[Recast] Ep 72 – Anti-Diet Approaches to New Years Resolutions with Tiffany Thoen

Hola amigos! Welcome back —–

Why New Year’s replay right now? Because that holiday season is around the corner. Time to re-visit some tips that will hopefully keep you from being sucked back into diet culture. Scroll to find out more…David speaks with a nurse who experienced food obsession herself, which led her to commit to finding a kinder solution that didn’t involve depriving herself.

Highlights of this episode:

• Finding an inner compass
• Somatic work
• Body attunement
• Womanifesto creates inner worth
• Avoiding New Year’s madness

 Introducing Our Guest 

As an RN, Intuitive Eating Coach, and person in long term recovery, Tiffany Thoen has helped hundreds of women to achieve their goals. She works with high achievers who can do anything they set their mind to but still struggle with food. Having experienced food obsession herself, she committed finding a kinder solution that didn’t involve depriving herself. She was able to heal her relationship with food, it was so powerful that she has dedicated herself to supporting high-achievers like her to do the same. Her clients are able to find peace with food and get back to doing what they really want to do in the world!

FULL DESCRIPTION (not a transcript):

[00:00] We have a team of HAES trained RD nutrition professionals and work with a team of psychologists within David’s private practice, Orozco Nutrition. If you are struggling in diet culture or want guidance with nutrition, please do not hesitate to reach out. We want to hear from you.

We are taking a short break this September to work behind the scenes to bring you, the listeners, even better content. We’ll be re-casting episodes that we think are relevant before that holiday season comes. This episode is originally #72 from Jan 20, 2021.

[3:04] Tiffany’s Approach: Finding the Inner Compass

Tiffany’s journey with Intuitive Eating started as a kid, whose mom was always on and off the wagon with diets. Tiffany grew up, like many people, wanting to control or manage her body. After recovering from personal substance and alcohol abuse, she had issues with eating. Professionally, she became a registered nurse. This environment contributed to her “healthism” focus, and her eating became more disordered. She struggled with food and identifies it now as orthorexia nervosa and binge eating. The disordered eating was fed by a desire to heal gut issues. Measuring her broccoli made her realize she was out of control. As an integrative coach nurse, this led to shame over her behaviors. Her education skills did not help. She hit a wall. She found help with intuitive eating (IE) counselor.

With guidance, she stopped using mental and emotional energy towards control. She healed her relationship with food. She realized so many more people struggle with this. So, she decided to be a nurse and an IE counselor.

For Tiffany, IE made sense to her immediately because of her own behavior, but it took years to “body attune” and develop trust with her body. Lot of experimentation, that included trying to intertwine intermittent fasting. She learned that intermittent fasting is still a diet and not compatible with the principles of IE. How can I navigate IE with my health? It takes time, and there’s always more to learn. What is my narrative around food? Balancing her health issues without diet cultures. Unconditional permission to eat with whatever I choose.

[11:30] How do you help clients with body attunement?

Tiffany thinks her clients are some of the bravest people on the planet. There is a level of readiness with most of her clients. She introduces somatic work, which is playing with body sensations. She calls it body attunement instead of interoceptive awareness. The experimentation, instead of goals, is that there’s no proverbial wagon or the feeling of failure. Just exploring what is happening and healing old wounds from diet culture.

Tiffany works with people in recovery from trauma from adverse childhood experiences. I help them make connection to their body despite barriers – from physical abuse to clean plate club. When you are connected, you can move in the world.

[19:23] What kind of program is somatic work?

Tiffany’s private practice is Coach Tiffany RN. Typically, patients need 6 months because it gives them more seasons in the year to approach body attunement. She questions the value in shame. Her clients explore self-forgiveness and that inner-rebel. Typically people like to check in monthly after that more intensive six months. She also offers group membership for 12 months with planned activities in somatic work. Tiffany explains, we spend so much energy on what to eat, what we should and should not eat, how much, if we will get fatter…all of this is not body attunement. It’s just noise around food.

