Welcome to
Beyond the Food Blog
A catalog of evidence-based articles written by Stephanie Dodier non-diet nutritionist, educator, and feminist business leader on all topics supporting the non-diet approach that will challenge everything you’ve been taught about food, health, and coaching.
Welcome to
Beyond the Food Blog
A catalog of evidence-based articles written by Stephanie Dodier Clinical Nutritionist on all topics supporting the non-diet approach to health.
Our Most Recent Articles
Fatphobia Coaching and Gaslighting: How I Overcome Fatphobia as a Fat Woman
Fatphobia Coaching and Gaslighting: How I Overcame Fatphobia as a Fat Woman
As a fat woman, I’ve heard it all. “Just change your thoughts about the layer of fat on your body.” “Don’t worry about what other people think of you.” These well-intentioned but misguided pieces of advice aren’t coaching – they’re gaslighting. And they’re a prime example of how fatphobia permeates our society, even in spaces meant to be supportive and empowering.
Today, I want to share my personal journey of overcoming fatphobia and how I learned to navigate a world that often seems designed to make people in larger bodies feel less than. This isn’t just my story – it’s a call to action for coaches, mentors, and anyone working with fat individuals to understand the complexities of fatphobia and how to truly support their clients.
Fatphobia Coaching and Gaslighting: Understanding Fatphobia and Gaslighting
Before we dive deeper, let’s clarify what we mean by fatphobia and gaslighting. Fatphobia is the fear, stigma, and discrimination against people with larger bodies. It’s a systemic issue that affects nearly every aspect of life for fat individuals.
Gaslighting, on the other hand, is a form of psychological manipulation where someone denies another person’s reality, making them question their own perceptions and experiences. In the context of fatphobia, gaslighting often looks like dismissing the very real challenges and discrimination fat people face daily.
When someone tells a fat person to “just love yourself more” or “ignore what others think,” they’re essentially denying the reality of living in a fatphobic society. This isn’t helpful – it’s harmful.
Coaching Fat Women Can Be Challenging
As I mentioned earlier, coaching people who are marginalized by systemic oppression can be incredibly challenging. Without the right skills and tools, even well-meaning coaches can inadvertently cause harm to their clients.
Let me illustrate this with my own experience. As a woman living in a large body, I’m acutely aware that people form opinions about me based solely on my appearance when I enter a room. For years, I internalized this and believed that I was the problem. I tried diet after diet, attempting to conform to society’s unrealistic and oppressive standards.
Eventually, I decided to say “f*ck off” to the system and accept my body. But this wasn’t an easy journey, and it certainly wasn’t as simple as just changing my mindset.
Fatphobia Coaching and Gaslighting: The Pitfalls of Simplistic Body Positivity
My first attempt at body acceptance came through an online body positivity course. The coach’s main message was, “If you love yourself enough, it will get better.” Spoiler alert: it didn’t work.
This approach, while well-intentioned, falls into the trap of gaslighting. It puts the entire burden on the individual to change their thoughts and feelings, without acknowledging the very real societal pressures and discrimination they face.
A New Approach to Overcoming Fatphobia
Realizing that simplistic body positivity wasn’t the answer, I decided to tackle the problem of fatphobia differently. Here’s how I approached it:
1. Stop Gaslighting Myself
The first step was to acknowledge the reality of fatphobia. Yes, it exists. Yes, it’s unfair. And yes, it impacts nearly every aspect of my life – from healthcare access to job opportunities to social interactions. Denying this reality wasn’t helping; accepting it was the first step towards real change.
2. Accept the Long-term Nature of the Challenge
I had to come to terms with the fact that fatphobia isn’t likely to disappear entirely in my lifetime. While things may improve, it will continue to impact me. This realization was crucial in shifting my focus from trying to change society to learning how to navigate it effectively.
3. Choose How to Respond
With this acceptance came a choice: how did I want to live the rest of my life? Did I want to pretend fatphobia doesn’t exist, hide away, and live a small life? Or did I want to learn how to experience fatphobia differently and live fully despite it?
4. Practice Self-Consent
I made a conscious choice to change my approach. This involved practicing self-consent – acknowledging that I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do, including conforming to societal expectations about my body.
5. Build Safety for My Choice
Change is scary, especially when it involves going against societal norms. I acknowledged my fear and the challenges ahead, building a sense of safety and support for myself as I embarked on this journey.
6. Change My Thoughts About Fatphobia
Finally, I began the process of changing my thoughts about fatphobia. This wasn’t about denial or forced positivity. Instead, it was about acceptance and empowerment. I did the thought work from a place of acknowledging reality while also recognizing my power to shape my response to it.
Fatphobia Coaching and Gaslighting: The Power of Intersectional Coaching
This approach to overcoming fatphobia is rooted in what’s known as intersectional coaching. It’s a holistic framework that acknowledges how an individual’s various identities – including body size, race, gender, and more – impact their reality.
Intersectional coaching is the truest form of empowerment coaching because it doesn’t deny or minimize the challenges faced by marginalized individuals. Instead, it provides tools and strategies to navigate these challenges effectively.
This approach is at the heart of the Non-Diet Coaching Certification, which I now offer to other coaches. It’s why Certified Non-Diet Coaches never gaslight their clients, no matter the circumstances. We acknowledge the reality of fatphobia and other systemic issues while empowering our clients to live fully and authentically.
In Conclusion
Remember, overcoming fatphobia isn’t about denying its existence or forcing yourself to “just think positively.” It’s about acknowledging the reality of living in a fatphobic society, choosing how you want to respond, and empowering yourself to live fully despite societal prejudices.
My journey from internalized fatphobia to empowerment wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. And if I can do it, so can you. Whether you’re struggling with fatphobia yourself or you’re a coach looking to better support your clients, remember: real change starts with acknowledging reality, not denying it. From there, anything is possible.
Ready to Take the Next Steps and Dismantle Fatphobia?
If you’re inspired by my journey and want to learn more about overcoming fatphobia or providing empowering, intersectional coaching, there are several ways to get involved.You can access all of our services on our work with us page. We have a number of programs and service levels enabling us to serve most women:
Free Resources and Masterclasses: Get started and get to know us better!
Private coaching with Stephanie and her team Stephanie and her team of Certified Non-Diet Coaches are waiting to support you in a one-to-one setting with an individualized plan.
Non-Diet Coaching Certification for professionals ready to integrate the Going Beyond The Food Method™️ in their practice and for women wanting to become Certified Coach and build a business coaching other women beyond the food.
I’m Sharing Our Business Revenue in This One
It’s Supposed to Take Time
Transformation takes time. Creation takes time. It’s supposed to take time to make peace with food, to build a business, and to become a great coach. The claim that these things can happen fast if you “do it right” is an oppressive marketing tactic that sets unrealistic expectations.
We’ve been conditioned by our culture of instant gratification to want results quickly. But true personal growth and business success can’t be rushed. It requires patience, perseverance, and doing the hard inner work over years, not months.
Business Revenue: The Claim That Transformation and Creation Can Happen Fast is an Oppressive Marketing Tactic
Promises like “Make 6 figures in 6 months” or “Lose 15 lbs in 30 days” prey on our desires for a quick fix. And the truth is, they work – at least for making sales. These marketers know that dangling the prospect of rapid results in front of people is highly effective at prying open their wallets.
But very few leaders are willing to emphasize the reality that real, lasting results require years of consistent effort. That’s not as sexy of a sales pitch. So instead, the quick fix narrative gets pushed relentlessly.
It’s an oppressive tactic that sets people up for disappointment, self-blame when the rapid results don’t materialize, and a cycle of moving from one program to the next, always chasing that elusive quick transformation.
That’s why years ago, I committed to no longer using the “fast results to business revenue” marketing approach. It didn’t align with my values of honesty and compassion.
