I have spent most of my life exploring the intimate connection between body image, health, and food. Through years of personal reflection and professional studies, my relationship with food has been gradually transforming from desperate dieting to intuitive eating. This blog is a space to share all that I have learned along my journey, which I hope can help you let go of your food rules and embrace an eating style that fits the needs and desires of your body.
I have always been intrigued by the mind-body connection, and received a Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Bastyr University in Washington. The holistic program at Bastyr immersed me in a community of Naturopathic Physicians, Clinical Psychologists, Chinese Herbalists, and Acupuncturists. My experience at Bastyr helped me to combine eastern and western medical practices in studying how nutrition plays a role in physical, mental, and emotional healing.
Through working in both private medical practices and acute care hospital settings, I have witnessed patients heal from ailments such as allergies, migraines, skin conditions, gastrointestinal diseases, fatigue, and depression through dietary and lifestyle changes. I previously held the role of Clinical Dietitian Specialist at Western Connecticut Health Network with a focus on surgery, oncology, and psychiatry. I am currently the Registered Dietitian for Clementine, a Monte Nido Affiliate Program in Briarcliff Manor, NY, where I provide nutrition therapy for adolescent girls struggling with eating disorders. My personal and professional aspiration is to discover how every bite we take can heal our bodies and bring us closer to making peace with food.
I hope through these posts you can discover how to listen to what your body really wants. If food is your greatest source of control, you may be surprised what comes up for you when you release the cycle of dieting. By allowing yourself to experience the emotions that arise, wonderful shifts can happen. Not in the way that you manage your weight, but in the way that you manage your life. When you free-up the creative energy that has been bound up in a diet, who knows where it will flow!
There are SO MANY ways to meet the nutrient demands of the human body. Be curious and explore meal options you enjoy. I don’t share particular recipes here because I want to give you the space to explore the perfect combination of foods for your body. Find time to feed and nurture yourself. Allow yourself to enjoy food again. That enjoyment does not only belong to your partner, your children, or your friends. You are born with the right to nourish yourself.
Your journey will change and evolve. The foods that serve you today may not be the same ones that serve you next week, or next month, or next year. You will also notice that hormonal changes during the month will impact the type and quantity of food your body needs. For the first part of civilization our entire human existence was just hunting for food and eating it. Food is one of our most basic, natural cravings. Unfortunately, we have been culturally conditioned to believe that denying those cravings will somehow make us righteous and superior. I am sharing my voice to urge women to break away from our culture’s suffocating focus on appearance and body size. You can become energized and empowered by both listening to and nourishing your body’s gut feeling.
Love & Peace (with food),
Megan Fahey, MS, RD, CDN