Health & Wellness

When collaborating with clients struggling with body image or eating disorders, I make sure they have a stacked health team- this includes myself, a trusted general practitioner, and a registered dietician (RD). This ensures your mental health, as well as your physical health, are monitored, and long-term healthy eating habits are developed in a sustainable way.

When collaborating with clients struggling with body image or eating disorders, I make sure they have a stacked health team- this includes myself, a trusted general practitioner, and a registered dietician (RD). This ensures your mental health, as well as your physical health, are monitored, and long-term healthy eating habits are developed in a sustainable way.

The definition of body neutrality, provided by Google, is as follows- the act of taking a neutral stance towards your body both emotionally and physically. In comparison, the definition of body positivity (again, thank you Google) is- the insistence that everyone deserves to have a positive body image regardless of society and pop-culture standards. This movement focuses on viewing our bodies in a positive way instead of perceived imperfections. The idea is that we can be comfortable in all body types and admire the parts of our bodies that may not fit societal norms.

This past summer, three different clients informed me that their General Practitioners (GP) had suggested intermittent fasting (IF) to them to lose weight: the kicker? All three of these clients were seeing me to work on body acceptance and disordered eating behaviours. When I heard this my heart sank. Not just for my clients, but also for GPs who believe this weight loss method is safe to suggest to patients with a history of disordered eating. Misinformation about health and weight being synonymous has fuelled our culture of self-dissatisfaction. When I begin collaborating with clients, I suggest they seek guidance from an eating disorder-informed registered dietician (RD) and encourage the client to establish clear boundaries with their GP around diet and weight discussions.

For full transparency, I am a dog person. One of the main reasons as to why I love dogs is because when they enter a room all they want is attention. Most dogs want you to like them, pet them, and talk to them in that high-pitched baby voice. They will nudge you, stare you down, and if someone doesn’t like them, they sulk. Dogs are great. However, for some people, dogs are too needy. They require too much care, too much attention, are too hairy, or need too much training.