Maria Spanos APD

✨ Click the link in my bio to submit an enquiry ✨
Following on from last weeks post - I know the important of finding the right fit with a care professional. That’s why I’m hoping to make this process easier by offering free 15 minute introductory calls for people interested in dietetic counselling.
This gives us the opportunity to meet, introduce ourselves and for me to answer your questions. And it’s a pre-booked appointment, so you don’t have to worry about getting unexpected calls and playing phone tag.

✨ Online Dietitian appointments available ✨
Finding the right fit with any care professional can be tough, but it makes all the difference when you do.
If these messages resonate with you, click the link in my bio to learn more and reach out with any questions.

Hi all, I am excited to share that my books are now open for telehealth dietetic counselling! Thank you to everyone who has supported me in creating Constellations ✨
Click the link in my bio to enquire now!

Click the link in my bio to learn more about what I’ve been working on!
I’m so excited to finally share more about Constellations with you all ✨

Something new coming soon…
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Click “learn more” in my bio to be notified when my new website with all the info is released, and when dietetic counselling bookings are open!
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I’ve officially been certified as a Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician.
This new certification recognises those with the qualifications and training necessary for safe and effective eating disorder treatment. I look forward to continuing to see my colleagues receive this recognition, as a step towards more accessible, effective and consistent treatment for eating disorders in Australia.

Our upcoming Mindful Body Awareness Program will focus on skills and strategies to assist people who have eating and body image concerns, with a focus on mindfulness and coping with challenging thoughts, feelings and sensations.
The group will be facilitated by Mind Body Well Clinical Manager Ana Torres.
Details - https://www.mindbodywell.com.au/events/2022/mindful-body-group

Proud to have been part of this article combatting the "new year, new me, new diet" mentality.

The best way to harm your health in the New Year? Go on a diet 'We have really strong scientific evidence that the vast majority of people who pursue weight loss will regain the weight and more within two to five years.'

"The BMI was never developed to be a health parameter. It was developed by a Belgian statistician as an algorithm to understand population height and weight statistics. It wasn’t intended for health, and it shouldn’t be used for health."
https://www.inquirer.com/health/anti-obesity-messaging-harms-fat-bmi-20211201.html?fbclid=IwAR0C7KT_ALTSjjZgIw0S0mcPFVhMVULg0mquZ8oL9uvBbbj-fgMoUIAaieE

The ‘war on obesity’ has backfired, and scientists know why | 5 Questions Research has shown that our current focus on obesity -- and Body Mass Index measures in particular -- can lead to eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, worse health -- and add pounds.

Maria Spanos APD added a button to help you learn more about them.

Dieting encourages us to mistreat our bodies, and oftentimes making amends can be a big part of moving away from this.
Apologise to your body as if it were a loved one. It will forgive you. Thank your body for doing it’s best to keep you alive and well through all this.

Bringing you something different today as I attempt to recreate my usual post style in - an exercise in creative expression without perfectionism.
Your personhood, your value and your worth has nothing to do with your body. You get to choose how to define yourself- not anyone else.

Your natural weight is the weight your body settles when you’ve learned and practised intuitive eating skills. These include honouring your body’s cues, not unnecessarily limiting your food choices and not being preoccupied with food and body weight.
Just because we’re told our bodies should be a certain size, doesn’t mean or bodies agree with this.
Why is this relevant? Because if you’re having to restrict and work your way towards the weight you want, your body is going to fight to resist it. Instead of fighting with your body, you can learn to work alongside it to make peace with food.

Swipe for the alternative to the pendulum swing!
Feeling out of control or “addicted” to food almost never happens without some form of restriction first. While many people focus on overeating or bingeing as the “problem”, most often the underlying issue of deprivation needs to be addressed first.
The further we hold onto self-control, willpower and deprivation to fight against our bodies, the further we’ll swing to the other extreme.

There are a lot of reasons not to compliment someone’s weight loss or change in body size. This is just one reason I’ve seen experienced by myself, many loved ones and clients.
Considering that the vast majority of people will regain any weight they lose intentionally, when you compliment their weight change you’re setting them up to feel ashamed and less than when the weight comes back up.
Not to mention you’re likely reinforcing harmful behaviours, or complimenting physical and/or mental health decline that could have lead to their weight change. So the bottom line is: stop commenting on people’s bodies.

It’s a struggle when we’re well aware of the lies and pitfalls of diet culture, but the food police keep showing up in our heads in the form of harmful thoughts about food and our bodies.
We aren’t in control of these automatic thoughts and feelings, but we can control how we react to them. Noticing these thoughts for what they are and choosing to instead act in line with what’s right for you helps to take power away from the food police.

