It's Haven Q & A time again! Today we're welcoming our counsellors Liz and Rachel to offer support to our member - the question this week is a pretty juicy one: "I work around a bunch of females who are often talking about their bodies and dieting. There is one woman in particular who is on keto, who I'm friends with. She knows a little of my history with disordered eating and keto and that I'm working with a psychologist to let go of dieting, so I can't help but feel triggered. She is not saying anything directly to offend me about it, but the other ladies often ask questions and then it turns into conversations about foods and how to control it and it is really triggering (and quite boring). She lost a lot of weight from keto in lockdown so since we returned to work everyone has been commenting on her body and telling her how great she looks (I actually thought she was seriously unwell when I saw her again - I don't think it's her body's natural place to be). I came out of lockdown heavier which I think is partly lockdown and partly recovery. I'm battling with some serious bad body feelings, and I'm scared of slipping back into my old habits/mindset when around these people daily. I kind of also feel like shouting out the dangers of diets like keto - from my experience it's a slippery slope to disorder - but as this woman hasn't had any negative food / body experiences like I have, maybe it's not bad for someone like her? She says she is doing it for health but I wonder if underlying this it is about controlling her body size. But she feels 'naughty' when she lets herself have something sweet for a special occasion and seems to worry about hidden sugars in things. I let go of all this nonsense! I've worked so hard to get to where I am mentally and I feel like I'm moving backwards when food and bodies are commented on by those around me. I find it hard to bow out of the room or conversation without being emotional or seeming weird. Help!" I LOVE chatting with these two and find such value in hearing their words. If you love them too, you can meet them here: https://www.havenwellness.com.au/practitioners Watch out for more Q & As coming soon. Do you have something challenging you're working with and would love to hear our professionals's thoughts and help with? Ask us anonymously here! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ST5WPT9

It's Haven Q & A time again! I had the pleasure of catching up with our lovely nutritionist Nina Kingsford-Smith last week chatting about a member's concerns around keto and being triggered by diet talk. The question is a pretty juicy one: "I work around a bunch of females who are often talking about their bodies and dieting. There is one woman in particular who is on keto, who I'm friends with. She knows a little of my history with disordered eating and keto and that I'm working with a psychologist to let go of dieting, so I can't help but feel triggered. She is not saying anything directly to offend me about it, but the other ladies often ask questions and then it turns into conversations about foods and how to control it and it is really triggering (and quite boring). She lost a lot of weight from keto in lockdown so since we returned to work everyone has been commenting on her body and telling her how great she looks (I actually thought she was seriously unwell when I saw her again - I don't think it's her body's natural place to be). I came out of lockdown heavier which I think is partly lockdown and partly recovery. I'm battling with some serious bad body feelings, and I'm scared of slipping back into my old habits/mindset when around these people daily. I kind of also feel like shouting out the dangers of diets like keto - from my experience it's a slippery slope to disorder - but as this woman hasn't had any negative food / body experiences like I have, maybe it's not bad for someone like her? She says she is doing it for health but I wonder if underlying this it is about controlling her body size. But she feels 'naughty' when she lets herself have something sweet for a special occasion and seems to worry about hidden sugars in things. I let go of all this nonsense! I've worked so hard to get to where I am mentally and I feel like I'm moving backwards when food and bodies are commented on by those around me. I find it hard to bow out of the room or conversation without being emotional or seeming weird. Help!" I found this chat super helpful and I hope you all will too! Resources we spoke about: -- Blog about responding to diet talk: https://alissarumsey.com/int.../how-to-respond-to-diet-talk -- Love Food podcast episode: hhttps://lovefood.libsyn.com/225-my-coworker-keeps-talking-about-diets-pcos-series-with-laura-burns If you love Nina's approach come and chat with her on Thursdays at Haven - she offers a complimentary 15 minute consult: https://www.havenwellness.com.au/practitioners Watch out for more great support chatting through the same topic with our counsellors Liz Kirby and Rachel Roberts later in the week! Do you have something challenging you're working with and would love to hear our professionals's thoughts and help with? Ask us anonymously here! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ST5WPT9

