Episode 124
Alana Van Der Sluys:
The Dieting Myth: Transform Your Health with Intuitive Eating
I am joined by Alana Vander Sluys, a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, founder of Freedom with Food and Fitness, and author of "Freedom with Food and Fitness: How Intuitive Eating is the Key to Becoming Your Happiest, Healthiest Self."
We dive into the principles of intuitive eating, how it can be integrated with specific health plans, and Alana's personal journey overcoming disordered eating. Join us as we explore how tuning into our bodies can lead to true wellness.
First Aired on: Jan 29, 2024
Episode 124
Alana Van Der Sluys:
The Dieting Myth: Transform Your Health with Intuitive Eating
I am joined by Alana Vander Sluys, a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, founder of Freedom with Food and Fitness, and author of "Freedom with Food and Fitness: How Intuitive Eating is the Key to Becoming Your Happiest, Healthiest Self."
We dive into the principles of intuitive eating, how it can be integrated with specific health plans, and Alana's personal journey overcoming disordered eating. Join us as we explore how tuning into our bodies can lead to true wellness.
First Aired on: Jan 29, 2024
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
Alana’s Personal Journey
- Alana opens up about her struggle with eating disorders and how intuitive eating transformed her relationship with food and her body.
- She addresses the misconception that being “fit” is always synonymous with being healthy.
Understanding Intuitive Eating
- Alana explains the principles of intuitive eating and discusses how embracing these principles results in better body confidence and health.
Combating the Diet Mentality
- Discussion on the influence of diet culture and how it can be harmful.
- The importance of challenging long-held beliefs about diets and body image.
Incorporating Intuitive Eating with Specific Health Plans
- Tips on how individuals following a specific food plan, like AIP or gluten-free, can adopt intuitive eating principles.
Rejecting External Validation
- Alana speaks on the power of breaking the generational patterns of body image issues and how we can reclaim our time, money, and energy from dieting.
Key Takeaways
- Intuitive eating centers around listening to your body’s hunger, fullness, and satisfaction cues.
- Reject any media that perpetuates diet culture and negative body image.
- Consider the reasons behind your eating and fitness goals by journaling your intentions.
- Weight set point theory: understanding your body’s natural weight range where it feels most healthy.
- The scale is not an accurate measuring tool for health – consider taking a break from it or getting rid of it altogether.
Other Resources:
Connect with Alana Van Der Sluys
Episode Transcript
Julie Michelson: Welcome back to the inspired living with autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Michelson. And today we're joined by Alana Vander Sluis, certified intuitive eating counselor, founder of freedom with food and fitness, and the author of freedom with food and fitness, how intuitive eating is the key to becoming your happiest, healthiest self.
Julie Michelson: In today's conversation, we're talking about how tuning into our bodies and stepping [Page//00:01:00] away from the scale will lead to the true wellness we all seek. Even if you are on a specific eating plan to support your health, the intuitive eating lifestyle can be incorporated to help you create lifelong wellness. Alana, welcome to the podcast.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Julie Michelson: I'm so excited to just, I'm sure we're only going to scratch the surface, but really excited to learn more and share with listeners about intuitive eating today. But can you share, I know like, like all of us, you have your own journey. Um, that led you into, to be an intuitive eating, you know, expert.
Julie Michelson: So can you share with us a little bit of your journey,
Alana Van Der Sluys: Sure. You know, like a lot of people in this space, I came to this work through personal experience. So when I was in my twenties, and this is all chronicled in the beginning of my book, [Page//00:02:00] Freedom with Food and Fitness, I got to the end of grad school and I was 22. And it was really the first time in my life that I didn't know what my next step was.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I didn't know if I was going to get a job. Where I was going to get a job, where I was going to live, and this is what all young adults go through this transition. Um, but for me, it was very difficult because I had a lot of stability growing up. I was very, I excelled at school. You know, I always got A's. I kind of knew the general trajectory of my life.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And then after grad school, I felt a little bit untethered. and unsure and out of control with my life. And as many do who develop eating disorders, as I decided to take control over food and weight and my body, because I felt like that was something that I could control. And that was like a safe space for me to, uh, take hold of.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And, you know, [Page//00:03:00] what started as. a quote unquote innocent goal weight became this obsession with what I was putting in my mouth, how much I was eating, when I was eating, how much I was working out. And as I just said, it became an obsession. It, it It morphed into a series of undiagnosed eating disorders because I was still, uh, you know, and I'm going to use quotes a lot because I challenge a lot of these notions, but I was a quote unquote normal weight.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And in fact, a lot of people thought that I was very fit and very healthy. And what they didn't realize was the. obsession behind it and the mental anguish that I was going through and also the physical anguish I was going through. My nails were getting brittle, my hair was falling out, all of these physical symptoms.
Alana Van Der Sluys: ironically in the pursuit of health, you know, you know, made my health kind of crumble. [Page//00:04:00] Um, and you know, I was stuck there for a while because I didn't want to get help. I felt like that meant that there was something wrong with me. Right. Um, and I eventually I found these podcasts. Uh, about women talking about intuitive eating and this idea that we as women don't have to constantly be pursuing weight loss or pursuing a smaller body in order to love our bodies and embrace our bodies and feel confident and feel empowered in our food choices.
Alana Van Der Sluys: The food choices didn't have to be about eating as little as possible. to gain a certain goal weight. It could just be honoring our body when we're hungry, when we're full, when we're, and it was, it like it blew my mind because I, you know, like most of us, we grew up in a household with female figures who were constantly dieting and watching what they were eating.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And that's what we did. So it was such a radical notion for me. And. It felt so liberating and so free and I, I wanted to be healthy and I've always wanted to be healthy, but I wanted to do it in a way [Page//00:05:00] that wasn't going to trigger this obsession anymore and intuitive eating fit the bill. So I, I really dug deep into the literature, into the studies, into podcasts and social media, and I adopted.
Alana Van Der Sluys: This, this philosophy, this practice, and it, it, oddly enough, letting go of the calorie counting and the weighing and the measuring and just listening to my body has made me more healthy and more fit than I ever was when I was sick.
Julie Michelson: which is amazing and, and Bravo. And that's, it's such a. It's the key to wellness is listening to our body. Like our body is always giving us information and we tend to tune out and to a point where we just don't even receive the information anymore. So I think whatever healing journey anybody's on, you know, if that, if that's like the one thing they can start [Page//00:06:00] with is just tuning in and listening to those messages.
Julie Michelson: Um, let's back it all the way up. What is intuitive eating?
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yes, great question. So intuitive eating, it is a scientifically validated philosophy that Is centered upon listening to body cues. So, honing into and relearning how to listen to your hunger cues, your fullness cues, and your satisfaction cues. And, you know, those who follow intuitive eating, um, they find that they have better body confidence, they find that their vitals are actually better.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Um, their weight is more stable, so all of the things that diet culture promise us can actually come from simply learning how to listen to your body again, and there are 10 principles, and I, you know, there's, you know, honoring your hunger and your fullness, [Page//00:07:00] learning how to cope with emotions with kindness, how to incorporate what we call joyful movement consistently into your life, um, you know, it's all of these different components, and and, and, and, and, and.
Alana Van Der Sluys: What you said before, Julie, to your point, the key is listening to our bodies, but I think it's the fear. I think it's the fear that we individually are somehow broken, that there's something wrong with us, because everything we've experienced with our weight up until this point has kind of proven to us That we can't trust our bodies, but it's it's simply because we've been trying to follow somebody else's plan for our bodies instead of listening to our own.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So our calibrations are a little bit off.
Julie Michelson: Well, and I, I find to that point growing up, um, I was always, and I, I cannot stand this word because of my experiences growing up, but I was skinny. I was underweight, but I, [Page//00:08:00] I ate, I ate a lot. People always, you know, were like, do you have an eating disorder? Now I understand. And I know I was celiac. I had no, you know, I just wasn't absorbing nutrients.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Wow.
Julie Michelson: if you looked at me, I didn't look underweight. I was just a skinny kid. And if you looked at my dad, he was a, you know, five foot 11 thin. I mean, my whole family was just a thin family, but I was the one, you know, they used to just, I mean, he, and so I really feel like across the board, even people that have been able, women that have been able to maintain a healthy weight. We all have some kind of issues around body image and, and all the things you're talking about. Right. And, and so I just think it's such an important conversation because I didn't need a milkshake every day that wasn't helping [Page//00:09:00] the milkshake with the raw egg. I mean, it was, it was yummy, but that was just a whole different, you know, then I had to break the habit of like, Oh, you're supposed to eat a pint of ice cream every day.
Julie Michelson: Um, yeah. And, and so I just really look forward to a time, you know, I think as we learn as, as women, hopefully we can, you know, not do that same damage to the next, my, my daughter calls me out. Like if I say anything that she hears, yeah. And she'll call me out on it. She'll be like, well, that, that's not going to be good for me to hear or see, or, you know, and I'm like, Oh, thank you.