David shares that he hears so often from clients that they just want to know something quick and easy they can do for themselves. He explains that this kind of autopilot mode blocks out the attunement.

[28:05] What is the Womanifesto?

Womanifesto was inspired by a certain Camp Yes event that challenged Tiffany to write down her value and worth. She describes that so many of us are hustling, and when you are in touch with yourself, you can claim your worthiness. If dietitians can model this behavior, a ripple effect that be created in our society.

David shares how his experience as a man has also been hustled by external forces, reminding us that anyone can be affected or have an impact.

[36:40] What have you learned from clients’ stories?  

In the group setting, she asks, what has caused you to go on a diet in the past? Interestingly, a thin man said, no one will love a man with love handles. She realized no matter how you look, the need to feel attractive and how you are perceived is a strong driver of behaviors. It does not matter what you look like, you can be affected by the ideal chase. She wonders…what could they be doing instead of thinking how to change themselves?

Even people who are active in their communities as a voice can be affected by diet culture. A “ladder of body hierarchy” means that people can step on the people below them. Tiffany says, step off the ladder. The sense of belonging is so strongly connected to a person’s weight. Look at Oprah, she is a billionaire who is also gets trapped in diet culture thinking. And while body positivity is a ground-breaking movement, Tiffany challenges us to let go of putting so much value in the external body.

[43:35] The New Year’s Bombardment of Diet Culture to Punish Yourself from the Holidays

Dieting is triggered by negative thoughts and by not feeling good. A diet is the “fix,” we get involved, we have a “plan,” and having that community of reinforcement feels good. It provides a sense of control. We get all this love and affirmation. However, when we cannot maintain it, we break from restriction. That’s when we will feel there is something wrong with us. Our pants are tight, our knees hurt, we feel bad. We are shamed to go back to another diet, with the promise that this time will be different.

With intuitive eating, self-compassion and grace is center stage. It’s not a diet or plan. Address what is going on. Remain curious. Do we need to honor emotions? Do we need to care for ourselves on a deeper level? What is not going to perpetuate the cycle? If you have been doing this cycle for years and years, let’s stop and figure out what you really want.

David mentions that his One Small Bite approach involves 4 C’s: Commitment, Compassion, Curiosity, Consistency. Consistency is diet culture word that David wants to reclaim. By doing the other “C’s,” we can have the consistency of not going back to a diet.

[52:50] How Intuitive Eating Cultivates Empathy

Tiffany brings up alexithymia – the inability to identify and describe emotions experienced by one’s self or others unable to understand or manage your emotions. When we develop more body attunement, our brain’s right hemisphere gets developed and feel empathy for us and others. Imagine if more people had empathy?

[56:38] Closing Announcements! 

We are going to be taking a short break, and recasting some really great episodes to guide us through the upcoming months of holiday season. When we come back, we are going to have an even better show, that really invites you to be in the conversation.

Make a free 15-minute phone call if you want to work with us on your nutritional health in a weight-inclusive, anti-diet culture way.  Get the ball rolling by emailing us at info@orozconutrition.com or call 678-568-4717.

Where do I go from here?

I can’t wait to have you listen in and let me know what you think! If you like this episode, hit that subscribe button so you won’t miss an episode, wherever you listen to podcasts Apple, Spotify, Castbox, Google, or Stitcher. While you’re there, let me know what nutrition or health topic you’d like me to cover or leave a review.

Links from This Guest: 

• Tiffany’s Coaching Program https://www.coachtiffanyrn.com
• Link to Tiffany’s Group Program https://www.coachtiffanyrn.com/group-program.html
• Instagram @coachtiffanyrn
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CoachTiffanyRN
• Sonya Renee Taylor – poet and activist 
• Ted Talk: Lindsay Kite · Body Positivity or Body Obsession? Learning to See More and Be More

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Once again, I greatly appreciate you for listening and supporting my show. Remember, it really only takes “One Small Bite” over time to transform your life, so let’s – Chop the diet mentality; Fuel your body; and Nourish your soul!