Why I Dropped My Title as a Holistic Nutritionist
I couldn’t have been more excited to begin my journey to become a Holistic Nutritionist over 5 years ago. It felt like this career – between my experience & recovery from an eating disorder, and forever interest in health – was a lifetime in the making, and it was finally all coming together.
When I graduated, I felt like the world was mine; like I was exactly where I was meant to be; and was deeply committed and ready to help people start feeling better naturally through whole foods and holistic natural living tools.
So, you can just imagine how confusing and devastating the moment was when I realized I needed to drop my title as a Holistic Nutritionist;
… a title I took such great pride in, and worked so hard for.
In this post, I’m going to share:
Why I dropped my title as a Holistic Nutritionist
How the “all or nothing” approach to health is harming people
How to incorporate the non-diet approach into your health & nutrition business
Before I dive into this, I want you to know that, just because I dropped my title as a Holistic Nutritionist, it doesn’t mean that you have to drop yours as well (assuming you are a health practitioner, business or nutritionist reading this).
In fact, we NEED you. Health and nutrition coaches still play an incredibly vital role to aid in people’s healing and helping them to feel their best. What I hope you walk away with after reading this, is a greater understanding of how the “all or nothing “ way health & nutrition is taught today can come with harmful side effects, and what you can do to mitigate them and continue to get the results you’re awesome at getting with your clients.
Why I Dropped My Title as a Holistic Nutritionist
First off, nobody told me I had to drop my title as a Holistic Nutritionist. But, it was getting quite confusing (even for myself) to be referring to myself as an “Intuitive Eating Nutritionist” as I transitioned into the intuitive eating world.
Not to mention, while intuitive eating still prioritizes health & well-being, the philosophies do differ from mainstream nutrition. By carrying both the “nutritionist” and “intuitive eating” coach titles, I was doing a disservice to both unique fields.
So, what was it that inspired my shift away from holistic nutrition? Simply put, the all or nothing, black & white approach to health didn’t sit well with me anymore (and I was starting to see the direct psychological impact and harm with my nutrition clients):
I wasn’t comfortable with advising people that every single food item they consume must be organic and non-GMO.
Or that their water must be filtered and re-mineralized.
Or that they need to go on frequent detoxes and cleanses to maintain their state of health.
Or that every morsel of food that goes into their body must be health-promoting for them in order to be healthy.
And, to be honest, I think many of my health practitioner friends and colleagues share similar views as me here (in that, they agree, a healthy non-restrictive balanced approach to food and health is important), but the problem is where the standards of holistic nutrition are today.
The standard of holistic nutrition suggests much of the above; that in order to improve your overall state of health via your diet and lifestyle, everything that goes on and in your body must be organic, non-GMO, “clean” and non-toxic (and, in turn, anything you engage with outside of that is “toxic” and “bad”).
That means, practitioners and businesses who promote holistic nutrition are expected to perpetuate this message and hide parts of themselves and their lives that don’t align with this (as in, the occasional plate of nachos they enjoy out with friends, pre-pandemic times, of course).
So, yeah … basically, I dropped my Holistic Nutrition title because I want to be able to eat nachos in peace with my friends.
Just kidding. Actually, only half kidding (ha!).
But it was the strict, rigid, restrictive, black and white, “all or nothing” mentality way of health that I couldn’t associate myself with anymore.
I tried to modify it to my views and values and make it work. I tried to show “my balance” of how I genuinely enjoy eating kale AND nachos, but what I ended up feeling like was a fraud under the title of a Holistic Nutritionist.
And, this is how the “all or nothing” approach to health that is taught and circulated is harming people, including your clients, too.
How the “All Or Nothing” Approach To Health Is Harming People
Perhaps, it was my past experience with an eating disorder and disordered eating, but it didn’t take me very long in my nutrition practice to notice the reason why people weren’t reaching their health goals. It wasn’t because they didn’t know enough about nutrition; it was actually because they knew too much and, as a result, were constantly feeling guilty for not following all of the rules and suggested guidelines.
Clients would come to me, with almost more knowledge than me in the way of health and nutrition, but find themselves:
Confused as ever as to what to eat
Feeling guilty for eating anything deemed to be “bad”
Starting fresh every week and engaging in restrictive behaviours around food
Extremely critical of their eating and exercise habits
This is the reality, and the psychological impact, that the extremism around health (also known as Orthorexia Nervosa, and disordered eating) has on people.
This is why, the way health is taught today, needs to change.
This is why, it’s more important than ever, for all health practitioners, coaches and businesses to become educated on the non-diet approach and integrate it into their business.
How To Incorporate the Non-Diet Approach Into Your Health & Nutrition Business
Let me say it loud and clear – I still whole heartedly believe in health and nutrition strategies as powerful healing tools to have in our toolkit. While I could’ve continued to operate under my “Holistic Nutritionist” title from the Non-Diet perspective, like many nutritionists and dieticians do nowadays, the Intuitive Eating world felt like a better fit for me.
I continue to teach nutrition (or what I refer to as “Gentle Nutrition”) in my Intuitive Way For Eating program, and benefit greatly from health & nutrition strategies I continue to employ in my daily life.
The difference is between this type of “gentle nutrition” is that it is not rooted in the all or nothing mentality, health as a determinant of morality (i.e. the belief that you are a “good” person if you eat a salad and a “bad” person if you eat chips) and does not contribute to, or perpetuate diet-culture.
This is the non-diet approach to health, folks – and YES, it’s still possible to get results (likely even more than before!) with your clients when working from this perspective.
Whether you are a nutritionist, health coach, therapist, personal trainer or energy healer, you will greatly benefit from integrating the non-diet approach into your business.
If the non-diet approach is something you are interested in bringing into your business:
Save your spot for this upcoming Non-Diet Free Training on April 7th, 2021 that I’ll be co-hosting with my business mentor and colleague, Stephanie Dodier. Click here to RSVP.
Learn more and get on the waitlist for Stephanie Dodier’s Non-Diet Professional Mentorship Program by clicking here.
Who is this Stephanie Dodier?!
Steph Dodier is a Clinical Nutritionist & Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor and Founder of The Going Beyond The Food Method, as well as the Non-Diet Professional Mentorship Program.
Stephanie is one of the first emotional eating / intuitive eating coaches I came across when I began doing this work as an Intuitive Eating Coach, and I’m beyond grateful to now be able to call her a dear friend, a colleague and my business and mentor.
She has a way of teaching business that just feels juicy and good. I’ve been able to celebrate many business milestones because of the support she’s given me over the past 6+ months, including sold out cohorts of The Intuitive Way For Eating program (my one-on-one coaching program), 5-figure revenue months and the birth of many ideas and non-diet related projects I’m continuing to work on.
This is Stephanie and I - FaceTiming while celebrating my first 5-figure revenue month.
I share this with you, not to brag, but to show you what’s possible with Stephanie’s guidance. If non-diet mentorship is something you’re considering, I truly can’t recommend her and the Non-Diet Mentorship Professional Program enough.
Also, if you have any additional questions beyond what I mentioned here, pop them in the comment box below and I’d be happy to answer them for you!
Please note, this post contains affiliate links. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own and I only recommend products/services/programs that I’ve used, or thoroughly vetted.