BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: FOOD THERAPY I’ve poured in all my years of clinical experience into this book, and I’m so excited to share it with you 🥳 here’s the blurb: “How does food make you feel? If it’s a source of guilt, shame, or punishment, have you ever stopped to ask why? We’ve become so used to the concept of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods that we barely notice the drastic statement we’re making when we say we are a bad person for eating something sweet. In Food Therapy, I present my approach to our relationship with food. Instead of focusing on rules and restriction, this practical book will help you uncover the psychological roots of your eating habits, and introduce you to a new mindset that will free you from a destructive relationship with food.“ This book is divided into four sections: 1. Food and you. 2. Origins of food issues. 3. Barriers. 4. Skills and tools. It’s out January 2023, and I’m including a bunch of pre-order links in my stories (and story highlight). If you feel like pre-ordering, it really does make a difference! 😊

With the never-ending discourse about how terrible all kinds of foods are (especially enjoyable ones), a little reminder: food is supposed to taste good. It’s supposed to be enjoyable. It’s supposed to make us happy. That is how it works. Thank you for coming to my TED talk 😉

Seeing as local elections are today... . Social media is a cesspool of mis- and disinformation, and there aren’t many shortcuts to figuring out who is a credible source and who isn’t. . There are plenty of healthcare professionals on here with incredible and responsible communication, and plenty of healthcare professionals spouting absolute quackery. A degree or qualification is not a guarantee. University affiliation is not a guarantee. Follower count is the furthest thing from a guarantee. So is physical attractiveness. . The default response to any claims made on social media should be skepticism, not blind belief. Or, you know, just stop following health content on social media entirely 😅

I feel we need to stop thinking of food and exercise as ‘cancelling out’ each other in some way. . Eating vegetables smothered in cheese is still eating vegetables. It doesn’t suddenly magically not count due to the mere presence of cheese. . Think of it as addition, not subtraction.

Body image is an external manifestation of an internal struggle, because our bodies are seen as the stage upon which we enact our moral value. Therefore your body is your worth, and if something feels wrong, changing your body feels like a solution. A lot of body stuff is about way more than body stuff.

Food is a powerful metaphor. There’s a very good reason why food is a coping mechanism for so many people, and why it can feel like it helps. . Food stuff is complex! . P.S. if you found this interesting you can read more in my book ‘Food Therapy’ out now 😉

A sneak peek of ‘Food Therapy’, from the intro chapter, which helps explain how to use the book 😊 . The response to my book has already been wonderful - you guys made it one of the top 5 bestsellers on Hive last week 🥳 thank you!

🍽️ Nutrition counsellor and psychotherapist Pixie Turner (@pixienutrition) believes that the idea of emotional eating has been much maligned and misunderstood. In her experience, it's too simplistic to say that eating because of our feelings is an issue in itself. 💬 "To be an emotional eater is to be human," she says. "Eating in a purely functional way, in order to stay alive, is not the way most people eat, and I don't think it's the way that we should eat either. It feels like such a shame to take pleasure away from food when we've literally evolved as humans to enjoy food." Turner knows personally, as well as professionally, the harm that restricted dieting and shame around food can do. Before she became a registered nutritionist, Turner developed orthorexia: at the age of 20, she stopped herself from eating meat, fish, dairy, eggs, soy or refined sugar as part of an "extreme clean eating" disorder. She has since recovered, and in 2016 she apologised to those to whom she spread the "clean eating" message on social media. She retrained as a nutritionist and psychotherapist to help people have better relationships with food. ⬆️ Go to the link in @theipaper’s bio to see why Turner believes eating for comfort is one of the pleasures of being human, so long as we understand the deeper feelings driving our instincts. #nutrition #theipaper

It’s publication day 🥳🥳🥳 . Thank you so much to everyone who pre-ordered, who purchased the book today, who has asked me where they can get it, and especially thank you to those who have sent me messages and pictures 🥰 It honestly means so much to me. . Publication day is always a little strange and anti-climactic, and involves a lot of sitting and waiting for feedback to arrive. I spent a whole year writing this book in secret, and it’s wonderful to see it out in the world! Please do keep the pictures coming 😊

To follow on from my previous post… food stuff is complex, and usually about so much more than just food. . These important conversations are part of the reason why I became a therapist, and why I have entire chapters in my book (Food Therapy, out tomorrow 😉) dedicated to subjects like trauma, shame, and diet culture. Our early experiences have huge power to shape us, and delving into them can give us clues as to what we might need in the present. . Anyway buy my book please 😅

What a headline 😅 If you missed it over the weekend, my interview with the Telegraph went out! (It’s not online yet but as soon as it is I’ll share the link.) . Despite the catchy headline, you’ll see in the body of text that my goal isn’t to play the blame game, but to help people understand why their relationship with food is the way it is, and often in that process of understanding we go back to someone’s early memories. . If you zoom in you’ll be able to read part of the interview, which I’m really pleased with 😊 And of course if you want to learn more, buy Food Therapy 😉

A sneak peek inside my new book… 😉 out January 26th 🥳 not long to go!