Diets are the gateway drug into an eating disorder.

April 05, 2019 April 05, 2019/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

Encounter Counseling Center is excited to offer out patient eating disorder recovery treatment counseling services. I am currently getting supervision to specialize in eating disorders, chronic dieting, body image struggles and more using health at every size, intuitive eating, acceptance and commitment therapy and EMDR. This is very exciting as the Grand Valley does not have very many eating disorder treatment providers. I am thrilled to be able to serve the community in this way.

So today I wanted to begin a blog series about eating disorders that I am calling the 101 Series. Over the next few weeks I am going to highlight different eating disorder in order to create awareness, education, advocacy and the overall message that recovery is fully possible!

Today I want to provide the basics regarding types of eating disorders, overall symptoms, treatment and how everyone can be an advocate against the fatphobia and thin ideal.

Statistics & Facts

  • Eating disorders affect 30 million people today in the the United States.
  • Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any other mental illness.
  • Every 62 minutes someone dies from an eating disorder.
  • Diets are the gateway drug into an eating disorder.

Types of Eating Disorders

There are several diagnosable eating disorders which means they have a diagnostic criteria in the DSM 5 and essentially make the case treatment is needed and can be covered by insurance.

  • Anorexia
  • Bulimia
  • Binge Eating Disorder
  • Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Of the 4 types of eating disorders Binge Eating Disorder is the most common with 3.5% of women and 2% of men affected by the disorder during their lifetime. This is a larger percentage than those who have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer or HIV.

There are also several types of eating disorders that are not diagnosable according to the DSM 5, but are frequently treated in the eating disorder recovery including:

  • Orthorexia
  • Compulsive Exercise
  • Diabulima
  • Disordered Eating
  • Chronic Dieting

Signs & Symptoms of Eating Disorders

Signs and symptoms of the various types of eating disorder include:

  • Frequent & chronic dieting
  • Extreme preoccupation with weight, food, calories, fat grams, carbohydrates and dieting
  • Withdrawal from friends, family and usual activities
  • Refusal to eat certain foods
  • Skipping meals
  • Cutting out foods or food groups
  • Extreme concern with body size and shape
  • Frequently checking in the mirror for body flaws
  • Missing periods
  • Often feeling dizzy and faint
  • Making frequent comments about feeling “fat”
  • Feeling cold all the time
  • Mood Swings
  • Feelings of disgust or guilt for overeating
  • Throwing up or using laxatives after eating
  • Extreme weight loss
  • Excessive food rituals
  • Difficulty concentrating

Treatment Options for Eating Disorders

There are a variety of ways to receive treatment from an eating disorder.

The two most common ways to treat an eating disorder is through outpatient treatment or residential inpatient treatment.

  • Outpatient treatment is traditional therapy occurring once or multiple times per week as needed by the client. Group therapy can also be an important part of outpatient treatment.
  • Residential inpatient treatment is when the patient lives for a span of time in a specific treatment facility and engages in varies therapeutic recovery modalities such as individual therapy, group therapy, art therapy, movement therapy and others.

**The closest inpatient treatment centers would d be in Denver or Salt Lake. Some of them include Eating Recovery Center or ED Care in Denver or Center for Change in Salt Lake. These are just a few options there are many others.

Typically eating disorders are addressed by a team of professionals that include a therapist, nutritionist, medical doctor and even a recovery coach. This ensures every aspect of the patient is taken care of at the highest quality of care.

Here at Encounter we are now offering outpatient counseling services for all types of eating disorders. In the beginning of treatment an assessment is done to look at the level of care needed for the individual to recover.

There are several types of therapeutic treatment modalities that can be used for eating disorders. I use EMDR therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Group Therapy as well as the principles from Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size.

Culture & Body Image

Unfortunately, our culture negatively feeds eating disorders and body image problems because what is seen in the media is not reality.

67% of the women in the United States are plus sized (size 12 or above) yet these bodies represent only 2% of the bodies seen in the media.

This is a major issue as a majority of the images we are seeing on social media as well as TV and movies are thin white women. Our culture has become obsessed with thinness and weight loss and it only adds to the growing issue of eating disorders, body image struggles and disordered eating behaviors.

Eating Disorders and body image issues trap individuals from living their best life and consume every ounce of energy possible. It can be exhausting to live with an eating disorder, but I am here to offer you hope!

You are amazing and you have the ability to heal and move on from any body image issues or eating disorders.

What you can do today!

  • Weed your feed. Clean up your Instagram and Facebook feed to feature body diversity. Unfollow accounts promoting weight loss or certain body types. Fill your feed with body diversity! Follow those associated with the #bodypositive movement or #fatactivism. You will be surprised at the amount of accounts out there promoting and loving all bodies. Check out this post for a few of my favorite accounts.
  • Read and educate yourself on a new paradigm of health, eating and body acceptance. The two primary book recommendations I have for anyone struggling with eating disorders, body image or disordered eating are Intuitive Eating by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole and Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon. There are TONS more resources out there too! Go to this post to find out more on my favorite intuitive eating resources.
  • Ditch diet and body talk while in social situations. Change the conversation away from bodies, food and weight loss. As women especially we need to start having conversations that encourage one another.
  • Stop commenting on other people’s bodies. I have been thinking about this one a lot lately. When we tell someone they look so good because maybe they have lost weight we have no idea as the person who is commenting what types of behaviors it took for that person to loose weight. We could be encouraging an eating disorder or disordered eating behaviors. We can compliment each other on so many wonderful things about a person’s character or life we do not need to go into body talk.

Getting Help

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder I want to personally encourage you to get help. Eating disorder recovery is not something you can DIY. The longer it goes on the harder it can be. You don’t have to be alone in your disorder. You can find freedom! Find a clinician who is safe and non-judgemental and is willing to walk with you during this extremely difficult time in your life.

An additional resource if you are needing immediate help is the National Eating Disorders helpline at 800-931-2237.

My goal is to help individuals find freedom in their bodies and with food! If you are wondering if therapy or our groups might be a good fit for you call us or email us and we would be happy to chat with you!

In Body Liberation,

Chelsea

Sources:

https://anad.org/education-and-awareness/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/

March 29, 2019 March 29, 2019/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

Often when people think of “mental health struggles” they think of depression.

Depression is a common mental health diagnosis that sometimes gets a bad reputation. Movies portray depression as people staying in bed all day and not doing anything. Depression can look this way, but individuals can also experience many other types symptoms.

If you are struggling with depression you are not alone. Although you may feel like you are the only one experiencing these overwhelming feelings, numbness, hopelessness, helplessness or irritability you are not alone.

It is reported that 14.4 million or 6.7% of U.S. adults have experience a depression in a given year. Depression is one of the most common mental health illnesses.

The stigmatization of depression makes it difficult for people to talk about and get the help they need. Here is a quick overview of the symptoms, causes and 6 ways to deal with depression.

Symptoms of Depression

Depression can look a little different from person to person.

Some common symptoms of depression include:

  • Feeling hopeless
  • Feeling helpless
  • Loss of interest in activities or relationships
  • Excessive sleepiness
  • Insomnia
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Irritability & restlessness
  • Sadness & excessive crying
  • Social isolation
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Loss of appetite

Causes of Depression

Depression can be caused be a variety of factors. The most common is a combination of biological, psychological and social distress as well as genetic.

