Welcome to The Empowered Eating Series where we are redefining food and fitness!

In this series, we dive into the complex and often conflicting messages surrounding diet and fitness. From the rise of diet culture in the 20th century to the current popularity of intuitive eating, we explore how these extremes can influence our relationship with food and our bodies.

Key Points:

1. Diet Culture:

   • Rooted in the idea that certain foods are "good" or "bad."
   • Emphasizes the "thin ideal," promoting thinness as the ultimate goal.
   • Can lead to obsessive behavior and an unhealthy focus on appearance over well-being.

2. Intuitive Eating (IE):

   • Encourages individuals to trust their bodies and eat according to internal cues.
   • Values all foods equally, aiming to remove guilt and restriction from eating.
   • While effective in reducing food-related obsession, it can lack clear nutritional guidance.

3. The Middle Path - Empowered Eating:

   • Combines the best of nutrition science with intuitive principles.
   • Focuses on health and well-being rather than appearance.
   • Encourages a balanced approach where food is enjoyed but not used as a primary coping mechanism.

In this episode, we explore the critical difference between empowered exercise and obsessive exercise. Understanding these distinctions is key to developing a healthy relationship with movement, ensuring that fitness enhances your life rather than controls it.

Signs of Obsessive Exercise:

1. Rigidity: Strictly adhering to a workout plan, even in the face of illness, injury, or significant life events.
2. Anxiety: Feeling intense anxiety or distress if unable to follow the exercise plan exactly as intended.
3. Excessive Exercise: Engaging in extreme amounts of exercise without allowing for necessary recovery periods or off-seasons.
4. Ignoring Advice: Disregarding medical advice or concerns from coaches or loved ones about overexertion.
5. Frequent Injuries: Suffering from recurring injuries that do not heal properly due to insufficient rest.
6. Hormonal Imbalance: Experiencing problematic hormone changes that affect sleep and other aspects of health.

Signs of Empowered Exercise:

1. Flexibility: Adjusting the exercise plan when necessary due to life events, illness, injuries, or psychological burnout.
2. Calmness: Maintaining composure when workouts are missed, understanding that rest is just as vital as movement, and recognizing that consistency is more important than rigidity.
3. Balanced Plan: Following a balanced exercise plan that allows for ample rest and recovery, including off-seasons when needed.
4. Heeding Advice: Listening to and following medical advice as well as input from coaches or loved ones regarding the need to slow down.
5. Injury Recovery: Allowing injuries adequate time to heal, prioritizing long-term health over short-term gains.
6. Healthy Hormones: Maintaining healthy hormone levels with no negative impacts on sleep or overall health.

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