Katy Gaston, RD

12 Miles - I am about 2/3 of the way through training and my body is feeling the miles.

It has made me realize the importance of taking care of my body with stretching, PT and icing.

Training for a marathon can be easily romanticized I think, but really it feels anything but glamorous most of the time.

As I near the end I’m looking forward to completing the training and the race. I’m also looking forward to my body not feeling so worn down 😅.

16 Miles - I haven’t been updated on the weekly miles in a bit because honestly it’s been getting tough. Physically yes of course, but honestly it’s been the mental and emotional that’s been harder.

I was getting into a space of being really critical of myself and my training, that if I wasn’t doing it perfectly to plan and my pace was slow then I was failing (which is a whole other post).

I realized this though and made some changes and I feel like my run today went better because of it. I’m getting into quite the high mileage and race day is getting closer and closer!

The marathon mindset that is needed for training is no joke 😅

Also PS my Summer Thrive Guide is available for download off my website or in the product link in this post! It’s definitely not too late to snag it since summer has barely started in my book. If you want a guide to have a summer of intuitive vibes that don’t include anything about weight loss and having a beach body then this guide is for you! Feel free to ask any questions and there is also a pinned post on my IG page with more info 🌴🦩

I interrupt this not-so-regularly scheduled programming to say that I have a new workbook available to download now!

Technically I launched it to my website on the first day of summer, but the promptly went out of service for four days 😬

But here we are, and we are ready to support you this summer! It can be hard with all the diet culture messaging around being seen in a swimsuit, but know that you can have whatever summer you want in the very body you are in now. This is a quick and easy guide that will ease you through 4 activities around vibes, clothing, body and food that will be the building blocks for an intuitive and body confident summer.

Available in digital or printable formats on my website KatyGaston.com

(As you can see I’m very into the Palm Springs summer vibes and so I am loving the style of this guide 😜)

Please ask any questions in the comments or feel free to DM me and let’s THRIVE this summer!

12 Miles - aka the run that taught me I can get through a terrible run.

Okay it wasn’t that terrible. But there were a lot of things that came up that I had to pivot and go with, and in the end I did complete the 12 miles.

At the start of the run I realized the map I made for myself wasn’t going to work so I had to pivot and run a larger loop in the first half. I have a live tracker telling me how many miles I’m doing so that was fine. Until I realized at mile nine my phone was dying.

I turned the tracker off, guessed at what route would give me the closest to the last three miles and pressed on.

“Don’t Stop The Music” came on, which then became my anthem as my phone battery ticked down - 6%, 4, 2….

My legs were cramping, I wanted to cry, I drank the last of my water to have the water fountain I stopped at to refill be broken and I didn’t even know how many miles I was doing.

I finally got to the car, my phone at 1%, me at 0 and I saw that I had in fact done 12.3 miles - not bad for guessing the last of the route, not bad at all.

After a “bad” run it’s hard not to get in your head that this is how it will be. But I don’t think that after “good” runs, I just am glad it went smoothly and then I think about the next one. So I will do the same with the reflection for this run. I’ll take from it what I need to - that I really need to do my PT and stretches - and press on with the training.

Some random foundational Intuitive Eating bullet points on what this process is:

• A way to enhance your inner eating knowledge and body cues so that you can eat “normally” without food rules and diet culture

• A path to decreasing obsessing over food to live a life full of big things

• Learning to taking up space mentally, physically and emotionally

• Increasing self-trust instead of this idea that your body is broken

• Getting out of the constant diet cycle that leaves you more confused, frustrated and hopeless every time you do it

Comment below of more random bullet points of what IE or ED recovery means to you!
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This Valentine’s Day, I’d like to dedicate a letter to an ex. It goes as follows.

Dear Diet Culture,

We broke up a longggg time ago, so if you could just leave me (and everyone else) alone, that would be great.

You keep coming back around so I’ll make it clear through the words of the great Taylor Swift, “Long were the nights when my days once revolved around you / Counting my footsteps, praying the floor won't fall through, again / My mother accused me of losing my mind, But I swore I was fine... I lived in your chess game / But you changed the rules every day.”
TLDR; I’m done.

Please return all the cute clothes you convinced me I could never wear and all the birthday cake I missed out on.

K Bye,

☠️ Katy
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It’s happening!!

I came up with this idea as a way to bring my “creative side” and my “science side” together. I don’t allow myself to create enough and that has to end. So come along with me in this roadmap to bring together unlocking your creativity while also building trust with yourself through food and body.

I’ll explain more in my stories leading up to the date but also feel free to ask me any questions you may have!
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✨IG Live Friday 2/4 @ 10:30 am PST✨

This idea of “stop treating your body like a side chick” was born from my and ’s first chat together and we have both been energized by this concept ever since!

Arianna and I will have an off the cuff convo about body image and why you need to DTR with your body. Body image is much more than just “loving yourself” and I’m excited to talk about it from a therapist and dietitian’s perspective. Would love everyone to join us for this live brunch time conversation and just hang out with us for a bit!
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✨It’s here!✨

📓I made a FREE comprehensive workbook meant for those curious about intuitive eating but don’t know where to start.