Depression can also be can also be triggered by life transitions such as moving, having a baby, loosing a loved one, divorce, job change, family struggles and so much more.

Even if you don’t know what might be causing your depression that’s okay! It could also be a chemical imbalance in your brain and it is not your fault!

Depression is overwhelming and I want to encourage you that it won’t be like this forever. Here are a few simple steps you can start on today to help you deal with depression.

6 Strategies to Help you Deal with Depression

1.) Acknowledge how you are feeling. Depression is tricky because sometimes you can just wake up and realize the past several weeks or months have not been great. Your mind might go to the place of what in the world is wrong with me?!

Why do I feel so irritated, overwhelmed, helpless, unmotivated, tired, discouraged, sad, emotional, unstable?

Acknowledging how you are feeling can be a difficult step, but it is a great first step. When you feel like things aren’t quite right, trust yourself then give yourself permission to feel those emotions remember they will likely pass quickly. Acknowledging those emotions also helps you take those first steps in getting help.

2.) Remember it is not your fault. Unfortunately, depression and other mental health issues have such a negative stigma around them. It is so important to remember having depression is not your fault. Steer clear of blaming yourself and remember you did not do anything wrong. Depression is common and everyone has experienced a little bit of it or an overwhelming amount at some point in their lives. Blaming yourself will only make the depression spiral bigger and feel more out of control.

3.) Find support. Talk to someone about how you are feeling. Confide in a trusted friend or family member about what’s been going on. Depression gets worse when we are isolated and keep those depressed feelings to ourself. You don’t have to carry the load of struggling with your mental health by yourself.

4.) Make self care a priority. It is important when dealing with depression not to let your regular habits and routines fall to the way side. Shower. Eat regular meals you enjoy. Go out with family or friends on a weekly basis. Keep it simple when you are struggling with depression. Remember what it is you value in life or what lights you up and work hard to engage in those activities. Wake up everyday and ask yourself what you need and what is going to make you feel good today.

5.) Get help. You don’t have to keep living in the deep depths of depression by yourself. Depression is something that gets better fast with the proper help.

A great place to start is talk to your primary care doctor about what’s you are experiencing. Here on the Western Slope it can be extremely difficult and expensive to get into see a psychiatrist, so I typically encourage clients to talk to their family doctor first. As you go to the doctor medication could be a great tool for you to recover from depression. Sometimes people have really strong feelings about going on depression or anxiety medication because maybe they are worried about the side effects or the stigma it brings. I personally think medication is so helpful for depression because it gets people unstuck and in a place where they can begin taking the necessary steps to move forward in healing their mental health.

Second, consider going to therapy. Counseling is one of the most effective treatments for depression out there. Do some research on counselors in the area. A great place to start is www.psychologytoday.com is a great place to start because it will give you an overview of the counselors in your area. Look for a counselor whom you connect with. Call and see if they are able to talk to you for 15-20 minutes about what’s going on with your depression and then ask them how they could help.

There are so many different types of counselors out there today. Look for someone who is licensed in the state of Colorado (LPC, LPCC, LMFT, LCSW) and for someone who has some experience. Go to the first appointment and if it is not a good fit try someone else. Counseling is for everyone and your counselor should make you feel comfortable and at ease.

6.) Practice self-compassion. This can be a hard one, but can be extremely helpful. As a culture we are so hard on ourselves and it makes the depression worse. Begin to be aware of your thoughts and how you thoughts are impacting your feelings. Allow yourself to feel and move on. Practice treating yourself with kindness to prevent making the depression worse.

If you are struggling with depression it can be one of the most overwhelming and hopeless experiences. I want to encourage you again that you are not alone! If you are struggling and want to learn more about how counseling can help reach out! We would love to talk with you more!

Warmly,

Chelsea

Sources:

https://secure2.convio.net/dabsa/site/SPageServer/?pagename=education_statistics_depression

Encounter Counseling Center offers high quality individual, couples, Christian and group counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado.

March 29, 2019/ Chelsea Yamaguchi/ February 02, 2019 February 02, 2019/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

Valentines Day is upon us people. Some people are fans…some people aren’t.

Regardless of what camp you are in you are probably in the camp of improving your marriage or relationship!

So today I just wanted to offer 9 quick relationship friendly habits that you can easily incorporate into your relationship or marriage in 2019. I wrote a similar blog called 7 Habits to Improve Your Marriage in 2017 and it was a huge hit so I wanted to do it again for this new year.

1. Schedule time alone together.

As a marriage counselor I see all too often people getting stuck in their relationship simply because they are not spending quality one-on-one time together.

I totally understand we are all busy and overwhelmed and have hectic schedules, but it’s like anything else in life…if it is important to you schedule it or make time for it. A date night once a week is not going to heal your marriage, but it is going to provide the space you need to work through difficulties, talk about life and dream about the future.

2. Ask for a reassurance.

Sometimes we feel like a total looser and we simply need our partner to reassure us that we are enough for them or that we are smart or successful or a good parent or whatever it may be!

We have a partner in life for a reason. You don’t have to go through life alone. When we are able to ask for reassurance from our partner shame and doubt about ourselves and the relationship dissipates and connection becomes stronger.

3. Keep communication simple.

Simply stating what you feel and what you need during an argument or when you are frustrated with your partner can be HUGE as far as making amends and feeling close to your partner.

Almost every couple who comes into counseling tells me they are struggling with communication issues. This is pretty vague and could mean a million different things. What I have seen most often is people are not letting their partner know how they really feel about something that happened or something their partner did to them AND what they need instead or to repair.

Couples struggle because there is not a deep enough level of vulnerability in their relationship on any given time. We build up walls of hurt and resentment towards our partner (which makes sense because we all get hurt in our relationships), but then we don’t share what is REALLY going on and go on the defense and use blaming or attacking instead of leading with vulnerability.

4. Have weekly couch time.

I have an ENTIRE blog post called “Try this ONE Thing to Have an Awesome Marriage” dedicated to this idea because I think it is so important. I also have a free printable guide you can use as a starting point for your weekly couch times.

Set aside time every week to talk about all the big things in your life. Money. Kids. Schedules. Self-Care. Sex. Conflict resolution. Life stuff. This is a time you can tailor to your needs or your family and it can be incredibly connecting and beneficial. We so often live in chaos where we are running around and disorganized and not spending any time together talking about the real stuff.

5. Find a hobby or activity to do together.

Remember when you were dating your spouse and you were in that honeymoon phase of your relationship where you had all these neat things in common and life was just bliss?! Bring back that feeling by finding something to do together that brings both of you joy and a common ground.

When my husband and I were first dating we were really into music and listening to different bands. Over the past 12 years my love for discovering new bands and new music has faded a bit (not to say I don’t like music I just am not as interested in it as I used to be), which diminished a little bit of that bond we had. So we recently started doing CrossFit classes together and it has been a blast.

This could be anything! I could be working out, hiking, listening to podcasts, reading a book together, going on walks a few times a week or learning a new skill together. Bring fun back into your relationship!