Julie Michelson: I don't. So there's still stuff in there. I don't even realize is in there and I'm 54. And, and, you know, and I don't, I, I've never had an eating disorder. I've, you know, but I still think we just tend to grow up. Like you said, what's modeled for us creates damage. That's not even talking about, you know, media, social [Page//00:10:00] media, all, all those things, but even just in our homes generationally, what's modeled for us.
Julie Michelson: And so what, what I love that I heard because it's the same, I think whatever it is that works for people, it's not, it's, it's always a lifestyle. And so to me, when you're including joyful movement, that's, that means this is part of a lifestyle, this listening to your body. It's really not just about food.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Absolutely. It's it's really the whole picture and That's what I do with my clients. I have a group coaching program called Defy the Diet. And it's not just about healing your relationship with food. It's learning how to manage your thoughts and your emotions. It's about lowering your stress levels. It's about, as you said, the movement component.
Alana Van Der Sluys: It's about goal setting. Because as you just said, we all want to be a healthy weight. We all [Page//00:11:00] want to be healthy. But what does that even mean? Right. What is your unique definition of health and does it align with Your values. You know what I'm saying? Like, cause I mean, any of us could be social media's version of quote unquote healthy.
Alana Van Der Sluys: We could be, have the six pack and be super lean and super fit. But to get there, those people who are like do bikini competitions and things like that, the amount of work and obsession and. exactness that they have to put themselves through to get to that isn't realistic for most of us. So as you said, we have to find something that keeps us healthy through nutrition and fitness, but also is something that is sustainable.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Because when people go on things like intermittent fasting or keto, You would have to maintain whatever that [Page//00:12:00] diet is for the rest of your life in order to maintain that level of health. So if you're somebody who thinks you can do keto for the next 40, 50 years, great, do keto. But for me personally, I wouldn't be able to maintain that restriction of nutrition, uh, long term without going
Julie Michelson: Well, and I think that bringing in the intuitive eating and just intuition in general, like I did, keto, keto was a really, I grew up fat deprived. We grew up in a family that was afraid of fat, um, because that was the messaging back then. And So for me, keto was a really important part of my healing journey, um, and connecting that to intuitive eating, intuitive lifestyle, I'm no longer, I still try to stay higher fat, lower carb, because that's how I feel better [Page//00:13:00] when I, if I eat too many carbs, I get inflamed, but I don't, and I was never, I never, urgh.
Julie Michelson: You know, used a ketone meter religiously or did any of the I just always listen to my body and there was a point where my doctor was concerned, you know, like, oh, my God, your labs are horrible. You have to stop what you're doing. And I'm like, I feel good for the first time in 15 years. So I'm not stopping.
Julie Michelson: My labs did correct. Um, but so I, I think we, we don't, none of us should eat the same way for decades. Like, that's not, it's, it is not sustainable and it's not fun. Like, where's the joy in that? Like, that's
Julie Michelson: not,
Alana Van Der Sluys: exactly. Because then you're chained to whatever plan that you're on. And, and I say, I say it in my book, I say it all the time, intention is everything. And it sounds like for you, keto was this temporary phase where you were trying to heal the messages that you got as a kid, that fat was [Page//00:14:00] bad and to avoid fat.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So
Julie Michelson: well, it wasn't the messages. It was actually my body, like physically, like that, some of that was driving my autoimmunity, you know, just that imbalance and the lack of like good omegas and, and the things. Um, but you're right. The intention is. It's huge with everything we do.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Absolutely. And, and as you said just now, and as we were kind of saying before we started recording, you have to be, like you said, um, carbs inflame you, right? So we have to be careful as intuitive eaters that we are honoring the uniqueness of our own bodies and our own conditions. So. You know, somebody else who doesn't have celiac disease might be able to have a higher carb, lower fat diet, but that's not for you. You know what I'm saying? So you have to honor that and you have to choose what foods feel good in your [Page//00:15:00] body with that knowledge as well, right? With it's and it's not or it's and
Julie Michelson: Right. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, which is, I think a perfect segue of bringing together because a lot of listeners, you know, either they're, if they're not on a AIP or they're gluten free or they're, you know, maybe they've done food sensitivity testing and they're avoiding certain foods specifically, you know, for their body as part of their healing journey.
Julie Michelson: So how, you know, how are. How do we marry the two, right? Because I do think, um, coaching women that need a lifestyle change, but had a history, have a history of disordered eating. I, it's, you have to be really careful, right? And so, and I don't, and that's where I like, it's the same thing. Like people think AIP is, you know, this really strict diet and it's not, [Page//00:16:00] it's also lifestyle.
Julie Michelson: It also includes all of those pillars that you mentioned you work with on your in your program, right? It's not food is not. It's like the low hanging fruit. It's not the answer to wellness. It's a component of wellness. Um,
Julie Michelson: and
Alana Van Der Sluys: not have been that better. That was, that was, that is. Repeat that. That was
Julie Michelson: It was good. I'll have to go back and write that down. No, really, though, it is, we do, we start there, right? Like, I have so many people, I'm sure you do, too, that are like, well, because that's the training we have, right? Just tell me what to eat. And I'm like, that's not going to solve your problem. You know, I can, you know, or what do you eat?
Julie Michelson: I'm like, well, that's for my body. Let's, you know, let's. So how do we eat. Okay. shift to, because I think there are a lot of people listening that have some kind of a structured, probably restrictive eating plan, or maybe they've resisted making any [Page//00:17:00] of those kinds of changes because they're afraid of that restrictive plan, right, even if they intuitively know there are things they're eating that maybe aren't serving them.
Julie Michelson: So how do you marry that, the two? Like, it doesn't have to be either or, does it?
Alana Van Der Sluys: No, it can be and. And it's so difficult. I think we really have to I know I'm a big fan of journaling. I think it really serves us to sit down. And really be honest with ourselves in terms of, are we, with how we eat and how we move our body, are we chasing diet culture's thin ideal? Or are we chasing true health?
Alana Van Der Sluys: Because somebody in a larger body can still be healthy and Maybe that is their ideal weight for their genetics and their body structure. Not everybody is meant to [Page//00:18:00] be thin, but a lot of us chase that thinness under the guise of health, but then we're doing all of these unhealthy, restrictive, disordered behaviors in order to get there.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So I think one of the First steps is to really journal out and be honest with what is your intention with following a certain meal plan, a certain exercise program. And Don't shame yourself if you find out that you really are chasing this thin ideal or this diet cultury, you know, wellness cultury version of health because it's what we've been taught, as you said before, there's so much messaging that we've, that we've received not only from gen, you know, generations before us, but also now with social media.
Alana Van Der Sluys: It's everywhere, it is constant, and we take that messaging after a while [Page//00:19:00] and believe it to be objective truth, and it's not. So there are a lot of women that walk around thinking that thinness equals health, that thinness equals confidence, because that's what we're fed, but it's not necessarily the truth.
Julie Michelson: It's not, it's not at all. So, so journaling is, is where you start, kind of just going inward a little bit.
Alana Van Der Sluys: yeah, because one of the one of the biggest components of my coaching program is a play on cognitive behavioral therapy I I want my clients to realize that their thoughts create their emotions which drive their actions So to get down on paper and be really honest with what are your thoughts about health about?
Alana Van Der Sluys: body confidence about exercise, about weight. And once you have those thoughts out in front of you, you could start to tease out which of these are actual objective truths and which of these are things that I've been conditioned to believe. [Page//00:20:00] Which of these can I challenge? And which of these do I want to keep?
Alana Van Der Sluys: And which of these do I want to get rid of? And replaced with something that serves me better.
Julie Michelson: I love that. I too, in my coaching, we start with mindset. know, because it all comes down to our thoughts and our emotions and our, our judgments. And so it's, it, you know, I used to, in the beginning, like, get to that, right? We would start with diet or we'd start with, and now it's like, oh no, we start with, you know, what are those stories going on in there and how do we, you know, let's shift to what serves you better.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Um, so I love that. And I, I, I used to be very Um, I would get frustrated with if people would come in and, you know, they, their driver was to lose weight and they had all these health issues. And it used to frustrate me because it was like, no, I would like, we're here to be [Page//00:21:00] healthy and the weight will fall off.
Julie Michelson: You know, like you said, you'll find your ideal weight. Like when you're doing the things that serve your body. That just happens. And people used to laugh at me, you know, what do you mean? My weight will fall off. I've been a yo yo dieter for 60 years. I'm like, well, we're going to shift. Um, and now it's like, I'll take whatever your motivation is, but we're still going to, we're, we're still going to start with mindset and focus on health and wellness.