When we talk about body image, particularly for women, self-objectification can be a big piece of the puzzle. When we’ve been viewed as objects from a young age, this can lead us to base a large amount of our value and self worth on how we look.
Strategies to combat this on an individual level include being aware of how the media portrays our bodies, participating in activities that focus on the body as an instrument (like a sport), and embodiment practices such as meditation and yoga.
As with any complex theory, an Instagram post is not enough to give the full picture, just an introduction. If this concept resonates with you, I’d encourage you to go ahead and do some further reading.

So many people are turned off physical activity after years of being forced or pressured into strict, arduous training routines. Ideas that only certain high-intensity types of activities “count” or that exercise “isn’t working” if you aren’t losing weight wreak havoc with our relationship with movement.
There is an alternative option. Making exercise more intuitive means listening to your body, finding activities you enjoy and make you feel good.

When it comes to changing health-promoting behaviours, one of the biggest traps we can fall into is all-or-nothing thinking. More often than not, this kind of thinking leads to short term success followed by feelings of failure and guilt at not being able to stick to our goals.
We think the problem is with us, when in reality the goals we’re setting just aren’t realistic or helpful. Approaching diet and exercise from a more intuitive approach can help to create behaviour change that lasts a lifetime.

Sound familiar? Swipe for an alternative to the restriction/shame cycle!

How your diet talk could be harming Australian children Dieticians say well-meaning parents worry too much about food and are discussing dieting in front of children, who are showing an increase in eating disorders.

Putting conditions on your permission to eat damages your relationship with food. No matter what your inner food police might be telling you, you never need to “earn” your food. No matter what, you deserve to be nourished.

Diet culture is SNEAKY. By rebranding diets as lifestyle changes, wellness programs or resets, it can trick us back into the same old diet cycle that’s failed us so many times in the past.
It makes so much sense that when you start to move away from dieting, you still find it difficult to let go of some of the old rigidity and rules. If you find yourself resonating with these signs, taking some time to work through your relationship with food, either by exploring relevant books and podcasts or working with a non-diet professional, can help to keep you out of the diet cycle for good.

The connotations that “I’m taking care of myself” has in our culture is a huge pet peeve of mine. Most of the time what people mean is “I’m trying to lose weight” or otherwise change their body’s appearance. It grinds my gears because what we’re taught to do in the pursuit of weight loss is actually the opposite of caring for ourselves.
Caring for yourself can has room for compassion, reward and forgiveness. Not deprivation, shame and self loathing.

The holiday season can be extra rife with diet culture BS. Although you may not always feel comfortable or safe speaking up in these situations, if you have the opportunity to give a thoughtful (or sassy) response, it can be a great feeling to challenge the food and body police.
It’s worth the extra reminder that your body and your food choices are your own. Give yourself permission to enjoy all your favourite foods and set your boundaries firmly this holiday season.

Telling women that beauty is the main way that we are allowed to be powerful in our culture is a great way to keep women away from true power, fulfilment or worthiness. Rather than power growing over time, beauty standards dictate that women depreciate in value as they age. Rather than being based on inherent traits and good deeds, fitting the beauty ideal is a spectrum of privilege one is born into. Rather than leading to liberation and freedom, fulfilling beauty ideals often costs precious time, money and energy for women to maintain.

Our inner critic can be the loudest voice we hear in response to anything to do with food and our bodies. It holds us to impossible standards that we usually would never expect from anyone else.
The next time you hear your inner critic, notice and label it as just that. Then, come up with a response from a place of compassion, the way you would respond to a friend with the same concerns. At first this can feel clunky and unnatural, but over time it can start to become an automatic response to the inner critic.

If you’re lucky enough to have the opportunity, spending some time in nature can help us consider the beauty of natural diversity. Noticing the unique colours, shapes and qualities of each plant and animal helps me to appreciate these natural differences in humans too.

These are just some of the unfortunate and common myths about body image that are perpetuated by diet culture. Let me know if there are any parts of this you’d like to see expanded on/any topics you’d like to see me cover in the future!

In the pursuit of "health", people can often get so caught up in preoccupation with lifestyle changes that it ends up being all-encompassing. This kind of overwhelming pursuit of "health" can end up being more harmful than helpful.
To assist in your journey to food peace, consider working with one of our dietitians. Link to our website is in the bio. We offer in-person, Zoom (video call) and phone sessions.