6. Lead with empathy.

Once in session I told a couple, “Empathy is the magic sparkles that keeps your marriage together.” This was kind of funny in the moment (because I had my love of unicorns in mind), but it is totally true!

When our partner tells us something we did or said hurt them – lead with empathy. When our partner tells us they had a difficult day or are frustrated with a family member or overwhelmed with the children – lead with empathy.

Empathy is extremely powerful because it is by nature other focused. It is so easy in life to become self focused and when we become too self-focused in our relationships connection crumbles.

Leading with empathy doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be as easy as saying something like, “I’m so sorry,” or “What a bummer,” or “That sounds really difficult.” Put your own style, language and genuineness into the empathy you give and it is bound to lead to a deeper connection in more ways than one.

7. Plan yearly a get away.

I am a firm believer every couple needs a get away at least once a year if possible. I know this can be difficult especially when children are in the mix, but it is so so good for your marriage.

This getaway can be just a night or two in town or in a town near by. It doesn’t have to be some extravagant vacation (or it could be if you want!) Time away from the world and your children can be extremely powerful and healing for your relationship. Make it a priority and who doesn’t like vacation?!?!

8. Cultivate community.

I recognize this can be tricky for some people, but community is powerful and necessary for enjoying your marriage and enjoying life. Having community provides a multitude of benefits to your life and to your marriage.

First of all it provides you with someone to talk to if you are struggling as well as someone to relate to. It also prevents isolation. When we are isolated it can lead to depression, anxiety, loneliness, hopelessness and helplessness regardless if it is in marriage or otherwise.

Whether its your gym, church, work friends, hobby groups find some couple friends and hang out. You will feel better and so will your relationship.

9. Slow down.

When we get into cycles of repeating conflicts we go from 0-10 at ultra speed.

For example if when a conflict between you and your partner occurs then one of you gets loud, then the other starts blaming, then the other withdraws into a different room and the other chases them. This is a cycle – regardless of what the conflict is about it is likely you and your partner repeat the same cycle of conflict over and over again in your relationship.

Slow down and ask yourself how you are really feeling because underneath all that anger or frustration is either hurt, sadness or shame. Take a break from the conflict and identify within yourself how you are feeling and what you need and approach resolution from a place of vulnerability and honesty.

As a couples counselor I have seen these 9 habits work over and over again to strengthen the marital relationship and prevent conflict and discouragement in relationship. To be effective these habits need to be practiced on a daily or weekly basis over and over again.

I want to encourage you to just pick ONE thing and try it with your spouse this week. My personal favorite is empathy because it brings so much connection!

I hope your relationship in 2019 is filled with growth, connection, fun and adventure.

Love,

Chelsea

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality, Individual, Couple, Group and Christian Counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado. 

February 02, 2019/ Chelsea Yamaguchi/ January 21, 2019 January 21, 2019/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

Happy New Year! 2019!

I really do love a new year.

Fresh start.

Big Goals.

Unlimited Potential.

New year’s resolutions are the rage this month so I want to take this opportunity to talk all about this ANTI-DIETING, INTUITIVE EATING, HEALTHY BODY IMAGE message because everywhere you look and everyone you talk to is raving about this or that diet.

TV & movie stars on diets. Gyms full to the max. Diet product infomercials. Diet books at the store. And weight-loss programs galore. You can’t avoid it.

All wanting your money as they promise you a skinny body in absolutely no time at all.

The deceptiveness and allurement of dieting and weight loss is mesmerizing and sucks us in because WE WANT CHANGE. Whether it be in our hearts or in our bodies – the human experience is to desire to be better than before.

There are so many ways to better yourself in 2019 besides going on a diet! If you want to work on your health you can do that without dieting. Stay tuned for the next post…

Here are 19 Reasons Not to Diet in 2019.

Diets don’t work. There is TONS of research out there showing diets don’t work. 95-98% of dieters regain the weight or gain even more weight after 5 years. Dieting is the new smoking. We all thought back in the day smoking was healthy, good and helpful but years later after people started getting lung cancer and dying early it was discovered smoking was the primary cause.

Diets make you think you are the failure when in reality it’s the diets that are the failure.

Diets aren’t good for your brain. Diets often encourage eliminating certain foods or changing multiple aspects of our eating at a time. This doesn’t work. Essentially our brain gets too overwhelmed if we cut out sugar, grain, dairy, processed foods, fast foods, add in a shake a day, add in intense workouts 3x/week and your BRAIN IS SPINNING with OVERWHELM which lead to EXHAUSTION and BURNOUT. If you want to make change commit to one HABIT at a TIME. We can’t do all the things all at the same time. I’m sure you tried that before and it probably ended in tears…at least it did for me.

Dieting could be the symptom of a deeper heart issue. Sometimes when life is overwhelming or stressful or out of control we want just ONE THING we can control and that ONE THING we often turn to is our bodies and food.

Dieting is not a good coping mechanism. For you dieting could be a long-standing coping mechanism you are using to deal with the stress and overwhelm of life. I want to encourage you to take some time and think about some different coping strategies to help you feel better (because I can almost guarantee to restrict certain foods or food groups is probably not).

Dieting affects your social relationships. If on a diet it is difficult to go out with friends or go out with your spouse because all you are thinking about is what food there is going to be to eat, or what you are going to order or if you are going to gain weight by eating this food off your plan etc.

Dieting affects your children (or the children in your life). When we diet we send the message to our daughters that our bodies are not good enough and need to be changed. When we diet we send the message to our sons that bodies are so important – so when someday they are looking for a partner remember their thinness is a priority. This may sound harsh, but everything we do our kids our watching. When I found out I was going to have a daughter I sent my own body and food journey healing into overdrive because the last thing I want to do is pass my dysfunction with body image and food onto my sweet daughter!

Dieting negatively impacts your body image. Dieting tells the image you have about yourself that you aren’t good enough and you need to change how you look. When this message plays in your head with every bite you take or every food choice you make it can feel discouraging, overwhelming and hopeless.

Dieting negatively affects your self-esteem. Diets make us feel like our bodies are the problem and therefore need to change when your body is seriously amazing and needs to be treated as such.

Dieting can cause eating disorders and other mental health issues.  Research shows chronic dieting can also lead to eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder as well as other mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

Dieting causes weight gain! I’ve said this before…95%-98% of dieters gain all the weight back or more in 1-5 years after a diet. If we think about the long term consequences of dieting it will likey prevent us from going on a diet in the first place.

Diets aren’t good for your overall health and wellbeing. When we can’t trust our bodies or like our bodies it seriously messes with our natural mind-body connection impacting you physically, emotionally, socially and mentally.

Diets don’t allow you to tune into your body. When we diet we allow something or someone else to tell us what and when to eat. This completely diminishes your inner voice that lets you know all about hunger, fullness, emotions, needs, wants, satiety and more!

Dieting encourages fatphobia and an “ideal body type.”   We do a great job in America promoting the thin ideal. 67% of women living in America are plus sized and yet they only represent 2% of the images we see in the media. This is crazy! Fill your Instagram feed with all sorts of diversity – you do have some control over the images you see!

