Tianna and Alyssa discuss the different types of eating disorders and how they can be linked to trauma. Tianna is a dietician that teaches people how to ditch dieting and achieve food freedom by intuitive eating.

Learn more about Tianna’s work at: realisticrootsnutrition.com

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Transcript:

Alyssa Scolari [00:23]:

Hey everybody. Happy Tuesday. We’ve got another exciting episode for you on the Light After Trauma Podcast. I am your host, Alyssa Scolari. We are talking about literally one of my favorite topics ever today, intuitive eating and I have with us dietician, Tianna Smith. Tianna has been helping teens and women improve their physical and mental health by teaching them how to learn to trust their bodies and love food again. She has been in this business for 10 years and she is just as enthusiastic about intuitive eating as I am. And when I discovered her page and her social media content, I was like I have to have her on the show. So hi, Tianna. Welcome.

Tianna Smith [01:16]:

Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

Alyssa Scolari [01:20]:

Thank you for being here. Would you mind just talking a little bit about, like a little bit more about what it is that you do. Because I think when people hear like the word dietician, they’re like, Oh, diets, weight loss.

Tianna Smith [01:35]:

Yes. I love that you just asked me that because it’s so true. Every time I tell somebody that I am a dietician, their first reaction is to tell me about all of the diets they’ve done in their life and how proud they are that they’ve done all these diets. And it makes me laugh a little bit because even though the word diet is in my title of dietitian, I am an anti-diet dietician. And so what I do is I help re-educate people to learn how to actually feed themselves through trusting their own bodies.

And, you know, there’s so much misinformation out there about what you should eat, what you shouldn’t eat when you should eat, when you should not eat, how much you should eat. There’s so many rules that try to dictate how we should take care of ourselves. And a lot of them are very conflicting. And so I really love what I do because I help people realize how to actually care for their own personal body, because we all are very different. We’re individuals and we all have different bodies and different likes and dislikes and hunger cues and all of that. So it’s very complex. And so I really help people learn to, like I said, just trust their own personal body so that they can be really mentally and physically.

Alyssa Scolari [03:01]:

Yes. I love it. I love it. And it’s almost about bringing people back to the basics, I feel like. You know, there’s just this one story that really sticks with me that one of my patients had said to me, so one of my patients has a child and she’s, I think she’s four. And she was saying like, the child wanted a piece of cake and she gave the child a piece of cake and the child ate half of the piece of cake and was like, okay, Mommy, like no more. And the mom was like, you’re not going to eat the whole cake? Like who has a piece of cake and doesn’t eat the whole thing? And the child was just like, my belly is full. And I was like that right there is the epitome of intuitive eating. And it’s amazing to me because we’re already born knowing how to eat intuitively, but as we grow up, I feel like we lose it. Right? Would you agree with that?

Tianna Smith [04:07]:

Oh my gosh, you just nailed it. You nailed that. That is exactly true. We are all natural born intuitive eaters. And unfortunately, usually our parents or some other adults messes that up for us along the way. And this is obviously usually very unintentional from parents and adults and other people. But yeah, we were all born with hunger and fullness cues and cravings, and I always like to remind people that our cravings are not bad and children before they are exposed to diet culture and fat-phobia are exactly that. They are intuitive eaters and really what I do is I try to help people get back to that. So to get back to what they were always supposed to do since birth really.

Alyssa Scolari [05:02]:

Yeah. Yep. And it’s the most freeing thing to be able to get to that spot.

Tianna Smith [05:08]:

Yes. Absolutely.

Alyssa Scolari [05:11]:

Now how did you find yourself in this profession?

Tianna Smith [05:16]:

So I actually had a friend when I was in high school who struggled with an eating disorder and she told me that her dietician was super helpful for her in her treatment. And so I decided in that moment, I was 17, that I wanted to be a dietician that specifically worked with girls who had eating disorders. I thought that sounds like such an awesome profession. I really think I would love that. And so actually before I started my private practice, about four years ago, I strictly worked at eating disorder facilities.

So I worked for seven different eating disorder facilities over the course of about eight years. And I just fell in love with that work. Being able to help people heal their relationship with food and their bodies was just amazing. I’m still doing that. I still see a lot of clients that suffer from eating disorders, but in my private practice, I also branched off and really do a lot more of the intuitive eating work as well. And so, yeah, I’ve been doing this work half my life pretty much, I feel like, so very rewarding. I’ve never regretted a day event.

