Pocket Snacks 1.15.25: How My Definition of Health has Changed 🌱
Here's your weekly dose of digestible snacks from me including
a mindset tip, a media recommendation, and an actual snack/food/recipe I've been loving!
MINDSET TIP/SHIFT
“How do you define the word ‘health’?”
What's ironic in our society is that we've collectively forgotten that health is more than physical health. If I think about how my own definition of health has evolved, it's very different than it was when I was competing as a collegiate athlete. I used to believe that in order to be healthy, I had to eat perfectly, look fit, have discipline and willpower, avoid processed foods…. it was all so black and white. And that kind of thinking eventually led me to the most unhealthy version of myself I had ever been. Obsession around health isn't healthy, and I learned this the hard way (click here to learn more about Orthorexia, a subtype of Other Specified Eating Disorder (OSFED)).
👉🏼 the kind of athlete I used to be vs 👉🏼 the kind of athlete I am now
If I was to define the word health now, I would tell you that being healthy means prioritizing my health in a way that honors my physical, mental, and emotional needs. It means letting go of the black and white thinking. It means getting comfortable in the gray. It means honoring my boundaries. It means asking for help from qualified health professionals when I need it. It means seeking community.
Last year, I was guest on a podcast about heart health, and the host asked me a very leading question about how the American diet isn't heart healthy. I directly challenged her by saying the American lifestyle isn't healthy. And what I meant by that is that we've become so busy that we've forgotten how to slow down, how to enjoy food, how to put down our phones before we go to sleep (guilty as charged! 🫣), how the need to be so productive might actually be fueling this narrative that we're never doing enough and we aren't enough as human beings. It takes time to zoom out and to change the narratives we've learned about health.
👉🏼 Learn more about Social Determinants of Health
In 2025, I'd challenge you to focus on the basics when it comes to your health. They're not sexy, and they don't grab headlines, but hot damn, they work. The things that are actually good for your health?
They don't need marketing teams or influencers preaching about their benefits.
My top tips to start gently prioritizing your health:
Eat a meal or snack every 3-4 hours.
Go no more than 5 waking hours without eating something.
Hydrate consistently throughout the day
Show up to your workouts fueled and hydrated!
Put trigger foods on a plate and allow yourself to enjoy whatever is in front of you.
Find realistic ways to add more fiber into your daily intake (away from physical activity).
Neutralize the language you use to describe food.
Set boundaries and stay firm in those boundaries.
Ask for help from those who are qualified to help you.
Seek community.
Actually read the books and resources you see registered dietitians and mental health counselors recommending instead of assuming you know what they're about from what you see online.
MEDIA REC (workbook)
I'm going to tell you a secret – a lot of the content you see me making, the lists I include, the exercises to designed to help you dive deeper into your beliefs around food and your body – the ideas come from workbooks like this one! The IE workbook has recently been updated to include chapters and sections addressing social justice. I just ordered my copy from my local bookstore, and I know this workbook will be an invaluable tool I use with clients this year and beyond.
Book Description:
Is stress and worry about food and your body taking the joy out of eating?
Based on the authors' groundbreaking and game-changing book, Intuitive Eating, this fully revised second edition of The Intuitive Eating Workbook shows you how to transform your relationship with food and change your life for the better.
In this updated edition you will find a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to help you move beyond diet culture, cultivate and honor your hunger and fullness cues, and truly enjoy food again. Based on the ten principles of Intuitive Eating, this workbook encourages you to trust your inner wisdom about eating and develop a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body.
This workbook provides new content on rejecting diet culture, shines a light on the connection between intuitive eating and social justice, and offers a new way of looking at food and mealtime. The compassionate approach in this workbook encourages you to align and connect with your natural hunger and satiety signals, find more satisfaction and pleasure in eating, develop a peaceful relationship with your body, and--most importantly--stop feeling distressed around food!
You were born with all the wisdom you need to eat intuitively. This book will help you reconnect with that wisdom and ultimately change your life--one bite at a time."
📗 You can order this book on Bookshop, Amazon, or your local bookstore (I ordered a copy for myself from Valley Bookstore)
SNACK/FOOD/RECIPE
I love to encourage my clients who engage in endurance activities to focus on the slow drip of fuel and hydration, no matter the season. But common obstacles I hear in the winter months sound a lot like this:
“But I don't want to take my drink out of my backpack when I'm ski touring”
“How do I carry fluids with me when I'm nordic skiing?”
Let me introduce you to the soft flask by HydraPak. I use this thing all year round! It's great for shorter bike rides when I know I don't need my 2L hip pack but still want to carry fluids, and I'm almost always carrying it with me in my jacket pocket when I'm skiing, regardless if I'm in bounds or out of bounds. For Nordic skiers, this would fit great in a hip belt or a vest!
Did you enjoy this week's batch of snacks? Let me know!
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Xo, Eden
PS —
I'm booking new clients for 2025 ⬇️
Schedule a 1:1 session with me!
*I accept insurance, so you might be able to work with me for free!