Diets steal your money! The diet industry is a $60 BILLION a year industry. That is a heck of a lot of money that could be going to something that is actually beneficial to us.

Dieting consumes your mental and physical energy. Just think what you could be using your energy for instead of only focusing on your food.

Dieting encourages negative body image. Our bodies are amazing and when we are stuck in diet mentality we do not feel good about ourselves.

Dieting induces disappointment. The idea of starting a new diet produces an initial high as we have so much hope this diet could be “THE ONE” that makes us lose the weight forever! Then we are only disappointed when this one turned out the same or we end up feeling worse and even more confused than before.

Diets diminish your worth as a person. You are amazing just the way you are.

Diets steal our joy. Diets consume us in a way that is irritating and completely overwhelming.

If you are new to this whole idea of not dieting I want to encourage you to pick up a copy of the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. This book will provide you with a tremendous amount of encouragement in learning how to ditch diets, tune into your body and be your best self without the pursuit of weight loss.

I also have tons of great blogs that could get you started!

Leave comments below and let me know what you are doing instead of dieting in 2019!

If you are wanting help with intuitive eating, body image or discovering your own body satisfaction give us a call! Individual counseling or group counseling could be a great option for you to get the ball rolling in a positive direction. We would love to hear from you!

In body liberation,

Chelsea

Source: Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.

Chelsea specializes in helping people ditch dieting forever and heal their relationship with food and their body through intuitive eating and counseling.

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality individual, couples, group and Christian counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado

January 21, 2019/ Chelsea Yamaguchi/ November 17, 2018 November 17, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

If you have been a dieter for a long time the holidays might be a tricky time for you.

Here in America, our holiday season from Halloween through New Year’s largely revolves around FOOD.

Candy at Halloween. Big turkey meals and pie at Thanksgiving. Goodies and cookies galore at Christmas.

This is the time of year when the “forbidden foods become more tempting” and it can cause fear and anxiety for dieters and clean eaters alike.  Your holiday season does not have to be filled with anxiety around food and fear of weight gain.  The holidays are magical and I don’t want you to miss out on a moment because food anxiety got in the way.  Whether it’s parties, family traditions or cookie exchanges you can ditch the anxiety and be present so you can enjoy the holiday season as much as possible.

Here is a list of 10 tips to help you navigate the holidays without food anxiety.

1. Ditch the all or nothing mentality.

This is also known as BLACK OR WHITE THINKING and it usually does not serve us well especially around food.

The all or nothing mentality could several different ways when applied to food.

It could be telling yourself not to eat any sugary, fatty or forbidden foods at the party.  Or you aren’t going to eat anything for that matter and avoid the food all together even though that dessert looks sooo good.

Thoughts like this don’t make attending party very fun because you might be hyper-focused on food and miss out on friends, family, laughter and cultivating positive memories.

Remind yourself one night of eating “unhealthy foods” is not going to make you fat or gain weight.

Remind yourself these extremes are not serving you.

Remind yourself you are more than a body (see #10).

2. Practice intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating is an absolute lifesaver in times of fear and anxiety. 

If you are new to intuitive eating it is all about tuning into your bodies natural signals regarding hunger, fullness, what foods sound appetizing as well as general self-care.

Practice simple intuitive eating strategies while experiencing anxiety such as eating only what sounds or looks good, stopping if it doesn’t taste as good, stopping when you are full, not making any foods off limits in order to prevent a future binge, not shaming yourself about your body or comparing yourself to others.

For more about intuitive eating you can read more in these posts:

Intuitive Eating 101 Part 1

Intuitive Eating 101 Part 2

How Intuitive Eating Saved My Sanity

3. Say no to dieting. 

I talk a lot about not dieting on this blog because it is something from which I have experienced so much hurt and deceit.  If you are new here I want to direct you to a few other blogs where I talk all about this in depth.

Why I Stopped Dieting Forever

Why Diets Hurt Us

8 Signs You are Stuck in Diet Mentality

Dieting doesn’t work.  I know it is the cultural norm, but 95% or more of dieters gain back within a year.  Diets make us feel crazy around food.  Diets keep us hyper-focused on our bodies and sitting the shame of “not being good enough.” Dieting during or after the holidays sends a message to your body and mind that you are not good the way you are and you need to change.  These thoughts and feelings are going to fuel even more anxiety, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating.

Saying no to dieting, clean eating, detoxes or whatever especially during the holidays will move you closer to body acceptance.

4. Practice self-care.

I know the term self-care gets thrown around a lot these days, but it is for good reason.  Self-care is extremely important.  Health is not just about what you eat.  It also includes your mental health, emotional health, relational health, spiritual health, and physical health.

What are you doing to take care of yourself in the day to day?  What are you doing to be kind to your body? 

Eating regular meals.  Showering.  Keeping your living environment clean and stress-free.  Engaging in joyful movement.  Nurturing relationships – friendships and partnerships.  Taking time for yourself.  Enjoying hobbies.  These are all important and make a huge impact on how you feel about your body and food.

When you take better care you take of yourself it will have a direct impact on reducing the difficulty you might be experiencing around food and your body. 

5. Rest.

The holidays can be a really busy time of year.

When we are super busy and tired we don’t make the best self-care choices then this leaves us not feeling good in our bodies.  In order to rest well you may need to say no to a few of the extra parties and celebrations.  Saying no is not a bad thing. 

Make a list of the events or parties that are really important to you and your family.  If you have to say no to others give yourself permission to be okay.

When we are anxious, overwhelmed and irritable we are more likely to want to control our food and have body image issues.  Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night! Giving yourself the proper time to rest will allow you to have a clear mind and feel better in your body.

6. Tune into how foods actually taste.

This may seem a little silly, but I don’t know how many years I went through the holidays eating EVERYTHING even if it didn’t look or taste good because I knew in January I would probably be restricting.

Restricting food of any kind likely leads to binging.

If a certain food sounds or looks good try it.

If you try it and it doesn’t taste as good as you thought it would stop eating it.  I want to remind you that it’s okay to keep food on your plate.  It’s okay if you don’t eat everything.  You no longer need to live and die by your mother’s “clean plate” rules.  Be mindful and pay attention when you are eating.  I promise it will make a world of difference.

 7. Be present.

There are so many amazing aspects of the holidays to enjoy.  I want to encourage you to enjoy all of it!

Relationships.

Family.

Friends.

Food.

Giving.

Gratitude.

Decorating.

Traditions.

Lights.

Parties.

Food is only one aspect so open up and focus on all the wonderful people and events that are going on around you.

If you are feeling anxious or fearful about food at a party or family gathering its okay.

Give yourself permission to feel whatever emotion you are experiencing. 

Maybe ask yourself where it might be coming from.

Your feelings are not bad and you don’t need to push them down.

These feelings also won’t last long and will pass relatively quickly.

Nurture yourself in the way you need using self-care or just taking a few deep breaths and then choose to be present.

8. Divert conversation away from diet and body talk.

Talk about other things that matter to you or to the people you are with. Diet and body talk can be really triggering and shaming for some people. Like I said before there are so many other amazing aspects of the holidays and choose to focus on those instead of being triggered by diet and body talk.