Alyssa Scolari [06:31]:

Yeah. It’s, I’m sure. I am sure. Now you work with, when you say that you work with people with eating disorders, could you talk a little bit about the different types of eating disorders out there? Because I feel as though when people think of eating disorders, they jumped primarily to anorexia or bulimia and I think eating disorders are a lot more complex. So can you speak to a little bit about like what comes across your practice? What kind of clients you’ve seen?

Tianna Smith [07:05]:

Yeah. So I see so many different types of people with so many different struggles. I mean, I could have two people that have bulimia, but it actually unfolds a lot differently for both of them. And so, yes, I do see people that struggle with anorexia and bulimia and also ARFID, that’s something that a lot of people haven’t heard of, that’s avoidant restricting feeding intake disorder, sorry, it’s a tongue twister, and also binge eating disorder. And so, you know, it’s very, very complex. There is no one size fits all. People are of all sizes, all races, all backgrounds. I see such a complex diverse group of women in my practice. So yeah, they aren’t what most people would think that textbook of like, Oh, somebody is anorexic, they must be underweight or it must be obvious that they have an eating disorder. That is so, so, so far from the truth.

And I think that because of that misconception, a lot of people don’t get the help that they need because they’re afraid that people won’t believe that it’s a true disorder, that it’s a true struggle in their life. And so that’s something that I’m always trying to speak out against is that no matter what somebody’s size or background or behaviors, if you’re struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, you are worthy of help. And so there’s a lot of education. I think that still needs to be done for people to really understand what all goes into it. It’s very complex.

Alyssa Scolari [08:49]:

A hundred percent. And I think it’s also important to point out that eating disorders, you know, I know for, for me personally, in my journey to eating disorder recovery, as well as the folks that I work with in my private practice, sometimes I started out being, I would say with binge eating disorder and then I flip flopped to anorexia. But even when I was at my weakest and my sickest, I don’t think looking at me, you would have known that I had had anorexia. Everybody told me that I looked so healthy, but I was starving and cold all the time and just always in a fog. So it also changes. There’s no, definitely like you said one size fits all when it comes to eating disorders and the eating disorder usually is always changing.

Tianna Smith [09:46]:

So I really liked how you mentioned that you were getting praised when people were commenting just on your weight loss, despite you probably really suffering at that time and then were probably restricting and not taking care of yourself. Why as a whole world, like we need to refrain and don’t know what they may be going through. I think people just assume if somebody’s lost weight, that that means they’re healthier now, but in some cases, and in probably all of my client’s cases, they are actually praising a very serious mental illness. And so, you know, I think that the more that we can refrain from talking about other people’s bodies, the better.

Alyssa Scolari [10:36]:

Yes. Like let’s stop talking about people’s bodies and stop saying like, Oh my gosh, you look so good because you have no idea. And what you end up doing is you end up only further reinforcing the eating disorder, which is that, well, I only get attention and I’m only worthy of love and praise and affection if I’m dying inside.

Tianna Smith [11:04]:

You know, I think as human beings really want in this world is for accepted. And unfortunately, so many people believe that they need to look a certain way or fit a certain mold in order for that to happen. But the reality is, is when we are trapped in an eating disorder or disordered eating, or even just diet culture, that isolates a person. That makes a person struggle to feel comfortable and confident going out in the world and living their life as they should. And so I love the work that I get to do because I help people feel more comfortable with their body, not by changing it at all, but by being able to learn how to respect and honor it. And I think that that is a big mindset shift that a lot of people need to be able to make so that they can heal their relationship with their body.

Alyssa Scolari [12:04]:

Yeah. And in your experience with the work that you do, do the people that you see often see a therapist as well?

Tianna Smith [12:17]:

Yeah. So if I’m working with somebody with an eating disorder, absolutely. A lot of my clients who struggle with disordered eating also do see therapists, but it isn’t always as pertinent. But I think that, you know, my own personal opinion is everybody should be in therapy.

Alyssa Scolari [12:32]:

Yes [crosstalk 00:12:33].

Tianna Smith [12:33]:

… so, so good for our mental health. And even if you don’t have a mental health diagnosis, therapy is amazing and important.

Alyssa Scolari [12:43]:

Preach.

Tianna Smith [12:43]:

So yeah, I’m all about, I’m all about therapists. I have [crosstalk 00:12:49]

Alyssa Scolari [12:49]:

You love therapy. It’s the best. And the reason why I asked you that question is because, when I talk about eating disorders on a trauma focused podcast and eating disorders at the root are really so much about control. And typically we develop disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders because we’re trying to gain back some of that control that we don’t have. And I think that part of it also is everything that we see on social media, which is just the constant, like tiny waist, big butt, like being thick, being thin. It can be so confusing.