Programs Designed for Lasting Transformation
To create true transformation, my programs are designed to play out over a realistic timeframe:
The Undiet Your Life Coaching Program is a year-long program because that’s how long it takes for most women to fully embrace intuitive eating and body neutrality. Decades of food and body struggles can’t be undone overnight.
The Non-Diet Coach Certification lasts 6 months because beginning to embody coaching skills and mindset takes that long. But even after that, becoming a masterful coach requires years of practice.
Business Revenue: I’d Like My Journey to Normalize Taking Years to Build a 6+ Figure Business
Building a successful online coaching business at a 6-figure or higher level is a long-game endeavor, similar to establishing a career in the corporate world. Let’s normalize:
– Not feeling like a failure if you don’t make millions right away
– The reality that 88% of female entrepreneurs earn less than 6 figures annually
It takes years to build a solid coaching business from the ground up through hard work, skill development, mindset shifts, and consistent marketing. Expecting to replace an average “middle-class” income quickly is statistically unrealistic.
Reflecting on my own privileges is important context too:
– I had 15 years of prior business coaching & sales experience that gave me a head start
– I could invest personal savings higher than the average income into my business
– As a white, cisgender, straight woman with a supportive circle, I faced less systemic barriers to risk-taking
Business Revenue: My “Average” 6-Year Journey to a Sustainable Business
2016 – Closed my Oakville nutrition clinic; the online business was born.
2017 – Revenue of $21K
My first full year online was brutal. I felt lost constantly and doubted myself weekly, but persisted. Most living expenses came from savings. To new coaches, don’t quit your day job the first year!
2018 – Revenue of $36K
Invested $10K in my first mastermind from personal savings, which was a major financial risk. I lacked business/marketing skills so year 2 was still hard. But I learned how lacking alignment between personal and business values breeds anxiety – my wake-up call to reject “bro marketing” tactics.
2019 – Revenue of $56K
The year the business started feeling sustainable. I discovered feminist mindset coaching which changed my approach as a human and entrepreneur. By doing intense mindset work (not business tactics), my income doubled in 6 months.
2020 – Revenue of $119K
The year I embodied the belief “I’m enough and innately worthy.” Again, through mindset work alone, I doubled income by becoming a better coach.
2021 – Revenue of $136K
I simplified by eliminating 7 programs and focused solely on what worked and lit me up. Streamlining allowed me to work less but earn more.
This is fairly typical path to building a sustainable online coaching business over 5-6 years. It wasn’t until after 2021 that my revenue exceeded the average for female entrepreneurs, so I’ve chosen to stop publicly sharing income details.
As I launch a new business mastermind for anti-diet entrepreneurs, I’ve carefully examined my values around using income claims for marketing. I’ve decided to try that approach for now while being fully transparent about the realistic timeframe for results.
I’d Still Be Doin’ This if I Wasn’t Doin’ This
More than just building a business, entrepreneurship has been the greatest personal development journey of my 48 years. It’s where I’ve found the deepest fulfillment by discovering my life’s purpose.
The hardships I’ve overcome gave my life meaning – they put me on this path of helping others heal from diet culture and move beyond their own struggles with food and body image.
I believe I was born for this “beyond the food” mission of being part of a revolution to dismantle oppressive societal norms. To me, that’s far more precious than achieving some hyped-up “7-figure coaching business” milestone.
I want to live a life of service. And even if I never made another dollar from this work, I’d still be doin’ this if I wasn’t doin’ this. This work is my soul’s calling and my greatest joy.
How we can help
You can access all of our services on our work with us page. We have a number of programs and service levels enabling us to serve most women:
Free Resources and Masterclasses: Get started and get to know us better!
Private coaching with Stephanie and her team Stephanie and her team of Certified Non-Diet Coaches are waiting to support you in a one-to-one setting with an individualized plan.
Non-Diet Coaching Certification for professionals ready to integrate the Going Beyond The Food Method™️ in their practice and for women wanting to become Certified Coach and build a business coaching other women beyond the food.
6 Signs Diet Culture Has Infiltrated Your Business
As an entrepreneur in the non-diet space, you’re likely familiar with the harmful effects of diet culture on individuals. But have you ever considered that these same oppressive tactics might be seeping into your business practices?
In this article, we’ll explore the uncanny parallels between diet culture and what I call “oppressive business culture.” We’ll dive into six telltale signs that diet culture has infiltrated your business and how this infiltration might be holding you back from the success and impact you deserve.
There are uncanny parallels between oppressive business culture and diet culture
Just as diet culture promises rapid weight loss and one-size-fits-all meal plans, oppressive business culture dangles the carrot of “6 figures in 6 months” and “the right strategy for everyone’s success.” Both rely on external solutions, implying that you’re not good enough or smart enough on your own. Let’s break down these parallels:
1. Quick Fixes: Diet culture says, “Lose 30lbs in 30 days.” Similarly, oppressive business culture claims, “Make 6 figures in 6 months.” Both are unrealistic and can lead to burnout.
2. One-Size-Fits-All: Diet culture preaches, “The right meal plan makes everyone healthy.” In business, it’s “The right strategy will make anyone successful.” Both ignore individual needs and circumstances.
3. Focus on Externals: Diet culture declares, “Thinner is better.” Oppressive business culture echoes, “Bigger bank account is better.” Both overlook personal well-being and fulfillment.
6 signs that Diet Culture has infiltrated your business:
Now, let’s dive into a checklist. If you find yourself nodding along to these signs, it’s likely that diet culture has snuck into your business mindset:
1. You believe there’s a “right way” to do business
Just as there’s no single diet that works for everyone, there’s no universal “right way” to run a business. If you’re constantly chasing the perfect strategy, pricing structure, or marketing plan, you might be under the influence of oppressive business culture.
2. You’re afraid to fail
In diet culture, “failing” means gaining weight or not sticking to the plan. In business, it might mean not hitting a revenue goal or losing a client. This fear can paralyze you, preventing you from taking risks that could lead to growth.
3. You experience imposter coach syndrome
Do you feel like you need just one more certification to be “credible”? This is akin to dieters thinking they need just one more supplement or workout to be “healthy.” Your expertise comes from your unique experiences and the impact you have on clients.
4. You compare yourself to colleagues in despair
Just as dieters compare their bodies to others, you might be comparing your business to your colleagues’. Remember, their journey is not yours, and comparison often leads to self-doubt and inaction.
5. You’re “all in” one week, then “nothing” for two
This sounds like yo-yo dieting, doesn’t it? One week, you’re hustling 24/7; the next, you’re burnt out and can’t look at your business. Sustainable success requires consistent, balanced effort.
6. You spend too much time trying to do things “perfectly”
In diet culture, perfectionism might mean never missing a workout or eating a “forbidden” food. In business, it’s obsessing over every email or social media post. Perfection is a myth that steals your time and energy.
It’s not your fault if Diet Culture has infiltrated your business
Here’s the truth: just as you didn’t create diet culture, you didn’t create oppressive business culture. These systems are pervasive, and it’s no wonder they’ve seeped into your entrepreneurial journey. Remember when you couldn’t believe that diet culture was the problem, not your body? Now, it’s the same with your business.
What your brain labels as a “problem” in your business often isn’t a problem at all. The real issue is the oppressive business culture that overwhelms us with endless to-dos, “right way” thinking, perfectionism, and people-pleasing. It’s not you; it’s the system.
The Solution
The solution isn’t another strategy, course, or certification. It’s the same thing that freed you from diet culture: self-trust.
The solution: Self-Trust
What if you could trust yourself with your business decisions as implicitly as you now trust your body’s hunger and fullness cues? Imagine the freedom, confidence, and growth that would unfold. Just as intuitive eating transformed your relationship with food, intuitive business practices can revolutionize your entrepreneurial journey.