Julie Michelson: And weight is just a by product of that.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I mean, I was, and I shouldn't have been shocked at this point because I was already an intuitive eater, but I felt like this experience that I'm about to tell you about just kind of reconfirmed the power of intuitive eating. When I was pregnant, right? Gained weight. Had the baby. I went back to just Listening to my hunger, fullness, and satiety cues, I moved my body half an hour a day, but I was [Page//00:22:00] consistent.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I didn't do any crash diets. I didn't, uh, you know, take out any food groups. I didn't punish myself with the exercise. The weight just fell off. It fell off. I was back to my normal weight within a month. Which is insane. A lot of women are like, fight to get the weight off, and some, some of them never get it off, and it's because they're not listening to their bodies.
Alana Van Der Sluys: They're trying to do these crazy fad diets that they hear other women did to get the weight off, and they're not listening to themselves.
Julie Michelson: So true. So, so true. And, and I know people looking at you would be like, well, of course, look at you, you know,
Alana Van Der Sluys: All the time, I get
Julie Michelson: know, I know, I know people are like, well, you don't understand. And I'm like, I didn't eat this way. I didn't live this way, you know, for the first 40 years of my life, which is You know, why I was sick to begin with.
Julie Michelson: People think, you know, I've never had [Page//00:23:00] fast food or never ate junk food or, you know, never. And they're shocked when they hear like, yeah, I used to do all the things that the average person in America does. Um, and now I listen to my body. I could, couldn't even, some of that I couldn't even imagine.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yeah. And, and, and, and to answer that, because I, I'm sure some of your listeners are, if this comes out on video, they're gonna look at me and be like, well, yeah, skinny girl, like, what do you want? And what I say to that is, first of all, anybody who's coming Into listening to this conversation with that mindset still believes that thinness equals happiness and success and health.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Um, so, so, you're, it's, they're kind of conflating me being thin with me having everything that I want somehow. I have bad and good days just like anybody else. Life is still 50 50 for me, just like anybody else. But the other thing that I do want to tell your listeners if they kind [Page//00:24:00] of feel that way is, when I was a hundred pounds, which I'm 5'4 so that is grossly under what I should ever be.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I still hated my body. I still didn't feel like it was enough. And that was the moment, that was one of my light bulb moments, where I was like, When is it going to be enough? And I have clients that are in thin bodies. I have clients in larger bodies. And all of them feel like they're not small enough. And that's because what's really going on when we feel like we need to be in a smaller body is we're looking for what I call salve.
Alana Van Der Sluys: We're looking for one of four core needs as humans. So salve is safety, acceptance. love and validation. Those are the things that we're looking for when we're trying to chase a smaller body. Cause [Page//00:25:00] again, health doesn't equal fitness. So when you're searching for fitness in particular, what you're really again, looking for is safety, acceptance, love, and validation, because we're programmed to believe that we're in a, when we're in a thinner body, we will have those things.
Alana Van Der Sluys: We'll feel safe in a world that values thinness. We'll feel accepted in a world that values thinness. We'll have love because every movie, TV show we've ever seen with a leading lady is thin and pretty and young.
Julie Michelson: Hmm.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And we'll be validated. People will be like, Oh my gosh, you look so great. What have you done?
Alana Van Der Sluys: What diet were you on? We want all of those things. And it's natural to want all of those things. But chasing a smaller body in order to get those things doesn't serve us. Right.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And I think that's a, it's such a wonderful piece of it. It's like, just pause right here, pause, take a breath. Drop into your heart and you know, which one or two or three or four [Page//00:26:00] of those things are driving Your your patterns. Oh,
Alana Van Der Sluys: And there's no, there's no shame in it. And,
Julie Michelson: no
Alana Van Der Sluys: again, as I said before, journal it out and be honest with yourself. I mean, I am honest with the fact that I now realize. That my search for thinness was I wanted external validation when I was a kid and growing up, it was getting the A or getting the award or being an extracurricular activities.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And I fed on that. I loved that. And then when I felt I didn't have it anymore, dieting and getting a smaller body was my way of getting that external validation. Again, it was it was filling the void. So, and, and that's, you know, of course, that's not something that I wanted for myself. That's not something I, I'm proud to admit, but it's the truth.
Julie Michelson: Well, and that's why we have these conversations is because it's gonna resonate with people, right? It's not I used to be so hesitant to share my [Page//00:27:00] story because I just wasn't somebody who talked about myself Publicly, right? Like who wants to hear my story? And then I was like, Oh my gosh, I can help people if I share my story and you're sharing your story because, you know, that's the, um, this is exactly because people need to hear the hope is one day these conversations and books like your book are going to kind of drown out the rest.
Julie Michelson: The messaging that people are getting from social and on even just regular media, um, you know, we've got, we have to balance it out and then again, it's the same that that generational, you know, anybody who goes through your program or, you know, it's peaked by this conversation or reads your book or is hopefully, you know, their daughter or their daughter's daughter.
Julie Michelson: Isn't going to grow [Page//00:28:00] up the same way that the past many generations have,
Alana Van Der Sluys: Absolutely. And it is generational. Disordered eating is absolutely generational. And I'm happy that I broke the pattern. And I have a three year old son, so I don't have a daughter, but I feel like it's important for him too because, and we won't get too much into this, but you know, men are also getting a message of how they should look.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And the, the, The semantics are different, the terms are different, right? They're told to be strong and fit and all of these things, but I also want him to have an idea and an image of what a woman who doesn't focus solely on her body looks like. How she backs her body, how she feeds her body, how she moves her body.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I want him to see that. But it's yeah, it's it's a generational thing and I love especially work as a mom. I love working with other moms because I want them to be the change makers in [Page//00:29:00] their lineage. I think that's so powerful.
Julie Michelson: it is. It's huge. Look, we know, you know, women drive the family's health. Right. Yet, somehow, we got kind of lost in the mix there. And, and so this is, it is in that sense, um, again, to me, it's just all about empowerment, um, and again, not just for your own personal health. So, so how does somebody who, you know, like, where do people start?
Julie Michelson: What is, what's a good place to start? Because for so many people, know, just even tapping into intuition at all, right, listening to your body, listen, all those things that we've kind of were taught to shut down in school, like, we just really had lost touch with, um, you know, at, I don't know, at least my experience was it's, it's about logic and it's about, you know, I remember [Page//00:30:00] always teaching my daughter, like, if the hair on the back of your neck stands up.
Julie Michelson: get out of that situation, right? Like we, we need to be tapping in, we get all these cues. So how does somebody even, like, get started?
Alana Van Der Sluys: The first principle of intuitive eating is rejecting the diet mentality. So the diet mentality are all of those external messages that we get about worthiness and weight and health and calories and dress sizes and macros and all of these things. So I would say to comb through any media that you consume and get rid of anything that talks about dieting or weight loss.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So go through Instagram, Facebook, all social media, go through any magazine subscriptions and just, as you said, use kind of The gut check, right? If you're scrolling [Page//00:31:00] through social media and you see posts that make you feel bad about yourself, that make you feel comparison itis, just make you feel icky in any way about yourself, mute them, unfollow them, start combing out all of that diet mentality, because the more we get that message of diet mentality in our head, the harder it is for us to break free of that.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So I would say that is a good first step.
Julie Michelson: I like that. I like that. That's something that everybody can do. Um, I, it's funny, like I could hear listeners objections already to like, you know, I, I think, um, Especially, I would say women in their 60s tends to be like that group that'll come in. Um, I usually try not to mention any like companies or anything, but I'm going, I can't tell you how many women have come in [Page//00:32:00] and you know, I've, I'm a lifetime yo yo dieter and I'm now a lifetime Weight Watchers member.
Julie Michelson: And I'm like, that re That right there, . Like that's,
Alana Van Der Sluys: That's it right there.
Julie Michelson: if it worked, you wouldn't need to be a lifetime member. Like, so, you know, let's shift all of that. So I, you know, I can, I, I know like initially there's this knee jerk reaction to like, no, if I'm not on a diet, I'm going to, I don't know, eat till I explode.
Julie Michelson: Like, I'm not sure what they're afraid of is gonna happen
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yeah, well, that's, that's another thing to, to journal out is what, what do you think the worst thing that is going to happen? And once people actually explore that fear, they either realize that it's so improbable or that it's irrational. You're not going to gain weight, gain weight, gain weight, gain weight until you explode,
Julie Michelson: right.
Alana Van Der Sluys: you know?
Alana Van Der Sluys: And yes, in an [Page//00:33:00] intuitive journey. You might gain weight initially and have it fall back off because your body's trying to recalibrate. So there is that flux period, but women are so It is okay. It happened to me! You know, I, I initially gained weight at first and it was scary because of my conditioning, but I, I knew I couldn't go back to that yo yo dieting and that cycling, that weight cycling, because that weight cycling is Much worse for you than being a stable weight is that's what the study you can look up the studies But you know, it's it's it's very hard because especially with women we're never told to trust our own intuition We're never told to trust themselves So it's a very scary concept But if you stick with it and you have somebody that can hold you accountable That is an expert that that can show you that it gets better and it gets easier, it, the whole process becomes easier.
