Food Psych #266: Steering Clear of Diet Culture's New Year's Traps, and Managing Chronic Illness Without Disordered Eating with Aleta Storch

Introduction & Guest Bio:

Anti-diet dietitian and mental health counselor Aleta Storch joins us to discuss diet culture in the ADHD and autoimmune disorder communities, her and Christy’s experiences of living with chronic illness, how social determinants of health are often ignored or twisted to uphold diet culture, wellness culture and its stigmatization of medication, and so much more. Plus, in “Ask Food Psych,” Christy answers a listener question about how to tell whether something is a diet in disguise and how to avoid common diet-culture traps—in the New Year and beyond.

Aleta (she/her) is a Registered Dietitian, Mental Health Counselor, Body Trust Provider, and owner of Wise Heart Nutrition based out of Seattle, WA. She offers weight-inclusive, anti-diet care to support folx in the process of letting go of diet culture, and finding pleasure, joy, and freedom with food and body. She specializes in working with both ADHD and autoimmune conditions. Find her online at WiseHeartNutrition.com.

We Discuss:

The factors that contributed to Aleta’s positive relationship with food as a child
How having ADHD affected her eating as a teen
When Aleta’s relationship with food and body began to shift, and eventually became an eating disorder
Christy and Aleta’s experiences with childhood bullying and the desire to belong
The culture of food in sports and athletics
How Aleta’s diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis was delayed because of her smaller body
Why she became interested in becoming an eating-disorder treatment provider
Accepting and adopting Health At Every Size® principles as someone with an active eating disorder
Aleta’s experiences standing up against healthist beliefs during her dietetics training
The Wellness Diet, and why it is still a part of diet culture
The biopsychosocial model of healthcare
How social determinants of health are often ignored or twisted to uphold diet culture
Aleta’s path to eating-disorder recovery and intuitive eating
How working at an eating-disorder treatment center helped in her own recovery
How having Hashimoto’s thyroiditis contributed to Aleta’s and Christy’s disordered eating
Wellness culture’s stigmatization of medication
ADHD and disordered eating, and how trying to treat symptoms with diet can often make things worse
How ADHD medications can be abused
Weight-loss medications and side effects
Diet culture in the autoimmune disorders and ADHD communities, and how Aleta works with people in these areas
Intentional and unintentional restriction
Self-care cues for folks who struggle with attuning to their hunger and fullness cues
Aleta’s upcoming online ADHD course