The key is to focus on reshaping your business mindset, not just your tactics. When you change how you think about your clients, your offers, and yourself as a coach, you’ll operate from a place of integrity. This shift leads to higher-value actions and, ultimately, a business that creates what I call “Good Money” – income that aligns with your values and serves your mission.
Conclusion: Your Business, Your Rules
Remember, it’s supposed to take time to build a great business, just like it takes time to make peace with food. The claim that business success should be fast if you “do it right” is as oppressive as the diet industry’s rapid weight loss promises.
I’ve shared my own business journey to normalize this reality. It took me years to build a six-figure business, and each stage was marked by personal growth, not just revenue growth. Your journey will be unique, but the principles remain the same: trust yourself, align with your values, and reject the oppressive narratives.
If you’re ready to build a business that feels as good as it performs, I invite you to join us in the Good Money Business Mastermind. Together, we’ll dismantle diet culture in all its forms and create businesses that truly nourish – our clients, our communities, and ourselves.
Remember, you’re not just building a business; you’re part of a revolution. And that, my friend, is worth far more than any “7-figure coaching business” ideal.
How we can help
You can access all of our services on our work with us page. We have a number of programs and service levels enabling us to serve most women:
Free Resources and Masterclasses: Get started and get to know us better!
Private coaching with Stephanie and her team Stephanie and her team of Certified Non-Diet Coaches are waiting to support you in a one-to-one setting with an individualized plan.
Non-Diet Coaching Certification for professionals ready to integrate the Going Beyond The Food Method™️ in their practice and for women wanting to become Certified Coach and build a business coaching other women beyond the food.
How to Coach Eating Behaviors
Do you feel trapped in an endless cycle of dieting, restrictive eating, and guilt? You’re not alone.
In this article, you’ll learn a compassionate, non-diet approach to developing a healthier relationship with food and your eating behaviors. Say goodbye to rigid rules and hello to sustainable strategies that align with your values and goals.
Many of us struggle with emotional eating, binge eating, or restrictive patterns that leave us feeling frustrated and disconnected from our true hunger cues. This vicious cycle can take a toll on our physical and emotional well-being, leading to feelings of shame, low self-esteem, and a preoccupation with food. But there is a way out – a path towards a more balanced, intuitive approach to eating.
Coaching Eating Behaviors: What to do instead?
The Cognitive Behavioral Coaching method enables you to explore your motivations, triggers, and patterns surrounding food. It helps cultivate self-awareness, mindfulness, and self-compassion, empowering you to make choices that truly nourish your mind, body, and soul. Prepare to break free from the diet mentality and embrace a healthier, more fulfilling way of living.
Instead of restrictive diets or one-size-fits-all rules, the CBC method encourages a more holistic and personalized approach to developing a healthy relationship with food. It’s about understanding your unique motivations, triggers, and patterns, and finding strategies that work for you – not against you.
Coaching Eating Behaviors Using CBC Coaching
The CBC approach is rooted in the principles of cognitive behavioral coaching, which recognizes that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected. By exploring and understanding these connections, we can identify areas for change and develop more constructive patterns.
Step 1: Understanding How Human Behavior is Generated
The first step in the CBC process is to gain insight into the fundamental drivers of human behavior. Our actions are influenced by a complex interplay of thoughts, emotions, physiological states, and environmental factors. By developing self-awareness and mindfulness, clients can begin to observe these influences without judgment, creating a foundation for lasting change.
Step 2: Investigate the Environment
Our physical and social environments play a significant role in shaping our eating behaviors. This step involves exploring the various cues, triggers, and situations that may contribute to unhealthy patterns. For example, a client may notice that they tend to overeat when stressed at work or when socializing with friends who encourage indulgence. By identifying these environmental factors, we can develop strategies to create a more supportive and conducive environment for healthier choices.
Coaching Eating Behaviors: 6 coaching questions
1. “What does a healthy relationship with food mean to you?”
This deceptively simple question encourages clients to reflect deeply on their values, priorities, and desired outcomes beyond just weight loss or adhering to food rules. A healthy relationship with food means different things to different people – it could mean feeling energized, nourishing their body with foods they enjoy, or setting an example of balance for their children. By defining what success looks like for them, clients can stay motivated and focused on their personal goals.
2. “How do your current eating behaviors align (or misalign) with your values and goals?”
Our actions often stem from deeply ingrained habits, emotions, or coping mechanisms that may no longer serve us. This question prompts clients to examine the alignment between their eating patterns and the things that truly matter to them. Perhaps emotional eating is causing feelings of guilt that conflict with their value of self-care. Or nighttime snacking might be hindering their goal of having more energy during the day. Exploring these disconnects can provide powerful motivation for change.
3. “What situations or emotions tend to trigger unhealthy eating patterns for you?”
Understanding personal triggers is crucial for interrupting unhealthy cycles. Clients may identify stress, boredom, loneliness, or even positive events like celebrations as common triggers for overeating or making poor food choices. Once these triggers are identified, we can co-create coping strategies and alternative behaviors to address them in a healthier way.
4. “How can you practice self-compassion when you experience setbacks or slip-ups?”
Change is rarely linear, and setbacks are an inevitable part of the process. This question encourages clients to treat themselves with kindness and understanding, rather than harsh self-criticism or shame. Self-compassion might involve reassuring self-talk, remembering that one lapse doesn’t undo all progress, or simply taking a moment to breathe and reset.
5. “What small, manageable steps can you take to move closer to your desired eating behaviors?”
Big, sweeping changes can often feel overwhelming and unsustainable. This question helps clients break down their goals into smaller, actionable steps that feel achievable. It could involve strategies like meal planning, trying new recipes, or finding alternative coping mechanisms for difficult emotions. Celebrating these small wins builds confidence and momentum.
6. “How can I best support and encourage you throughout this process?”
Every client is unique, with different needs, preferences, and circumstances. By asking this question, I ensure that my coaching approach is tailored to meet them where they are. Some may benefit from more accountability and structure, while others may need a softer, more self-compassionate style of support. Individualized coaching is key to lasting success.
Step 3: Show Why It’s Not About the Food
While food choices play a role, our relationship with eating often goes much deeper than what’s on our plate. This step involves exploring the underlying thoughts, beliefs, and emotional drivers that influence our behaviors around food. For some, food may serve as a coping mechanism for stress, loneliness, or difficult emotions. For others, deeply ingrained beliefs about body image, self-worth, or societal ideals may contribute to restrictive or binge eating patterns. By uncovering and addressing these root causes, we can begin to shift our relationship with food on a more profound level.
Step 4: Change the Thoughts/Beliefs
Once we’ve identified the unhelpful thoughts or beliefs driving unhealthy eating behaviors, the next step is to reframe and restructure these patterns of thinking. Cognitive-behavioral techniques, such as challenging cognitive distortions, reframing negative self-talk, and cultivating more compassionate inner dialogues, can be powerful tools in this process. For example, a client who believes they “don’t deserve” to eat certain foods might work on replacing that thought with a more balanced and self-accepting perspective. As our thoughts shift, so too can our behaviors and emotional responses to food.
Coaching Eating Behaviors: Key Takeaways
- Ditch the diets and embrace a kinder approach to eating that’s all about self-discovery, not self-denial.
- Get real with yourself about your motivations, triggers, and patterns around food so you can make choices that truly nourish your mind and body.
- Be your own bestie and practice self-compassion when you stumble – change is a journey, not a destination, and you’ve got this!
How we can help
You can access all of our services on our work with us page. We have a number of programs and service levels enabling us to serve most women:
Free Resources and Masterclasses: Get started and get to know us better!
Private coaching with Stephanie and her team Stephanie and her team of Certified Non-Diet Coaches are waiting to support you in a one-to-one setting with an individualized plan.
Undiet Your Life group coaching program is for women to learn how to eat intuitively, become body-neutral, and learn self-coaching at their own pace while being supported in a group setting by Stephanie and her team of Certified Non-Diet Coaches.
