I don’t know about you, Reader, but May and June were bat$hit nuts, what with the end of the school year and celebrating my oldest daughter’s elementary school graduation, family in town for her birthday, and Father’s Day…
That’s why in this newsletter, I want to talk about giving ourselves permission to downshift. Revving down.
Today, I come bearing my latest blog, summer recipes, the next office hours, a free download, and a story about my then-two-year-old that I think about basically every day of my professional life.
Let’s start with the story.
My daughter came home from preschool one afternoon and told me that a girl in her class said she was in the clean plate club.
At that time, she was two. She said it like it was a perfectly normal thing. Because to her, it was.
I, as a dietitian who has spent her entire career thinking about exactly this kind of thing, took a breath.
“You can tell that little girl,” I said, “that you’re in the Listen to Your Body Club. This is a club where the plate doesn’t get to decide how much you eat. Your body does.”
She blinked at me. She was two. She had absolutely no idea she had just been handed an entire eating philosophy. She probably just wanted a snack.
But there it was.
My older one, happy at the table, fall 2017
If you grew up being told to finish your plate…
…and if that voice still shows up at the table decades later, long after the friend, parent, or teacher who said it is out of the picture…This week’s blog post is for you.
I wrote about where the clean plate club came from, why it stuck, and what it actually costs us when we outsource fullness cues to a piece of ceramic.
Plus, you’ll learn the first steps to start letting your body, not your plate, call the shots.
And because I never want to just talk about concepts without giving you something to actually use, I’m also dropping the hunger-fullness scale I use with clients that you will read about in that blog.
Feel free to print it, screenshot it, stick it on your fridge. Use it before, during, and after meals, and just get curious.
I’m sharing a few of my favorite warm-weather recipes this week. Nothing fussy, or that requires you to turn on your oven when it’s 85 degrees. Go grab them below.
Za’atar grilled chicken skewers with mashed chickpeas
P.S. If any of this is resonating and you’re curious about working together, here’s where you can learn more about what I do. No pressure, just an open door.
REVV Health is licensed in Washington State and accepts Aetna, Regence, Premera, Lifewise, and BCBS. Marissa also sees clients nationwide, depending on state licensure. Check the map here.
