I wanted to dedicate this post to those that feel completely discouraged or lost on their nutrition journey and in their bodies. I am writing this to those who have been dieting for years and have been body loathing for too long. I’m addressing those that are starting to lose hope that change is possible. I have selected a few real life stories to share with you today to encourage you that life can look different and that freedom can be a part of your story.
Please note, names have been changed for the privacy of individuals and to protect their rights, but their stories remain true to fact.
Case #1.
Christiana came to me after losing a significant amount of weight while following Weight Watchers (WW). She felt great about herself while on WW, but developed some disordered thinking around food during the diet.
She tried an intuitive eating approach to help herself while in the maintenance phase but then ended up gaining a lot of the weight back.
She was left unsatisfied with her body and looking for help in ditching dieting mindsets but also desired to stabilize her weight.
Christiana was frustrated with a demanding work schedule that didn’t allow her to get home until around 7pm which made cooking dinner a challenge. She often skipped lunch or didn’t eat a lot throughout the day due to her busy schedule and then overate upon coming home from work but still wouldn’t feel satisfied.
She also struggled with a sweet tooth and felt like she always had to have sweets after dinner. When Christiana came to see me she had been actively restricting dessert for the past 2-3 weeks in order to try to curb her cravings with little success.
How we did it: We adjusted the timing of her meals and made sure she was getting the appropriate amount of nutrients her body needed earlier in the day to decrease her cravings at night. We also increased her protein and maximized her fiber to give her that true full feeling while increasing her metabolism. We ensured she was fueling her body in a way that allowed her to be able to focus more at work and not come home ravenous.
Over the course of working with me for 2 months, Christiana was able to lose nearly 20 lbs while still having freedom to let her body be the guide of her food intake.
An unplanned bonus was that Christiana also improved her sleep habits and she was falling asleep faster because she was no longer going to bed with an upset stomach from binging.
Christiana was forever changed when she found balance between proper fueling and intuitive eating. She just needed some tailored expert assistance to help apply how to marry the two approaches for sustained success in her life.
Case #2.
Destiny is a patient that came to me with a history of anorexia. She struggled to get enough carbohydrates in her diet and came looking for help to ensure she ate an appropriate amount of food each day. She was very active and wanted to make sure she was fueling her body to sustain the activity she required of herself.
Likely due to her eating disorder history, Destiny also came with a myriad of digestion issues which manifested in terrible bloating that worsened throughout each day.
This symptom was confusing to her because she couldn't correlate symptoms to any specific food she was eating which made it difficult for her to know what treatment to pursue.
How we did it: Destiny and I worked to maximize her nutrient intake while addressing the foods that were likely contributing to her symptoms of bloating. We came up with quick, nutritionally dense snack options and powerful breakfasts to keep her well fueled and worked through a identifying her food triggers without an overly restrictive elimination diet due to her eating disorder history.
Within 5 months of working with me, she noticed significant improvement in her bloating and gas symptoms. She had more energy to fuel her exercise and she appreciated being able to continue on her journey of food freedom by incorporating foods that would support her body which helped her successfully maintain her weight. She gives her testimony here:
Mikyah is amazing! She is very knowledgeable and provides great resources, materials, and encouragement to help you reach your goals. She truly cares about helping people and it shows. From my experience, nutrition can be an intimidating thing and Mikyah did an awesome job of providing different tools and knowledge that I could use to better understand nutrition, listen to my body, and reach my goals. I loved working with Mikyah, and I highly recommend her services.
Case #3.
The last person I wanted to highlight to you is Courtney. She came to me with severe body dysmorphia and a history of many years of dieting. She hated the way she looked and had gained weight from medications she needed for other underlying health concerns.
She came to me looking for answers on how to change her mindset around food and her body and to learn how to work towards holistic health.
How we did it: After 6 months of working together, Courtney was seeing herself and food in a whole new way.
She was able to break down mental barriers that were leading her to experience physical barriers around food and her weight.
She did tough work in rerouting her mental thought patterns which allowed her to properly fuel herself and took several steps of bravery in saying bye bye to the food restriction cycle she previously found herself in.
6 months after she completed her initial round of working with me, she reached out with praise on how she was able to maintain the mental health around food and lose additional weight without restrictive practices. Her testimony is the best:
This program has changed my thinking in more ways than one. First, Mikyah’s education on nutrition (both mentally and biologically) is outstanding. She really knows what she’s talking about! She walks you through the steps of accepting what we’ve been brainwashed into thinking about ourselves, and gives you the tools to move toward healing. Mikyah’s follow up and advice is both assuring and empathetic, but honest in a way that is well needed.This isn’t a diet, this isn’t a quick fix. This is a lifestyle and mindset change. My mental image of myself, how I view eating, the shame and the guilt of it, has never been in a healthier place. Thank you so much, Mikyah!!
I could go on and on with stories about my past clients breaking through years worth of barriers and confusion around food. Seeing people untangle the lies they’ve been living under never gets old. In fact, it's what fuels my passion to keep working diligently in my practice.
Some common themes you might have noticed throughout these stories is that these women had to do tough work. They had to be committed to several months. They had to be brave in saying goodbye to old ways of thinking and unhealthy patterns that were comfortable to them. But it was WORTH it in the end.
If any part of one of these stories resonates with you, know that the future can look different for you too.
These ladies didn’t know if they could ever live differently, but they were willing to take a step of faith and see what was on the other side for them. What they discovered was life changing. So my question to you is, “What’s holding you back?”
If you're ready to make a change, head over to the services tab or click here. Scroll to the bottom of the page and fill out the "Apply to Work with Me" form and let me know you would like a free consultation call. I can answer any questions you have and we can outline a plan of attack for you to get your food relationship thriving.
Heaps of blessings,
Mikyah, RDN, LD, CD
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