Vickery Wellness

Dietitian Nutritionist | Athens GA

Health at Every Size

5 Ways to start accepting your body now

5 ways to start accepting your here and now body, Vickery Wellness, Dietitian Nutritionist Athens GA

Today I am sharing 5 ways to start accepting your here and now body.

First, I think that it is important to start by asking yourself: how do you feel in your body right now?

Do you feel that your body or any parts of your body are strong? What parts of your body feel weak to you?

Are there parts of your body that you feel proud of? Are there parts of your body that you hide or feel ashamed of?

Now that we have a baseline for how you are feeling in your body, I want to help you get started on the path to accepting your here and now body. Not when you are X pounds lighter or X clothing size. Right. Now.

Check out the quick 3 minute video on 5 ways to start accepting your here and now body to get you started!

Now that we have done a quick review over my 5 ways to start accepting your here and now body, let’s dive a little deeper into each one:

5 WAYS TO START ACCEPTING YOUR BODY NOW
5 ways to start accepting your here and now body, Follow diverse social media accounts with various body shapes and sizes, Vickery Wellness, Dietitian Nutritionist Athens GA

1) Diversify your feed:

If you are on social media, be sure to follow accounts that show a diverse range of body sizes! Seeing bodies that look like your own will help you on your journey to body respect/acceptance. If we continue to only follow body types that we *wish* we looked like, then we will only perpetuate a cycle in our minds that we should be ashamed of our bodies. By ensuring that we are exposing our minds to all different kinds of body shapes and sizes, then we are helping to reinforce the truth, which is that all bodies are good bodies!

Not sure where to get started? Here are some ideas to help you as you start to find more diverse social media accounts to help you on your journey to body acceptance/body positivity.

Check out these hashtags on Instagram:

#bodyacceptance

#bodypositive

#bodyneutrality

#bodyimage

Then, under those hashtags, see if any of the posts from body positive accounts speak to you. Be careful not to fall into the trap of clicking on any accounts that are perpetuating diet culture or ‘before and after’ photos of weight loss. Not every account that uses these hashtags are doing so from a place of sincerity.

5 ways to start accepting your here and now body. Do not compare your body to other bodies, Vickery Wellness, Dietitian Nutritionist Athens GA

2) No more comparing:

How often do you find yourself having thoughts like: ‘I wish my body looked like theirs.’ Or something along the lines of, ‘I wish I could wear that outfit, but I would not look good in that type of clothing because of my body shape/size.’

These types of thoughts about our body can have such a negative effect on our mental health and our relationship with food and our body. I have one technique that I like to use with clients who are starting out on the path to body acceptance. It is called ‘reframing.’

Every time you find yourself comparing your body to someone else’s, it can be helpful to practice reframing that thought. Let’s go back to our previous example: ‘I wish my body looked like theirs.’ We could practice reframing this thought by saying: ‘That is how their body looks and it is not better than how my body looks. I love X about my body.’

It would also be helpful to make a list of all the things that you like (or even love) about your body. Too often we tend to spend much more time thinking about all the things that we wish that we could change about our bodies instead of all the things we like about our bodies. Try not to only focus on aesthetic things you like about your body, but also the things you like that it can do.

For example, it could be that you like how strong your arms are because they allow you to pick up your child or grandchild when you are playing together. Maybe it’s that you love working outside in the yard or garden, so having strong legs to squat down is something you like about your body.

Wear clothes that fit your here and now body, Vickery Wellness, Dietitian Nutritionist Athens GA

3) Wear clothes that fit your here and now body

Do you have clothes in your closet right now that you are ‘saving’ for when you get to a certain weight?

Donate them. Get them out.

I would like to challenge you to wear clothes that FIT and feel comfortable on your here and now body. It is natural that your body is going to change shape and size over time, so it is important to adjust your clothing to that.

I also want to be cognizant of the fact that it is also not that ‘simple’ to simply go out and purchase new clothing. Some ideas to help could be to take your clothes that no longer fit to a consignment shop that may purchase them from you. Or you could also try selling them on social media. Then when purchasing clothes that fit, see if there are any consignment or thrift shops in your local area where you can find clothing for much lower prices. This also helps the environment, so it is a win-win!

Use positive affirmations to help your journey to body acceptance, Vickery Wellness, Dietitian Nutritionist Athens GA

4) Use affirmations

I understand that affirmations can sometimes seem ‘gimmicky.’ They can also feel silly when we have spent so much time speaking negatively to ourselves. But, imagine if we consistently spoke to ourselves in the positive ways affirmations do? Imagine if instead of thinking about how much we want to change all the parts of our bodies that we do not like and starving ourselves into a smaller body, that we spoke to our body as someone we liked, appreciated, respected or even loved?!

