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 Food Life Freedom Values

What if recovery from stressful eating meant more than just feeling good around food?

→ What if it also meant building trust and connection with your body?

→ What if it also meant feeling free of trying to meet body ideals set out in our culture?

→ What if it also meant being part of a movement to break down the oppressive and discriminatory body and health ideals that exist in our culture?

 

 

At Food Life Freedom you are supported to stop feeling stressed around food. But in doing that, we break down the reasons why food feels stressful.

We aren't only stressed because of the eating itself but because of what we are made to believe about eating in this way.

  • The fear of what food will do to your body
  • The fear of what eating in this way says about your character
  • The fear of how we will be perceived by others
  • The fear of failing to eat "healthy"

The thing is, we are made to believe many unhelpful ideals about food and our body. We are made to believe we must adhere to these ideals to be healthy.

But it is these ideals and the morality that they are attached to that largely contributes to feeling stressed around food.

 
We don't eat in isolation, food serves in our whole life. If food feels stressful, it affects us on a deeper level.

 

Stressful and emotional eating support

At Food Life freedom you learn much more than how to navigate the stressful eating moment. You are supported with the knowledge and skills to build body connection and to change your behaviours through rewiring your neural pathways. You are supported to find what works for your body and let go of cultural ideals around food, health and bodies.

True liberation from stressful eating comes from true body and food liberation.

The Anti-Diet Guide to Overcoming Emotional Eating is a weight-inclusive, anti-diet and trauma informed online course to help you find true food and life freedom.

I want to overcome emotional and stressful eating!

At Food Life Freedom we do more than just liberate you from stressful eating.

We're taking down down diet culture too.

Diet culture is a system of beliefs prominent in our culture that ties body size to worth and idealised eating to morality. The messages are so normalised that they largely go by unquestioned, even when they are causing harm This is how diet culture hurts.

Food Life Freedom Values are Anti-diet culture values.

Here's what I believe...

Diet culture worships thinness at all cost. It hides behind "health" but we know that thin bodies are not "healthier" bodies. Health is complex and looks different for everyone. The typical health markers used are seen across body sizes.

The thin ideal is oppressive and leads to  body distrust. Body diversity is completely normal and healthy.

 

Diet culture tells you weight loss makes you healthier but really the messages associate weight loss with being more worthy. We know that attempts to lose weight (diets) lead to physically and emotionally unhealthy behaviours and long term weight regain.

 Weight or body changes are human and can happen across our lives but they are not attached to worth.

 

Diet culture demonises certain foods, making us believe our health is largely influenced by the specific foods we eat (or don't eat). But what we choose to eat plays only a small part in our health. Infact, our relationship with food, the connection we have through social eating and the culture we embrace through food all has a bigger impact on our health.

All foods fit in a healthy and balanced life.

 

Diet culture oppresses people who don't fit it's very narrow ideals of (or the image of) health. Our cultural beliefs about bodies and foods oppress those in larger bodies and are also rooted in oppressive movements such as racism, sexism and transphobia. These beliefs still affect healthcare services, employment opportunities, design of public spaces and tolerance to bullying behaviours. 

This discrimination and inequality is not ok.

 

Diet culture normalises a distrust with your body so you believe you need to spend money on diet services, products, books and fancy foods to guide your eating. But your body is perfectly capable of guiding your eating.

Building trust with your body is one of the most health promoting things you can do.

 

Diet culture normalises guilt, shame and fear of foods in the name of health. But it is not healthy to feel this way over food. Food does not only serve us nutritionally but serves so many aspects of our lives.

It is healthy for eating to be enjoyable and support you living your life.

 

 

Meet the founder

 

 

Hi, I'm Emma Townsin

Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor

 

The serious stuff

My qualifications

 

I work with you as a UK Registered Dietitian and practice from a health at every size (HAES), weight inclusive and compassionate lens so you can find your food and life freedom. 

I am:

  • A UK registered healthcare provider with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Registration number DT28209.
  • A Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor (CIEC) through Intuitive Eating PRO with Evelyn Tribole (The co-founder of the intuitive eating framework).

University degrees:

  • Master of dietetics, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia (2012).
  • Honours research year in food science and nutrition, Deakin University, Melbourne Australia (2010).
  • Bachelor of Health Sciences, majoring in Nutrition and psychology (2009)

Additional training and supervision:

  • Hormone health and eating disorders: clinical and counseling essentials for dietitians with EDRDPro - in progress
  • Trauma informed care with Fiona Sutherland and Tracy Brown
  • Digestive disorders and eating disorders with Marci Evans RD
  • Intuitive Eating PRO course with Evelyn Tribole
  • I am a member of my professional body - The British Dietetics Association as well as specialist organisations EDRDPro and Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellors, through which I complete regular professional development training webinars.
  • I receive monthly supervision with a specialist eating disorder dietitian.
  • Additionally I work for an eating disorder private practice as part of a team providing consultations for those with diagnosed eating disorders.

Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor

UK registered healthcare provider

Registered dietitian nutritionist

The fun stuff

Facts about me

 

  • I moved to the UK in 2015 for a short stay and just never left. Although I grew up in Australia I also have family in the UK so I feel at home here as well.
  • Spending time in green (or blue) space  is important for my mental health. I often break up my days with a walk in the local park or along the canal and I love weekends away in the mountains.
  • I love all sorts of food but the foods I miss if they are not available are my basic everyday things like cheddar cheese and grainy bread.
  • My current favourite way to “read” is with an audiobook - I particularly love listening to an audio book while walking in a park. 

Now I'd love to learn about you!

Ready to ditch stressful and emotional eating?

The Anti-Diet Guide to Overcoming Emotional Eating is a weight-inclusive, anti-diet and trauma informed online course to help you find true food and life freedom.

I want to overcome stressful and emotional eating!