Intuitive eating allows you to reconnect to your body. Our dietitians can help you in a nurturing, gentle, and un-shaming way.
Things haven’t felt intuitive for a long time, you can feel that. In fact, it feels hard to remember a time in your life when you allowed your body to guide you to make food choices. Instead, you've built up all these rules over time that you have to follow. You want eating to feel easier. But, you don’t know where to start. You feel disconnected from your eating experience. Things either feel chaotic, controlled or a back and forth between the two.
You’re tired of struggling with food.
It seems like everything you’ve read and tried seems to contradict itself. Eating feels stressful, chaotic, and it may be scary too. You’ve adopted different diets and lifestyles in the pursuit of a healthier you. You make so many changes to lose weight. You’ve counted macros, calories, and points; logged meals and steps. Nothing has given you the results you’ve desired. But, more than that, you’re noticing angst at mealtimes. You feel negative self-talk about your food choices, and may have googled, “do I have an eating disorder?” Your journey has left you exhausted. You feel like your body is working against you on a mental and physical level. You feel stuck and like you’re not sure where to go next.
But the problem isn’t you or your body. You don’t have to fall deeper into disordered eating patterns or live in fear of the next meal.
Intuitive Eating counseling in Seattle, WA can help you enjoy food again.
Intuitive Eating is an individualized approach to nutrition. Your preferences, hunger, fullness, and values dictate your eating pattern. This way, you are honoring your body’s needs. Practicing intuitive eating helps you cultivate food freedom. With an intuitive eating dietitian, you can heal your relationship with food. Thus, allowing it to take up less headspace.
Intuitive eating counseling uses an anti-diet framework. It offers tools and skills to help you best nourish your body as opposed to promoting the “right” way to eat. There are no prescribed food rules or instructions on how or what to eat. Instead, it’s a process of cultivating a greater connection to your body through the way you relate to food. It is a weight-neutral approach. This approach emphasizes the food behaviors instead of the number on the scale. “Progress” is determined by qualitative factors. This includes normalizing eating patterns, feeling more at peace with food, and eating to gain energy throughout the day. This differs from other approaches that measure weight loss or adherence to the diet.
Common Reasons People Begin Intuitive Eating Counseling in Seattle, WA:
Experiencing restrict-binge episodes
Feeling addicted or out of control around food
Burnout with restrictive diets and food rules
Confusion around how to eat to support their bodies
Anxiety in food-centered social gatherings, weekends, or travel
Our Dietitians Can Help
We know what it’s like to feel crazy around food and feel like you cannot trust your body. As dietitians, we have seen how having a rocky relationship with food can be devastating. It can affect all areas of people’s lives. We have sat with countless clients who felt all-consumed by food rules. Before intuitive eating counseling, they had no idea how to use their wisdom to guide food choices.
We know you’ve done everything you can to take care of yourself. We also know that your body is very resilient and has done everything it can to take care of you. Intuitive Eating counseling can help restore a sense of peace with food and your body.
The Bravespace Nutrition approach to Intuitive Eating counseling looks like:
Challenging restrictive thoughts (a.k.a. the diet mentality) to increase freedom with food and reconnect to your body
Learning how to reconnect with hunger and fullness. This also means exploring the reasons that disconnect you from your body’s signals
Exploring your diet history and the stories that have shaped your relationship with food
Moving away from working out as punishment and (re)discovering joyful movement
Cultivating tools in self-compassion and mindfulness as you disentangle past beliefs and behaviors
What is holding you back from seeking Intuitive Eating counseling?
“I don't want to gain weight.” This concern is completely valid. We live in a diet culture that elevates smaller bodies, so fearing weight gain is expected. Intuitive eating counseling is an excellent space to explore your feelings. A dietitian can help you address concerns around your weight and body changes. A lot of the work in intuitive eating counseling involves shifting your thinking. We work to change a “black and white” or “all or nothing” mindset to “living in the gray” or a “both/and” mindset. You can want to be an intuitive eater and feel nervous about how your body’s size will respond. Many people find that counseling helps to solidify their values. It allows them to take the next steps they have been afraid to take in their recovery journey.
“I don't have time for counseling.” It’s sometimes hard to know when it is the right time to seek counseling. But if not now, when? You are deserving of compassion, support, and an intuitive relationship with food. You don’t have to let things spiral further. Plus, we offer virtual counseling sessions. Many clients prefer the flexibility and reduced commute times virtual sessions offer.
“I don’t have an eating disorder.” If food or your body image is causing you any pain, stress, or discomfort then you are in the right place. You do not need an eating disorder diagnosis to learn to be an intuitive eater. Intuitive eating is for everyone! You are worthy of support no matter your size, health status, ability, age, race, sexual orientation, or gender. In fact, eating disorders, eating disorder behaviors, and dieting exist on a spectrum. Most people fall somewhere on this spectrum since we live in diet culture. Thus, most people would benefit from nutrition counseling. Any feeling you have that “things aren’t quite right” with you and food suggests that there are beliefs and behaviors to unpack. We’d be honored to partner with you as you work towards a more peaceful relationship with food.
Collaborate and get support from your peers in our body image support group
Here at Bravespace Nutrition, we believe a nourished life begins by stepping into a brave space. This belief led us to create the Body Image Badass Support Group. Our group is for women ages 18+ that are in recovery from disordered eating, an eating disorder, or chronic dieting.
In this dynamic group, you will work with your peers to build a sense of self-worth that is not based on your body shape or weight. You will gain new tools that will help you appreciate the body you have. But the best part, you will be supported by other women who know what you’re going through and a caring therapist along the way!
Begin Intuitive Eating Counseling in Seattle, WA
Reconnecting to your body takes time and commitment. But, our caring dietitians will support you every step of the way. We provide support from our Seattle, WA-based counseling practice. To start overcoming your struggle with food, please follow these simple steps:
1. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation by clicking the button below
2. Meet with a caring dietitian
3. Start intuitive eating counseling and reconnect with your body
Other Services Offered at Bravespace Nutrition
Intuitive eating isn't the only service provided at our Seattle, WA-based therapy practice. Other services include support for body image, binge eating, and chronic dieting. We also provide Bulimia treatment, Anorexia treatment, body image support groups, and business coaching. For more helpful information, visit our FAQ, blog or resources page.