[Recast] Ep 75: Straight From the Client, How Intuitive Eating Worked for Me, Dr. Wanda Williams

Hola amigos! Welcome back —–

David’s client, Dr. Wanda Williams, shares her hero’s journey through the intuitive eating process. A classic tale of someone who gives and gives, and almost forgot to take care of herself.

Highlights of this episode:

• A client’s journey through intuitive eating
• Emotional eating clarified
• Weight cycling
• Self-care is food and food is self-care

FULL DESCRIPTION (*not a transcript):

[00:00] Announcements!

We guide clients to make peace with food and their bodies. We have a team of HAES and IE 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 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 #75 from February 10, 2021. Listen to how David developed his practice over time with Episode 100.

[2:43] David’s former client on her journey through Intuitive Eating

Dr. Wanda Williams is originally from Missouri and has a southern family. She has been an educator for 19 years now. Currently she keeps busy with instructional coaching for teachers, helping teachers grow as professionals, consults, and oversees multiple schools. 

[18:10] What was your relationship with food growing up?

She does not think often where her food habits came from, but she is sure influence came from her family’s culture. She was brought up on ‘good southern food.” We ate as a family; dad cooked most of the food. Food was always part of after school activities for her and sister. They needed quick meals together, like microwave stuff and fast food. Sundays were probably the only “sit down” meal days growing up. Mom was a shopper who loved quick and easy. Thinking back, her mother was a regular dieter, like doing the cabbage diet and losing weight.

Wanda wasn’t picky but didn’t like vegetables. She wasn’t a heavy child because she was active. Her weight wasn’t “an issue” until college. She ran track and was on the dance team.

[14:50] What was your relationship with food in college?

Wanda gained weight in college and started dieting in college. She said she didn’t look like her peers, not looking up to par. So, she dabbled in several diets like weight watchers (now WW) and the cabbage diet. Wanda wasn’t as active in college because of studying. She “did well” with weight watchers. She says, “but it’s a diet, it tells you what you can and can’t have. So, the times when she was craving something that she wasn’t supposed to have and gave in, she would indulge to a point of discomfort. This is the deprivation-desire phenomenon. This issue is why diets don’t work. For example, don’t think of red apple. Now you are thinking of a red apple.

[19:25] Diet culture changes our desire for food. 

Even when she stopped weight watchers, she still had diet mentality of good and bad foods even if she wasn’t following a specific diet; She knew can vs. can’t have or low carb diets because carbs are bad. As a result, her weight cycled.  

[21:17] Wanda’s experience with David and nutrition counseling 

Wanda decided to start working with TD Wellness (now Orozco Nutrition) due to her pre-diabetes diagnosis. She fully expected to be given a meal plan and wanted to be told what to eat and what not eat, and how to cook. Her intro to intuitive eating was a total attitude change, “like a weight lifted off of shoulders.” She took to it, read the book, referring to Intuitive Eating: A revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, and Elysa Resch, MS, RDN.

[23:14] What struck you the most with Intuitive Eating?

Wanda shares that staying away from the diet mentality was key. It allowed me to change my attitude and thoughts on food and what I was eating. It allowed me to pay attention to my signs of hunger and my signs of fullness. I realized that I do emotionally eat. Before working with you, I thought emotional eating was because someone was sad. I didn’t eat because I was sad, I would eat because I was bored. David helped her realize that “boredom” is an emotion. Wanda tuned to asking herself “am I hungry, or am I bored?” David helped me realize that food and eating is emotional. Her inner cues would guide her when she was hungry or when she needed something else besides food. Understanding her frequent desire, “this call for chips” was transformational. David explains that “that call is an emotion, a signal to do something we need to do, but instead, people respond with a hand-to-mouth action without addressing the true signal’s message.”

[30:30] Intuitive Eating is not a straight line of progress 

Wanda went on trip to Orlando for a vacation and then a conference. She broke her foot and was stressed with school starting. Knowing she didn’t have time to exercise, she decided to do a keto diet in 2019 and combined it with intermittent fasting. She lost weight. David shares he thought she started dieting because there was little control in her life. At that time, food was a control. When the constipation started and her cholesterol went high, she stopped dieting again. She was scared of gaining weight back, and it was a slow process to get back into intuitive eating.

[35:25] The Journey of Intuitive Eating is real Self-care 

Wanda’s mentality is focused when intuitively eating and she feels better. She was food policing herself. She realized you can have anything in moderation, as skeptical as she was. She knows the satisfaction factor now. At her recent annual physical exam, she was cleared of pre-diabetes, her blood pressure was normal. She says she is still on blood pressure medication and still gets stressed, but she can manage it better. She thanks David for taking a full picture view of her, taking her entire self into account. David points out that Wanda takes care of a lot of people, and was not giving enough time for herself. Eating is fundamentally about loving yourself. By doing small things for self-care, the hero can continue their journey.

[42:05] 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. 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.

Big Ask: Leave a Review

Please, take a few minutes and leave me a review if you are listening on Apple Podcasts. Each review helps other listeners find the podcast, which provides me with the ability to continue bring you unique content. So spread the love. Loss for words? Just write what you like about the show.

Stay Connected!

Come and join our new One Small Bite Facebook community! Take part in the great conversation and become a member of a community that’s chopping diet culture, asking thought provoking questions about health at every size, and building positive relationships with food.

Interact with us on social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or feel free to message me. You are also welcomed to go to my private practice, Orozco Nutrition website to reach me there.

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!