Non-Diet Companion™

In this fantastic episode, I spoke with my friend Dr. Shelly Johnson about an incredibly interesting topic: the philosophy of play. Shelly Johnson is a philosophy professor at Georgetown College. She teaches and researches on ethics, philosophy of education, environmental ethics, and philosophy of play. She is the author of the blog  Love is Stronger  and the books  Argument Builder, Discovery of...

In this episode, I share some thoughts about the common issue of self-deprecating humor among men when it comes to body image in light of some recent comments related to "dad bods" and some elite-level athletes. We often laugh them off but I believe they can have far-reaching effects that we may not realize. To talk more about this topic, check out the Non-Diet Companion app where you ca...

In this episode, I spoke with strength coach and host of the Badass Lifter Podcast, Mark Breedon about taking a weight-neutral approach to strength training. What does it look like? How does it differ from an approach that focuses on changes in body shape, size, and appearance? Why might it be the right choice for your own goals? Mark shares some wonderful insight in this episode that I'm sure...

In this episode, I share some exciting news about why I'm rebranding and changing the name of the podcast as well as share some of the cool features of my all new Non-Diet Companion app! Interested in checking out the new app? Just search for "Non-Diet Companion" on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or visit https://nondietcompanion.com for more information.

Intuitive Eating is about listening to your body and eating in a way that provides nourishment, feels good, and brings you enjoyment. The focus is not on changing the size or appearance of your body. In fact, the first principle “reject the diet mentality” places a strong emphasis on putting weight loss and size and shape goals at least on the back burner if not tossing them out permanently. This...

In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with my friend and fellow nutritionist, Rebecca Heald about her transition from focusing specifically on helping people resolve issues around their relationship with food to her work now coaching business leaders. She is championing and implementing fearless workplace well-being, one bold step at a time. We spoke about how this was a natural transitio...

“The first step is admitting you have a problem.” Someone asked a great question about getting a spouse or other loved one to help support you on your non-diet journey when that person not only views health through a weight-centric lens but their particular views and behaviors also point to potential mental health issues. I have a few quick thoughts on this that I’d like to share in this episode s...

In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Beth Basham who is a registered dietitian with over 20 years of experience helping others break free of guilt and shame around food so that they can fully enjoy their life. She helps people seamlessly integrate and embody the concepts of intuitive eating, brain science, emotional mastery, and gentle nutrition. Beth shared a bit of her immense ins...

In this episode, I had a wonderful conversation with Libby Supan about the connection between our mental health and our eating habits. In particular, we spend some time talking about the impact of anxiety and depression on our relationship with food as well as the impact of our relationship with food on symptomatic anxiety and depression. Libby is a licensed therapist and certified intuitive eatin...

In this episode, we're talking about our role in supporting a healthy relationship with food and body in our children and to do that, I brought on Oona Hanson, a true expert in this area. Oona Hanson helps parents and guardians raise kids who have a healthy relationship with food and their body. In addition to her private practice as a parent coach, Oona also works as a Family Mentor at Equip,...

Cannabis or marijuana use is nothing new in our country but more and more states have begun legalizing its sale and use not just for medicinal purposes, but also, for recreational use. As a result, it’s much more common for people to be more open about the fact that they are regular users of cannabis. In this episode, I have a great and informative conversation with a registered dietitian Leah Ker...

An extremely common question that comes up in my work with men and young people (women too, for that matter) relates to “bulking up” or increasing muscle mass. The fancy scientific term is muscle hypertrophy. Maybe you have decided that you want or need to bulk up or have an adolescent child who has expressed an interest in this goal. If you/they search for recommendations on Google, you’ll inevit...

Just about every conversation involving health discussions these days seems to revolve around, or at least eventually touch on the topic of “processed” food. I’m trying to cut out processed food. I’m trying to eat less processed food. I’m trying to eat more “real” food. You should cut out … and on and on. But, I would submit to you that not only is processed food not inherently “bad” but in many c...

In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Vanessa Preston about trauma and its impact on various aspects of our lives including our relationship with food. Vanessa is a Mental Health Social Worker, Psychotherapist, and Nutritionist in Australia (originally from Kentucky). She has provided assessment and therapy services for 14 years and specializes in treating posttraumatic stress disord...

It’s so easy to fall into a way of thinking where we see only one way to work through a challenging situation. This is especially true in diet culture. The carnivore diet says to eat nothing but animal-based products. Many macro and calorie counters (especially many influencers we see on SM) think tracking is the best way to address your food-related problems … stick to your calorie target … easy,...

While scrolling IG, I saw an ad I’d never seen before. It was two people wearing full-body suits that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie and the tagline on the image said, “Precise measurements for real results!” I have to say that I would have LOVED this 10 years ago to compliment MyFitness Pal (for tracking macros), Happy Scale (for tracking DAILY body weight measurements), my training...

The first principle of IE is to reject the diet mentality. But, what does this actually mean? Also, what are some practical ways that we can make a shift in our way of thinking about health and wellness where we move away from a focus on body size and shape to one that considers the whole person and all of the various facets of health? In this episode, I discuss 3 shifts away from diet culture. ==...

In this episode, I had a fantastic conversation with registered dietitian and child-feeding expert, Karleigh Jurek. Karleigh shares some excellent insight into helping our kids strengthen and develop their intuitive eating instincts. Avoiding guilt and shame around food A simple model that lays out the role of the parent and the role of the child in the feeding relationship Desserts and other swee...

I recently made a comment on someone's IG post where I said, “If you feel like your intuition would tell you to eat cookies all day, IE is exactly what you need because it will help you train and strengthen your intuition in the context of feeding yourself.” Train and strengthen your intuition? I thought intuition was more about following your gut, cravings, wants, and needs? How can you TRAIN...

This special episode is the audio from my Intuitive Eating: Help Without Harming Webinar. This webinar is designed for spouses, partners, friends, and family of someone who is on an Intuitive Eating or other weight-neutral approach to health. Since Intuitive Eating is a completely different approach to health than what we typically see and hear about from our friends, social media, celebrities, an...

On Valentine’s Day, I had my gallbladder removed due to “tons of gallstones” as one Dr. described it. As a result, I’ve had to modify my eating to a degree to avoid certain GI issues. This might sound a bit strange, but, rather than become frustrated or bummed about how this might affect my food choices and eating habits going forward, I’ve fully embraced it. I’m enjoying the process of learning h...

So, you’re new to IE and have decided to put the work into ditching dieting, putting weight loss on the back burner, focusing on reconnecting with your body’s hunger and fullness cues, eating for satisfaction, working on unconditional permission to eat, and, in essence, focus more on how and why you eat rather than the nuances of what you eat. Awesome! BUT … that can sometimes feel a bit abstract...

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day of romance and connecting with that special someone in your life. But, this year, for me, I had a date, not with my beautiful wife … but … instead … with a surgeon for an emergency procedure. This episode is the story of the death and burial of my gallbladder. It served me well for 51 years but, alas, as they say, all good things must come to an end. And so,...

Did you know that weight cycling, also known as yo-yo dieting, is not just an annoying experience for those who’ve tried to lose weight through diet and exercise? It’s actually associated with detrimental effects on our physical and mental health! In this episode, I provide a brief overview of what the research says about these detrimental effects and how Intuitive Eating may be an option to help...

In this episode, I share one of the resources from my brand new course, Equipped to Thrive. This resource will help you learn to better connect with your hunger and fullness cues. To learn more about honoring your hunger, feeling your fullness, and the other Intuitive Eating principles, make sure to check out my course when it's available in the first part of February 2023. For more information ch...