have sent similar thought my way about this being easier for me…you’re right.  And it’s messed up.

Something I shared in this post fits here…

“Do you think shaming a person for eating a brownie or for being in a larger body makes them a healthier person? I SOOO strongly believe that person having to carry around your judgement of their body makes me a less healthy person! And you CAN be healthy in a larger body.  We aren’t all iPhone 7s.  We are made to be a variety of different shapes and sizes.  It is so hard to be in a larger body in our society.  Those in larger bodies are judged for what is or isn’t in their shopping carts, what they do or don’t order at a restaurant, AND they are limited at what clothing stores they can shop at.  Like seriously, do you think your judgement helps them live a better life?! Nope. It typically makes them feel more isolated and shameful and more likely to engage in disordered eating behaviors.  

Just because you are in a larger body and/or you are gaining weight doesn’t mean you are doing intuitive eating wrong and that you are unhealthy.”

It’s important to remember that you can not know anything about a person’s health by their body size.  Behaviors are what are important.  Are you sleeping enough? How do you handle stress? Are you eating according to hunger/fullness/cravings and nourishing your mental health with and without food ? Have you found some form of movement that brings you pleasure? Are you building a life that brings you pleasure?

I know for me to be a different body size than I am RIGHT NOW in this season of life I would have to give up taking care of myself.  For any of you who have been on your own intuitive eating journey and found that your body naturally is meant to be at a higher weight than society says is okay…for YOU to be at a different size YOU would have to stop taking care of yourself.  I’m not going to stop caring for myself, and you shouldn’t either.

All this to say, I think this means there is room in the intuitive eating blogging world for those in naturally larger bodies.  I encourage any/all of you who feel passionately about this topic to START A BLOG! You have such a great perspective to share and people to reach :)

4. I’ve been loving nursery tours.

5. Like a lot.

21 comments

  1. Ohmygosh, I’ve been lucky to both live and travel abroad, but Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National park remains my favorite place in the world! We used to go every summer as kids. I don’t know if you are staying in the lodge, but you definitely need to go visit. There’s a place called Pioneer Grill and it is my favorite place in Jackson Hole. Honestly, I imagine the food is probably mediocre (loved it as a kid tho!), but the people there are great! The staff is from all over the world, and I was constantly enamored by them. Plus, there’s a terrace off the back of the hotel with a STUNNING view of the mountains.

    You must hike Jenny Lake trail and the Cascade Canyon area (Lake Solitude is a good hike) is unbelievable. Get out of the Tetons and check out Yellowstone, obviously. Hayden Valley is my favorite spot in Yellowstone. And, if baby is just not having any of that hiking, just sit outside and breathe :)

    Wish I could offer more restaurant suggestions, but we camped a lot. Honestly, anything tastes good in that mountain air. Find a campfire, grill some burgers, roast some marshmallows. There is truly nothing like it. Your post comes at such a strange time–I’ve been seriously thinking about quitting my job and moving to Wyoming for the rest of the summer! My contract in Brussels is up next week and I return to the States…seems like a good time for a change;)

    Can’t wait to hear about all your trip!!

    • Thanks for the comment!! Loved this line –> “And, if baby is just not having any of that hiking, just sit outside and breathe :)”

      Sounds like a huge life change may be in the books for you! Excited for you, Caitlyn!

  2. The first one – SO TRUE. I feel like so many people, especially online, preach about how theyre teaching good nutrition and good advice and blah blah blah, but its all just SO DISORDERED!

  3. Thanks for the share my dear :) 
    XO

  4. Your posts are one of the first things I read everyday, and often put things into perspective for me. Thank you!

  5. Jackson Hole is gorgeous! It’s been a few years since I visited, but there was this fun restaurant (I think it might have been The Kitchen) that had an amazing cookie skillet thing. I have no idea what I actually had for dinner, but the dessert was incredible.
    Ps. love this post!

  6. I got way too into the nursery tours, haha. It was just so exciting! My big thing was making sure that the place had a space for me to come at lunch and nurse my baby and that they made it easy for me to bring and store breast milk. Now that I’m pumping at work, it’s been a game changer to have a day care that makes my life easier in that capacity!