Julie Michelson: That's it. It's so true. [Page//00:34:00] Um, and it is, it's the same like what I said with, you know, my labs looked ugly as my body was adjusting. And then all of a sudden, you know, Issues that I had in my labs, my entire life that I thought was genetic gone, changed, fixed. So I really like, and I have to, this was way earlier in the conversation, but I want to circle around and throw my 2 cents into those images of, you know, the, the, the bikini competitions and the, the, I actually disagree.
Julie Michelson: That's not healthy. It's not healthy for anybody. And those people have health issues later from doing that to their bodies for, you know, unless it was like a brief visit into anybody who's, who's, who's Living that way for an extended period of time is going to have health consequences later. I see it all the [Page//00:35:00] time.
Julie Michelson: You know, they're especially when they get to an age where they're starting to have a family or wanting to have a family. And lo and behold, they can't because they never allowed their body to even have. You know hormone cycles and and so, you know, what we think have been told is pretty and should be healthy or you know It's just not healthy.
Alana Van Der Sluys: No, it's not that chapter eight. I go over the dangers of the perfect body
Julie Michelson: Oh, I love it.
Alana Van Der Sluys: about the bikini competitors and how, yes, we could all have that dream body that we want, but at what cost and it basically costs the rest of your life. So it really is a lesson. What do you value in your life for sure?
Alana Van Der Sluys: And yet to your point about, you know, trying to conceive if, if your body's not getting enough nutrients, it will delegate that energy and those nutrients to your most [Page//00:36:00] vital bodily symptoms, your circulatory system, your respiratory system, your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, it, it, you know, your, your reproductive system is more of a secondary system.
Alana Van Der Sluys: You don't need it to survive. So your body will shut that off. Yes,
Julie Michelson: one of the reasons, you know when we talk about stress management Right? We all live in this chronic stress state, which does shut down things like digestion, fertility, you know, you don't have to be able to conceive if you don't outrun the tiger, right? Like that's just the way our bodies are designed, right?
Julie Michelson: It doesn't matter if you digest lunch or can conceive if, you know, the tiger gets you. Unfortunately, we live in that state all the time, unless we're taking steps to balance that out. Um, so it is, and, and Depleting your body or taxing your body that way. That's a that is chronic stress at a [Page//00:37:00] whole nother level.
Julie Michelson: I mean, the stress can be literally physical too. So, um, you know, just changing that conversation around what is healthy, like what actually is healthy and pretty. I mean, go to a museum and look at artwork from centuries ago. And look at what the women look like. Right? Like, that's what was appreciated as beauty.
Julie Michelson: Like, we, we've, like, we're at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I would say somewhere in the middle would probably be, you know, ideal, or depending on who you are, where you land. Right? Like, I, Should never have been trying to, you know, artificially pack on weight, you know, then what happened was I went gluten free, you know, at the same time that my Hashimoto's was in full swing and my rheumatoid arthritis was, you know, off the, and all of a sudden I was, I was absorbing nutrients and it was like a whole [Page//00:38:00] different.
Julie Michelson: game because then I was like, well, who am I? I don't, you know, I don't know this person. So that it was just fun. But as I got healthy, I came back to just, you know, settled in at like, this is kind of my way. And I would say we all have. especially women, a little bit of a fluctuation. Like, there is no one number that's ideal for anybody.
Julie Michelson: Do you agree? Like, that we should have this, like, range of here? I feel best when I'm in this range.
Alana Van Der Sluys: there's, there's something called, um, weight set point theory. So weight set point is a range where, uh, each individual body feels best, you know, most optimal, most, most vitality, most energy, and everybody's is different. It's largely genetically determined, but unfortunately, the more that we diet, [Page//00:39:00] the more, the more chance that your weight set point actually increases.
Alana Van Der Sluys: with
Julie Michelson: Say that again!
Alana Van Der Sluys: So the more that we diet, chronic dieting can actually increase your weight set point.
Julie Michelson: Wow.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yeah.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. And that's the problem, right? Like, that's the, you know, that's that yo yo of, and why people tend to bounce higher each, maybe not each go round, but over time.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Over time, absolutely. And I mean that weight cycling, that up and down, that, that puts so much stress on your body, so much inflammation. Uh, it increases your risks of diabetes and heart disease and str like all of this stuff. It's really scary, but you know, diet, you know, diet programs don't tell you about that part,
Julie Michelson: Right. Right. So walk us through a little bit. Tell me, tell us a little more about the book.[Page//00:40:00]
Alana Van Der Sluys: Great. So, yeah, the book is called Freedom with Food and Fitness. Uh, it's a super easy read, super quick read. Um, it really helps you to love your body at any size, create sustainable nutrition and fitness goals. It really explains the science behind how diets disconnect us from our body and how to really change your mindset around food and fitness and what What I really love about the book is that, you know, there is an intuitive eating book by the founders of intuitive eating.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I felt like it was more philosophy, like the conversation was more about philosophy, it was a little more of an esoteric conversation and I wanted to Write a book for women that was really grounded in practicality, like really actionable tips that you could implement the day you read the book. Um, for things that we all think about with our busy schedules, like how can we meal prep as an intuitive eater?
Alana Van Der Sluys: How can we [Page//00:41:00] as women get more protein and without, you know, feeling like we had to choke down egg whites all day long. Like, how do we, how do we get this stuff done? How do we fit in? Time for consistent exercise when we're, you know, so busy, right? It's busy, busy culture. So how do we do all those things? So there's dozens and dozens of tips and tricks in the book that make it really simple to start coming home to trusting your body without having to, you know, rely on a diet to make you healthy.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And, yeah, it's
Julie Michelson: Amazing. Uh, so, and it is, I love the, cause was it 1995 that the, they coined The intuitive eating.
Alana Van Der Sluys: 97, somewhere, somewhere in that, yeah, in
Julie Michelson: Okay. Okay. So I mean, it's, it's interesting because it's, I feel like you're starting to hear about it more now. Um, but yet it's been around for a while.
Alana Van Der Sluys: You know, I think social media, I think social media, I think that it [Page//00:42:00] really allowed for the body liberation movement to mobilize together all across the globe and build up this voice. This is like, we as women don't have to cater to your thin ideal. We don't have to distract ourselves by dieting. Instead of dieting, we're going to do some other cool stuff
Julie Michelson: oh my gosh, the energy resources, just even the mental energy resources that are freed up. When people aren't thinking that way is is amazing.
Alana Van Der Sluys: If there's anybody out there listening who's part of a corporation or an organization where you want someone to speak about that, I love speaking to groups of women about that, about the time, money, and energy that we waste on diets and how we can reclaim that back to, you know, do whatever we want in our life, whatever your dream is, whether it's being an entrepreneur or being the best mom that you can or whatever it is.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So I, yeah, it's, it, [Page//00:43:00] The conversation is much bigger than weight and food, it's, it's, we can go into patriarchy, we can go into all of those things, but it's just, it's, it's so interesting,
Julie Michelson: It is it really is and it's you know, we didn't we didn't get here overnight and and so hopefully between you know, the book you're the programs like you said the just The spread of knowledge on on social media, these conversations, hopefully we're gonna start to shift it back. So I love it. I know you already gave us a lot of places people can start, but this is your opportunity.
Julie Michelson: You can circle back. You can add something different. What is one step that listeners can take starting today to improve their health?
Alana Van Der Sluys: Okay, well we already said reject the diet mentality, we already said journal out what you consider health to be, but the, the thing that people can do today, get rid of the scale.[Page//00:44:00]
Julie Michelson: Ah.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Smash it. Donate it, throw it, whatever you gotta do. Reliance on that number will keep you stuck in trying to manipulate that number instead of listening to what your body actually needs.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I haven't weighed myself in years. When I go to the doctor and they ask me to, I say no thank you. I don't want to know. I want to Just tap into how I feel and what I need. Some days I eat more, some days I eat less, and I'm just going to honor that. And I feel better doing that. So get rid of the scale ladies.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Dump it.
Julie Michelson: Love it. Ah, such good advice. And so many people are probably thinking, some people are celebrating like, yeah, you know, I can toss my scale. And other people are like, no way I could not ever
Alana Van Der Sluys: girl's crazy!
Julie Michelson: just try it. And if you're not ready to get rid of it, like lock it away or give it to your next door neighbor at a hold or[Page//00:45:00]
Alana Van Der Sluys: That's the thing I did at first is I put it in my basement and I just, and make a promise with yourself. Say one week, I'm going to do this for one week and if I hate it and it doesn't work for me, I can always go back to the, you know, torture of dieting that worked, you know, that felt safer to me, but give yourself a week and just see what happens.