Which diet is best for your health?
I was inspired to write this article based on a community member question, “Which diet is best for my health? I need to lose weight to be healthy… right?”
I hope this article helps you determine what is the best diet for you! (Hint: It may not be what you think.) Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:
What does it mean to be healthy?
Does “obesity” cause one to be unhealthy?
Is health beyond dieting and weight loss possible?
What is a weight-neutral approach to health?
Sustainability and health beyond dieting
Who is an ideal candidate for weight-neutral approach to health?
Why It’s Hard to Change Your Beliefs About Weight and Health
The prevalent diet culture conditioned us to believe that thinner is better in all aspects of life including our health. Therefore, dieting is the answer to health so there has to be a “best diet” … right?
We’ve always heard that thin equals healthy, and that dieting is the way to a thinner body. It’s the same indoctrination that leads us into thinking that a thinner body is more attractive because it is associated with health.
What does it mean to be healthy?
We all grew up with the idea that health is the absence of illness. But the World Health Organization has a definition of health that’s different from what we’re all used to. WHO defines health as “a complete state of physical, emotional, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Good health is essential to being able to handle stress and live a long and active life. It doesn’t just refer to the absence of disease, but also to the ability to recover from illness, to adapt to life challenges in general.
Does “obesity” cause one to be unhealthy?
The keyword here is CAUSE. Before we can answer the question, we must first understand the difference between correlation and causation. For example, smoking is correlated with alcoholism, but it doesn’t cause alcoholism. However, smoking causes an increased risk of developing lung cancer.
For example, a research found that obesity does not affect the risk of having coronary heart disease and stroke “Metabolic status is relatively stable despite rising BMI”. (However, it does increase the risk of developing diabetes)
But if the question is, “Is obesity associated or correlated with health risks?” the answer would be yes. If the question is “Is obesity causing disease?” the answer would be no. That’s where the big difference lies.
Here’s where it gets interesting – one-third to three-quarters of people classified as obese are actually metabolically healthy. Being metabolically healthy means having your blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels, and other metabolic markers within the normal range. That’s me and millions of “overweight” women.
Is health beyond dieting and weight loss possible?
Yes, and scientific research proves it!
A 2016 study by researchers at UCLA studied 40,420 adult participants in the most recent U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Researchers looked at the participants’ health as measured by six accepted metrics (not including BMI). These metrics are blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, insulin resistance, and C-reactive protein.
The study found that 47% of people classified as overweight by BMI and 29% of those qualified as obese were healthy based on at least five of those other metrics.
Meanwhile, 31% of normal-weight people were unhealthy by two or more of the same measures.
What is a weight-neutral approach to health?
A weight-neutral approach to health is based on the idea that your health status or risk level can’t be determined solely by your weight.
It acknowledges that your weight is determined by a complex set of genetic, metabolic, physiological, cultural, social, and behavioral determinants. Many of these factors are either difficult or impossible to change.
Instead of focusing on a weight-oriented outcome, weight-neutral programs teach you to take charge of the factors within your control. These factors include your thoughts and behaviors. Taking charge of these factors will help you improve your well-being, regardless of your weight.
Research have demonstrated the weight-neutral approach to health have significantly decreased body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and depression. They’ve also increased sustainable, enjoyable self-care behaviors such as eating and moving well in the long term.
The Going Beyond The Food Method️ is a weight-neutral and non-diet health framework composed of eight core elements. Our health framework is grounded in holistic principles and functional medicine approach to health. It’s a five-step process that includes mindset, emotional regulation, mindfulness, body neutrality, and intuitive eating.
The method️ is based on four core pillars: Body Wisdom, Body Trust, Body Respect, and Body Neutrality.
Sustainability and health beyond dieting
The single most powerful advantage of a weight-neutral and non-diet approach like the Going Beyond The Food Method️ is sustainability. It helps you develop the ability to sustain health-promoting behaviors throughout your life.
Certainly, when it comes to health, consistency is significantly more powerful than short-term results.
A 2015 study systematically reviewed a weight-neutral and no-diet approach to health. It determined the overall effects on factors including weight, biochemical measures, food, activity, behavior, body image, and mental health.
- Weight stability (in 5 yrs)
- Improved biochemical markers
- Cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, CRP
- Sustained healthy behaviors & Improvement in:
- Dietary quality
- Psychological states
- Disordered eating patterns
- Self-esteem
- Depression
Who is an ideal candidate for a weight-neutral approach to health?
Truly anyone! Individuals who’ll benefit most from this approach are:
- Chronic dieters
- Women who are overly concerned with weight and shape (a.k.a. body image issues)
- Those who are repeatedly trying to lose weight and restricting food for two years or more
- Women who have had enough of dieting and regaining the weight that they lost
- Women who are intuitive eaters
Why it’s hard to change your beliefs about weight and health
Your reptilian brain is the reason why it’s not easy to let go of beliefs. It’s the most primal part of your brain that has the survival instinct. It seeks to protect you from danger. Because the diet culture has programmed your reptilian brain into believing that fat people aren’t healthy, you’ve since associated health with thinness.
That’s why your approach to health must also include mindset and thought reprogramming tools to help you change your core beliefs and negative self-talk. That’s what we do first inside our Conquer & Thrive community… been there done that as they say.
You can view the methodology in more details here.
Get started with the weight-neutral approach to health
To help you get started with the weight-neutral approach to health and make peace with food and your body, I have created a free audio guide for you to know exactly what to do when you stop dieting, emotional eating, binge eating and body image issues. Claim your way to freedom now!
What does it mean to be healthy?
Good health is essential to being able to handle stress and live a long and active life. It doesn’t just refer to the absence of disease, but also to the ability to recover from illness, to adapt to life challenges in general.
Does “obesity” cause one to be unhealthy?
The keyword here is CAUSE. Before we can answer the question, we must first understand the difference between correlation and causation. For example, smoking is correlated with alcoholism, but it doesn’t cause alcoholism. However, smoking causes an increased risk of developing lung cancer.
Is health beyond dieting and weight loss possible?
Yes, and scientific research proves it!
A study found that 47% of people classified as overweight by BMI and 29% of those qualified as obese were healthy based on at least five of those other metrics. Meanwhile, 31% of normal-weight people were unhealthy by two or more of the same measures.
What is a weight-neutral approach to health?
A weight-neutral approach to health is based on the idea that your health status or risk level can’t be determined solely by your weight.
It acknowledges that your weight is determined by a complex set of genetic, metabolic, physiological, cultural, social, and behavioral determinants. Many of these factors are either difficult or impossible to change.
Who is an ideal candidate for a weight-neutral approach to health?
Truly anyone! Individuals who’ll benefit most from this approach are:
>> Chronic dieters
>> Women who are overly concerned with weight and shape (a.k.a. body image issues)
>> Women who are repeatedly trying to lose weight and restricting food for two years or more
>> Women who have had enough of dieting and regaining the weight that they lost
>> Women who are intuitive eaters
Why it’s hard to change your beliefs about weight and health
Your reptilian brain is the reason why it’s not easy to let go of beliefs. It’s the most primal part of your brain that has the survival instinct. It seeks to protect you from danger. Because the diet culture has programmed your reptilian brain into believing that fat people aren’t healthy, you’ve since associated health with thinness.
Overcoming Negative Body Thoughts
When I first set out in search of non-diet interventions that could change the course of my relationship to food and overcoming negative body thoughts, I came across a study about the impact of body satisfaction on healthy behaviors, including food & exercise. That blew my mind.