Our Haven (www.havenwellness.com.au) members have been sharing their pressing questions and concerns so I've pulled together a bunch of our favourite local health professionals who are non-diet/HAES-aligned to share their thoughts and support from their professional and lived experiences. WEEK THREE Q: “I have recently learned that I have a health condition that could lead to problems such as diabetes or heart disease if not dealt with, but the only preventative treatment for me is to lose weight. How can I go about this in a way that is not damaging to my mental health?" Today's guest is Hannah Boyd from New-Leaf Naturopathy here in the Inner West in Marrickville. Many Haven clients also visit Hannah for support around areas such as hormone health, fertility, mental health and autoimmunity. Hannah shares a similar philosophy with Haven around a holistic, individualised and compassionate approach to health. Reach out to Hannah here: https://www.new-leaf.com.au Recommended resources on self-advocacy: Golda Poretsky's - video on responding to body-shaming at the doc: https://youtu.be/-thkKlo2i-c - weight stigma: https://www.bodylovewellness.com/2013/09/23/your-fat-is-allegedly-killing-you-weight-stigma-and-the-dangerous-nocebo-effect/ Virgie Tovar's article on self advocacy as a fat person: https://ravishly.com/medical-self-advocacy-fat-person Raegan Chastain's Guide to Becoming Your Own Medical Advocate: https://medium.com/better-humans/the-complete-guide-to-becoming-your-own-medical-advocate-ddc658a10a57 **Please note that the information provided in or through our talks is for educational and informational purposes only and are never meant to replace individualised professional advice. We highly encourage you to work with your own professionals for personalised advice.

Our Haven community have been invited to share their pressing questions and concerns and I've pulled together a bunch of our favourite local non-diet/HAES-aligned health professionals to share their thoughts and tips that have worked for them - from their professional and lived experiences. Today we welcome back Kate for another insightful chat! Here's this week's question: “I have recently learned that I have a health condition that could lead to problems such as diabetes or heart disease if not dealt with, but the only preventative treatment for me is to lose weight. How can I go about this in a way that is not damaging to my mental health?" Welcoming back Kate Spina... Kate aligns with Haven's values around letting go of diet mentality and finding peace with your body. After leaving diet culture behind as part of her journey to healing from a serious and damaging eating disorder, she re-dicsovered a love of food as a chef and then went onto become a qualified nutritionist working from a non-diet approach. Some great, supportive words shared here...I really hope you guys will find support and value in this vid too. Enjoy! Check out Kate via Insta: https://www.instagram.com/katespinanutrition Or her website: https://www.katespinanutrition.com/ **Please note that the information provided in or through our talks is for educational and informational purposes only and are never meant to replace individualised professional advice. We highly encourage you to work with your own professionals for personalised advice.

Our Haven (www.havenwellness.com.au) members have been sharing their pressing questions and concerns so I've pulled together a bunch of our favourite local health professionals who are non-diet/HAES-aligned to share their thoughts and support from their professional and lived experiences. WEEK THREE Q: “I have recently learned that I have a health condition that could lead to problems such as diabetes or heart disease if not dealt with, but the only preventative treatment for me is to lose weight. How can I go about this in a way that is not damaging to my mental health?" I love chatting with the lovely Rachel Roberts from Make Space Counselling. Rachel is a dear Haven friend and colleague, and offers a person-centered, collaborative counselling practice with a trauma informed, social justice focus. She works with the principles of Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size® (HAES®), and is currently training in Cohort 8 of Be Nourished’s Body Trust Provider® certification. This was a wonderful, detailed, thoughtful conversation. A lot of professional names in the HAES and non-diet space came up - check them out here: HAES GP - Dr Portia Predney https://www.rozellemedicalcentre.com.au/doctor/dr-portia-predny-md-dip-child-health/ Recommended local (Sydney) dietitians: Susan Williams - https://www.zestnutrition.com.au/ Fumi, Carlia, Kimberlee & crew - https://www.welcometowellbeing.com.au/ Emma Robertson - http://liberationnutrition.com.au/ Recommended local (Sydney) psychologists and counsellors: Rachel herself - https://makespacecounselling.com/ Our Q+A buddy Liz - https://lifeunfiltered.coach/ Sarah McMahon + crew (https://bodymatters.com.au) Louise (https://untrapped.com.au/) and Drajenka - https://www.treatyourselfwell.com.au/ Olivia and crew - https://shapeyourmind.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/ Weight-neutral diabetes care: https://megrette.com/ Article - The Bizarre and Racist History of the BMI https://www.yourfatfriend.com/home/2019/10/15/the-bizarre-and-racist-history-of-the-bmi?fbclid=IwAR1XtMkoakLi_dtkP_OxsO5Mx2pnYLZ13O5RY8eGOnpGIEs0xPaLNSsSXMM Hope you guys find as much value in this as I did! You can learn more about Rachel and her work through her beautiful website here: https://makespacecounselling.com/ **Please note that the information provided in or through our talks is for educational and informational purposes only and are never meant to replace individualised professional advice. We highly encourage you to work with your own professionals for personalised advice.

