Gut Instincts Nutrition Counselling

04/11/2023

Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda, and Victoza are likely to drive eating disorders. Learn the facts from an eating disorder therapist.

07/20/2022

Thank you to Gaia Therapy with Sydney Bell, MSW for having me on your podcast! Sydney Bell is a wonderful human and therapist for which we've shared mutual clients and co-spoke at local events! Check out her podcast here!

Episode Three is now available! I know you will enjoy my conversations with the wise Suzanne from Gut Instincts Nutrition Counselling
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Listen here: https://gaiatherapy.net/?page_id=69

Episode 3: Living Embodied: Reclaiming Our Body as Safe, Sacred and Sovereign Space

Topic: Food and Embodiment

Guest: Suzanne Dietrich, Registered Dietician
Host: Sydney Bell

How we relate to food is so important to our ability to be comfortable in our bodies and live an embodied life, and yet because of diet culture, we live in fear of food and distrust of our bodies. In this episode of Living Embodied: Reclaiming Our Body as Safe Sacred and Sovereign Space I talk with Suzanne Dietrich, Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor and Eating Disorder Dietitian. Suzanne is the owner of Gut Instincts Nutrition Counselling in Waterloo & Guelph and connects via video with people from all over, Ontario. Plus an embodiment learning activity.

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Connect with Suzanne:
Suzanne Dietrich, Registered Dietitian
https://www.gutinstincts.ca/
Instagram: food.peace.mama
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sdietrichrd/
Suzanne’s Suggested Resources
The Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH)
https://asdah.org/
Lucy Aphramor
https://lucyaphramor.com/
Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole
Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works
Kristen Neff
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive
Christy Harrison: https://christyharrison.com/
Dr. Anita Johnston: Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their
Dr.Maria Paredes
Relationship with Food Through Myths, Metaphors, and Storytelling
https://www.threebirdscounseling.com/maria-paredes
Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani - https://www.gaudianiclinic.com/
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Connect with Sydney:
https://gaiatherapy.net/
Sign up for Sydney’s Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bBGfpz
Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embracingthebodydivine
Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embracingthebodydivine/
Sydney's suggested resources
Kathy Kater
www.BodyImageHealth.org – Kathy Kater, LICSW is a psychotherapist, author, and internationally recognized authority in treatment and prevention of body image, eating, fitness and weight concerns.
Healthy Bodies; Teaching Kids What They Need to Know: A Comprehensive Curriculum to Address Body Image, Eating, Fitness and Weight Concerns in Today's Challenging Environment
Real Kids Come in All Sizes: Ten Essential Lessons to Build Your Child's Body Esteem

07/18/2022

Excellent article... eating disorders affect all body sizes.

Too often, eating disorder behaviors are misconstrued as signs of coveted “discipline” when one does not align with dominant (and false) constructions of the “typical” eating disorder patient. A medical professional with lived experience of anorexia, Jillian Rigert describes how the medical ...

07/05/2022

"....it's important to remember that an ill-fitting garment doesn't make the individual any less worthy of acceptance. It just means the garment itself is less than desirable, and that whoever designed it is missing out on the opportunity to see people of a wonderful array of body types rocking it."

As a person who strives for body positivity and an overall sensitive human, I tend to avoid dressing rooms. I mean, developing a healthy self-image has made shopping much less stressful for me. But on my more depressive days, seeing myself wearing…

05/16/2022

"Clean eating" is a slippery slope...

Dr. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt helps put new scientific research on "orthorexia" into context.

01/24/2022

With an eating disorder or disordered eating sometimes, meals are skipped or restricted. If you go more than 5 hrs without eating (sometimes even 3-4hrs for some), it can cause you to eat beyond your fullness cues at the next eating opportunity. This can make you feel uncomfortable and trigger bloating, stomach pain, gas, and diarrhea.

On the other hand, with restrictive eating, since the digestive system slows down before a person starts recovery and fueling their body with adequate nutrition, they can experience early fullness, bloating, stomach pain and gas. Generally, your digestive system will get used to this new and needed amount of food (also called normal eating) and these symptoms will subside. If not, further investigation may need to be carried out by your doctor.

If you feel out of control around food or experience GI symptoms every time you eat-you might not be fueling your body enough throughout the day.

When it comes to hunger signals, some people may not feel hunger anymore (especially if you are in the early stages of eating disorder recovery), and it can be hard to hear hunger if you are not used to listening to it. Good news, you can learn to feel hunger again!

This is where mechanical eating comes in.
Mechanical eating is the gold-star method to re-nourish a body in the early stages of eating disorder recovery.
The eating disorder brain constantly tells you “we don’t need to eat right now”.

The goal of mechanical eating is to nourish your body properly and begin to restore the hunger and fullness cues by getting the body used to being regularly fed. It is essentially eating on a schedule every 3-4hours regardless of how you feel.
Even if you do not have an eating disorder but are experiencing some GI symptoms eating every 3-4hours may be helpful for you.