I will share that with you in this blog post that focuses on body image and how it impacts your relationship to food. I will also tackle the concept called body neutrality and how it is different from body positivity; as well as intuitive eating. I’ll also share with you a free tool that I created to get you started with body neutrality and intuitive eating so you can enjoy your full life now… regardless of your body size. Here’s what you’re going to learn from this article:
Overcoming negative body thoughts
Body neutrality versus body positivity
Body neutrality and intuitive eating
Overcoming negative body thoughts
A 2013 study published by the Journal of Obesity study found no link between body weight and the way women feel about themselves.
Yet, the findings show a link between how women feel about themselves and the healthy activities they engage in. Meaning, the better they felt about their bodies, the more likely they were to take care of themselves by eating well and being active. This allows them to create a positive cycle.
Likewise, dissatisfaction with their bodies discouraged the women from taking part in certain activities, eating properly to fuel their bodies, and could eventually lead to weight gain.
“Body satisfaction or dissatisfaction isn’t correlated with body weight,” the research concluded.
That blew my mind. That meant overcoming negative body thoughts and making peace with my body size could actually improve my health behaviors, eat better and ultimately be healthier now… unconditional of my body size.
That’s how body neutrality was born.
What is Body Neutrality and how it helps in overcoming negative body thoughts
Body Neutrality empowers you to embrace yourself as you are, including the parts you don’t like about yourself.
Its focus is to avoid self-hate while simultaneously relieving you from the pressure of having to love your body.
The goal is to respect and accept your body for what it is – and that’s it.
Body Neutrality recognizes that not everyone is going to love every part of themselves all the time because that’s an unrealistic expectation, to say the least.
The reality is that some days you’re going to look in the mirror like, “Damn it, yeah, thank you, legs for letting me travel. Thank you, arms, for allowing me to type this inspirational post and thank you, belly, for creating life!”
And then, there’ll be those days where you stand in front of the very same mirror, focusing on that cellulite you hate or the wrinkle that suddenly seems so obvious.
Body neutrality versus body positivity
Embracing Body Neutrality over Body Positivity allows you to experience negative feelings about yourself, but without the pressure that comes with having to be positive all the time.
In other words, it’s a middle ground between positivity and negativity (shaming) – that’s neutrality.
Body Neutrality is the safe bridge between body shaming and body positivity. It’s about being grateful for your body and everything it does for you because it does a lot. You are alive right now.
So, Body Neutrality is centric on the process of accepting your body.
Body Neutrality & Intuitive Eating
For many of us, we’ve had years of suffering through body shaming. Along the way, we’ve picked up coping behaviors to neutralize the pain associated with body image struggles.
Being the victim of body shaming, most of it from our own mind, is difficult, to say the least. So, no wonder that many of us have become, along the way, emotional eaters or binge eaters.
Combine the suffering that comes along with body shaming with the notion that food is the gateway to “loving our life and body,” food has become this enemy that we need to control in order to end the suffering.
Healing our relationship to food is necessary in order to make peace with our body. Intuitive eating is the way in which you can achieve both: body neutrality and peace with food.
Moreover, intuitive eating teaches you to respect your body.
Intuitive eating teaches you to respect your innate body messages. This includes hunger and fullness to have a healthy and respectful relationship with your body. This is what we teach the women inside our Conquer & Thrive community so they can live and enjoy their full life right now… unconditionally!
The bottom line
You can’t hate yourself to health or peace. Love always wins. Always.
Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up. It means seeing what is and adopting a non-judgmental perspective. Accepting allows you to improve and grow instead of obsessing about why it’s wrong and stress over the results.
Need help to get started with Body Neutrality and Intuitive Eating?
I have created a free audio guide for you to get started with body neutrality and intuitive eating and finally overcome negative body thoughts so you too can be on your way to freedom!
How to overcome negative body thoughts?
A 2013 study published by the Journal of Obesity study found no link between body weight and the way women feel about themselves. Yet, the findings show a link between how women feel about themselves and the healthy activities they engage in. Meaning, the better they felt about their bodies, the more likely they were to take care of themselves by eating well and being active, allowing them to create a positive cycle.
That meant overcoming negative body thoughts and making peace with my body size could actually improve my health behaviors, eat better and ultimately be healthier now… unconditional of my body size.
What is Body Neutrality?
Body Neutrality empowers you to embrace yourself as you are, including the parts you don’t like about yourself. Its focus is to avoid self-hate while simultaneously relieving you from the pressure of having to love your body. The goal is to respect and accept your body for what it is – and that’s it.
Body neutrality versus body positivity
Embracing Body Neutrality over Body Positivity allows you to experience negative feelings about yourself, but without the pressure that comes with having to be positive all the time. Body Neutrality is the safe bridge between body shaming and body positivity. It’s about being grateful for your body and everything it does for you because it does a lot. You are alive right now.
Body Neutrality & Intuitive Eating
Healing our relationship to food is necessary in order to make peace with our body. Intuitive eating is the way in which you can achieve both: body neutrality and peace with food. Intuitive eating teaches you to respect your innate body messages such as hunger and fullness to have a healthy and respectful relationship with your body.
Where do you start to make peace with food?
Throughout my research, I’ve discovered that there is more to overeating, emotional eating and even binge eating than just food.
Most patients & students with food struggle will have body image struggle, negative mindset, overthinking behaviors. They are overwhelmed with an emotional roller coaster, lack confidence with food choices, low self-esteem. Moreover, they put their life on hold until they “lose the weight once and for all”.
This article talks about how to start to make peace with food and your body. In addition, I share how you can end the diet cycle to empower you to be your own expert. Here’s what you’re going to learn from this blog post:
How I started to make peace with food
Free resource to get started to make peace with food
How I started to make peace with food
Eight years ago, that was me. I consulted with a variety of specialists and experts hoping they would find what was “wrong” with me and that I could finally find the solution. Each appointment or purchase resulted in a few hundred $ and a new diet or protocol.
I would follow the guidelines, and yet I was always back to the starting point within weeks and months. This went on for years…
You see… There’s nothing wrong with me that could be fixed with a diet or protocol. The approach made everything worse. It compounded the side effects, made me gain more weight and have a deeper emotional relationship to food.
There’s nothing wrong with you. In fact, emotional eating, overeating eating and weight gain are part of the diet model. The diet and weight loss industry wants you to believe there’s something wrong with you because that belief keeps you coming back. Likewise, it keeps you feeling broken… keeps you feeling unworthy. That’s what we call the diet culture.
What is Diet Culture?
Diet Culture is defined as the worship of thinness and equating it to health and moral virtue. If you’ve been part of this culture, you might have spent your whole life thinking that you’re broken just because you don’t look like the “thin ideal.”
Diet Culture promotes weight loss as a means of attaining what it perceived to be a higher status—the thin ideal. Certainly, it oppresses people who don’t match up with its supposed pictures of health and attractiveness.
It compels you to spend a massive amount of time, energy, and money trying to shrink your body, even though intuitive eating research clearly shows that almost no one can sustain intentional weight loss for more than a few years.
The good news is, it’s just a cultural movement. Belonging to a cultural movement is completely optional and something that you can say “no” to. Most importantly, you have the power to make the choice to be free from this oppressive culture.
How to break the diet cycle to make peace with food?
Breaking the Diet Cycle is possible and will come as a result of healing our relationship to food with acceptance and compassion. Moreover, it can be achieved by seeking to heal our relationship to food, respecting our natural hunger and fullness cue and accepting our bodies.
Intuitive Eating is a proven and well-researched self-care eating framework that teaches us to have a healthy relationship to food, therefore, empowering you to trust your ability to meet your needs, distinguish between physical and emotional hungers, and ultimately, develop body wisdom.
Intuitive Eating is the most effective approach to recover from years of dieting. In fact, that’s what changed my relationship to food and body and allowed me to start living my full life right away without having to lose weight.
This is what I teach women inside our Conquer & Thrive community so they, too can make peace with food and their body, and start living their full life now. Yes, it’s possible!