If diet and body talk is brought up gently divert the conversation away by maybe talking about plans for Christmas or what you are most looking forward to during the season.

Find other more meaningful points of connection, you won’t regret it!

9. Enjoy your favorites.

Is there a particular dish, type of cookie or drink you just love during the holidays?

My personal favorites are stuffing and mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and peanut butter blossom cookies at Christmas.  I also love anything peppermint and sipping hot yummy beverages of any kind.

We all have favorite foods and food traditions around the holidays. I want to encourage you to enjoy those favorites. Don’t heap guilt and shame on yourself for eating something.

Just enjoy the cookie, pie, pastry, mashed potatoes or whatever it is and move on.

No guilt. No shame. No remorse.

10.  Remember you are more than a body.

Food issues often stem from body image issues.  We have an issue with our body and we turn to food to try and change or find control.

Remember you are more than a body.  Remember food and body issues aren’t actually about food and your body.  Your value and worthiness do not come from what you look like and what you eat.  Begin to explore and find your identity in other aspects of yourself.  Write down what you value and when feeling stuck move towards those things.

What other techniques are you going to try when faced with food and body anxiety this holiday season?  I would love to hear from you!!

I hope your holiday season is filled with joy, gratitude, and laughter.

In Body Joy,

Chelsea

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality individual, couples, group and Christian counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado

November 17, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi/ November 09, 2018 November 09, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

I am so excited to announce Encounter Counseling Center’s BRAND NEW Intuitive Eating Support Group!!

This 10-week psycho-educational and therapeutic support group beginning in January 2019!

Who is this group for?

This group is for anyone who wants to have a different relationship with food and their body.

Maybe you have tried every diet/weight-loss plan/clean eating challenge/detoxes on the planet and still struggle with your weight. You constantly feel like you need to be smaller or thinner and feel desperate to try anything to make that happen, but in the end it is making you feel crazy around food and crazy in your body.

This group is for anyone who is looking to emotionally and mentally improve their relationship with food, eating habits, body image and overall health.

This group can help you with all sorts of struggles including:

  • emotional eating
  • over eating
  • binge eating
  • disordered eating
  • self care
  • overwhelm with food
  • negative food habits
  • learning to tune into your body’s signals
  • learning to trust your body
  • ditching dieting forever
  • figuring out gentle nutrition
  • finding joyful movement
  • self confidence
  • body image
  • postpartum body changes
  • menopause body changes
  • finding freedom and peace with food
  • and MORE!

What is intuitive eating?

Intuitive eating comes from the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.

Intuitive eating brings understanding and freedom to your relationship with food and your body. It is based on 10 principles that are all about tuning into your body, making peace with food, emotions, gentle nutrition, gentle exercise and so much more.

Intuitive eating is all about DITCHING DIETING as a way of life and find LASTING FREEDOM in your relationship with food, your body and eating habits.

Check out these two blog posts to learn more about Intuitive Eating:

Intuitive Eating 101 Part 1

Intuitive Eating 101 Part 2

What is the format of the group?

This group will be part psycho-educational as you learn to implement and practice the principles of intuitive eating as well as part therapeutic as there will be group support and processing around personal eating, food and body issues.

We will use the book Intuitive Eating and the Intuitive Eating Workbook as our guide.

Each week we will discuss one intuitive eating principle and how that principle applies to your life and the potential struggles you have around that implementing that particular principle. There are 10 principles so we will do 10 weeks of group. There will be homework every week in the workbook as well as reading from the book. You will have the opportunity to practice each principle during the week and incorporate them into your daily life. The principles are basic, but can feel difficult to implement after potentially years of disordered eating and dieting. Some of the principles include: feeling your hunger and fullness, challenging the food police, accepting your body and more!

Each session will be an hour and a half long and there are two available times:

Mondays: January 7, 2019 – March 11, 2019 @ 10:00 – 11:30 am

OR

Wednesdays: January 9, 2019 – March 13, 2019 5:00 – 6:30 pm

Why are you doing this group?

I personally think intuitive eating is revolutionary. It is counter cultural to not be on a diet or pursuing weight loss and intuitive eating teaches you how to heal your relationship with food and your body from years of chronic dieting or food restriction.

Intuitive eating allows you to find FREEDOM.

You are more than a body.

You are more than your weight.

You are more than how you look.

Our culture unfortunately does a great job of telling us we are not enough when it comes to our outward appearance.

Intuitive eating ultimately allows you to do more with your life than pursuing weight loss, good looks and a positive outward appearance. Our thoughts about food and our bodies get in the way of us doing really spectacular things in life.

If you are interested in the group or have any questions. fill out the form below and we will get back to you in 1-2 business days.

(Selections for the group will be made by December 21, 2018)

We would love to hear from you! Please reach out if you have questions on the group or if you are curious if this group would be a good fit for you.

In health,

Chelsea

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality individual, couples, group and Christian counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado

November 09, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi/ November 02, 2018 November 02, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

Encounter Counseling Center is excited to now offer EMDR therapy!

What is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Don’t let this big name scare you I will explain all you need to know about this awesome therapy modality.

EMDR is a type of therapy that is primarily used for treating trauma.

Trauma could be anything from major traumatic events to resolving smaller annoyances like negative beliefs about one’s self.

EMDR is much different from talk therapy in many ways.

First of all EMDR moves at a much quicker and time effective pace because it directly addresses the disturbing or traumatic memories and connects it to a more positive belief about yourself.

The way EMDR works is it imitates our REM sleep which is where our brains naturally process daily events. Sometimes when we experience difficult events they don’t get fully processed and get stuck in the back of our brain or the “fight or flight” area. We know they are stuck when we get reminded of a difficult event and we can still feel the disturbing feelings and sensations associated with that memory.

EMDR helps get those memories unstuck through bilateral stimulation or facilitating communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. When this occurs our brain can access the front of our brain where the logic is stored and apply it to the traumatic memory so it is no longer disturbing.

I know that’s a lot of brain talk, but I want to highlight one of the coolest aspects of EMDR. If you have experienced difficult things you have the ability within to reprocess those memories so they can stop affecting your everyday life. All you need is the facilitation of the EMDR therapist to move those memories into a state of being fully processed.

EMDR can be used as a tool within traditional talk therapy to provide a well-rounded and time effective counseling experience.

What if I haven’t experienced any major trauma?

I whole heartedly believe a session of EMDR could be helpful for anyone. When I first learned about trauma therapy I though it was only referring to abuse and neglect type issues. But the fact of the matter is we live in a difficult world and have all experienced trauma to some degree some common examples of different traumas include:

  • Medical Trauma
  • Car accident or any other type of accident
  • Birth
  • Loss of a job or home
  • Moving
  • Miscarriage
  • Divorce
  • Loss of a loved one
  • And so much more!

What else can EMDR help with?