Our Haven (www.havenwellness.com.au) members have been sharing their pressing questions and concerns so I've pulled together a bunch of our favourite local health professionals who are HAES / non-diet-aligned to share their thoughts and advice from their professional and lived experiences. WEEK TWO Q: “"I am feeling scared about my inability to do what I know helps me in feeling good and manage my good eating habits. How do I stop the craving for comfort food all the time?" Here's my wrap-up! I speak from my own lived experience escaping from diet culture and the things I've learnt working establishing a a HAES and non-diet approach fitness + yoga studio and reiterating some of the valuable common themes our professional shared. Anna x Learn about self compassion here: https://self-compassion.org/ Links worth checking out: https://christyharrison.com/intuitive-eating-online-course https://www.intuitiveeating.org/our-books/ **Please note that the information provided in or through our talks is for educational and informational purposes only and are never meant to replace individualised professional advice. We highly encourage you to work with your own professionals for personalised advice.

Our Haven (www.havenwellness.com.au) members have been sharing their pressing questions and concerns so I've pulled together a bunch of our favourite local health professionals who are non-diet/HAES-aligned to share their thoughts and support from their professional and lived experiences. Today we welcome back Liz for another insightful chat. Here's this week's question: “I have recently learned that I have a health condition that could lead to problems such as diabetes or heart disease if not dealt with, but the only preventative treatment for me is to lose weight. How can I go about this in a way that is not damaging to my mental health?" Liz is a fellow non-diet and HAES-aligned professional with a familiar story of being disconnected from body and being stuck in a cycle of perfectionism, control, dieting, bingeing, emotional eating, people-pleasing and self-help addiction. Fast forward a few years and Liz is proudly free from dieting, and loves to and move her body intuitively. Liz brings her own lived experience to her professional offerings as a counselor and coach. Find Liz at: lifeunfiltered.coach or via Insta here: instagram.com/lifeunfilteredcoaching **Please note that the information provided in or through our talks is for educational and informational purposes only and are never meant to replace individualised professional advice. We highly encourage you to work with your own professionals for personalised advice.

Our Haven community have been invited to share their pressing questions and concerns and I've pulled together a bunch of our favourite local non-diet/HAES-aligned health professionals to share their thoughts and tips that have worked for them - from their professional and lived experiences. WEEK TWO Q: “"I am feeling scared about my inability to do what I know helps me in feeling good and manage my good eating habits. How do I stop the craving for comfort food all the time?" Welcoming back Kate Spina... Kate aligns with Haven's values around letting go of diet mentality and finding peace with your body. After leaving diet culture behind as part of her journey to healing from a serious and damaging eating disorder, she re-disovered a love of food as a chef and then went onto become a qualified nutritionist working from a non-diet approach. I love her eloquent words of advice and I really hope you guys will find some value in this vid too. Enjoy! **Please note that the information provided in or through our talks is for educational and informational purposes only and are never meant to replace individualised professional advice. We highly encourage you to work with your own professionals for personalised advice.