Free resource to get started to make peace with food
To help you get started to make peace with food and your body, I have created a free audio guide for you to know exactly what to do when you stop dieting, emotional eating, binge eating and body image issues. Claim your way to freedom now!
How I started to make peace with food
Eight years ago, that was me. I consulted with a variety of specialists and experts hoping they would find what was “wrong” with me and that I could finally find the solution. Each appointment or purchase resulted in a few hundred $ and a new diet or protocol.
The approach made everything worse. It compounded the side effects, made me gain more weight and have a deeper emotional relationship to food.
What is Diet Culture?
Diet Culture is defined as the worship of thinness and equating it to health and moral virtue. If you’ve been part of this culture, you might have spent your whole life thinking that you’re broken just because you don’t look like the “thin ideal.”
How to break the diet cycle to make peace with food?
Breaking the Diet Cycle is possible and will come as a result of healing our relationship to food with acceptance and compassion. It can be achieved by seeking to heal our relationship to food, respecting our natural hunger and fullness cue and accepting our bodies.
Free resource to get started to make peace with food
To help you get started to make peace with food and your body, I have created a free audio guide for you to know exactly what to do when you stop dieting, emotional eating, binge eating and body image issues. Claim your way to freedom now!
This Is Why You Struggle With Food
Whenever I meet new women and tell them about my mission of spreading awareness about how women can end their struggle with food and be at peace with food and their body without being on a diet. That we can be healthy without being thin and we can access optimal health and happiness unconditionally, women always say, “Wow, is that possible?” to which my response is…
“Yes. It’s actually our birth right, sister. You and I weren’t born to be on diet and hate our bodies.”
And then the conversation always turns to…. “Well, it’s different for me, Stephanie” or “I’m so “screwed” up when it comes to food not sure it can ever change” or “I’ve tried before”.
My answer: “First sister, there’s nothing wrong with you. The problem is not you, it’s what we’ve been taught about food and our bodies. The problem is the diet model, not you.”
This article tackles why you struggle with food and teaches you how you can make peace with food and your body. Also, I share how you can end the cycles of yo-yo dieting and empower you to be your own expert. Here’s what you’re going to learn from this blog post:
What’s the antidote to the eating pendulum swing
Innate body wisdom
You see humans were born with this innate wisdom that allows us to know what, when and how we should eat. If you have children, you know that… babies cry when they’re hungry and refuse to eat when they are full. They naturally know how to regulate their eating and accepting of their body. All of us women were once like that too, that is until we went on our first diet.
We were intuitive eaters and neutral with our bodies. Diet and diet culture did a “number” on our relationship to food and our body.
Research is clear that dieting has three main side effects:
- Short term weight loss and long term weight gain
- Major stressor to our mind and body
- Distort our relationship to food and body image
Why do we struggle with food?
I hope you’re ready for this because once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
You see, most women have been hypnotized by the societal narrative that says it’s NORMAL for women and even HEALTHY to be on a diet. (I was too for 25 years more.)
If you read that sentence and right away your brain says “Well, some diets are healthy”, if that’s you that’s a good sign that you are hypnotized, too.
I really, really, really want to get you to understand that diets do not work. But in order for me to do that, I need to show you something:
That was my life for 25 years…. dieting and then overeating. Cravings all the food I restricted to lose weight to regain the weight lost.
Diets don’t work
Studies after studies the results are clear: 95-98% of dieters regain all of their weight within 1-5 years Just like I did. Maybe just like you?
Diets don’t work because of how reptilian brain reacts to food restriction and deprivation. Our brain perceives dieting as a threat to our well-being and engage in a protective reaction. Cravings, emotional eating, overeating aren’t due to a lack of willpower or discipline rather a biological reaction.
Why does our eating swing like this? Simply our body is responding to the period of starvation (dieting) with a period of feasting. And no, we can’t get away from this primal survival behaviors hence why 95%of dieter experience it.
What’s the antidote to the pendulum swing?
Love. Respect and Trust.
Just as a pendulum won’t abruptly stop at center, you won’t either. You will probably swing back and forth between restriction and chaos a few times before your pendulum (mindset, feelings, thoughts, behaviors) gently settles into the middle. Is it uncomfortable? Yes, it can be. But not as uncomfortable as spending the rest of your life swinging wildly.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Honour your hunger even when you’re afraid of what that means. Strive for satisfying meals even when your brain is shouting “don’t eat those carbs!” Learn to listen to your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. Remember no food is off-limits, so there’s never an emergency to finish eating what’s on your plate.⠀⠀⠀⠀
That’s what I call Going Beyond The Food. Helping women make peace with food and body. Ending the cycles of yo-yo dieting and empowering women to be their own expert. You being the boss of YOU. Learn how we do this by joining our Conquer & Thrive community.
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And know this calm and collected approach to eating is all possible for you, when you’re ready to stop restricting. 💗
Why do we struggle with food?
Most women have been hypnotized by the societal narrative that says it’s NORMAL for women and even HEALTHY to be on a diet. In short, we were socialized to be on a diet.
Why diets don't work
Diets don’t work because of how reptilian brain reacts to food restriction and deprivation. Our brain perceives dieting as a threat to our well-being and engages in a protective reaction. Cravings, emotional eating, overeating aren’t due to a lack of willpower or discipline rather a biological reaction.
The antidote to the pendulum swing
Love. Respect and Trust.
Just as a pendulum won’t abruptly stop at center, you won’t either. You will probably swing back and forth between restriction and chaos a few times before your pendulum (mindset, feelings, thoughts, behaviors) gently settles into the middle. Is it uncomfortable? Yes, it can be. But not as uncomfortable as spending the rest of your life swinging wildly.
Innate body wisdom
Humans were born with this innate wisdom that allows us to know what, when and how we should eat. If you have children, you know that… babies cries when they’re hungry and refuse to eat when they are full. They naturally know how to regulate their eating and accepting of our bodies. All of us women were once like that too that is until we went on your first diet.
Anti-Diet Training for Health Coaches
One of the frequent questions from health coaches who encounter my work in the non-diet approach for the first time is this:
How do I make money as a non-diet coach?
I get it. I had the same question 6 years ago when I first came to the world of anti-diet health coaching. If we don’t tell people what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat, what will they pay us for? Right?
Clients seeking services from a non-diet health coach have a lot they are willing to pay for: primarily ending their struggle with food and body. Helping them relearning to eat following their own eating cues instead of a “health coach” looking over their shoulder lol! Undoing all the body-shaming that “weight loss coaches” have created within them, being able to trust their own choices when it comes to health, undoing the critical mean girl voices in their head, etc…
The list could go on, but simply: undoing the work of diet culture. That’s how you make money as a non-diet health coach. If you have been through the process of unlearning diet culture yourself, you’ll know exactly what I mean. If you haven’t yet, it’s normal you don’t get it and this is the first place you need to start: doing the work of unlearning diet culture yourself.
Anti-diet training for health coaches
Starting an anti-diet coaching business
What I wish I knew before starting my non-diet health coaching business
The anti-diet approach mentorship program
Anti-diet training for health coaches
The process of becoming an anti-diet health coach starts with your own healing from years of restrictions, cleanses, detoxing, overthinking, shame and guilt. We have plenty of resources on anti-diet training for health coaches to help you take this first step along with professional training.
We have created a number of free non-diet approach training resources to help you begin learning more about this revolutionary health approach. Join my non-diet professional community by requesting our non-diet professional starter pack.
I would suggest you also subscribe to anti-diet podcast .
Starting an anti-diet coaching business
Starting an anti-diet coaching business (also referred to by some as an intuitive eating business is simple. It is the same as starting any other business: You create a product, in the anti-diet health coaching business this would be a coaching package, and you go out into the world and sell this product.
As soon as you start working with clients, you will know just how powerful your product truly is. Research is clear about the benefits of health coaching: Significant improvements in one or more of the health-promoting behaviors when interacting with a health coach. You will see the changes in your clients quickly and your confidence in your business will grow rapidly.
