Welcome Tamar Samuels to the Whole View! This week, Stacy and Tamar discuss the science behind disordered and emotional eating, what drives us to the habit, and tips for managing these behaviors.
Find Tamar:
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Key Takeaways
Introductions
- Tamar Samuels, MS, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian nutritionist and the co-founder of Culina Health.
- Her unique and holistic approach to healthcare integrates functional medicine, positive psychology, and behavioral change techniques pulled from her training in clinical nutrition and coaching science
- Tamar’s own experiences ultimately led to her carerr. She had chronic GI conditions that were poorly managed. She self-treated, which led to a strained relationship with food and mental health. Fed up with the years of ups and downs with her health, she began a life-changing journey to heal her relationship with food, her body and her health.
- Furthermore, Tamar has her Masters in Clinical Nutrition from New York University, and is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach through the National Board of Medical Examiners.
- She has been featured in award winning national online publications, including the Huffington Post, Byrdie, Hello Giggles and more. Well + Good named her one of the top holistic nutritionists in New York City. Additionally, she serves on the Advisory Board of Health Magazine.
Disordered & Emotional Eating
- Disordered eating behaviors and in particular dieting are among the most common risk factors for the development of an eating disorder. Eating disorders are severe and life-threatening mental illnesses. An eating disorder is not a lifestyle choice [source].
- Emotional eating is a ultimately a coping mechanism. Most often, we’re eating to cope with mostly negative emotion, but also positive emotions. For example, ating for joy is emotional eating. Emotional eating doesn’t neceassarily have to do with weight, but about utilizing food to resolve feelings.
- Furthermore, food doesn’t actually have the ability to solve these foundational problems that are leading to our uncomfortable emotions. It can help us to cope with the discomfort in the moment but it doesn’t solve those problems in the long term. It’s ultimately a bandaid.
- People are advocating for themselves for the first time in a way that they haven’t before because of leaders in the space. People are talking about body size in a way that is empowering and transparent about health, how that relates to body size, what does the research says.
- Disordered eating is often encouraged in larger bodies
Next Steps
- Taking insurance is important part of this, as it gives people access.
- Ask, is this person in my community an ally in supporting my health and my relationship with food or is this person harming my relationship with food?
- It takes a village. Find support from people you trust, ideally includes healthcare professional.
- In Tamar’s experience, for people raised in diet culture, it feels like weight loss is always the goal. But ultimately, when talking to people about what they’re trying to achieve, weight loss really doesn’t have to be a part of that. It’s really about clarifying what someone wants outside of a number on the scale. You can ultimately achieve so much in your health without losing weight.
- Mindfulness is key, you can’t change a thought pattern or behavior without being aware that it’s happening.
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References & Products
- National Eating Disorders Collaboration: Disordered Eating & Dieting
- Tamar’s Instagram Post – Emotional Eating
- Weight loss: Gain control of emotional eating, Mayo Clinic
- Anorexia Nervosa Comes in All Sizes, Including Plus Size, UCSF
- Glennon Doyle reveals anorexia diagnosis: “I did not believe it’, Today.com
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Note: Stacy and her guests are not medical professionals. This podcast is for general educational purposes and NOT intended to diagnose, advise, or treat any physical or mental illness. We always recommend you consult a licensed service provider.