📓If you’re curious about how to heal your relationship with your food and body and want more freedom from dieting cycles and poor body image then this is the workbook for you. 💖

📓 There are 5 sections laid out with questions to ask yourself, tips and real world examples.

I know this is tough work which is why I am so passionate about offering 1:1 counseling sessions along with workbooks like this because you shouldn’t feel like you have to go it alone. 💖

🖇The link to grab this workbook is in my bio (and also where you can learn more about my 1:1 work if you’re interested!)

✉️ As you all go through this resource I would love to hear feedback and how you’re doing so feel free to DM me on here or email me @ [email protected]
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✨My latest joy has been catching up on episodes while creating graphics.✨

That means that I’ve put some resources up on my website which you can grab for free! These are just a few with many more to come I’m sure.

KatyGaston.com/faqsresources
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Y’all, I had an “ah-ha” moment today.

As I listened to the podcast episode on Dr. Oz I realized this is the main source of myths I debunk with clients and honestly even sometimes in the medical world.

There is a link between marketing sound bites that seem like they might be harmless and insignificant in larger contexts. So what if Dr. Oz is recommending a green coffee bean for weight loss, couldn’t that be helpful to some people and what is the harm? The answer there is immense harm and it needs to be viewed in the larger context.

A study was conducted to analyze Dr. Oz’s segments which was broken down to show only 46% of his claims are backed by evidence. (Study link in comments.) That’s less than half of the things he says. Half.

So when 46% of things that have evidence and nestled in-between 54% of claims that either have no evidence or actually evidence against the claims, that is a dangerous machine of misinformation.

I see this problem happen all the time. As a practitioner, I keep up to date on research and make recommendations based on facts and what is best for clients. There are very few overarching recommendations that I can make because every person is different.

So what we are up against are companies and celebrities that get to say whatever they want and make overarching claims. They can say sound bites like “miracle drug” and “magical weight-loss”. And you, as the consumer, want to believe. I get it, I’ve been there. I’ve wanted to believe too. Even when given evidence to the contrary I thought ‘well, maybe I’m different.’ Isn’t it worth it if there’s a chance?

That, my friends, is how the health industry gets to be $72 billion dollars. It is companies banking time and time again, that against all odds, statistics, medical evidence and professionals telling you to the contrary, that shows like Dr. Oz are the real place to get the information that “they” don’t want you to know about.

Makes me think I should start watching his show just so I know what the next health and nutrition trend will be for me to debunk?
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Have you ever seen a food product with advertising like “innocent” or “guilt-free”?

🥫While these may or may not stand out to you as marketing terms, they can plant seeds that have nutritional implications either way.

🥫For example, if you see a product that advertises itself as sugar-free and therefore “sin-free” or “without horrendous amounts of sugar” (yes actual ads I’ve seen) therefore we glean from this that sugar = bad.

🥫If that company can plant this idea in your mind then they can sell you on a whole host of their sugar-free products. Because they are ‘absolving you of the sin that is eating sugar’.

🥫These become larger ideas in society that can go on to shape medical advice, studies, health trends, etc. When the idea becomes so large that we forget its origin, it just becomes accepted as “common sense” and therefore deemed factual.

🥫But the problem is so much of the food, nutrition and body messaging I see are not facts. That is why I think it is so important to talk about where the $$ is, what these companies are seeking to gain from these messages and to look through a critical lens on any “health” messaging you see.

🥫Also I just want to note sugar is not bad for you. These messages also oversimplify things and make it all very black and white. So much of the work I do with clients is seeing the complicated grey that make up how our bodies and food work.

🌐 It’s a complicated world we live in trying to discern facts from marketing propaganda, but that I what I am here for!

1:1 sessions slots are available now if you feel like you need help with knowing what is true about food and body. I know it can be overwhelming and frustrating so you don’t have to try and figure it out on your own. 💖
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Hello! This puppy and I are here to tell you that it’s okay if you have been “over-eating” lately.

I put “over-eating” in quotes just because that terminology alone can sometimes cause some guilt and shame, like there is a “right” amount to eat (there’s not) and you went over that.

Just some reminders…

💖 This time of year does not have the usual flow of life. You can be out of your routines, higher stress and eating more or different foods than usual. This is all okay. Do the routines that feel good to you as often as you can, but don’t expect everything to be the usual flow right now. Look to where you are being too rigid with yourself and see if you can loosen it.

💖 You don’t need to “make-up for”, “fix” or “work-off” any of the foods that you have eaten.

💖 Compassion for yourself is a great tool against guilt and shame. If you start berating yourself, try neutral, compassionate thoughts. Ie. I feel full and that’s okay.

💖 Treat yourself like a puppy would treat you - full of love! (I know that was a little cheesy but sometimes the best medicine when you’re feeling down is some cheese.)

We’ll get through this holiday season together!
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The ✨motivational✨ posters we all need. Feel free to get them in 7’ x 7’ prints and hang them on your wall.
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Every time we eat, it’s an opportunity to connect with our bodies.

