A Healthy Relationship with Food and Body

If eating feels like a battle and your body a burden, there’s hope. Discover a kinder, Spirit-led way to nourish and honor your body.

This is how I start conversations with folks that are curious about working with a nutrition professional.

I say, "if you'd like a healthier relationship with food and your body, then this may be for you." I spend most of my days working with people that struggle in their relationship with food and with their body…chronic diseases, eating disorders, stress, yo-yo dieting, mindless eating are just a few examples. You may find yourself steeped in self loathing, dissatisfied with your current body’s shape or size, see food as an enemy or find eating to be tiresome, confusing, and fraught with struggle. If that describes you, you are amongst company.

Many of us struggle in this way and sadly, our culture has offered little help for folks that are looking to embrace the body they have now and learn to treat that body kindly. It is possible to feed yourself effortlessly (as opposed to overthinking and overanalyzing) and move your body in ways that are delightful.

Often, it begins with changing the narrative we tell ourselves and what we believe about our bodies.

If the thought about my body is, “I am fat and lazy,” I am unlikely to treat myself with dignity, respect and honor, and therefore I may find changing my behaviors to be impossible long term. I may feel that these things are true and have believed them for decades, but the truth is, “My body is an instrument of grace, a valued member of society. My body is doing thousands of functions that I am unaware of, has gotten me through the years, and I am doing my best.”

Remind yourself of Psalm 139:14, 17-18 

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”

These are very different messages and whichever one you believe will change your life.

The more I notice the narrative and messages I am believing, the more I can address them directly and invite the Spirit into the conversation to illuminate the darkness. If this is resonating with you, you may benefit from meeting with a Nutritionist to help you along this journey towards holistic healing.

Rachel Sender is a New Jersey native who made her way over the border to settle down in central PA. Rachel is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist, and she has been working at In Him Christian Wellness for eight years.

She enjoys working with clients that are burned out by the diet culture and are curious about how to embrace a new path forward. Rachel sees our physical bodies as an instrument to be used for the glory of God and she enjoys coming alongside folks as they let go of past baggage to live fuller and freer lives. 

Learn More About Rachel