Your guide to

Gentle nutrition

AN ANTI-DIET APPROACH WHICH WELCOMES ALL BODY SIZES

What is gentle nutrition?

An approach to nutrition which rejects diet culture and fat phobia.

This approach welcomes all body sizes and rejects societal stigmas often placed on larger bodies.

The size of your body is not indicative of your health and should not be used to prescribe nutrition advice.

Rather, nutrition advice is tailored to your individual needs and health or well-being goals.

This approach takes into account individual differences including neurodivergence which can impact our relationship with food.

What does a gentle nutrition approach look like in a consult?

Non-judgemental

A non-judgement approach to food/nutrition. There's no such thing as "good" or "bad" foods. Rather, food has varied nutrient profiles, flavours and cultural importance.

Food empowering

My role is to provide you with the tools to be able to add nutrition to a meal, in easy and cost effective ways, to help you feel good while eating foods you enjoy. Food has many reasons to be consumed outside of its nutrient value, some foods have great cultural importance, provide us comfort or bring us joy! The foods we eat are influenced by our time, levels of stress and our budget.

Non-restrictive

No prescription of restrictive diets. I do not recommend restricting foods outside of those you dislike, food you're allergic to or food which should be replaced due to a medical condition such as coeliac disease, gluten sensitivity or lactose intolerance.

Gentle Nutrition Consults

Coming Soon

  • A 60 minute online session on the fundamentals of gentle nutrition. Giving you practical and realistic nutrition support which is anti-diet and non weight centric. Book as an individual or group.

    A gentle nutrition approach is used in all naturopathic consults. A gentle nutrition consult i solely focused on nutrition support.

    If allergies or illness have complicated your relationship with food, a more personalised plan might be right for you. A naturopathic consult can address factors such as illness or allergy and incorporates a gentle nutrition approach.

  • I provide support for a positive relationship with food by providing you with gentle nutrition knowledge and resources.

    I am not a counsellor or psychologist and my care is not a replacement for therapy for those experiencing disordered eating.

  • ⬥ Gentle nutrition fundamentals

    ⬥ Gentle nutrition recipes and strategies to add nutrition to meals versus restricting or demonising foods.

    ⬥ Affordable food guide

    ⬥ Beyond intuitive eating; expanding intuitive eating for greater accessibility

    ⬥ Neurodivergent friendly food tips

register your interest

RESOURCES ABOUT Dismantling Diet Culture

Understanding the origins and systemic issues leading to and sustaining diet culture can help us to dismantle and reject fat phobia. Fat phobia is not about health concern but rather a means to validate discrimination based on race, class and gender.

Want to learn more about gentle nutrition and dismantling diet culture? Check out the resources below

Podcasts

Maintenance Phase Podcast

Food Psych with Christy Harrison

Instagram accounts

@maintenancephase

@yrfatfriend

@thenutritiontea

@scotteeisfat

@mynameisjessamyn

@dietitiananna

@iamchrissyking

@rd's_for_neurodiversity

@fatwomenofcolour

Articles

The racist origins of fat phobia

Dismantling diet culture involves understanding its racist roots

An evidence base for a health at every size approach

(Know of great research missing from the list? Let me know!)

Bombak, Andrea. "Obesity, health at every size, and public health policy." American journal of public health 104.2 (2014): e60-e67.

Clifford, Dawn, et al. "Impact of non-diet approaches on attitudes, behaviors, and health outcomes: A systematic review." Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 47.2 (2015): 143-155.

Cohen R and Shikora S. Fighting Weight Bias and Obesity Stigma: a Call for Action. Obes Surg 2020; 30: 1623-1624. DOI: 10.1007/s11695-020-04525-0.

Dugmore, Jaslyn A., et al. "Effects of weight-neutral approaches compared with traditional weight-loss approaches on behavioral, physical, and psychological health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Nutrition reviews 78.1 (2020): 39-55.

Dollar, Emily, Margit Berman, and Anna M. Adachi-Mejia. "Do no harm: Moving beyond weight loss to emphasize physical activity at every size." Preventing chronic disease 14 (2017).

George AM, Jacob AG and Fogelfeld L. Lean diabetes mellitus: An emerging entity in the era of obesity. World J Diabetes 2015; 6: 613-620. DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v6.i4.613.

Hunger, Jeffrey M., Smith, Joslyn P., and Tomiyama, A. Janet. "An Evidence‐Based Rationale for Adopting Weight‐Inclusive Health Policy." Social Issues and Policy Review 14.1 (2020): 73-107.

Mauldin, Kasuen, Michelle May, and Dawn Clifford. "The consequences of a weight‐centric approach to healthcare: A case for a paradigm shift in how clinicians address body weight." Nutrition in Clinical Practice (2022).

Mann T, Tomiyama AJ, Westling E, et al. Medicare's search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. Am Psychol 2007; 62: 220-233. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066x.62.3.220.

O'Hara, Lily, and Jane Taylor. "Health at every size: A weight-neutral approach for empowerment, resilience and peace." International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice 2.6 (2014): 272-282.

Rothblum, Esther D. "Slim chance for permanent weight loss." Archives of Scientific Psychology 6.1 (2018): 63.

Schaefer, Julie T., and Amy B. Magnuson. "A review of interventions that promote eating by internal cues." Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 114.5 (2014): 734-760.

Tomiyama, A. Janet, et al. "How and why weight stigma drives the obesity ‘epidemic’ and harms health." BMC medicine 16.1 (2018): 123.

Tylka, Tracy L., et al. "The weight-inclusive versus weight-normative approach to health: Evaluating the evidence for prioritizing well-being over weight loss." Journal of Obesity 2014 (2014).

Ulian, M. D., et al. "Effects of health at every size® interventions on health‐related outcomes of people with overweight and obesity: a systematic review." Obesity Reviews (2018).