Studies show EMDR is an effective form of treatment for not only trauma, but a variety of mental health difficulties including:

  • Depression
  • Postpartum depression
  • Anxiety
  • PTSD
  • Grief
  • Body image & food issues
  • Phobias
  • Addictions
  • Performance Anxiety
  • Panic Attacks
  • Relationship Problems
  • Difficulty trusting others
  • Fear of being alone
  • Lack of motivation
  • Memories of traumatic experiences
  • Low self-esteem
  • Illness
  • Anger
  • Worry
  • Unrealistic feelings of guilt and shame

From Negative to Positive Beliefs

One of the best things about EMDR is it can re-wiring your brain. The negative beliefs we have about ourselves are based on clusters of memories that can be re-wired into something positive. This is a really big deal because the beliefs we have about ourselves directly correlate to how we feel about ourselves and our overall mental health. These beliefs also play a big part in determining our actions and outcomes in life.

Here are some common negative beliefs that can turn into positive beliefs with EMDR:

  • I don’t deserve love
  • I’m not good enough
  • I’m weak
  • I’m a failure
  • It’s not okay to feel or show my emotions
  • I did something wrong.
  • I’m a disappointment
  • I’m weak
  • I cannot get what I want

EMDR can bring so much freedom without going through months or years of therapy. This is a very different from the traditional talk therapy paradigm I am accustomed to using and I am so excited about it.

I have experienced myself the transformation and healing EMDR can do and I think it could be a great tool for anyone out there looking to heal or find freedom in any area of life.

If you have questions about how EMDR could help you give us a call anytime. We would love to partner with you and figure out how you can find healing, hope and freedom.

In growth,

Chelsea

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality individual, couples, group and Christian counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado

October 26, 2018 October 26, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

Eating Disorder vs. Disordered Eating…

Eating disorders and disordered eating are similar issues but also very different.  I want to spend some time today talking about the two, especially the symptoms and healing from disordered eating.

Eating Disorders

There are four different types of eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating disorder and eating disorder not otherwise specified. Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder and was just recently recognized and added to the DSM-V. If you are wanting to learn more about binge eating disorder and how to find freedom check on this recent post.

We often see these disorders show up in movies, TV shows or on the covers of celebrity magazines.

Eating disorders affect between 1-3% of the population or around 30 million people every year and they need to be taken extremely seriously.  Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any other mental illness.  If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder I wanted to encourage you to get help today!

A great place to start is by calling the National Eating Disorders helpline at 800-931-2237.

Disordered Eating

Today I want to talk about the symptoms, daily effects, and healing from DISORDERED EATING.  

Disordered eating is defined by irregular eating behaviors that greatly impact an individual’s overall quality of life.   

Disordered eating is different from an eating disorder because it is much less severe and not a diagnosable mental illness.

50-75% of the population struggles with disordered eating to some degree and that is an alarming rate!  Disordered eating comes from diets and the cultural expectation to be thin.  This cultural expectation produces a variety of symptoms keeping people preoccupied and overwhelmed with food choices and body image.

The symptoms of disordered eating include:

  • Frequent dieting
  • Anxiety associated with specific foods
  • Chronic weight fluctuations
  • Rigid rituals and routines surrounding food and exercise
  • Feelings of guilt and shame associated with eating
  • Preoccupation with food, weight and body image that negatively impacts the quality of life
  • A feeling of loss of control around food
  • Using exercise, food restriction, fasting or purging to “make up for bad foods” consumed
  • Obsessively counting calories, carbs or points

Maybe you can identify with some of these symptoms.  I have struggled with several of these symptoms myself and remember being at my worst feeling so hopeless about trying to lose weight while feeling crazy around food.

I want to offer you encouragement and hope that you can find freedom around food and with your body and step out of disordered eating as a way of life. 

Disordered eating affects many areas of daily life including:

  • Concentration.  Sometimes thoughts around food and body can be so consuming and prevent productivity.
  • Social life.  Eating patterns can negatively impact your social life if you are constantly preoccupied with food or your body while in social situations.
  • Coping Skills.  Sometimes eating food is the best coping skill you have available to bring relief from a stressful situation.
  • Discomfort & Anxiety.  Disordered eating might cause you to be all sorts of uncomfortable and anxious in your life.

Disordered eating can be all-consuming and extremely overwhelming.  To have anxiety, rituals, preoccupation, guilt, loss of control and restriction can make eating feel like a full-time job.

Healing from Disordered Eating

As a first step towards healing, I want to encourage you to think about why food, weight and body image are a struggle for you?  When did these struggles begin?

Food and body struggle often arise because we are struggling with other areas of our lives.  Food is something in life we feel like we can control so if we can just control our food and our bodies then sometimes we think everything else will get better.  But unfortunately, it does not work this way.  What’s going on in your life that is causing stress and potentially being covered up with the control of food?

Here are a few tips to help you escape the disordered eating trap.

Practice Intuitive Eating.  Intuitive eating relies on your body’s signals and preferences to tell you when, what, and how much to eat.  You know yourself the best and your body was created with the ability to give you all the cues necessary to sustain itself.

Ditch Dieting.  Diets are typically restrictive in terms of quantity of food and a variety of foods.  Stay away from diets of any kind including Paleo, Keto, Whole 30 etc.  All diets cause mental and emotional overwhelm, deprivation eventually leading to binge eating behaviors.   It is important not to restrict foods or cut out food groups as this is diet like behavior and will only lead down a path of disordered eating.

Here are a few helpful posts to check out about dieting and intuitive eating:

Why Diets Hurt Us

8 Signs You Are Stuck In Diet Mentality

Intuitive Eating 101 [Part 1]

Intuitive Eating 101 [Part 2]

Exercise for fun not for weight loss. Find a form of movement that you enjoy so it can be sustainable for life.  Working out for the motivation to lose weight is a difficult habit and mindset to maintain.

Stop negative body talk.  The mindset you have about your body has huge effects on your overall sense of wellbeing and embodiment (or what it feels like to be in your body).

Read intuitive eating & body love books and listen to podcasts.  This is a phenomenal way to escape the shame and loneliness of disordered eating.  Read.  Listen. Learn a different way of eating and being in your body.  Knowledge is so powerful. As a result,  these resources promote immediate change.

Check out this post for The *BEST* Intuitive Eating & Body Love Resources.

Throw away your scale. Weighing yourself every day or every week is only bringing harm to your self-esteem.  Your value is not based on the numbers on the scale.

Get counseling.  Disordered eating, unfortunately, shows us it is extremely common for people to struggle with body image and food issues.  These issues do not have to run your life and you can find freedom.  As a therapist it might seem obvious I would recommend counseling, but this could an extremely fruitful and beneficial step.

If you are looking for a first step consider our brand new Intuitive Eating Support Group beginning in January 2019! It is a 10 week psycho-educational and therapeutic support group to provide you with brand new tools, ideas and an entirely different way to approach food and your body.

Disordered eating is an overwhelming and pervasive problem, consequently, our culture does not do a great job promoting a different path.

Body positivity, intuitive eating, health at every size and body acceptance can be a reality for you!

Having a positive relationship with food begins in your mind not with what you put in your mouth.  Take an assessment of your own eating habits this week and take ONE step in the direction of healing, neutrality with food and eating intuitively.