Tianna Smith [13:44]:

You know, then trying to change your body in a way that isn’t biologically natural for you. Like not every person is supposed to look a certain way. So I love using an example of like dogs. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the term poodle science before.

Alyssa Scolari [14:01]:

No. What is that?

Tianna Smith [14:03]:

With this idea of poodle science, it’s like no matter how much you starved a bull mastiff, it will never look like a poodle. And I like to even use it [inaudible 00:14:16] even more certain examples of like, no matter how much you starved a bull mastiff, it will never look like a chihuahua. You know? And similar to dogs, and it sounds silly to compare human beings to dogs, but we aren’t supposed to, to all look like a chihuahua.

Some people are, and some people aren’t, but in diet culture, we’re convinced that if we do all of these diets or intermittent fasting or whatever, that we will look like a chihuahua and that is just silly. It is impossible. And so again, a lot of the work that I do is helping people accept their biological blueprint, how they are genetically supposed to be. And I always like to pose the question of, you know, yeah, you could fight biology the rest of your life, but what is that life going to look like? And what are you going to miss out on if you continue to try to control your body and fight nature?

Alyssa Scolari [15:21]:

Yeah.

Tianna Smith [15:23]:

That’s a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people.

Alyssa Scolari [15:27]:

It is. But I, you know, at the same time swallowing that pill, and this is what I try to tell people. I mean, you know, as you’re speaking, I’m thinking last night I was with a family and the family was talking about what they were going to have for dinner. And they were talking about how there were, they had these like homemade raviolis and you know, mom was like, yeah, you know, everybody will be eating the raviolis and I’ll be eating my salmon. And I’m like, no, eat those raviolis. And like, it made me so sad for her, because like you said, you could spend your whole life trying to change your biological blueprint. Meanwhile, you’re missing out on some delicious raviolis, well spent family time, which to me is priceless.

Tianna Smith [16:23]:

Yeah. Well, and another lens that you could take with that example, I love that example, is that we also have to think about what we’re modeling for our children. And in that type of a scenario, we are modeling for our children that raviolis are bad and that they’re forbidden. And that salmon is better than raviolis. When really salmon is not better than raviolis, it’s just different. You’re getting different nutrients. And so it’s not that one is better than the other. We need carbohydrates from raviolis and we need protein from salmon. So one is not better than the other.

They are just going to nourish our bodies in different ways and provide our bodies with different nutrients. But I think that one thing that a lot of parents struggle with and kind of not, I wouldn’t even say struggle with, they just don’t realize, they’re kind of naive to this idea that, they’re constantly watching them and learning from them and they are picking up on all the things that they’re doing. And so if you, as parents, are dieting and also talking really bad about yourself, your kids are going to pick up on that and that is going to affect their relationship with food and their relationship with their body. So, yeah, it’s a whole thing that a lot of people just don’t have much insight, I think. And so I love being able to educate people on that too.

Alyssa Scolari [17:54]:

Yeah. And people truly don’t have the knowledge. I mean, when you bring it up to people, they’re like, oh, I never even thought of it that way. But I do remember being a little girl and seeing everybody in my family on Weight Watchers and then what happened? Well, I was like, I think 19 and was on Weight Watchers and you know what started my fad dieting. And it’s like children pick up on everything. And by engaging in diet culture, you are also passing it down to the generations beneath you.

Tianna Smith [18:31]:

Absolutely. It is so generational. And that’s one of the things in my course, Food Freedom University, I talked a lot about that and how what we do absolutely will affect generations to come. And we can stop that poor, negative generational issue with food and our body image in our own family. And I think that that’s so powerful to know that this can stop with you. Your kids don’t have to feel like they need to diet, and they also don’t need to feel horrible about their genetic blueprint or their bodies. And so it’s absolutely a spiral effect through years and years like throughout history.

Alyssa Scolari [19:19]:

Yeah. So can you tell me more about Food Freedom University?

Tianna Smith [19:24]:

Yes. Absolutely. So Food Freedom University is my online digital course. So it’s an eight week course where you get eight prerecorded modules that contain two to four lessons each. I also have developed a lot of assignments in handouts over the last 10 years that go along with each lesson. And it’s really the most effective way, in my opinion, to learning how to become an intuitive eater and heal your relationship with food. So it’s very, very in depth. It goes into all of the different principles of intuitive eating. And then I also add in a whole lot of really good body image work.