Our good friends have a wonderful post on Mechanical Eating that you can check out here: https://changecreateschange.com/mechanical-eating/

01/24/2022

We are starting THIS TUESDAY and we still have spaces left! DM myself or to set up a call!

Week 6 is all about sharing what has worked for us, celebrating how far we've come, and thinking about how to keep the momentum of anti-dieting going, especially in a world that is filled with diet culture and anti-fat messages. If you find yourself lacking other people who are on this anti-diet, Health At Every Size, Intuitive Eating, and Body Liberation journey, this group is the space to meet folks who align with what you're creating!

01/21/2022

Research shows-yes. But it is sometimes hard to tell what happened first. The eating disorder or the GI symptoms?⁠
Uncomfortable GI symptoms can often cause people to go on restrictive diets to help manage their distress. This can cause undernourishment and slow the gut down. And when the gut slows down, symptoms get worse, which can lead to food fixation and even more restrictive eating. This can put someone at an increased risk of developing an eating disorder.⁠
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The arrows can also go the other direction. People with eating disorder symptoms may experience undernourishment, which alters GI sensitivity and function. Again, gut function slows down, making symptoms worse and causes the cycle to continue. ⁠
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Screening allows us to detect those at risk and match the right treatment to the right person. There are many ways to help people struggling with GI disorders and/or eating disorder symptoms. Sometimes, a food-only approach can be harmful.⁠
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If you are struggling, please seek out a dietitian. They can work with you to tailor a plan that meets your needs-which often involves some testing from your MD to ensure there are no underlying GI issues before starting down the risky path of an elimination diet. Our team can help you with this.⁠
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If you’d like to learn more check out:⁠
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Food Psych podcast: The truth about digestion and gut health with Marci Evans https://foodpsych.libsyn.com/repost-175-the-truth-about-digestion-and-gut-health-with-marci-evans-certified-intuitive-eating-counselor-and-eating-disorder-dietitian ⁠
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Let’s Gut Real podcast: Eating disorders and digestive orders-what’s the overlap? https://www.andreahardyrd.com/2021/07/13/lets-gut-real-ep-33-eating-disorders-and-digestive-disorders-whats-the-overlap/ ⁠
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01/10/2022

Stress can affect gut-brain communication:
1. When the brain senses a stressful situation, it triggers our “fight or flight response” and borrows energy from the gut to help solve it.
2. To provide energy, the gut slows down its function and diverts the blood supply to save on energy. With long periods of stress, the guts’ health eventually suffers. This causes weaker gut walls, triggers an immune response, alters the gut microbiota, and impairs its overall function, which can affect how you tolerate food.
3. When the gut is stressed, it signals to the brain that it is in pain, which can cause:
•Fatigue- it cannot break down nutrients to fuel your body.
•Changes in appetite
•General pain
•Changes in bowel habits
•Changes in mood
And the stress cycle continues.

Those struggling with eating disorders experience high levels of mental distress, which can often lead to uncomfortable GI symptoms. Being pre-occupied with food choices and/or trying to achieve the “perfect diet” (there is no such thing) can contribute to mental distress.

Sometimes people focus on eliminating important foods from their diet for fear that they are causing GI upset – this can lead to malnutrition and increase stress. For effective treatment, it is important to look at the tie between your mind and your gut, and take care of the whole person-nutrition, decreasing stress, and improving well-being.

If you are struggling with GI concerns talk to a health care practitioner trained in both EDs and GI disorders about your emotional well-being.

01/07/2022

Did you know that the gut and brain can communicate with each other? The gut has its own nervous system that is in constant communication with the brain. That means our thoughts and emotions are linked with digestive function.

For more, watch this medical minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGYpafLZ3ik with one of our favourite eating disorder MD’s- Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani

Stay tuned for our next post that looks at this relationship in more detail!

01/05/2022

Your gut microbiota plays a vital role in the way our bodies function and contribute to overall health by:
• Producing vitamins
• Digesting nutrients that we can’t like fibre
• Stimulates the immune system so that it functions properly
• Produce beneficial compounds like short-chain fatty acids
• Influences hormones, mood, and energy levels

Short-chain fatty acids are crucial for gut health because they:
• Provide energy to our gut cells
• Increases the gut barrier function, which prevents foreign compounds and bacteria from getting into circulation
• Regulates a healthy immune system, so we don’t get sick as often
• Protects against harmful bacteria
• Regulates anti-inflammatory processes within the gut
• Helps regulate appetite

When a person doesn’t receive enough nutrition, the gut microbiota does not get the fuel it needs. When this happens, these beneficial compounds do not get produced, and you can see how quickly our health is affected.

Want to know more about how to promote a healthy and happy gut? Keep an eye out for our tips to foster a happy gut!