Julie Michelson: Love it. Such good advice. So, before we wrap up, listening on the go, which is how I listen to podcasts, um, if they're not gonna, I'm not great always at checking show notes, where's the best place to find you if people are like, Hey, this is really resonating. I want to know more.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yes, and if they I want to hear from everybody who took a nugget away from this feels inspired by this I'm at freedom with food and fitness on Instagram at freedom with food and fitness on Facebook freedom with food and fitness dot com. The book is called freedom with food and fitness if you want to pick up a copy of the book it's at Amazon Barnes and Noble bookshop.
Alana Van Der Sluys: org wherever you get [Page//00:46:00] your books, I would love to hear from everybody I'm mostly on Instagram so. Freedom with food and fitness. DM me. Let's have a conversation. I have, as we talked about before, I have a program, an intuitive eating coaching program. It's virtual. So anybody out there who felt inspired, wants more support, come find me.
Julie Michelson: Awesome. Thank you so much, Alana. You've shared amazing gold with us today.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Of course. Thank you, Julie.
Julie Michelson: For everyone listening, remember you can get the show notes and transcripts by visiting inspiredliving. show. Hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
Julie Michelson: In today's conversation, we're talking about how tuning into our bodies and stepping [Page//00:01:00] away from the scale will lead to the true wellness we all seek. Even if you are on a specific eating plan to support your health, the intuitive eating lifestyle can be incorporated to help you create lifelong wellness. Alana, welcome to the podcast.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Julie Michelson: I'm so excited to just, I'm sure we're only going to scratch the surface, but really excited to learn more and share with listeners about intuitive eating today. But can you share, I know like, like all of us, you have your own journey. Um, that led you into, to be an intuitive eating, you know, expert.
Julie Michelson: So can you share with us a little bit of your journey,
Alana Van Der Sluys: Sure. You know, like a lot of people in this space, I came to this work through personal experience. So when I was in my twenties, and this is all chronicled in the beginning of my book, [Page//00:02:00] Freedom with Food and Fitness, I got to the end of grad school and I was 22. And it was really the first time in my life that I didn't know what my next step was.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I didn't know if I was going to get a job. Where I was going to get a job, where I was going to live, and this is what all young adults go through this transition. Um, but for me, it was very difficult because I had a lot of stability growing up. I was very, I excelled at school. You know, I always got A's. I kind of knew the general trajectory of my life.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And then after grad school, I felt a little bit untethered. and unsure and out of control with my life. And as many do who develop eating disorders, as I decided to take control over food and weight and my body, because I felt like that was something that I could control. And that was like a safe space for me to, uh, take hold of.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And, you know, [Page//00:03:00] what started as. a quote unquote innocent goal weight became this obsession with what I was putting in my mouth, how much I was eating, when I was eating, how much I was working out. And as I just said, it became an obsession. It, it It morphed into a series of undiagnosed eating disorders because I was still, uh, you know, and I'm going to use quotes a lot because I challenge a lot of these notions, but I was a quote unquote normal weight.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And in fact, a lot of people thought that I was very fit and very healthy. And what they didn't realize was the. obsession behind it and the mental anguish that I was going through and also the physical anguish I was going through. My nails were getting brittle, my hair was falling out, all of these physical symptoms.
Alana Van Der Sluys: ironically in the pursuit of health, you know, you know, made my health kind of crumble. [Page//00:04:00] Um, and you know, I was stuck there for a while because I didn't want to get help. I felt like that meant that there was something wrong with me. Right. Um, and I eventually I found these podcasts. Uh, about women talking about intuitive eating and this idea that we as women don't have to constantly be pursuing weight loss or pursuing a smaller body in order to love our bodies and embrace our bodies and feel confident and feel empowered in our food choices.
Alana Van Der Sluys: The food choices didn't have to be about eating as little as possible. to gain a certain goal weight. It could just be honoring our body when we're hungry, when we're full, when we're, and it was, it like it blew my mind because I, you know, like most of us, we grew up in a household with female figures who were constantly dieting and watching what they were eating.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And that's what we did. So it was such a radical notion for me. And. It felt so liberating and so free and I, I wanted to be healthy and I've always wanted to be healthy, but I wanted to do it in a way [Page//00:05:00] that wasn't going to trigger this obsession anymore and intuitive eating fit the bill. So I, I really dug deep into the literature, into the studies, into podcasts and social media, and I adopted.
Alana Van Der Sluys: This, this philosophy, this practice, and it, it, oddly enough, letting go of the calorie counting and the weighing and the measuring and just listening to my body has made me more healthy and more fit than I ever was when I was sick.
Julie Michelson: which is amazing and, and Bravo. And that's, it's such a. It's the key to wellness is listening to our body. Like our body is always giving us information and we tend to tune out and to a point where we just don't even receive the information anymore. So I think whatever healing journey anybody's on, you know, if that, if that's like the one thing they can start [Page//00:06:00] with is just tuning in and listening to those messages.
Julie Michelson: Um, let's back it all the way up. What is intuitive eating?
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yes, great question. So intuitive eating, it is a scientifically validated philosophy that Is centered upon listening to body cues. So, honing into and relearning how to listen to your hunger cues, your fullness cues, and your satisfaction cues. And, you know, those who follow intuitive eating, um, they find that they have better body confidence, they find that their vitals are actually better.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Um, their weight is more stable, so all of the things that diet culture promise us can actually come from simply learning how to listen to your body again, and there are 10 principles, and I, you know, there's, you know, honoring your hunger and your fullness, [Page//00:07:00] learning how to cope with emotions with kindness, how to incorporate what we call joyful movement consistently into your life, um, you know, it's all of these different components, and and, and, and, and, and.
Alana Van Der Sluys: What you said before, Julie, to your point, the key is listening to our bodies, but I think it's the fear. I think it's the fear that we individually are somehow broken, that there's something wrong with us, because everything we've experienced with our weight up until this point has kind of proven to us That we can't trust our bodies, but it's it's simply because we've been trying to follow somebody else's plan for our bodies instead of listening to our own.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So our calibrations are a little bit off.
Julie Michelson: Well, and I, I find to that point growing up, um, I was always, and I, I cannot stand this word because of my experiences growing up, but I was skinny. I was underweight, but I, [Page//00:08:00] I ate, I ate a lot. People always, you know, were like, do you have an eating disorder? Now I understand. And I know I was celiac. I had no, you know, I just wasn't absorbing nutrients.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Wow.
Julie Michelson: if you looked at me, I didn't look underweight. I was just a skinny kid. And if you looked at my dad, he was a, you know, five foot 11 thin. I mean, my whole family was just a thin family, but I was the one, you know, they used to just, I mean, he, and so I really feel like across the board, even people that have been able, women that have been able to maintain a healthy weight. We all have some kind of issues around body image and, and all the things you're talking about. Right. And, and so I just think it's such an important conversation because I didn't need a milkshake every day that wasn't helping [Page//00:09:00] the milkshake with the raw egg. I mean, it was, it was yummy, but that was just a whole different, you know, then I had to break the habit of like, Oh, you're supposed to eat a pint of ice cream every day.
Julie Michelson: Um, yeah. And, and so I just really look forward to a time, you know, I think as we learn as, as women, hopefully we can, you know, not do that same damage to the next, my, my daughter calls me out. Like if I say anything that she hears, yeah. And she'll call me out on it. She'll be like, well, that, that's not going to be good for me to hear or see, or, you know, and I'm like, Oh, thank you.
Julie Michelson: I don't. So there's still stuff in there. I don't even realize is in there and I'm 54. And, and, you know, and I don't, I, I've never had an eating disorder. I've, you know, but I still think we just tend to grow up. Like you said, what's modeled for us creates damage. That's not even talking about, you know, media, social [Page//00:10:00] media, all, all those things, but even just in our homes generationally, what's modeled for us.
Julie Michelson: And so what, what I love that I heard because it's the same, I think whatever it is that works for people, it's not, it's, it's always a lifestyle. And so to me, when you're including joyful movement, that's, that means this is part of a lifestyle, this listening to your body. It's really not just about food.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Absolutely. It's it's really the whole picture and That's what I do with my clients. I have a group coaching program called Defy the Diet. And it's not just about healing your relationship with food. It's learning how to manage your thoughts and your emotions. It's about lowering your stress levels. It's about, as you said, the movement component.
Alana Van Der Sluys: It's about goal setting. Because as you just said, we all want to be a healthy weight. We all [Page//00:11:00] want to be healthy. But what does that even mean? Right. What is your unique definition of health and does it align with Your values. You know what I'm saying? Like, cause I mean, any of us could be social media's version of quote unquote healthy.