Your eating disorder, disordered eating, dieting and diet culture all want you to disconnect from your body so that it can keep the disordered patterns going.

The changes I see with my clients are when they start connecting more with themselves and less with the patterns. Some ⭐️transformations⭐️ that I’ve seen with clients:

➕Thinking about Calories ➡️ Thinking “what is my fullness level?”

➕ Avoiding macros ➡️ Asking “Is this meal/snack satisfying?

➕ Weighing out portion sizes ➡️ Pondering “What is my hunger level? Do I want to leave some food on my plate? Do I want to go get seconds?”

These transformations are not small and they are not easy. It will take A LOT to un-learn body distrust.

But the best part about learning to trust yourself and your body is that it is so possible!

I know that sometimes food can feel like the enemy but actually it can be a way to reconnect or connect with your body like never before. 💖

Comment below if you feel like you’ve had any transformative thoughts lately about food and/or your body! ⬇️
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✨The Holidays Are Coming✨

Which, can be a joyous time of year but also unfortunately a very stressful one as well.

Which is why I wanted to bring you a guide to help you BEFORE and DURING the holiday season for your eating disorder/disordered eating recovery!

This guide is for you if…

⭐️ You feel like you white-knuckle it through the holidays when it comes to your eating disorder or chronic dieting

⭐️ You don’t know how to handle loved ones commenting on their diets, bodies, food choices, etc (or yours!)

⭐️ You’re excited to see friends and family again but am also nervous about all the ways they can trigger you

⭐️ You’re anticipating being around foods that make you anxious and want tips and advice on how to get through it

⭐️ You’ve just started being in ED/DE recovery, been in it for a bit or are more in maintenance mode

⭐️ You feel like this time of year you need a little extra support all in one place with easy to reference tools

⭐️ You need help with food, body image and navigating diet culture

I wanted to cater this guide to not only where you are at in recovery but also through the different topics of food, body image and diet culture. There is a page for each phase with the corresponding topic so it is easy to navigate and straight to the point. There are tips, pep talks, permissions and activities included!

I formatted it to be a choose-you-own-adventure type guide but you will have access to the entire thing so you can take whatever path feels the most helpful to you!

The course will be available on my website KatyGaston.com/courses on Thursday at noon (PST)! More information will also be available on the sales page including a pay-what-you-can pricing model.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!
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Whether you have an eating disorder (ED) or disordered eating (DE), whether you suspect you have one or know for sure, that voice in your head that shames you for what you are eating, is always pushing you to try to achieve perfection, has you obsess over every ounce and gram wants to keep you in this place.

+ Call it what you want, but this is the voice that wants to keep you isolated, that goes against your “healthy voice.” Your healthy voice is the one that begs you to eat, pleads for you to rest, desires connection with yourself and others.

+ Your ED/DE wants to keep you cut off from connection. You may do your behaviors in hiding. You may get defensive when someone who loves you expresses concern over your eating patterns. You might “put on a show” of “perfect” eating, exercise, and food choices in front of others and then when you are alone it is completely different.

+ All of this is to keep you isolated. To cut you off from your body’s hunger and fullness cues. To stop going out to eat with friends because you don’t know how the restaurant prepares the food or it’s not in your allotment of Calories.

💖 But this doesn’t have to be your life. This voice will make you feel like when you have control, you’re safe. But this is a false promise because life happens. And this doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

💖 There is so much more beauty and magic on the other side of letting this false promise go. It can be scary and unpredictable but also exciting and full of possibility.

💖 It will take time. And baby steps. But the first one is to recognize this ED/DE voice. It might look like shaming statements, “what if..” anxiety spirals, and quests for perfection. Look at this voice with curiosity and compassion for yourself.

💖 Then ask yourself, how do I start building my connections back? Because you can. Just as you have learned isolation, you can un-learn it too.
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✨I solemnly swear that the only photos you will ever see on here with when I change up my hair. ✨

If you’re feeling a little bit shakey right now with your recovery from disordered eating and your eating disorder, here are some helpful tips to support yourself even before the holidays begin 💖
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Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of the holidays we can lose connection with ourselves.
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Sometimes we don’t realize it until after this season is over and sometimes we just kinda white-knuckle through it.
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This year as an alternative to this usual pattern, try deepening the connection with yourself BEFORE the holiday season.
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That way you set yourself up with a better foundation going into it. A common theme I find with clients is that body image and food recovery get worse when they are around their family members.
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Unfortunately, family can be very triggering because past patterns can easily come back when you are around them.
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If you want to create a a solid plan on how to get you through the holidays that doesn’t include white-knuckling, disassociating your way through it or crawling into a dark hole to avoid it all together it’s not too late to book 1:1 sessions with me! Let’s work together on what you are worried about going into the holidays and create a game plan that will help you through those moments of low body connection and increased food exposure.
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Link in my bio for booking virtual sessions via my website. I also have free 15 minute consults if you would like to discuss more on what it would look like to work with me!
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Let the holiday season commence!
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🌐 Food Marketing 🌐

•For more on this subject I recommend the podcasts

🍎
and
🍰 !

Both with great and informative episodes on current health trends and debunking nutrition myths
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