Hey! I’m Abbie.
I’m about two months away from being a registered dietitian (fingers crossed), and besides being passionate about Jesus and my husband…
I’m really into helping people find true freedom in how they eat and connect with their bodies.
I am brand new to this platform and I’m planning to use this Medium account to write blogs about intuitive eating, exercise, new recipes I’m trying, and probably just about anything else that comes to mind. Don’t be surprised if you see Skyler (my husband) pop up sometimes, because marriage is a big part of my story too.
Btw, you can also connect with me on Instagram or Facebook where I share more about my journey and how it all started for me!
Anyways back to food — we get a lot of mixed messages from our culture about food, first you see a mouth-watering ad for Godiva chocolate dripping off the spoon into perfectly formed bite-sized pieces, and then you turn around and see a “fitspiration” account on Instagram posting about how they’re so proud of themselves for not eating chocolate today.
Is food good? Is it bad? What should we eat?
And what about our bodies…what are they supposed to look like? Feel like?
And what does “healthy” really mean anyways?
I think you actually already know the answer to all these questions. Or, at least, your body knows. While your body was designed to naturally regulate your eating habits and lead you to the types of foods it needs, a lot of us are miles away from that. Something we call “diet culture” leads you to believe that your body is against you, that you need more self-control, and that you need to consciously control your food choices and force yourself to exercise even when it’s the last thing you want to do. And I can tell you right now that it’s a downward spiral that will never lead you to anything even resembling true health.
So if you’re burned out on dieting, confused by conflicting nutrition headlines, struggling with your relationship with your body, or just generally feeling stressed about your health-related thoughts and habits — I’m here for you.
A bit about my journey…
I studied nutritional sciences at Oklahoma State University for both my bachelor’s and master’s degree, and I learned quite a lot. I read many a research article and learned to critically analyze studies for quality, something I’m really grateful for.
But I also learned some things I wish I hadn’t. In my time at OSU, I worked as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, which, in combination with my nutrition major, offered me a new identity: the super-healthy workout girl. It started innocently enough, but the more time I spent at the gym and in nutrition classes talking about what you “should” and “should not” eat, the more I became hyper-critical of my own body and my diet. I started counting calories, banning certain foods, and working out harder.
I was doing all the things that are supposed to make you healthy. But the paradox is — I was becoming more unhealthy.
Thoughts about food and my body started consuming more and more of my brain space. I felt out of control around food and would often eat a lot more than I really wanted. I still had friends, went to church, and did school, and experienced many amazing things during college…but this particular area of my life was not an area of joy. It was a constant drain.
It wasn’t until I got married that God really got ahold of this area and began showing me that I was approaching it in absolutely the wrong way. Food was never meant to feel like a prison. Exercise was never meant to be a chore. But I had a lot of deeply ingrained patterns of thinking that took a lot more than a one-time decision to change.
Going on a journey into intuitive eating allowed me to reconnect with my body and feel true freedom in an area that always felt enslaving.
I embraced a philosophy called Intuitive Eating. If you’ve been on my social media at all in the last 10 weeks, you’ve heard me talk about it. I’ll save the specifics for future posts, but suffice it to say that going on a journey into intuitive eating allowed me to reconnect with my body and feel true freedom in an area that always felt enslaving. Of course, it’s still a work in progress! But the process has already been life-changing.
What’s next?
So once again here I am, figuring out this new platform! I am looking forward to writing blogs about Intuitive Eating, exercise, new recipes and probably anything else that comes to mind. Here’s a picture of Skyler, because he comes to my mind a lot. :)
Look out for some new posts coming at you soon! And if there’s anything you’d like to hear me talk about, I’m open to suggestions! Just comment below or DM me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to help you along your journey in any way possible!