Alana Van Der Sluys: We could be, have the six pack and be super lean and super fit. But to get there, those people who are like do bikini competitions and things like that, the amount of work and obsession and. exactness that they have to put themselves through to get to that isn't realistic for most of us. So as you said, we have to find something that keeps us healthy through nutrition and fitness, but also is something that is sustainable.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Because when people go on things like intermittent fasting or keto, You would have to maintain whatever that [Page//00:12:00] diet is for the rest of your life in order to maintain that level of health. So if you're somebody who thinks you can do keto for the next 40, 50 years, great, do keto. But for me personally, I wouldn't be able to maintain that restriction of nutrition, uh, long term without going
Julie Michelson: Well, and I think that bringing in the intuitive eating and just intuition in general, like I did, keto, keto was a really, I grew up fat deprived. We grew up in a family that was afraid of fat, um, because that was the messaging back then. And So for me, keto was a really important part of my healing journey, um, and connecting that to intuitive eating, intuitive lifestyle, I'm no longer, I still try to stay higher fat, lower carb, because that's how I feel better [Page//00:13:00] when I, if I eat too many carbs, I get inflamed, but I don't, and I was never, I never, urgh.
Julie Michelson: You know, used a ketone meter religiously or did any of the I just always listen to my body and there was a point where my doctor was concerned, you know, like, oh, my God, your labs are horrible. You have to stop what you're doing. And I'm like, I feel good for the first time in 15 years. So I'm not stopping.
Julie Michelson: My labs did correct. Um, but so I, I think we, we don't, none of us should eat the same way for decades. Like, that's not, it's, it is not sustainable and it's not fun. Like, where's the joy in that? Like, that's
Julie Michelson: not,
Alana Van Der Sluys: exactly. Because then you're chained to whatever plan that you're on. And, and I say, I say it in my book, I say it all the time, intention is everything. And it sounds like for you, keto was this temporary phase where you were trying to heal the messages that you got as a kid, that fat was [Page//00:14:00] bad and to avoid fat.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So
Julie Michelson: well, it wasn't the messages. It was actually my body, like physically, like that, some of that was driving my autoimmunity, you know, just that imbalance and the lack of like good omegas and, and the things. Um, but you're right. The intention is. It's huge with everything we do.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Absolutely. And, and as you said just now, and as we were kind of saying before we started recording, you have to be, like you said, um, carbs inflame you, right? So we have to be careful as intuitive eaters that we are honoring the uniqueness of our own bodies and our own conditions. So. You know, somebody else who doesn't have celiac disease might be able to have a higher carb, lower fat diet, but that's not for you. You know what I'm saying? So you have to honor that and you have to choose what foods feel good in your [Page//00:15:00] body with that knowledge as well, right? With it's and it's not or it's and
Julie Michelson: Right. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, which is, I think a perfect segue of bringing together because a lot of listeners, you know, either they're, if they're not on a AIP or they're gluten free or they're, you know, maybe they've done food sensitivity testing and they're avoiding certain foods specifically, you know, for their body as part of their healing journey.
Julie Michelson: So how, you know, how are. How do we marry the two, right? Because I do think, um, coaching women that need a lifestyle change, but had a history, have a history of disordered eating. I, it's, you have to be really careful, right? And so, and I don't, and that's where I like, it's the same thing. Like people think AIP is, you know, this really strict diet and it's not, [Page//00:16:00] it's also lifestyle.
Julie Michelson: It also includes all of those pillars that you mentioned you work with on your in your program, right? It's not food is not. It's like the low hanging fruit. It's not the answer to wellness. It's a component of wellness. Um,
Julie Michelson: and
Alana Van Der Sluys: not have been that better. That was, that was, that is. Repeat that. That was
Julie Michelson: It was good. I'll have to go back and write that down. No, really, though, it is, we do, we start there, right? Like, I have so many people, I'm sure you do, too, that are like, well, because that's the training we have, right? Just tell me what to eat. And I'm like, that's not going to solve your problem. You know, I can, you know, or what do you eat?
Julie Michelson: I'm like, well, that's for my body. Let's, you know, let's. So how do we eat. Okay. shift to, because I think there are a lot of people listening that have some kind of a structured, probably restrictive eating plan, or maybe they've resisted making any [Page//00:17:00] of those kinds of changes because they're afraid of that restrictive plan, right, even if they intuitively know there are things they're eating that maybe aren't serving them.
Julie Michelson: So how do you marry that, the two? Like, it doesn't have to be either or, does it?
Alana Van Der Sluys: No, it can be and. And it's so difficult. I think we really have to I know I'm a big fan of journaling. I think it really serves us to sit down. And really be honest with ourselves in terms of, are we, with how we eat and how we move our body, are we chasing diet culture's thin ideal? Or are we chasing true health?
Alana Van Der Sluys: Because somebody in a larger body can still be healthy and Maybe that is their ideal weight for their genetics and their body structure. Not everybody is meant to [Page//00:18:00] be thin, but a lot of us chase that thinness under the guise of health, but then we're doing all of these unhealthy, restrictive, disordered behaviors in order to get there.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So I think one of the First steps is to really journal out and be honest with what is your intention with following a certain meal plan, a certain exercise program. And Don't shame yourself if you find out that you really are chasing this thin ideal or this diet cultury, you know, wellness cultury version of health because it's what we've been taught, as you said before, there's so much messaging that we've, that we've received not only from gen, you know, generations before us, but also now with social media.
Alana Van Der Sluys: It's everywhere, it is constant, and we take that messaging after a while [Page//00:19:00] and believe it to be objective truth, and it's not. So there are a lot of women that walk around thinking that thinness equals health, that thinness equals confidence, because that's what we're fed, but it's not necessarily the truth.
Julie Michelson: It's not, it's not at all. So, so journaling is, is where you start, kind of just going inward a little bit.
Alana Van Der Sluys: yeah, because one of the one of the biggest components of my coaching program is a play on cognitive behavioral therapy I I want my clients to realize that their thoughts create their emotions which drive their actions So to get down on paper and be really honest with what are your thoughts about health about?
Alana Van Der Sluys: body confidence about exercise, about weight. And once you have those thoughts out in front of you, you could start to tease out which of these are actual objective truths and which of these are things that I've been conditioned to believe. [Page//00:20:00] Which of these can I challenge? And which of these do I want to keep?
Alana Van Der Sluys: And which of these do I want to get rid of? And replaced with something that serves me better.
Julie Michelson: I love that. I too, in my coaching, we start with mindset. know, because it all comes down to our thoughts and our emotions and our, our judgments. And so it's, it, you know, I used to, in the beginning, like, get to that, right? We would start with diet or we'd start with, and now it's like, oh no, we start with, you know, what are those stories going on in there and how do we, you know, let's shift to what serves you better.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Um, so I love that. And I, I, I used to be very Um, I would get frustrated with if people would come in and, you know, they, their driver was to lose weight and they had all these health issues. And it used to frustrate me because it was like, no, I would like, we're here to be [Page//00:21:00] healthy and the weight will fall off.
Julie Michelson: You know, like you said, you'll find your ideal weight. Like when you're doing the things that serve your body. That just happens. And people used to laugh at me, you know, what do you mean? My weight will fall off. I've been a yo yo dieter for 60 years. I'm like, well, we're going to shift. Um, and now it's like, I'll take whatever your motivation is, but we're still going to, we're, we're still going to start with mindset and focus on health and wellness.
Julie Michelson: And weight is just a by product of that.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I mean, I was, and I shouldn't have been shocked at this point because I was already an intuitive eater, but I felt like this experience that I'm about to tell you about just kind of reconfirmed the power of intuitive eating. When I was pregnant, right? Gained weight. Had the baby. I went back to just Listening to my hunger, fullness, and satiety cues, I moved my body half an hour a day, but I was [Page//00:22:00] consistent.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I didn't do any crash diets. I didn't, uh, you know, take out any food groups. I didn't punish myself with the exercise. The weight just fell off. It fell off. I was back to my normal weight within a month. Which is insane. A lot of women are like, fight to get the weight off, and some, some of them never get it off, and it's because they're not listening to their bodies.
Alana Van Der Sluys: They're trying to do these crazy fad diets that they hear other women did to get the weight off, and they're not listening to themselves.
Julie Michelson: So true. So, so true. And, and I know people looking at you would be like, well, of course, look at you, you know,
Alana Van Der Sluys: All the time, I get
Julie Michelson: know, I know, I know people are like, well, you don't understand. And I'm like, I didn't eat this way. I didn't live this way, you know, for the first 40 years of my life, which is You know, why I was sick to begin with.
Julie Michelson: People think, you know, I've never had [Page//00:23:00] fast food or never ate junk food or, you know, never. And they're shocked when they hear like, yeah, I used to do all the things that the average person in America does. Um, and now I listen to my body. I could, couldn't even, some of that I couldn't even imagine.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yeah. And, and, and, and to answer that, because I, I'm sure some of your listeners are, if this comes out on video, they're gonna look at me and be like, well, yeah, skinny girl, like, what do you want? And what I say to that is, first of all, anybody who's coming Into listening to this conversation with that mindset still believes that thinness equals happiness and success and health.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Um, so, so, you're, it's, they're kind of conflating me being thin with me having everything that I want somehow. I have bad and good days just like anybody else. Life is still 50 50 for me, just like anybody else. But the other thing that I do want to tell your listeners if they kind [Page//00:24:00] of feel that way is, when I was a hundred pounds, which I'm 5'4 so that is grossly under what I should ever be.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I still hated my body. I still didn't feel like it was enough. And that was the moment, that was one of my light bulb moments, where I was like, When is it going to be enough? And I have clients that are in thin bodies. I have clients in larger bodies. And all of them feel like they're not small enough. And that's because what's really going on when we feel like we need to be in a smaller body is we're looking for what I call salve.