Search for some affirmations to use each day that help inspire you to respect and accept your body. Repeat them at least once a day and/or when you find yourself having negative thoughts toward your body.

Here are some affirmations to get you started:

“My body is worthy of nourishment.”

“I’m not going to sacrifice my mental health to have the perfect body.”

“I am strong.”

“I am powerful.”

“I am worthy of love.”

“I give my body permission to change.”

“I will allow myself to find pleasure in food without feeling guilt or judgment.”

“I am beautiful no matter how my body changes.”

“I am worthy of the time spent on healing my relationship with food and my body.”

Need some more affirmation inspiration? Check out my Instagram where I routinely share inspirational quotes!

Focus on your health and not your weight or the scale, Vickery Wellness, Dietitian Nutritionist Athens GA

5) Focus on health, not weight

Believe it or not, someone can be living in a smaller body that is idealized by our society and still not be healthy.

Health does not equal your weight.

Research has shown that it is much more beneficial for us to focus on what makes us feel good. If you are wondering what that could look like, it could mean that you are adding more fruits and vegetables to your meals and snacks. Or maybe you enjoy stretching and doing yoga as a way to move your body. Maybe you enjoy walking outside and that gets your heart pumping, which helps to improve your cardiovascular health.

It is more important to make the focus on the positive things you can ADD to your lifestyle that can benefit your health than it will ever be to focus on how you can restrict your food intake and try to make your body smaller.

What are some ways you work to accept and respect your body?

I hope that these 5 ways to start accepting your here and now body have been helpful for you. Be sure to also check out my FREE 5 Body Acceptance Journal Prompts to help you on your journey today!

10 Non weight-loss related intentions for the New Year

10 non weight-loss related intentions for the new year 2021. Intuitive Eating based nutrition counseling with Vickery Wellness in Athens, GA.

Saying Goodbye (& good riddance) to 2020

The year 2020 was hard for many of us, but I hope that we can find some glimmers of positivity from this past year. Let us start by focusing on these 10 non weight-loss related intentions for the new year.

For my family, we were able to reassess and take time to figure out what our priorities are. To be able to slow down and not feel the constant pressure to go, go, go.

I was able to finally move forward with my dream of opening my nutrition private practice. I feel so honored and blessed to be able to focus my business on helping others who struggle with chronic dieting and disordered eating.

So, while there were many crazy happenings in 2020, I am doing my best to let it serve as a period when we were able to learn and grow in many ways.

10 non weight loss related intentions for the new year | intuitive eating | athens, ga

The problem with weight loss resolutions

As we head into the year 2021, I know that you *may* be thinking about (or feeling pressured to) make some ‘New Year’s Resolutions.’

When you hear ‘New Year’s Resolutions,’ what is the first thing that comes to mind?

I’m willing to bet that it involves weight loss. We have almost been conditioned to set some kind of weight loss goal each new year. As if this is the only time of the year that we are able to ‘reset’ and “finally” get our life in order. And that ‘getting our life in order’ or becoming ‘healthier’ is solely based in weight loss.

But, let’s take a moment and think back to all of the previous years when that was a goal we set. How did it go? How did we end up feeling?

Did we end up feeling defeated yet again? Or maybe we lost some weight and plateaued? Or maybe we lost some weight only to gain it back again?

Basically, the question is: Was there ever a year where we focused on weight loss that made us feel truly better in the long run?

What if there was another way?

What if there was a way to set an intention for improving your overall HEALTH this year? What if there was a way to truly focus on what makes you and your body feel better and actually improve your health and wellness?

The solution: Improving our health with New Year’s intentions

I would encourage you to consider setting New Year’s Intentions that are NOT weight loss focused. And to instead focus on your overall health & wellbeing.

My focus is to encourage healthy behaviors and your weight on the scale is not a behavior.

To get you started, I have 10 non weight-loss related intentions for the new year in 2021:

Don’t forget to Pin it!

1) Stay hydrated and drink more water

I am often asked how much water we ‘should’ be drinking each day. I’m sure many of us have heard the “8 8-oz glasses of water” each day as the standard. However, if you look at the research that suggestion is based on, it was referring to all water consumption, including what’s in food.

It would be pretty difficult for the general population to determine the ‘perfect’ amount of water each person needs. Each person is different in the kinds of foods they choose to eat, water content in those foods varies and everyone perspires differently.