My anti-diet business journey
My first business in the world of health coaching was actually a nutrition clinic in Toronto Canada. Five years ago, I transitioned my health coaching business to the non-diet model and I shared the details of my business transition to the anti-diet model in season 1 of the Pro’s podcast series.
I’d like to give you an inside view into my anti-diet health coaching business more precisely what I wish I knew before starting my anti-diet health coaching business.
As I say in every episode of the Going Beyond The Food podcast: Ready? Let’s do this!
By the way, if you would like to access more details, hear my personal story that created each one of these learning head over to our podcast and listen to Season 2 Episode 2 – My Non-diet business journey episode or listen directly below:
What I wish I knew before starting my non-diet health coaching business
- It’s about helping others, not turning a profit. Profit will come naturally as you help others and live your life in your zone of genius.
- You can make a great living as an anti-diet health coach in a career helping others deeply despite what anyone says.
- 6 P’s: Proper Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance. You need to be strategic about your business and organize yourself. What you should do is not always what you wish you could do.
- Learn how to coach people. Coaching is not – this is how I did it so that’s the way. What worked for me is not what will work for my client. Coaching is a skill.
- Create goals and apply consistent action. Show up consistently day in and day out in your business. Take one action at bare minimum daily.
- Asking for help is ok. Your client asked for you, so should you.
- Use technology so you can maximize your time being a coach. Technology can help, but don’t forget that health coaching is about the people.
- Trying to be everything to everyone is a straight road to failure. Pick a niche and become the world expert at it.
- Growing a business is not linear. There will be more downs than ups. Successful businesses don’t happen overnight. It takes time.
- Be unapologetically YOU. Don’t copy what other non-diet coaches are doing. Your clients want to work with you.
The anti-diet approach certification program
The Non-Diet Coaching Certification is a space where you can receive support guidance to become the best non-diet professional. It’s a program geared to refine your non-diet professional skills set and teach you the skills you need to build a successful business that can impact thousands of women. It will help you develop as a powerful leader and help other women come back to their power. You will learn how to harness your ability to support and help other women. As a result, you can impact thousands of other women and dismantle diet culture.
Anti-diet training for health coaches
We have created a number of free non-diet approach training resources to help you begin learning more about this revolutionary health approach. Join my non-diet professional community by requesting our non-diet professional starter pack.
I would suggest you also subscribe to anti-diet podcast and start with episode 199 and follow through up to the latest one.
Starting an anti-diet coaching business
Starting an anti-diet coaching business (also referred to by some as an intuitive eating business) is simple. It is the same as starting any other business: You create a product, in the anti-diet health coaching business this would be a coaching package, and you go out into the world and sell this product.
My anti-diet business journey
My first business in the world of health coaching was actually a nutrition clinic in Toronto Canada. Five years ago, I transitioned my health coaching business to the non-diet model and I shared the details of my business transition to the anti-diet model in season 1 of the Pro’s podcast series.
What I wish I knew before starting my non-diet health coaching business
1. It’s about helping others, not turning a profit.
2. You can make a great living as an anti-diet health coach.
3. 6 P’s: Proper Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance.
4. Learn how to coach people.
5. Create goals and apply consistent action.
6. Asking for help is ok.
7. Use technology so you can maximize your time being a coach.
8. Trying to be everything to everyone is a straight road to failure.
9. Growing a business is not linear.
10. Be unapologetically YOU.
Ready to take the next steps
The anti-diet approach mentorship program
You can access all of our services on our work with us page. We have a number of programs and service levels enabling us to serve most women:
Free Resources and Masterclasses: Get started and get to know us better!
Private coaching with Stephanie and her team Stephanie and her team of Certified Non-Diet Coaches are waiting to support you in a one-to-one setting with an individualized plan.
Undiet Your Life group coaching program is for women to learn how to eat intuitively, become body neutral, and learn self-coaching at their own pace while being supported in a group setting by Stephanie and her team of Certified Non-Diet Coaches.
Non-Diet Coaching Certification for professionals ready to integrate the Going Beyond The Food Method™️ in their practice and for women wanting to become Certified Coach and build a business coaching other women beyond the food.
Good Money Business Mastermind A business mentorship and a collective of ambitious, driven and empowered anti-diet culture providers and coaches on a mission to dismantle diet culture and make GOOD money doing it!
Non-Diet Approach for Health Coaching
When I first started in my nutrition practice the term “non-diet approach” didn’t even cross my mind. “Anti-diet approach” didn’t even exist. Unbeknown to me, I was practicing the “diet approach to nutrition” simply because that’s what was taught in health & nutrition school.
Fast forward close to 10 years now, a lot have changed. The non-diet approach is growing rapidly, so has the anti-diet approach and intuitive eating is booming.
So, let’s discover what is the non-diet approach.
Core values of the non-diet approach
The pillars of the non-diet approach
Non-diet approach training for professionals
What is the non-diet approach?
The non-diet approach to health coaching & nutrition is the exact opposite of dieting. It recognizes that food, eating and body weight aren’t the problem to be fixed. It’s a weight-neutral approach to health instead of focusing on a weight-oriented outcome. This approach focused on all the other factors that can impact one’s health beyond body weight. In other words, the ultimate goal is to support the patients to become their own experts at their bodies.
The Going Beyond The Food Method™️ is our proprietary methodology that helps women to recover from diet culture and learn the non-diet way of life. Firstly, our 4 pillars are Body Wisdom, Body Trust, Body Respect, and Body Neutrality. Secondly, our framework is composed of 5 steps process: Intuitive eating, Body Neutrality, Self-Coaching, Emotional Intelligence, and Mindfulness.
Core values of the non-diet approach
The non-diet approach to health coaching and nutrition holds key core values: Fundamentally, it recognizes that diets do not work. It’s holistic in nature. It is focused on the Why not the What, it’s focused on finding solution that are based on love and compassion. Moreover, it believes that all humans and bodies are worthy.
Diets don’t work
A 2016 study by researchers at UCLA studied 40,420 adult participants in the most recent U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Researchers looked at the participants’ health as measured by six accepted metrics (not including BMI). These metrics are blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, insulin resistance, and C-reactive protein.
The study found that 47% of people classified as overweight by BMI and 29% of those qualified as obese were healthy based on at least five of those other metrics.
Meanwhile, 31% of normal-weight people were unhealthy by two or more of the same measures.
A number of research studies show that weight loss is not necessary to improve physical health. Studies have also found that fitness is more predictive for mortality than weight. This study defined ‘fit’ as 3-4 hrs per week of walking.
Note: “Fit” is not synonymous with “thin” or “lean.” That’s Diet Culture. Being fit means being in good health, especially because of regular physical movement.
Furthermore, trying to change your health status simply by losing weight has not only proven to be an ineffective approach but also carries potential negative side effects to your health. The focus on intentional weight loss via dieting can be harmful. Multiple studies demonstrate negative side effects of dieting behaviors. The three most documented negative effects are weight cycling, disordered eating, and weight stigma.
The non-diet approach for health coaching is holistic
The World Health Organization defines health as “a complete state of physical, emotional, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” The non-diet approach is a weight-neutral approach to health is based on the idea that your health status or risk level can’t be determined solely by your weight.
Instead it recognized that humans are more than a physical body: mental, emotional, spiritual and physical human bodies.
Its focus is on the WHY instead of the WHAT
The non-diet approach looks at the root cause of the behaviors. For example, when considering nutrition it considers why the individual is eating instead what the individual is eating. What we eat, how we eat and when we eat come second to why we eat.
