Complete Break-Down of the 12-Week Introduction to Food & Body Image Healing

Week 1 – Introduction to the Harms of Dieting

In this first week, you begin by connecting your personal story to the communal human experience of others in a supportive, safe environment. You learn how society has affected the way see yourself and the impact it has on your everyday life; learn about diet culture; and explore how food and body image healing will affect the way you care for yourself, with curiosity and the goal of empowerment.

Week 2 - Intuitive Eating Principles and Food Rules

 Week two concentrates on all things Intuitive Eating. You get a great grasp on all 10 principles of the Intuitive Eating philosphy and an understanding of how those principles can help support the healing of your relationship with food. You explore what the binge/restrict cycle looks like and how to break that cycle once and for all! You dive into what it’s like to get back to eating with intuition, as we did since the moment we were born, and gain support in the exploration of resuming that freedom of eating with trust and ease. This week also touches on why nutrition is still important, but not at the expense of mental health!!

Week 3 - Interoceptive Awareness Basics and Listening into Hunger and Fullness

By week three, you are warmed up to recognizing your body's specific, natural cueing and what happens when that cueing gets shut down. You are supported by the group as you explore eating without distraction, what that can look like, and how it feeds into the negative connotation of emotional eating. The REAL deal about emotional eating is discussed and you learn why eating with pleasure and satisfaction is actually a way of RESPECTING your body.

Week 4 - Coping with Emotions with Self-Compassion and Deconstructing Eating Habits

 Week four is the perfect time to open your mind to what self-compassion work will mean for YOU! I know, I know. Self-compassion can sound fluffy and "out there", but hear me out!! This is one of those weeks where group support is IMPERATIVE! We hear individual experiences and how that internal, mean girl voice shows up for each of us. It’s often much easier to speak kindly to a friend, spouse, child, or pet, so what would it look like to start doing that for ourselves? This is research-based work and I promise it is a GREAT addition to the healing journey, even if you’re skeptical!

Week 5 - Rejecting the Diet Mentality with the Intertwining Between Intersectionality, Racism, and Feminism

 With support, in week five you study the importance of how race, marginalization, patriarchy, feminism, and diet culture all weave themselves together. This is a week to come with an open heart to that we can support each other through uncomfortable conversations. The BS of BMI (Body Mass Index) is an eye-opening topic; joined by the problems presented by food hierarchy.

Week 6 - Challenging the Food Police and Food Habituation

 Week six is committed to looking at your food fears and how to take morality out of how you feed yourself!! You will analyze how that morality affects your ability to listen, neutrally, to what your body is telling you. You prepare to practice food habituation in the upcoming week, encouraged by the support of the group. Food fear is also a topic this week,including its' impact on those who struggle with food-specific health and gut issues.

Week 7 - Deep Dive Into Body Image

 In week seven, we talk about all things body image. You begin to concretely express what it feels like to find body liberation, define what body image means to you, share open conversation on weight bias and stigma. This is an empowering week of connecting through common body image dialogue and its' importance in healing! You have the opportunity to reflect on your body image timeline and how certain life experiences have changed or affected the way you see yourself. → This information does NOT have to be shared as a group, and as always, will be optional depending on your own relationship with your body and any past body trauma you may have experienced.

Week 8 - Getting Out of the Head and Into the Body

 Week eight is about getting out of the head and into the body. You analyze how shame and guilt show up in your life, and learn the difference between them. This week looks at the ways you micromanage food and your body in an attempt to find safety and control when life gets uncomfortable. Then, you learn how to switch out of that mentality. This week includes an extra, exclusive bonus to tie in the conversation about comparison!

Week 9 - Making Peace with Food Through All or Nothing Thinking and Self-Judgement

 Week nine brings weeks seven and eight together as you focus on All-or-Nothing, and Perfectionist thinking. During this week, you will explore how this thinking as seemingly helped you in the past and how it has also left you more anxious and limited. This is an important week as you lean into the practice of cognitive flexibility and deconstruct your eating choices in a safe space.

Week 10 - All Things Self-Care and Discovering Satisfaction

 Week ten is one of my favorites, though it’s hard to pick just one! This week is all about self-care, how you view self-care, how it's been commodified, and what REAL self-care looks like. You will define what self-care looks like personally and how to use it to stay more present in LIFE as it’s woven into your day-to-day. This week also ties in a foundation of personal values to better solidify where YOU show up with intention in your own life.

Week 11 - Reassessing Movement

 In week eleven, you tune into your own innate wisdom! You will have the opportunity to look at what movement means to you through discussion about exercise, joyful movement, and moving out of respect instead of fear! This is a great week to explore any rules about what movement “should” look like and detrimental aspects of linking calories with movement.

Week 12 - Gentle Nutrition and Closing Statements

 Last week best week!! Can you tell I was an athlete?! Week twelve is a wonderful way to bring our time together to a close by sharing individual wins, focusing on how to continue this work moving forward, and receiving lots of extra resources to continue your food and body-image healing journey! This final week goes over what solid nutrition evidence we DO have and ways of ADDING IN foods to help nourish your body. Lastly, I know life can get hectic, so I will share helpful tips for preparing flexible meals for your busy life!