Intuitive eating is all about listening to your body and giving it what it needs. It's a departure from the restrictive dieting mindset that has become so prevalent in our society. With intuitive eating, there is no "good" or "bad" food, and no forbidden foods.

Happy Valley Nutrition offers affordable, accessible nutrition counseling with insurance in Western Massachusetts. We work with individuals and families to help them make healthy changes that improve their quality of life. Take a look at the different types of insurance we currently accept.

Let me ask you a question: When you started leaving diet culture and stepping foot in to Anti-Diet land, how did you do it? Did you read a book or listen to a podcast that when finished felt like a lightbulb had gone on over your head?

Or, perhaps you’re like me and it wasn’t as much a lightbulb but a friggin’ LIGHTENING BOLT through your very soul?? (I can be very dramatic, I know.)

Well, whatever happened to you as you tip-toed across the very magical line into food/body freedom land (what a beautiful place!) you needed resources, right? Social media accounts to follow, podcasts to listen to, books and articles to read late into the night as you shouted out loud, “Diet culture is such BS!”

If you want, need, or just love to collect resources, you’re in the right place.

Today I wanted to touch on a topic that I discuss often in sessions- the desire to lose weight.I can hear you yelling: “But wait, Amanda, I thought you were Anti-Diet and anti- people who want to lose weight?!”

Ok, so- yes, I am anti the pursuit of weight loss and dieting because it never leads to ANYTHING good (and I know first hand) and well, down with the patriarchy and capitalism.

But I am NOT anti-the desire to lose weight. <<insert record screeching here>>

So it’s May, and with that, the arrival of warmer weather. Cue the vulnerability and fear around trying on last year’s seasonal clothes AND being seen in public. I get it, I feel this so hard. And my clients do too, so if this resonates, I promise you aren’t alone.

Here are 3 ways to get through trying on your clothes from last year that may be helpful:

If you're like us here at Happy Valley Nutrition Headquarters, you've given up on New Years dieting resolutions. (Or, even better- no resolutions at all! We are "New Year, Same You!" type of people).

If your social media has been any indication, this time of year marks the dieting industry’s time to make BANK on our insecurities, time, money, and well- being by promoting weight loss in the guise of health and wellness.

I had a body image meltdown in Bloomingdales this past weekend.

Before I was a tried-and-true New England country girl, I was a city gal, calling New York City my home. My mother still lives there, and I hadn't been back to visit in over two years, so a trip was overdue. We had an awesome time, and I was VERY proud that I brought sensible shoes to walk miles in.

I had the immense pleasure of going to the Caribbean with my family last week.

I was genuinely grateful I could take a break from New England winter. However, it wasn't always a week I looked forward to—for as long as I can remember, the anxiety of dressing a body I hated always reared its head before and during the trip, followed by frustration and anger upon my return that I had spent most of the vacation focused on my body and my diet.

Can you relate to this?

In my last blog I talked about how the holidays can be a difficult time for some. 

We don’t live in a cheesy Hallmark movie where life gets tied up in a nice, neat bow. For many of us, the holidays can be downright messy.

Today I want to give you permission to be however you need to be and to feel however you need to feel, during this topsy-turvy time.

It’s OK that you feel anxious, exhausted, and a bit melancholy. 

It’s OK that you feel badly that people around you love this time of year, yet you don’t. And it’s also OK if you love this time of year and that it brings you so much joy, and that you’re the first one to get your decorations up.

What do you associate Thanksgiving with?  Food? Family? (Or maybe Black Friday shopping?) What feelings come up?  Excitement? Anxiety? Dread?  It’s true:  spending a day, weekend, or even an hour with family can elicit mixed emotions for many. Then add in food—well, now you’ve got a potential recipe for disaster!

But we never go into battle unprepared, right?  

So if this holiday is indeed one that brings fear, dread, and stress—let’s make sure you have a self-care plan so you walk away from this holiday unscathed (or at least not as scorched). 

Here are some ideas:

When it comes to supplements, there are usually two nutritionist camps: 

• Those who say supplements aren’t necessary because we get all we need from food

• Those who believe that they are needed for specific reasons.

I fall into the latter—I definitely think that supplementation has its place and purpose. Personally, I have benefitted from taking certain herbs, vitamins and minerals and noticed a difference, for example when taking vitamin B12 when deficient or taking herbs to support my Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis (read: managing stress levels).

One of the biggies I recommend is vitamin D3, especially during the colder months and for those of us who live far from the equator (most of us). I would say that around 90% of the women I see in my practice have very low vitamin D status, myself included (I just found out my D is low, too)!