My suggestion is to learn how to focus more on your body and how you feel. Learn what your body feels like when it is properly hydrated vs. dehydrated. The easiest test would be to observe the color of your urine. If it is light yellow or clear, you’re good to go! (pun intended).

2) Get more sleep each right

Sounds so easy, right?

On average, adults need about 6-8 hours of sleep per night (your mileage may vary).

Do you know many people (including yourself) who get this amount? I know, I don’t do get enough sleep regularly and it is something I am working on in 2021!

Some tips and ideas for better sleep:

3) Clean up your social media & follow more diverse bodies

Go through all of the accounts you follow on social media. Do you follow a lot of accounts with ‘perfect’ bodies? Or accounts that are pushing perfect eating, perfect exercising, etc?

I think we know by now that perfection is a myth.

Each person is unique and even if we ate and exercised the exact same way, we still would have different bodies.

I encourage you to unfollow any accounts that make you feel inferior. Find accounts that focus on health promoting behaviors AND body diversity.

Here are some accounts to check out:

I could probably go on for ever, but this is a good list to get you started!

4) Focus on your mental health & stress relief

As with any intention or goal, they need to be realistic. I would first suggest becoming aware of what things are causing you stress or are affecting your mental health. Are there realistic changes or adjustments that can be made?

What are you doing for self care? And I don’t just mean the random mani-pedi or hot bath; those are just part of normal hygiene, yet we act like they are the only self care women need?!

Would talk therapy be beneficial? Are you doing movement/exercise that helps you feel better and relieves stress and tension? Is meditation or prayer something that helps you start your day in a better mindset?

5) Focus on finding ways to move that you enjoy

Most times, and especially during the New Year, exercise and movement are talked about only in connection to weight loss. However, I encourage you to change your perspective when it comes to movement/exercise.

Start to think about what kinds of movement your body enjoys. What feels good?

Some people love to run because it’s a great stress reliever (I’m not one of those people due to a bum knee). Others loves to dance. I personally love to walk, do yoga and lift weights/do body weight exercises.

The key is to change your ‘why,’ change your perspective (doesn’t have to be ‘traditional’ exercise) and be flexible. Didn’t get to move today? That’s okay, you can try again tomorrow. Starting to feel like you can’t eat certain foods unless you move that day? Start to reassess your reasonings behind feeling that way.

6) Limit your screen time

Look, don’t laugh. I know this one will seem a bit crazy considering that our lives are currently revolving around screens as the only way to communicate. And as with any suggestion I make, I encourage you to make it realistic for YOU.

For myself, this simply means that I try not to spend too much time on screens that isn’t necessary or preventing me from being present with my family.

So, think about what this would look life for your lifestyle and whether there is anything you would like to change.

7) Allow yourself to rest

Now this is one that I have been working on for several months already. I struggle with actually allowing my body AND my mind to rest. I often feel pressure (from myself) to always be ‘doing something’ or being ‘productive.’

But, I soon realized this pressure was coming from my own unrealistically high expectations.

I believe in mantras, so trying one could be helpful. Even if it’s just something simple like: “I am allowed to rest.”

8) Try some new recipes

This is one that I am obviously a fan of trying! I don’t mean going on Pinterest and feeling like you have to try ALL.THE.RECIPES.

I mean maybe finding one new recipe every week or month to add to your rotation of recipes.

Maybe it’s familiar ingredients with different seasonings. Maybe it’s something completely outside of your norm. Whatever would help you to branch out and find a new favorite recipe or food.

9) Find ways to add more fruits and vegetables

I am a big supporter of finding things that you can ADD to what you eat instead of taking things away.

Instead of focusing on what you think you ‘shouldn’t’ be eating, focus on all the things you can add!

Just as with all things, flexibility is important here as well. You can add fruits and vegetables if it is something that sounds good or you know will make your body feel better. BUT, what you don’t want is to feel pressured to add these things or start to judge yourself for not adding them.

For example, maybe one week you add some spinach and mushrooms to your spaghetti, but one week you just do sauce and noodles. Neither choice is better than the other, they are just different and variety is good!

10) Start your Intuitive Eating journey

Of course, my #1 wish for everyone in 2021 is that they would be ready to start their Intuitive Eating journey.

Starting the journey to healing your relationship with food and your body is honestly the least we can do for ourselves after surviving the year 2020?!

If you still aren’t sure, check out my blog post on Why Intuitive Eating where I go into more details about Intuitive Eating OR enroll in my Intuitive Eating 101 course to learn even more!

I hope these 10 non weight-loss related intentions for the new year have inspired you.

So, tell me: What are YOUR New Year’s Intentions for 2021?