In Freedom,

Chelsea

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/contemporary-psychoanalysis-in-action/201402/disordered-eating-or-eating-disorder-what-s-the

https://www.eatright.org/health/diseases-and-conditions/eating-disorders/what-is-disordered-eating

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality individual, couples, group and Christian counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado

October 19, 2018 October 19, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

We live in a DIET CULTURE.

Our culture is obsessed with diets and the pursuit of thinness.

The diet industry is a $66 billion industry and with over 95% of every diet “failing” we as a culture continue to dump our money into diets and consider ourselves the problem. 

What is the definition of a diet?

A diet is a prescribed way of eating that tells you WHAT to eat, WHEN to eat and HOW MUCH to eat.

There are so many popular diets and diet programs out there today a few of them include like Weight Watchers, Keto, Paleo, Whole 30, Nutrisystem, Atkins, 21-Day Fix, Trim Healthy Mama, Detoxes, Clean Eating Challenges, Juice Fasts etc.

Check out this post explaining the physical, mental and biological reasons Why Diets Hurt Us.

After so many years of dieting it is likely you have many preconceived ideas about “good” and “bad” foods as well as rules about what to eat and what not to eat.  I think this happens to all of us if you have been on 1 diet or 20.

You may not be “on a particular diet” but the thoughts and behaviors of dieting remain.  This is called PSEUDO-DIETING.*

You are trying to pursue health and weight loss in the “best” way possible using all the different tools and pieces of knowledge you have learned from different diets over the years but it is probably just making you feel confused and overwhelmed.

What is diet mentality and why is it important?

Diet mentality makes diets the answer to all issues with our body and relationship with food.

It keeps us stuck thinking like we are on a diet when in fact we aren’t.

It is a critic providing rules regarding the food we consume eliminating our freedom and peace around and with food.

Real Life Example of Diet Mentality 

I have this distinct memory from a few years ago when I was stuck in the throes of the dieting and I was trying to make a meal plan for the week.  I couldn’t figure out what to make so I went to the grocery store anyway and just wondered around because I had NO IDEA WHAT TO EAT.

My mind was swimming with questions like “What is considered healthy?  How much of this food do I want in my diet? I’m trying to eat less sugar so I can’t buy that.  I heard from this one diet carbs are causing me to retain weight so why don’t I try and eat fewer carbs this week……”

Letting go of the of the hope and promises diets offer is EXTREMELY difficult.  Diets are preached like a religion in our culture and if you aren’t on a diet or “watching what you eat” then we are perceived as “letting yourself go.”  More on this later…

The following provides a list of 8 signs you might be stuck in the diet mentality.

1. You don’t allow yourself to eat certain foods.

When certain foods are off limit it can make it really difficult to feel normal and not crazy around food.

2. You have eliminated entire food groups from your diet for non-allergy related reasons.

Dairy and gluten are big ones recently that we have decided to eliminate in our culture.  This causes a tremendous amount of issues at holidays and social occasions especially.

3. You count calories, macros or carbs.

If you are counting anything it is considered a diet.  Intuitive eating teaches eaters to tune into their body’s signals to tell them what to eat.

4. You are not on a particular diet you are just cutting back and/or eliminating carbs/sugar/dairy/gluten etc.

If anything is eliminated from your ability to consume anytime you want this is classified as restriction and it could lead to binging.

5. You are constantly looking for new eating plans on the internet or reading diet books.

Diets are thrilling.  The give dieters this little high of, “This could be the one where I lose the weight.”

Diets provide false hope, a false sense of control over our bodies and major disappointments.

6.  You talk to your friends or family members regularly about your different dieting attempts.

Dieting is so common in our culture we talk regularly with friends and family about new diet attempts.  We essentially bond over trying to make our bodies smaller, because for we feel like we are not adequate the way we are.

7. You don’t eat during certain times of the day.

Maybe you have created rules for yourself regarding what time of the day you eat.  Or follow the common diet rule to not eat after a certain time at night.  Diets often teach these types of rules.

Intuitive eating rescues us from the diet rules of when to eat because we instead rely on our hunger and fullness ques to tell us when and how much to eat.

8. You feel like you HAVE to exercise so many days or hours per week especially if you ate something “you shouldn’t have.”

Extreme diets and extreme exercise plans often go hand in hand with each other.  We often feel like we have to punish ourselves if we step out of line and ate that piece of cake or whatever it was.

One of the principles of intuitive eating talks about gentle movement, which means moving your body in ways that feel good and intuitive to you on a regular basis.

I have recently realized in my own life when exercised is approached with the purpose of losing weight it is not very fun.  During my dieting years, I started countless exercise plans with the intent to lose weight and quite honestly didn’t enjoy the exercise enough that I wanted to keep doing it.

With letting weight loss go my mindset about exercise has completely changed and I now exercise because I enjoy it and I want to feel strong in my body.

If you are tired of dieting or pseudo dieting I want to encourage you to check out these posts on intuitive eating.

Intuitive Eating 101 [Part 1]

Intuitive Eating 101 [Part 2]

What keeps you stuck in diet mentality?

Take some time to think about how different diets have affected your overall relationship with food.

What would it be like for you to find freedom and happiness with food and your body for good?

In the Pursuit of Body Love,

Chelsea

*Source:

Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality individual, couples, group and Christian counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado

October 19, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi/ October 18, 2018 October 18, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi

Welcome back!

Today we are finishing up our Intuitive Eating 101 series and talking about the last FIVE principles of intuitive eating.  If you want to catch up and read all about the first FIVE principles you can find that HERE.  All of these principles come from the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.

If you have never read this book but are struggling in any way with chronic dieting, body hatred or food issues go get this book TODAY! You won’t regret it!

If you have never heard of Intuitive Eating before let me give you the 2-second summary…

Intuitive eating is all about learning to attune to your body’s physical needs around food instead of turning to a diet to tell you when to eat, what to eat and how much to eat. 

I learned about intuitive eating a year after I had my first child when I was in the throes of trying to “get my body back after baby” and feeling hopeless after attempting 5 different diets multiple times.  I have been working towards becoming an intuitive eater for about 2 years and I have learned so much, but continue to struggle with internalizing all intuitive eating has to offer.

Read on to learn more about intuitive eating principles 6-10 and some practical ways to begin implementing them today.

6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor.

This principle looks at tuning into your mind, body, and senses and asking yourself, “What sounds good to me?” “Do you want something hot, cold, hearty, light, soft, chewy, salty or sweet to eat?”

When we eat what sounds good to us at the moment, research shows we enjoy the food so much more.  If you want pizza and eat a salad instead, it’s likely you won’t be satisfied and will be running to the kitchen later to eat what you are truly craving.  Research also shows that as we eat something satisfaction is extremely high the first few bites then goes down as you continue to eat.  When was the last time you ENJOYED the food you were eating?

Take a few weeks to make a list of foods you love eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert.

During my dieting escapades, I found myself vegan for 2 1/2 years.  Looking back, it was an attempt to control my weight but over the course of time, I grew to LOVE  fresh foods and bold flavor.  Cooking vegan taught me different techniques that brought new flavors, foods, and freshness in my life.  I still cook vegan dishes on occasion and really enjoy them!

