Exciting News!

Sharing exciting news today….

I’m writing a book!

It feels kind of unreal, and I’m honestly not even sure what to say in an announcement like this because I never imagined author would be in my job title. But then again, when I started this blog seven (!!!) years ago, I never really thought private practice dietitian would be in my job title either.

When I first started blogging I was at a pretty low point professionally, feeling miserable and stuck in my job and needing something new and creative, but not really sure what that was. I decided to throw together a $25 blogger website and just put this blog baby out into the world. For some reason, people read it (although thankfully not too many at first!). While I feel totally embarrassed looking back on my early writing, I feel grateful for this outlet because putting things out into the internet forced me to reconsider my approach to nutrition. Gradually I felt myself pulled towards a more non-diet approach, as I tried to put out content that aligned with my values, and I don’t know if that would have happened if I hadn’t been able to write my way towards it. So in sharing this, I feel very grateful to you, especially those of you who have been reading for awhile, because if it wasn’t for you all, I wouldn’t be able to do this.

In the back of my mind, I secretly wanted to write a book, but I didn’t feel like there was anything I had to say that hasn’t already been said. I had been approached to write a book a couple times, but I didn’t have any ideas original enough to write a whole book on. Also, the idea of putting together a proposal, finding and agent and all that was hella intimidating.

But around the time I interviewed with Paige Smathers of Positive Nutrition Podcast, I started thinking about how there’s a need for discussing nutrition within the context of intuitive eating. There’s a ton of online content out there about intuitive eating and Health at Every Size® (thankfully!), but in it we tend to shy away from the discussion of nutrition. In an online format, it can be hard to talk to a wide range of people with unique nutrition needs, at different points in healing their relationship with food. There’s a lot of nuance that’s needed in that conversation, so mostly it gets reserved for working with dietitians one-on-one. Yet people want information about nutrition, and without accessible resources (working one-on-one with an RD is NOT accessible for most), they’re gonna turn online, where misinformation prevails.

I’m still figuring out a lot of the details (not sure the exact release date but probably towards the end of the year), and I don’t have a title yet (help!), but the book will focus on the gentle nutrition aspect of intuitive eating. Essentially it will serve as a guidebook for what nutrition looks like when we put aside assumptions that thinner = healthier.

In it, I’m reviewing some of the basics, like why dieting doesn’t work and what intuitive eating is. I’m also going to discuss how the “wellness diet” has become a new sneaky form of dieting, and how diet culture has become entrenched in how we view healthy eating. The book will redefine how we view health, moving away from just thinking of it through a lens of food, fitness and weight. I will also discuss evidence-based, non-diet nutrition in a flexible way, as well as other health promoting behavior changes, as well as the psychology of making behavior changes in a sustainable way.

Also in the book I’m going to include 50 brand new recipes! With the recipes, I’m aiming to make them easy, accessible, and adaptable. And of course taste great too! I’m hoping to tie in some of the principles of intuitive eating and gentle nutrition to the recipes and show how all food fits in healthy eating.

There are so many great resources out there for healing your relationship with food and I feel so endlessly grateful to contribute to that! Will keep you updated with with details as it gets closer to launch!