#RelationshipGoals for You and Your Body: Care + Connection > Critique + Control
When you hire a sports dietitian, you probably think you’re hiring someone to tell you exactly what to eat, so what I’m about to tell you may come as a surprise…
One of the fundamental principles of my virtual private practice is that while I am the nutrition expert, you are the expert of your body.
I’m Serena, a dietitian specializing in helping women runners fuel to meet performance goals, and one of the most important lessons you can learn from me is that good nutrition is not about gaining control over your body, but rather about learning how to support your body.
A healthy relationship with food requires a healthy relationship with yourself.
Before you my clients can truly learn how to optimize nutrition, you have to learn how to listen to your body. All of my clients learn my four question framework that helps women learn how to quiet the noise of diet rules, macro counts, calories in/calories out and learn instead to focus on how food makes you feel.
And one of the most powerful tools to reconnecting with your body is using the breath to reconnect with your “self.”
Because we’ve been taught that food is something meant to be controlled by our mind… but really, diet is way more complex than that. Your cravings and your energy needs are important ways to honor self-care practices for your body.
Here’s some great ways to work on the #RelationshipGoals for You & Your Body using your breath:
-
When you notice yourself emotional eating, use the breath to pause & collect your thoughts. Place your hand on your chest and notice your breathing as your chest rises & falls. Ask yourself what you’re feeling? And what do you really need in this moment?
-
When you realize you haven’t eaten in 4+ hours but you’re not feeling hungry, that’s often a sign your body is too stressed to feel hunger cues. Close your eyes and breathe in through your nose & then double the exhalation through your mouth. Help your body find ‘rest and digest mode’ and prioritize feeding yourself.
-
If you’re feeling stressed out, it can be helpful to SIGH! Yes, sighing is actually really good for your nervous system! I love to encourage my clients to breathe in really deep and then let their breath out with a big sigh to help calm your system. A calm system helps you feel your hunger and fullness signals so you can optimize eating!
Are you surprised at how important breath is in a dietitian’s practice? Besides ResBiotic helping my clients’ lung capacity for performance purposes, it’s great to know that a healthy pair of lungs helps to support runners’ nervous systems and ability to connect with their bodies!
How will you practice #RelationshipGoals with your body!? Send me a DM! I want to hear more!