Another example of discovering the satisfaction is being mindful of how something tastes.  I have said this before but I love sweets and throughout my dieting years I spent a lot of time restricting sweets, so when I started intuitive eating I began eating them again only to realize some do not taste good at all.  If something isn’t satisfying (even though you think it should be), you don’t have to keep eating it.  This was HUGE for me because dieting (restricting) would lead me to eat a lot sometimes (binging) and I can remember when I was eating lemon cake (one of my favorite desserts) and the first few bites were amazing, but then that was all I needed and I slid the plate away.  As a dieter, I would have eaten all the cake and never left any then probably felt really full and miserable.

Simply practice being more mindful of how your food tastes and what sounds good to you.

7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food.  

Food is emotional.  We eat to celebrate and eat to morn.  This is not a bad thing.  This principle encourages eaters to be aware of their emotions and HONOR them.

I specialize in helping people with their emotions in my private counseling practice as an emotion-focused therapist.

Emotions are messages that tell you important things.  Emotions are also fleeting.  The come and go – usually in a matter of minutes.  Honor your emotions by taking care of them instead of only turning to food when stressed, overwhelmed, bored, angry or shameful.

Begin to just gently be aware of patterns where you might tend to turn to food.  What is going on emotionally for you?  What other strategies could you try out to soothe those emotions?

In another intuitive eating post, I talked about how as I began to practice intuitive eating I noticed I would often turn to food to comfort and soothe me when my first born wouldn’t sleep.  Emotionally I was super overwhelmed, stressed, anxious and tired and the only thing I had known throughout my life when feeling SO. MANY. EMOTIONS. was to turn to food.  

I want to say it again.  It’s okay if food has been and continues to be your coping mechanism.  There is no judgment or shame here!  I simply want you to try and be aware of what emotions you are feeling and brainstorm other possible avenues to help yourself feel better because it is like the food is numbing your emotions and making you feel better temporarily but doing some proper self-care might actually help even more.

Go on a walk.  Talk with a friend on the phone.  Read a book.  Simply try something new.

8. Accept Your Body.  

This principle has been the most difficult one for me as my body has gone through tremendous changes in the last few years with two pregnancies. 

Science reveals more and more that the shape of your body is largely based on genetics.  If you have been a dieter for years you have probably noticed the limitations of your body, and that most of us don’t fit into the thin ideal.  One of the best and easist steps you can take to begin healing your mind and accepting your body is get those airbrushed women and men off your social media feed and begin to follow those who celebrate body diversity.

I unfollowed all diet health and wellness professionals and products from my Facebook and Instagram feed and deleted the diet Pinterest boards I had created.

Then I began to fill my feed with amazing people in the body positive community like

  • Tess Holliday – Plus Size Model
  • Ashley Graham – Plus Size Model,
  • Chrissy Metz – Plus Size Actress (This Is Us!!)
  • Sonya Renee Taylor – body positive advocate
  • Jessamyn Standly – plus size yoga teacher & author of Every Body Yoga
  • Taryn Brumfitt – From The Body Image Movement and the Documentary Embrace (Go watch this documentary if you have never seen it!  It’s on Netflix),
  • Jes Baker – Body Positive Author and Blogger
  • Virgie Tovar – Fatphobia Advocate
  • 4th Trimester Bodies – a Project photographing real women’s postpartum bodies
  • Eff Your Beauty Standards – Promoting Body Positivity at all sizes.

Let’s stop beating ourselves up for not fitting the thin ideal and begin to step into gratitude about what our bodies are capable of.

9. Exercise: Feel the Difference!

This principle is all about cultivating joyful movement in your life. 

How many times have you started an exercise routine because it was a part of a diet?  How long did that routine last?

I have not loved exercise most of my life because it has always been connected to some sort of diet and attempt to be smaller.  I have a LONG history of joining gyms and feeling SO excited for a month or two only to realize I hate it and never want to go.

I also have found my relationship with exercise has greatly been impacted by how I view myself and the beliefs I carry.  I am not very competitive or athletic and wasn’t very involved in sports as a kid.  My family is also not very athletic so movement was not a huge value growing up.  This is a ton of mental barriers to get past when it comes to exercise.

Recently I went soul searching and realized I hated going to my current gym.  I would attend the exercise classes and there were SO. MANY. PEOPLE and MIRRORS all over every single wall.  I’m sorry, but I don’t want to watch myself contort into crazy positions or see my facial expressions when I am lifting weights.  NO THANK YOU.  I would walk in and out of class without talking to anyone.  No one talked to me.  I. HATED. IT.  If you are reading this and you a member of a big gym and love it, that’s awesome! Good for you!  I just began to realize this was not the place for my intimidated soul.

So I decided to go WAY outside my comfort zone and I went to a CrossFit class.  Long story short, I loved it.  No mirrors. No crowds of people.  No odd workout machines that I have no idea what to do with.  No running on the treadmill FOREVER to burn a certain number of calories.

It felt like a group personal training session and they told me exactly what to do and how to do it.  If I couldn’t do it they gave me a modification and there was NO JUDGEMENT just encouragement.  The workouts are different every time, so I never get bored and I am always learning something new.  Crossfit might not be for you, but I want to encourage you to find a form of movement you enjoy.

When was the last time you engaged in some sort of movement and thought to yourself “Wow this is really fun!”  Maybe you are in a place where you have a regimented exercise routine and you need to take a break for a while to rest and improve your relationship with exercise and with yourself.

Move your body because it feels good not to lose weight or because you feel like you have to!

10. Honor Your Health.

This LAST principle incorporates gentle nutrition into your life.  The reason it is not first is that you likely already know WAY too much about nutrition from all the diets you have tried.

Rejecting the diet mentality is also first for a reason. 

Your brain needs to be retrained to understand diets do not work!  Nutrition is important, but essentially if you are an intuitive eater you will intuitively incorporate gentle nutrition without really even thinking about it.  It is important to remember that you do not need to eat PERFECTLY to be healthy.  I recently heard looking at nutrition balance on a weekly basis instead of daily is super helpful and taking the pressure off eating “perfectly” every day.  Eat the food you love.  Some will be healthier than others and that’s OKAY.

I really love this podcast (#24) by The Body Love Society because it talks all about this principle and why it cannot be the focus of intuitive eating because it gentle nutrition will come naturally with intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating is a process that takes time.  I heard a few months ago from somewhere (I’m not sure where) that it takes about a YEAR to fully comprehend and put intuitive eating into practice.  That is a long time my friends – especially when you are accustomed to diets providing you results in a week or two.

The journey is worth it – I have more freedom around food than I have ever had before and it is amazing!

Intuitive eating is about rearranging and healing your heart.  You are perfect the way you are.  Your weight doesn’t define you. It’s not about the food it is about something deeper.  Search your soul to begin trying to figure out what your food and body obsession is really all about.

What principle is the hardest one for you to understand or internalize?  Where are you at when it comes to becoming an intuitive eater and ditching diets forever?  Leave a comment below I would love to hear from you!

Hugs,

Chelsea

*Source Intuitive Eating 3rd Edition by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch 2012

Encounter Counseling Center offers quality individual, couples, group and Christian counseling services in Grand Junction, Colorado

October 18, 2018/ Chelsea Yamaguchi/