Compassion versus fear-based threat
The non-diet approach will help the client switch his approach to health behavior to one of compassion for self. It will help form a relationship of respect towards one’s body helping the client to make choice based in love for body and self instead of fear (fear of disease, fear of weight gain, fear of other people opinion, etc…)
All humans are worthy; All bodies are worthy
The non-diet approach is grounded in the fact that all humans are worthy therefore all bodies are worthy. The non-diet recognizes the danger to one’s health when face with any stigma, discrimination or prejudice.
Therefore, the non-diet approach must be anti-discriminatory: anti-fatphobia, anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-transphobia, anti-classist, non-binary, etc.
The pillars of the non-diet approach for health coaching
When practicing the non-diet approach to health and nutrition with clients, practitioners must follow a sequential order in their approach. Although adaptable in nature, some fundamental pillars must be in place
1. Investigation of belief and history
The first step is for the practitioner to have a clear understanding of the current state of their clients/ patients relationship to food and body. A number of assessments are available: Intuitive eating assessment, Body Acceptance Assessment and Dieting Impact Inventory.
Next, the practitioner will help the client understand how they go to be where they are right now using a dieting timeline. It’s very important for the patient to understand that it’s not their fault but instead diet culture.
2. Mindset & Unlearning Diet Culture
The next phase of the non-diet approach is the most important: unlearning. Unlearning the diet mindset, dogmatic beliefs about food and exercise, the thin ideal, etc..
When we trained professional inThe Going Beyond The Food Method™ our practitioners are trained in a Cognitive Behavior Therapy approach called Self-Coaching. This will be the tool they will teach their client to help them unlearn Diet Culture.
3. Attunement & Reconnecting
As the client progress in unlearning diet culture the next steps will be to help patient to reconnect with their body via body sensation. Using various mindfulness approach our graduates of our non-diet certification have a number of tools available to them to teach their client attuned with their body.
The first set of sensations we focus on with the clients are eating cues: hunger, fullness and satisfaction. Gradually, clients will be able to trust their own ability to read and interpret their innate body sensations.
4. Emotional Intelligence & Processing
As the client gets more attuned to her own innate body wisdom, the focus will shift to building skills set to process emotions & feelings. One of the most effective tools for this step is deconstruction of the eating behavior using two questions: What am I feeling? and What do I need?
The outcome of these pillars is to build emotional intelligence and shift the individual engagement with their emotions from Reacting to Responding.
5. Empowerment & Relearning
The non-diet approach is truly beyond the food and this next pillar is the reason behind this powerful transformative process.
To help build empowerment, the process of habituation will be use to help client regain power over fear foods. Gradually reclaiming their power at first with food and naturally expanding their empowerment to other part of their life using their inner wisdom.
6. Respect & Liberation
In this last step practitioner will support client in the process of rebuilding a relationship of respect with their own body. Engaging in body image healing using body neutrality and Health At Every Size approach to help build an inventory of health promoting behaviors.
At this point in the process client is also ready to re-engage with food using a gentle nutrition philosophy and with exercise using a joyful movement approach.
Non-diet approach training for professional
We have created a number of free non-diet approach training resources to help you begin learning more about this revolutionary health approach. Join my non-diet professional community by requesting our non-diet professional starter pack.
You can also listen to our non-diet podcast.
The non-diet approach mentorship program
The Going Beyond The Food non-diet approach mentorship program is a space where you can receive support guidance to become the best non-diet professional. It’s a program geared to refine your non-diet professional skills set and teach you the skills you need to build a successful business that can impact thousands of women. It will help you develop as a powerful leader and help other women come back to their power. You will learn how to harness your ability to support and help other women. As a result, you can impact thousands of other women and dismantle diet culture.
Non-Diet Approach FAQs
The non-diet approach to health & nutrition is the exact opposite of dieting. It recognizes that food, eating and body weight aren’t the problem to be fixed.
It’s a weight-neutral approach to health instead of focusing on a weight-oriented outcome. This approach focused on all the other factors that can impact one’s health beyond body weight. In other words, the ultimate goal is to support the patients to become their own experts at their bodies.
The non-diet approach to health and nutrition holds key core values: Fundamentally, it recognizes that diets do not work. It’s holistic in nature. It is focused on the Why not the What, it’s focused on finding solution that are based on love and compassion. Moreover, it believes that all humans and bodies are worthy.
1. Investigation of belief and history
2. Mindset & Unlearning Diet Culture
3. Attunement & Reconnecting
4. Emotional Intelligence & Processing
5. Empowerment & Relearning
6. Respect & Liberation
We have created a number of free non-diet approach training resources to help you begin learning more about this revolutionary health approach. Join my non-diet professional community by requesting our non-diet professional starter pack.
You can also listen to our non-diet podcast.
The Going Beyond The Food non-diet approach mentorship program is a space where you can receive support guidance to become the best non-diet professional. It’s a program geared to refine your non-diet professional skills set and teach you the skills you need to build a successful business that can impact thousands of women.
Non-Diet Business Training
Non-Diet Business Training is essential for any women health entrepreneurs starting their business adventure in the non-diet health approach.
Your business success means women’s learning how to ditch diet culture. Your willingness to accept that your business success means more lives transformed is key to your being successful in your professional journey.
In the same way you ask your client/patient to invest in themselves by working with you: are you investing in yourself to be successful in your business?
Non-Diet Business Training
In episode 2 of season 1 of the Pro series, we discovered why crafting a business strategy is so important to your overall business. Without the foundation of a strategy, there’s very little chance your business will grow and transform hundreds of women’s lives.
In today’s episode, we will discover the various business model available to you to create your business strategy. A business model is a framework for how you will create value. It answers fundamental questions about the problem you are going to solve, how you will solve it, and the growth opportunity within a given market.
What you’ll learn listening to this episode:
- What is a business model
- Why it’s important to have a business model
- Look behind the scene of my business model
- The one thing that most important to your business success
Mentioned in the show:
Mentorship Program
Free Intuitive Eating Guide
PRO Series – Free Training & Resources
PRO Podcast series – Full listing
Our Anti-Racism Commitment
For most of my life, I have been one of those liberal inclusive feminists who believe that I wasn’t racist. I could have listed many reasons to demonstrate how I wasn’t racist. That’s until last weekend.
And then someone sent me this quote:
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.”
— Angela Davis
I was well verse in thin privilege but not for one minute did I thought about white privileges. That ignorance is what hurts black people.
I’m sorry. I am listening. I am learning.
To the black people in our community, you are in my heart and prayers but most importantly, my actions.
What am I doing?
I’m being a student: this is not my area of expertise so I found teachers. Just like a toddler taking her first step I’m trying, making mistakes, and learning. I stumble and stand up again.
I’m investigating how my white privilege is showing up… Neither I’m staying silent while I’m learning because our silence as a white people is complicit in perpetuating systemic racism. I’m speaking to my followers, students, clients, and YOU right here right now.
I am leading.
I’m committed to the work of anti-racism. As the CEO of Beyond The Food I’m committing this company to be anti-racist.
Here’s a few tools I’d like to share with you on anti-racism
1. I discovered this site that answered all of my questions and give me next steps . Anti-Racist Resources Center
2. I watched some movies and documentaries that were mind-blowing: 13th on Netflix, Selma on iTunes & Harriet on iTtunes.
3. I donate to The Loveland Foundation that supports access to therapy for black women and girls.
4. I want to share with you my favorite teacher, Rachel E. Cargle. Go watch her Public Address.
Welcome!
I’m Stephanie Dodier
I am a non-diet nutritionist, educator, and feminist business leader challenging everything we’ve been taught about food, health, and coaching.
I help health professionals confidently coach food and body without co-opting diet culture.
Join me in leading the health coaching revolution!
Ready? Let’s do this!
FREE ASSESSMENT TOOL
Let’s start coaching client with confidence!
Use this free intake forms kit and evaluate your client with food, body image and mindset and set the foundation for transformative coaching relationships, rooted in trust and client empowerment.
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