So I love it. I think it’s an amazing course. You get a lot of group support and a lot of support from me as well. Clients that are also in Food Freedom University get a discounted rate on my individual services. So I don’t want anybody to feel like they need to try to figure out how to become an intuitive eater on their own because reading a book and actually applying it are two very different things. So, you know, having a guide like myself, I’m a certified, intuitive eating counselor and a dietician. So it just makes the process so much easier to understand when you have somebody to kind of help you through it.

Alyssa Scolari [20:44]:

Yes. I agree with that a hundred percent. I think that when I first learned about intuitive eating, I have a close friend who is a, she’s now an RD and she was the one who introduced me to the concept of intuitive eating years ago. And I had bought books and read everything that I could about intuitive eating, but it’s so much different.

And then I found a nutritionist who truly was an intuitive eating nutritionist because I’ve had many nutritionists who say that they are, and then looking back on it, I’m like, Oh, you actually aren’t because you had me measuring things. And you know, that was not, we don’t like measuring. So it wasn’t until I started working with her that I really learns how to intuitively eat. And I don’t know if you do this at all. But one of the first things that she had me do was ice cream was one of those things that I was like had major food rules about and was like, I can only have ice cream on Saturdays and I am having Ben and Jerry’s and I will down an entire pint and it will only be on Saturday.

So of course I would spend all week obsessing over what pint of ice cream I was going to have. What flavor was I going to pick? Was it going to be the Tonight Dough? Is it going to be Cherry Garcia? Who knows? And then I would eat the whole thing. I would feel sick afterwards and what my nutritionist did with me, she was like, you’re going to have ice cream every single night, every single night. And I of course throw a fit. And honestly, I thought she was insane. But I, to this day, if I want a pint of Ben and Jerry’s like, yes, I will eat the whole pint, but I have not felt that I’ve wanted it. And the same thing, you know, I did the same thing with cookies because having cookies in the house was a big no-no for me. And now, I mean, I had an entire box of like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies in the house that I didn’t feel the need to eat all of them. And to me, that’s the ultimate freedom.

Tianna Smith [23:03]:

Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that that’s so hard for so many people is like believing that when you actually give yourself that permission to eat the things that you enjoy, you’re actually going to binge less and you’re going to eventually stop binging altogether. And so it’s definitely something that takes a lot of space. And I always ask my clients you’re going to need to put some trust in me. Because I recognize that some of the things that I’m going to advise you to do, like eating ice cream every night is going to sound insane. And I’ve had a lot of clients that are like, wow, never expected you to tell us that we should have carbs at every meal, for example. You know? And I’m like, well, yeah, like when you deprive yourself that only puts more power in the food and only it’s going to increase the likelihood that you’re going to binge on that food later. So, it’s better to spread it out throughout the day than to have it all in one sitting. You know?

Alyssa Scolari [24:08]:

Yep. Absolutely. And you know the other thing that I wanted to ask is because I have so many people who walk into my office and they’re like, I’m not on a diet, but then when they actually talk about what they’re doing, it’s a diet. So could you speak to that a little bit about like just the concept of clean eating and how to spot a diet in disguise? Because I think there are so many people out there that are like, Oh, I just eat clean. And don’t realize that they’re actually on a diet.

Tianna Smith [24:50]:

I love to use that example of clean eating because it’s probably one of the more irritating phrases. [inaudible 00:24:59] don’t understand how damaging it can be to think like that, that if you’re not eating a certain way, that you’re bad or dirty or unworthy and our food should be able to just eat our food is there should be no moral implications that are tied to it at all. And so with that [inaudible 00:25:22] the newest trend these days seems to be diets that say they aren’t diets, but they’re really a diet. And I’ll use Noom as an example. I mean, their marketing is unbelievable. I tell you, they have probably some of the best marketers I’ve seen in diet culture and in the diet industry, but they’re lying. They are very, very manipulative in the way that they explain their program in their ads that I’ve seen. And it’s hard because people are truly believing that they’re paying for something that isn’t a diet.

When it in fact is. The biggest thing is if a company or a person is saying I’m going to help you learn to love yourself and appreciate your body and all of this, but then simultaneously they’re trying to sell you something that’s supposed to help you lose weight or change your body, that is not intuitive eating. That is not about really honoring your body. You should not have to try to change your body in order to care for it and to respect it. And so I think that is the biggest thing that I see, and that is people preaching intuitive eating and certain principles of intuitive eating, but not teaching it in the way that it was intended. And that is it’s certainly not intended for weight loss purposes, but rather taking care of yourself through learning to trust your body again.