PS – If you haven’t already, be sure to join my FREE Facebook group because I also shared a video talking about Non-Weight Loss Related Intentions for the New Year!

The surprising dangers of dieting

The dangers of dieting with Courtney Vickery, Registered Dietitian Nutrition of Vickery Wellness in Athens, GA

You are probably thinking one of two things right now. One is that when I say the dangers of dieting, you think that I mean only fad diets that are *drastic.* Two is that you think you think I only mean diet pills or supplements. Let’s start with a few statistics:

  • The U.S. weight loss market is now worth a record $72 billion.
  • 62% of women and 29% of men are trying to lose weight.
  • 58% of women and 51% of men exercise to control weight.
  • 95% of all dieters will likely regain the weight back within 5 years.
DANGERS OF DIETING ATHENS GA

First, let’s look at how much the diet industry in the United States is currently worth: a whopping $72 BILLION. If you are wondering what is included in this number it is:

“Diet soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, health clubs, commercial diet center chains, multi-level

marketing diet plans, OTC meal replacements & diet pills, medical programs (weight loss

surgery, MDs, hospitals/clinic programs, Rx diet drugs, bariatricians, VLCD programs),

low-cal frozen entrees, and the diet books & exercise DVDs market.”

Think about how much money you or your friends and family have spent on products similar to those listed above over the years. Now, think about how many of them worked. And when I say ‘worked,’ I mean they used the product or strategy and to this day they are still ‘successful’ in maintaining their goal, while still having a healthy relationship with food and their body.

I do not share these statistics to be the bearer of bad news. I share them to help set the stage for what I am about to share with you: Dieting is harmful. There are inherent dangers of dieting that affect our overall health and wellbeing.

The majority of people who have dieted and lost weight will eventually regain the weight (and possibly more). This is called weight cycling, or more commonly known as ‘yo-yo dieting.’

“Across the weight spectrum, the strongest predictors of weight gain in adolescents are

dieting and unhealthy weight control behaviors, after controlling for binge eating, breakfast

consumption, fruit/vegetable intake, physical activity, socioeconomic status, and initial BMI.”

If you are wondering what kind of negative outcomes can occur from weight cycling, here are just a few (source):

  • Increased all cause mortality
  • Increased cardiovascular disease mortality
  • Increased congenital heart disease mortality and morbidity
  • Decreased levels of HDL cholesterol (the good kind)
  • Higher blood pressure
  • Increased chronic inflammation

I know what you are thinking: “So, what are we suppose to do? Just lay around and eat bonbons all day?!” No, not exactly. But, I do have another “radical” idea. First, let’s work on healing our relationship with food and our body through the Intuitive Eating process and body image work. Still not sold on Intuitive Eating? Well, there are currently over 120 studies to date that show that this process *works.* It also pairs well with the Health at Every Size approach, which is outlined in the image at this source. (We will go deeper into HAES in another upcoming blog post).

By learning and practicing Intuitive Eating and having a positive (or at least neutral) body image, we can begin to focus on actual health promoting behaviors and not on how much you weigh. We can focus on *adding* things to your life instead of taking them away. Restriction and rigidity will never work (look at this Ancel Keys starvation study to see the effects of restriction).

We have to find flexible ways to maintain our health that are not weight centric. This would look like us working together to look at the whole picture of your health and what feels right for YOU.

What are your priorities? What do you deem important? What would eating well look like for you? What is joyful movement for you? As well as keeping it all in context of any nutrition related diseases you have been diagnosed with. And most importantly, we would be sure to discuss self-care and how you speak or think about yourself, your body and the food you eat.

This is not a process that can be done quickly, nor does it have a definitive endpoint. It is something that I will help you to develop the skills for and then you will be able to continue working with these skills for the rest of your life.

Don’t continue to let the dangers of dieting affect your life.

(All sources are linked throughout this article).

Why should I try Intuitive Eating

Why should I try Intuitive Eating

Why should I try Intuitive Eating

Due to a certain ‘celebrity’ discussing their take on Intuitive Eating recently, it has gained a little more attention. I am not going to go into that person’s take on Intuitive Eating because I do not believe that anyone should take advice from someone who 1) is not a medical professional/dietitian, 2) someone who has an entire career and financial investment into the dieting industry and 3) someone who quite literally just held up their computer with a google search on the topic.

intuitive eating athens, ga

So, what exactly IS Intuitive Eating? First, I want to point out that I am referencing Intuitive Eating with a capital I and E and not ‘intuitive eating’. Most people get mindful or ‘intuitive eating’ confused with Intuitive Eating, the evidence-based self-care model.

