In Rebecca Scritchfield’s interview we discuss:
- Rebecca’s story of body kindness for herself
- Her recommendations on how to ditch diets for good and feel good about the food choices you are making
- The difference between guilt and shame as it relates to your relationship with food and making healthy food choices
- Rebecca’s concept of spiraling up rather than spiraling down
- Tuning into your body and determining what it really wants versus turning to diet philosophies and others as experts on what you should be eating
- The importance of having fun in your life and how it relates to body kindness
- How to fit more fun into your daily life
- Cultural messages about getting your body back post baby and being at peace with your body at all ages and stages of your mom life
Carrie’s favorite quotes from the interview:
“I wanted to show people that you can do a lot of positive and meaningful change in your life that actually does scientifically improve your health and well-being regardless of how your body looks and even if you don’t lose a pound”
“The sort of optimal clean eating message and all that it really is, for most people, not only unnecessary, but very, very unhelpful, because it drives us into perfectionism. Anytime you’re chasing perfectionism, it’s an automatic failure, because nothing’s ever good enough.”
“The food doesn’t really matter if you can eat it with permission.”
“I trust your body. And I want to help you find that trust and connection again.”
“Try to connect to how you value your body for what it is and what it can do.”
Links:
- Rebecca’s book: Body Kindness (affiliate link)
- Carrie’s note: Do yourself a favor and pick up a hard copy of this book – it is not only chock full of great information, but it’s also beautiful!!!
- Intuitive Eating with Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
- Health at Every Size
- Three Good Things a Day activity
Listen below or subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!
Rebecca talks motherhood:
What would you tell an expecting mom about the experience of being a mother?
Someone told me the days are long and the years are short and I’m finding that to be true. Recently, I’ve been feeling a sense of leaning in to motherhood as my girls approach 6 and 5 years old, letting go of parts of my identity when I had more time or energy, and embracing the new parts of me like tears of joy when my 4 year old was invited to the competitive gymnastics team (tiger mom, what?)
What is the hardest part about being a mom? Biggest frustrations?
I don’t like how culture pressures women to hide the bad stuff. It’s like we can’t be honest and say “my kid said she hated me today and that hurt” or “I really don’t want to take my kids to the water park today, I want to get a massage.” Or, I miss life before kids. If we can’t be honest about all the layers of emotion then we bottle it up and I think it interferes with happiness and our mothering.
What is your favorite part about being a mom? What makes all the hard stuff worth it?
The honor of raising a human is pretty spectacular and it’s also very healing. In many ways, I did not get what I needed as a kid. My mom always did the best she could with what she had. Now that I’m a mom, my life values, my opportunities are my daughters’. Through them, I feel like I’m nurturing my “inner child”.
Rebecca’s free gift is her Body Kindness digital training! The training includes a video “5 Health Rules to Break”, a journal exercise around shifting your mindset and create goals that fit you better, a free chapter of her Body Kindness book to learn why spiraling up is better for your health than weight loss goals, and an awareness-building health and happiness journal to observe your progress (and say goodbye to calorie counting!)
Rebecca Scritchfield, Dietician Nutritionist and Author – Body Kindness
Rebecca Scritchfield is a well-being coach, registered dietitian nutritionist, certified health and fitness specialist and author of the book, Body Kindness: Transform your health from the inside out and never say diet again (affiliate link).Through her weight-neutral mindfulness-based counseling practice, she helps people create a better life with workable goals that fit individual interests.
She is the co-founder of Dietitians for Body Confidence, www.RD4BC.com, a website and free bi-monthly e-mail dedicated to shared learning among dietitians and future RDNs to improve body image in people they serve.
Rebecca has influenced millions through her writing, Body Kindness podcast, and appearances in over 100 media outlets including NBC Nightly News, CNN, the Today show, the Washington Post, O Magazine, Health, Shape, and many others. She lives in Washington, D.C., where she was recently recognized as one of ten “Supermom” entrepreneurs in the Nation’s Capital.
Hey there! I'm Carrie Rubin, the Boss Lady & CMO (Chief Mom Officer) here at The Modern Mom Society. I'm a wife and mom of 2 living in Chicago. I love hearing people's stories... click here to hear mine!