Alyssa Scolari [26:57]:

Yes. Yes. A thousand percent I want to stand up and scream because I just, I love it. And you’re right. Noom is one of those like diets in disguise. It’s like, and I think they actually market themselves as like a non-diet. Right? Don’t they market themselves as being like not a diet?

Tianna Smith [27:25]:

Yeah. They very much say that they [inaudible 00:27:29] intuitive eating and they’re [inaudible 00:27:34] lot of trouble for using the phrase intuitive eating in a way that is illegal. And so, yeah, there’s unfortunately a lot of people trying to use intuitive eating as a marketing tool, but they’re also simultaneously saying, do our program or work with me so that you can lose weight. It’s very unethical.

Alyssa Scolari [27:58]:

It’s extremely unethical. And it’s just so harmful. It is so, so harmful.

Tianna Smith [28:04]:

Yep.

Alyssa Scolari [28:08]:

Now your Food Freedom University course, is that something that’s like always running? Is that an ongoing?

Tianna Smith [28:17]:

So it is going to be open for enrollment three times this year. So right now, actually my cart is open until January 20th. The course will start on January 25th and then I will launch again most likely in April. So it’s something where, yeah, like I said, it’s an eight week program and I really do try to give it my all, and that’s why it’s not running all the time. I want to have groups that people kind of go through the program so that you’re really making strong connections with people that are learning the same things as you at the same time.

Alyssa Scolari [28:56]:

Yes. Okay. And in terms of your individual services that you offer, are you taking on new clients right now?

Tianna Smith [29:09]:

So actually I am only taking one-on-one clients who are also enrolled in Food Freedom University. And the reason for that is I want to make sure that those people that are in Food Freedom University are having all of my undivided attention. So the only new clients that I’m taking individually are people who have diagnosed eating disorders. So if somebody with a diagnosed eating disorder that’s struggling actively with their eating disorder, really do need that one-on-one attention support from me. But I also recognize that there may be some people inside Food Freedom University that just want a little bit more, maybe they want to process somethings in more of a nutrition counseling type of way. So yeah, I very much prioritize FFU students.

Alyssa Scolari [29:59]:

Okay. And if people wanted to enroll in the Food Freedom University course, is that, do you only accept people in your area? Or are you able to work with people pretty much all over the country? Cause I assume everything is tele-health now. Right?

Tianna Smith [30:23]:

Yes. So yeah, I’m actually able to work with people worldwide because through Food Freedom University, I’m not providing medical nutrition therapy. And so because of that, I’m able to do more health coaching in helping people learn to trust their body and to work through some of these body image struggles that they may have. And so if somebody has a medical diagnosis, that is something that would require me to work with them one-on-one and in those instances it would very much depend on what state they live in. So there’s a handful of states that do not require what’s called licensure for dieticians. And so in those states I could do tele-health with people if they had let’s say diabetes, or heart disease, PCOS, something like that. So yeah, with Food Freedom University though, it’s really great because it’s more on a health coaching basis. And so I can see people from anywhere.

Alyssa Scolari [31:24]:

That’s awesome. And people can go right to your website, which is Realistic Roots Nutrition.

Tianna Smith [31:32]:

Yes. So it’s RealisticRootsNutrition.com. And if you’re interested in Food Freedom University, there is a tab at the top that says Food Freedom University that you can click on. And it will take you to my page that talks all about the program. You can enroll there. You can also email me, if you have questions. I’m also very, very active on my Instagram.

Alyssa Scolari [31:54]:

Yes. Let’s talk about your Instagram because, so that is so important. One of the first things that I tell people when they come to me for eating disorders is like, who are you following on social media? Do they make you feel bad about yourself? Okay. Let’s take out your phone unfollow, unfollow, unfollow, but your Instagram is fantastic. So tell people about your Instagram.

Tianna Smith [32:21]:

Yeah. So with my Instagram, I am very active on there. I really try to be a support to anybody who’s struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating, anybody that wants to learn more about intuitive eating. It’s a place where I want people to feel really safe talking about their struggles with food and their bodies. And so oftentimes too, I’ll kind of expose a diet culture and some of the ways that they make us feel awful about ourselves. And so I try to really make it a space where it’s both educational and therapeutic and uplifting and non triggering. So, yeah, I agree with what you just said though, too, with unfollowing people that are triggering. I always like to refer to it as like taking out the body garbage. So these accounts that make you feel bad about your body. We don’t need that. It’s hard enough working through body image issues, let alone scrolling and seeing things that are really triggering. So yeah.