Taking the definition straight from the creator’s website:

“Intuitive Eating is a self-care eating framework, which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought and was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995.

Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale and over 100 studies to date.”

As you can see, this is not something that is only based on someone’s thoughts and feelings. This is an evidenced based approach that is so much more involved than eating mindfully or just skimming over the 10 principles.

But, reviewing the 10 principles is a great place to *start.*

  1. Reject the Diet Mentality

  2. Honor Your Hunger

  3. Make Peace with Food

  4. Challenge the Food Police

  5. Respect Your Fullness

  6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor

  7. Honor Your Feelings without Using Food

  8. Respect Your Body

  9. Exercise—Feel the Difference

  10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition

Only looking over these 10 principles and even understanding them, isn’t enough. It’s the EXPERIENCE and the JOURNEY of applying them to your every day life that leads to something that is life-changing.

It’s more than just focusing on your hunger and fullness (although that is part of the process). It’s more about getting in touch with your body and what it needs and TRUSTING yourself again. Diet culture constantly tells us that we just need to restrict more, have more willpower and then we will get ‘the body we want.’ But, part of this process is to determine what exactly is ‘the body you want?’ Is it only about aesthetics? Maybe it’s about being able to play with your kids or grandkids without getting winded? That’s a perfectly acceptable goal. But, this process pushes you to focus on the self-talk and methods we use to get to that goal.

That’s where nutrition counseling with a dietitian who is well versed in Intuitive Eating can help you! We will work together to set mini-goals each week that help you to work toward your bigger/overall goals. All while also placing a big focus on your self-care, the way you speak to yourself and about your body.

Wouldn’t you love to save all that mental space for fun things like planning family movie night or your next trip than worrying about whether your last meal had too many calories?

Tell me your thoughts and what is holding you back from starting this process in the comments below!

How does virtual nutrition counseling work?

How does virtual nutrition counseling work

How does virtual nutrition counseling work. Vickery Wellness in Athens, GA.

Making the Pivot to Virtual Nutrition Counseling

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, many industries made the switch to providing their services online. For some, this was a natural adjustment. But, for others, it was a struggle.

Personally, I have always wanted to provide nutrition counseling services in a virtual space. I actually tried to implement it several years ago at a previous job. However, the population we were serving wasn’t ready for that yet and there also weren’t nearly as many video conferencing services available.

Now, there are multiple platforms that provide great virtual spaces to conduct HIPAA compliant sessions. I personally use Practice Better and I have had a great experience with it. It allows me to easily conduct virtual sessions through their platform or Zoom, communicate with clients in a secure messaging system, see what clients put in their food and mood journals and more features that provide my clients with a great experience.

online nutrition counseling athens ga

The Positive Side of Virtual Nutrition Counseling

One of the many positives to providing nutrition counseling in a virtual setting is that I can serve anyone throughout the state of Georgia, where I am licensed. For my clients, it also means that they can more easily fit sessions into their schedule as opposed to having to factor in travel, time off from work, etc. Doing a session during a lunch break is completely doable and easy!

 
Are there any negatives to virtual nutrition counseling?

Honestly, the only downsides to providing virtual only services is that I don’t get to see my clients ‘in person’ and hug them when they ‘graduate’ from the program! Other than that, I have really enjoyed being able to serve clients that are living over 2 hours away from me that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to work with.

What does the actual process look like?

To get started with virtual nutrition counseling at Vickery Wellness, you first book a free 15 minute clarity call. When booking this call, you will fill out a short readiness questionnaire. During the call, we will discuss what you are struggling with, what you are hoping to gain from nutrition counseling with me and I will explain how I can help you. If you decide that you want to move forward, then we go ahead and do payment over the phone and schedule your initial appointment/assessment.

You will receive an email that gives you access to the client portal in Practice Better. In Practice Better, you will fill out forms and questionnaires and have access to food/mood journals and HIPAA compliant messaging with me!

Example of Client Portal at Vickery Wellness

The Practice Better app makes everything accessible and you can even do your sessions through your phone as well!

After the initial assessment session where we set some specific goals for you to work on for the next week or two, we will follow up every other week. I will provide you with guidance, support and accountability on your journey to a more mindful approach to nutrition and a positive body image. My current offering is a 3 month package that includes the 1 hour assessment and 6 30-minute follow ups.

In between sessions, you are welcome to message me through the client portal for support, use the food/mood journals and check off the goals we set together. You will also have access to the Facebook group for Vickery Wellness that provides a community of support.

If you still have questions, please feel free to set up your free 15 minute clarity call to see if my 3 month nutrition counseling program is the best fit for you!

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