    Also, I just realized that you may not have been talking about day cares when you said nursery tours… so I apologize if this comment is out of context! Haha

  7. Thank you for this post/these thoughts. I appreciate you & your blog more than I can express. <3

  8. Love the boho nursey’s especially the indigo one – so fun!

  9. I love that you have addressed #3, it’s something that I have been struggling with recently. I live in a naturally small body, as do all the women in my family, and had to really get my privledge in check when I started working with an RD who lives in a larger body. This RD made me realize that even though I have personally struggled with my own body, I do not understand what it’s like to live in a large body and have society tell me that it’s unacceptable. For those of us who live in smaller bodies, I think it’s so important to stand as allies for those who live in bodies that are marginalized. It’s important to bring them into the conversation and make space for them. I would love to see you address this more in the future. I’m very much still working through it myself, but it’s great to see the perspectives of others.

  10. I definitely resonate with the discussion regarding larger bodies. I used to get so annoyed with hearing beautiful, thin women preach body love. I wasn’t able to believe that they could understand.
    The message I really like now is that we don’t control our shape and health and happiness are not reflected by a specific body type. However, it’s so important we recognize that there is stigma around larger bodies that makes it harder a place to be. Thanks for your voice in this matter!

  11. I’m certain #3 is an issue for a lot of people. Currently, I wear clothes in the size 20-24 range. Since research shows that cyclical dieting raises your set point, I am sure that my set point is higher than it would have been had I not gone through an untreated eating disorder/decade of disordered eating before making peace with my body and food.

    I don’t have the same struggles that your reader mentioned, in that I’ve moved far enough along in my intuitive eating journey to generally not have “well, that’s easy for YOU to say” feelings, but I have great empathy for people who have those feelings. I’ve idly considered starting a blog, but I’m not sure I have much to say other than it really is possible to make peace with food and love your body at a larger size! I never would have believed ten years ago that it was possible to be as un-self-conscious as I am about my body, but it is.

  12. Love the first picture by @sarahbnutrition. It’s so true… so many RD’s are promoting orthorexia and they don’t even realize it. Hopefully the world of dietetics moves towards IE and HAES sooner rather than later!!

  13. I totally hear your readers’ concerns about the difficulty of hearing body acceptance advice from someone who is smaller than they are. I often have that same concern about my blog. A great resource might be The Fat Nutritionist blog by Michelle Allison, although I’m afraid she hasn’t posted in a little while. http://www.fatnutritionist.com/

  14. Not fond of the term”thin privilege ” for a million different reasons. That it is judgemental and shaming to the “thin” (a subjective view) person being just the first two reasons. Just say’n.

    • Hi Kay, I felt the same as you for a long time. Then I started working with clients in larger bodies and they helped me understand the differences between how fat and thin people are treated. It’s changed my thoughts on the term “thin privilege.” I appreciate you sharing your experience and input!

  15. My husband and I live in Wyoming and the Jackson area is one of our all-time favorite places to go!!! We were actually just there last weekend (a friend and I ran a half marathon), and we ate at a restaurant called Liberty Burger — so good!!! For Jackson, the prices are decent and the food is terrific. One of the locals recommended it to us, so we’re guessing it’s one of the best options in town. ;)

    If you don’t want to pay to get into Teton National Park, you can hike around Phelps Lake for free. It’s a good hike — nothing too intense or long but you can make it last half a day if you want to hang out by the lake for a while.

    We also visited some thrift stores in Jackson which were pretty nice. The Browse ‘N’ Buy (which is in conjunction with St. John’s Episcopal Church) was probably the best.

    And if you like to camp, you can go up in the Bridger/Teton National Forest (which is basically across the valley from the Tetons) and camp for free — it’s called dispersed camping. Dogs are allowed there, too, more than they are in Park areas.

    I hope you have an absolutely wonderful time! The Tetons are gorgeous this time of year, the buffalo are out with their babies, and Jackson is just fun…. Enjoy!!!

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