Alyssa Scolari [33:27]:

And your Instagram handle is, Dietician Tianna. Right?

Tianna Smith [33:30]:

Yes. It’s Dietitian.Tianna. A lot of people forget that dot.

Alyssa Scolari [33:36]:

Okay. Dietician.Tanna. Okay.

Tianna Smith [33:40]:

Yep.

Alyssa Scolari [33:40]:

And I will tag you when we post the episode and to the listeners out there, obviously as always, you know, that I will put the RealisticRootNutrition.com website in the show notes as well as the Facebook page so you can feel free to go check her out and obviously follow her on Instagram because her stuff is amazing. And I love it. And it’s such a breath of fresh air because I was the queen of dieting. Every diet, you name it like Weight Watchers, keto, Jillian Michaels detox, like I [crosstalk 00:34:21].

Tianna Smith [34:20]:

… Jillian Michaels.

Alyssa Scolari [34:23]:

Jillian Michaels was my girl for a while when I was so deep in my eating disorder. And now I look back and I’m like, Jillian? Unfollow. No offense, Jill.

Tianna Smith [34:37]:

Yeah.

Alyssa Scolari [34:40]:

No hard feelings, Jill, but your lifestyle is just not for me. It’s just, it’s been one of the most freeing things ever. And it’s all because of people like you. So truly like thank you so much for what you do and for being, for going against the grain, because in some ways it is easier to fall into diet culture and you are one of the people that help all bodies to feel accepted and worthy. So thank you for what you do. I’m also channeling some major vitamin D vibes. So for the listeners out there, Tianna’s in California and I’m over here in Jersey, where it’s dark and freezing, and I see all the sunshine and it looks so nice over there.

Tianna Smith [35:36]:

Yeah. We are a little bit spoiled. I’m not going to lie.

Alyssa Scolari [35:40]:

So jealous. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show and for taking the time out to talk about all the amazing things you do.

Tianna Smith [35:51]:

You’re so welcome. I really feel like it’s such a fulfilling career and area to work in. And, yeah, I mean, I definitely do get the trolls that think that I am preaching things that aren’t quote unquote healthy.

Alyssa Scolari [36:06]:

Yes.

Tianna Smith [36:07]:

But I think there’s just a lot of learning that needs to be done. And so I try to not take offense to those people that are sometimes kind of hard on me and the things that I put out there on social media. But I just have to remind myself that we live in a very sick culture that’s very diet focused and I’m very fat phobic. And so it comes with the territory, but I always tell my followers that are with me throughout at all, that I’m not going anywhere that this is sometimes an uphill battle to fight, but it’s definitely worth it. So I’m very grateful for this career path I’ve chosen.

Alyssa Scolari [36:49]:

It’s such an uphill battle. It’s, but you know, you’re actively saving lives because to spend your whole life fighting against, as you’ve called it your biological blueprint, to me is truly like the ultimate form of hell to be in. It really is. I feel more alive now than I ever have in my whole life by being able to just eat freely.

Tianna Smith [37:16]:

I’m so, so glad that you’ve been able to experience that for yourself because, I’ll be honest. I feel like it’s kind of rare today. And so for me to have just recently met you and to hear that you already have gone through this amazing intuitive eating journey just brings a lot of joy to me. It just makes me so happy. So congratulations on being able to work through that yourself because it’s hard work for sure.

Alyssa Scolari [37:48]:

Thanks. It’s such hard work, but you know, to me what’s harder was just living in that cycle of the number on the scale never being low enough. It’s just never good enough. So I’m like, it’s all about surrendering and just letting your body do its thing.

Tianna Smith [38:08]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Gosh, we are so on the same wave link.

Alyssa Scolari [38:12]:

I know.

Tianna Smith [38:14]:

Like I tell my clients that all the time, so…

Alyssa Scolari [38:18]:

Let go and let your body be. Thanks for listening everyone. For more information about today’s episode and to sign up for the Light after Trauma newsletter, head over to my website AlyssaScolari.com. The really great thing about being a part of newsletter is that not only do you get weekly updates on new podcast episodes and blog posts, but you also get access to the private Facebook community as well as access to all sorts of insider tips, resources, and infographs that supplement what we talk about on the show. You also can connect with me and other trauma warriors. I’m super active on the Facebook community. And I look forward to talking with you.