Alana Van Der Sluys: We're looking for one of four core needs as humans. So salve is safety, acceptance. love and validation. Those are the things that we're looking for when we're trying to chase a smaller body. Cause [Page//00:25:00] again, health doesn't equal fitness. So when you're searching for fitness in particular, what you're really again, looking for is safety, acceptance, love, and validation, because we're programmed to believe that we're in a, when we're in a thinner body, we will have those things.
Alana Van Der Sluys: We'll feel safe in a world that values thinness. We'll feel accepted in a world that values thinness. We'll have love because every movie, TV show we've ever seen with a leading lady is thin and pretty and young.
Julie Michelson: Hmm.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And we'll be validated. People will be like, Oh my gosh, you look so great. What have you done?
Alana Van Der Sluys: What diet were you on? We want all of those things. And it's natural to want all of those things. But chasing a smaller body in order to get those things doesn't serve us. Right.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And I think that's a, it's such a wonderful piece of it. It's like, just pause right here, pause, take a breath. Drop into your heart and you know, which one or two or three or four [Page//00:26:00] of those things are driving Your your patterns. Oh,
Alana Van Der Sluys: And there's no, there's no shame in it. And,
Julie Michelson: no
Alana Van Der Sluys: again, as I said before, journal it out and be honest with yourself. I mean, I am honest with the fact that I now realize. That my search for thinness was I wanted external validation when I was a kid and growing up, it was getting the A or getting the award or being an extracurricular activities.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And I fed on that. I loved that. And then when I felt I didn't have it anymore, dieting and getting a smaller body was my way of getting that external validation. Again, it was it was filling the void. So, and, and that's, you know, of course, that's not something that I wanted for myself. That's not something I, I'm proud to admit, but it's the truth.
Julie Michelson: Well, and that's why we have these conversations is because it's gonna resonate with people, right? It's not I used to be so hesitant to share my [Page//00:27:00] story because I just wasn't somebody who talked about myself Publicly, right? Like who wants to hear my story? And then I was like, Oh my gosh, I can help people if I share my story and you're sharing your story because, you know, that's the, um, this is exactly because people need to hear the hope is one day these conversations and books like your book are going to kind of drown out the rest.
Julie Michelson: The messaging that people are getting from social and on even just regular media, um, you know, we've got, we have to balance it out and then again, it's the same that that generational, you know, anybody who goes through your program or, you know, it's peaked by this conversation or reads your book or is hopefully, you know, their daughter or their daughter's daughter.
Julie Michelson: Isn't going to grow [Page//00:28:00] up the same way that the past many generations have,
Alana Van Der Sluys: Absolutely. And it is generational. Disordered eating is absolutely generational. And I'm happy that I broke the pattern. And I have a three year old son, so I don't have a daughter, but I feel like it's important for him too because, and we won't get too much into this, but you know, men are also getting a message of how they should look.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And the, the, The semantics are different, the terms are different, right? They're told to be strong and fit and all of these things, but I also want him to have an idea and an image of what a woman who doesn't focus solely on her body looks like. How she backs her body, how she feeds her body, how she moves her body.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I want him to see that. But it's yeah, it's it's a generational thing and I love especially work as a mom. I love working with other moms because I want them to be the change makers in [Page//00:29:00] their lineage. I think that's so powerful.
Julie Michelson: it is. It's huge. Look, we know, you know, women drive the family's health. Right. Yet, somehow, we got kind of lost in the mix there. And, and so this is, it is in that sense, um, again, to me, it's just all about empowerment, um, and again, not just for your own personal health. So, so how does somebody who, you know, like, where do people start?
Julie Michelson: What is, what's a good place to start? Because for so many people, know, just even tapping into intuition at all, right, listening to your body, listen, all those things that we've kind of were taught to shut down in school, like, we just really had lost touch with, um, you know, at, I don't know, at least my experience was it's, it's about logic and it's about, you know, I remember [Page//00:30:00] always teaching my daughter, like, if the hair on the back of your neck stands up.
Julie Michelson: get out of that situation, right? Like we, we need to be tapping in, we get all these cues. So how does somebody even, like, get started?
Alana Van Der Sluys: The first principle of intuitive eating is rejecting the diet mentality. So the diet mentality are all of those external messages that we get about worthiness and weight and health and calories and dress sizes and macros and all of these things. So I would say to comb through any media that you consume and get rid of anything that talks about dieting or weight loss.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So go through Instagram, Facebook, all social media, go through any magazine subscriptions and just, as you said, use kind of The gut check, right? If you're scrolling [Page//00:31:00] through social media and you see posts that make you feel bad about yourself, that make you feel comparison itis, just make you feel icky in any way about yourself, mute them, unfollow them, start combing out all of that diet mentality, because the more we get that message of diet mentality in our head, the harder it is for us to break free of that.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So I would say that is a good first step.
Julie Michelson: I like that. I like that. That's something that everybody can do. Um, I, it's funny, like I could hear listeners objections already to like, you know, I, I think, um, Especially, I would say women in their 60s tends to be like that group that'll come in. Um, I usually try not to mention any like companies or anything, but I'm going, I can't tell you how many women have come in [Page//00:32:00] and you know, I've, I'm a lifetime yo yo dieter and I'm now a lifetime Weight Watchers member.
Julie Michelson: And I'm like, that re That right there, . Like that's,
Alana Van Der Sluys: That's it right there.
Julie Michelson: if it worked, you wouldn't need to be a lifetime member. Like, so, you know, let's shift all of that. So I, you know, I can, I, I know like initially there's this knee jerk reaction to like, no, if I'm not on a diet, I'm going to, I don't know, eat till I explode.
Julie Michelson: Like, I'm not sure what they're afraid of is gonna happen
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yeah, well, that's, that's another thing to, to journal out is what, what do you think the worst thing that is going to happen? And once people actually explore that fear, they either realize that it's so improbable or that it's irrational. You're not going to gain weight, gain weight, gain weight, gain weight until you explode,
Julie Michelson: right.
Alana Van Der Sluys: you know?
Alana Van Der Sluys: And yes, in an [Page//00:33:00] intuitive journey. You might gain weight initially and have it fall back off because your body's trying to recalibrate. So there is that flux period, but women are so It is okay. It happened to me! You know, I, I initially gained weight at first and it was scary because of my conditioning, but I, I knew I couldn't go back to that yo yo dieting and that cycling, that weight cycling, because that weight cycling is Much worse for you than being a stable weight is that's what the study you can look up the studies But you know, it's it's it's very hard because especially with women we're never told to trust our own intuition We're never told to trust themselves So it's a very scary concept But if you stick with it and you have somebody that can hold you accountable That is an expert that that can show you that it gets better and it gets easier, it, the whole process becomes easier.
Julie Michelson: That's it. It's so true. [Page//00:34:00] Um, and it is, it's the same like what I said with, you know, my labs looked ugly as my body was adjusting. And then all of a sudden, you know, Issues that I had in my labs, my entire life that I thought was genetic gone, changed, fixed. So I really like, and I have to, this was way earlier in the conversation, but I want to circle around and throw my 2 cents into those images of, you know, the, the, the bikini competitions and the, the, I actually disagree.
Julie Michelson: That's not healthy. It's not healthy for anybody. And those people have health issues later from doing that to their bodies for, you know, unless it was like a brief visit into anybody who's, who's, who's Living that way for an extended period of time is going to have health consequences later. I see it all the [Page//00:35:00] time.
Julie Michelson: You know, they're especially when they get to an age where they're starting to have a family or wanting to have a family. And lo and behold, they can't because they never allowed their body to even have. You know hormone cycles and and so, you know, what we think have been told is pretty and should be healthy or you know It's just not healthy.
Alana Van Der Sluys: No, it's not that chapter eight. I go over the dangers of the perfect body
Julie Michelson: Oh, I love it.
Alana Van Der Sluys: about the bikini competitors and how, yes, we could all have that dream body that we want, but at what cost and it basically costs the rest of your life. So it really is a lesson. What do you value in your life for sure?
Alana Van Der Sluys: And yet to your point about, you know, trying to conceive if, if your body's not getting enough nutrients, it will delegate that energy and those nutrients to your most [Page//00:36:00] vital bodily symptoms, your circulatory system, your respiratory system, your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, it, it, you know, your, your reproductive system is more of a secondary system.
Alana Van Der Sluys: You don't need it to survive. So your body will shut that off. Yes,
Julie Michelson: one of the reasons, you know when we talk about stress management Right? We all live in this chronic stress state, which does shut down things like digestion, fertility, you know, you don't have to be able to conceive if you don't outrun the tiger, right? Like that's just the way our bodies are designed, right?
Julie Michelson: It doesn't matter if you digest lunch or can conceive if, you know, the tiger gets you. Unfortunately, we live in that state all the time, unless we're taking steps to balance that out. Um, so it is, and, and Depleting your body or taxing your body that way. That's a that is chronic stress at a [Page//00:37:00] whole nother level.
Julie Michelson: I mean, the stress can be literally physical too. So, um, you know, just changing that conversation around what is healthy, like what actually is healthy and pretty. I mean, go to a museum and look at artwork from centuries ago. And look at what the women look like. Right? Like, that's what was appreciated as beauty.
Julie Michelson: Like, we, we've, like, we're at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I would say somewhere in the middle would probably be, you know, ideal, or depending on who you are, where you land. Right? Like, I, Should never have been trying to, you know, artificially pack on weight, you know, then what happened was I went gluten free, you know, at the same time that my Hashimoto's was in full swing and my rheumatoid arthritis was, you know, off the, and all of a sudden I was, I was absorbing nutrients and it was like a whole [Page//00:38:00] different.
Julie Michelson: game because then I was like, well, who am I? I don't, you know, I don't know this person. So that it was just fun. But as I got healthy, I came back to just, you know, settled in at like, this is kind of my way. And I would say we all have. especially women, a little bit of a fluctuation. Like, there is no one number that's ideal for anybody.
Julie Michelson: Do you agree? Like, that we should have this, like, range of here? I feel best when I'm in this range.
Alana Van Der Sluys: there's, there's something called, um, weight set point theory. So weight set point is a range where, uh, each individual body feels best, you know, most optimal, most, most vitality, most energy, and everybody's is different. It's largely genetically determined, but unfortunately, the more that we diet, [Page//00:39:00] the more, the more chance that your weight set point actually increases.
Alana Van Der Sluys: with
Julie Michelson: Say that again!
Alana Van Der Sluys: So the more that we diet, chronic dieting can actually increase your weight set point.
Julie Michelson: Wow.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yeah.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. And that's the problem, right? Like, that's the, you know, that's that yo yo of, and why people tend to bounce higher each, maybe not each go round, but over time.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Over time, absolutely. And I mean that weight cycling, that up and down, that, that puts so much stress on your body, so much inflammation. Uh, it increases your risks of diabetes and heart disease and str like all of this stuff. It's really scary, but you know, diet, you know, diet programs don't tell you about that part,
Julie Michelson: Right. Right. So walk us through a little bit. Tell me, tell us a little more about the book.[Page//00:40:00]
Alana Van Der Sluys: Great. So, yeah, the book is called Freedom with Food and Fitness. Uh, it's a super easy read, super quick read. Um, it really helps you to love your body at any size, create sustainable nutrition and fitness goals. It really explains the science behind how diets disconnect us from our body and how to really change your mindset around food and fitness and what What I really love about the book is that, you know, there is an intuitive eating book by the founders of intuitive eating.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I felt like it was more philosophy, like the conversation was more about philosophy, it was a little more of an esoteric conversation and I wanted to Write a book for women that was really grounded in practicality, like really actionable tips that you could implement the day you read the book. Um, for things that we all think about with our busy schedules, like how can we meal prep as an intuitive eater?
Alana Van Der Sluys: How can we [Page//00:41:00] as women get more protein and without, you know, feeling like we had to choke down egg whites all day long. Like, how do we, how do we get this stuff done? How do we fit in? Time for consistent exercise when we're, you know, so busy, right? It's busy, busy culture. So how do we do all those things? So there's dozens and dozens of tips and tricks in the book that make it really simple to start coming home to trusting your body without having to, you know, rely on a diet to make you healthy.
Alana Van Der Sluys: And, yeah, it's
Julie Michelson: Amazing. Uh, so, and it is, I love the, cause was it 1995 that the, they coined The intuitive eating.
Alana Van Der Sluys: 97, somewhere, somewhere in that, yeah, in
Julie Michelson: Okay. Okay. So I mean, it's, it's interesting because it's, I feel like you're starting to hear about it more now. Um, but yet it's been around for a while.
Alana Van Der Sluys: You know, I think social media, I think social media, I think that it [Page//00:42:00] really allowed for the body liberation movement to mobilize together all across the globe and build up this voice. This is like, we as women don't have to cater to your thin ideal. We don't have to distract ourselves by dieting. Instead of dieting, we're going to do some other cool stuff
Julie Michelson: oh my gosh, the energy resources, just even the mental energy resources that are freed up. When people aren't thinking that way is is amazing.
Alana Van Der Sluys: If there's anybody out there listening who's part of a corporation or an organization where you want someone to speak about that, I love speaking to groups of women about that, about the time, money, and energy that we waste on diets and how we can reclaim that back to, you know, do whatever we want in our life, whatever your dream is, whether it's being an entrepreneur or being the best mom that you can or whatever it is.
Alana Van Der Sluys: So I, yeah, it's, it, [Page//00:43:00] The conversation is much bigger than weight and food, it's, it's, we can go into patriarchy, we can go into all of those things, but it's just, it's, it's so interesting,
Julie Michelson: It is it really is and it's you know, we didn't we didn't get here overnight and and so hopefully between you know, the book you're the programs like you said the just The spread of knowledge on on social media, these conversations, hopefully we're gonna start to shift it back. So I love it. I know you already gave us a lot of places people can start, but this is your opportunity.
Julie Michelson: You can circle back. You can add something different. What is one step that listeners can take starting today to improve their health?
Alana Van Der Sluys: Okay, well we already said reject the diet mentality, we already said journal out what you consider health to be, but the, the thing that people can do today, get rid of the scale.[Page//00:44:00]
Julie Michelson: Ah.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Smash it. Donate it, throw it, whatever you gotta do. Reliance on that number will keep you stuck in trying to manipulate that number instead of listening to what your body actually needs.
Alana Van Der Sluys: I haven't weighed myself in years. When I go to the doctor and they ask me to, I say no thank you. I don't want to know. I want to Just tap into how I feel and what I need. Some days I eat more, some days I eat less, and I'm just going to honor that. And I feel better doing that. So get rid of the scale ladies.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Dump it.
Julie Michelson: Love it. Ah, such good advice. And so many people are probably thinking, some people are celebrating like, yeah, you know, I can toss my scale. And other people are like, no way I could not ever
Alana Van Der Sluys: girl's crazy!
Julie Michelson: just try it. And if you're not ready to get rid of it, like lock it away or give it to your next door neighbor at a hold or[Page//00:45:00]
Alana Van Der Sluys: That's the thing I did at first is I put it in my basement and I just, and make a promise with yourself. Say one week, I'm going to do this for one week and if I hate it and it doesn't work for me, I can always go back to the, you know, torture of dieting that worked, you know, that felt safer to me, but give yourself a week and just see what happens.
Julie Michelson: Love it. Such good advice. So, before we wrap up, listening on the go, which is how I listen to podcasts, um, if they're not gonna, I'm not great always at checking show notes, where's the best place to find you if people are like, Hey, this is really resonating. I want to know more.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Yes, and if they I want to hear from everybody who took a nugget away from this feels inspired by this I'm at freedom with food and fitness on Instagram at freedom with food and fitness on Facebook freedom with food and fitness dot com. The book is called freedom with food and fitness if you want to pick up a copy of the book it's at Amazon Barnes and Noble bookshop.
Alana Van Der Sluys: org wherever you get [Page//00:46:00] your books, I would love to hear from everybody I'm mostly on Instagram so. Freedom with food and fitness. DM me. Let's have a conversation. I have, as we talked about before, I have a program, an intuitive eating coaching program. It's virtual. So anybody out there who felt inspired, wants more support, come find me.
Julie Michelson: Awesome. Thank you so much, Alana. You've shared amazing gold with us today.
Alana Van Der Sluys: Of course. Thank you, Julie.
Julie Michelson: For everyone listening, remember you can get the show notes and transcripts by visiting inspiredliving. show. Hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
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Alana Van Der Sluys
ALANA VAN DER SLUYS is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, TEDx speaker, eating disorder survivor, and the founder of Freedom with Food and Fitness. She is dedicated to empowering women to heal their relationship with food and their bodies to step into their potential, take up space, and pursue true health. Her debut book– Freedom with Food and Fitness: How Intuitive Eating is the Key to Becoming Your Happiest, Healthiest Self–was released worldwide this year with Urano World USA. She is a contributing writer for several national publications, including the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) and Best Holistic Life Magazine. She was also, most recently, a panelist and speaker for the Speak Up Women’s Conference and a speaker for Women Speak Up. You can find out more about Alana and Freedom with Food and Fitness on Instagram: @FreedomwithFoodandFitness.
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