Bridget Isaacs, MS, RDN

Sunday reminders…send this along to someone who needs it today ♥️

When having dessert is a personality trait💁🏼‍♀️

Comment 👇🏼 if you’re a dessert girl too..

Do you know what having dessert does not make you?

It doesn’t make you a bad person. It does not ruin your health. It doesn’t mean you have to feel guilty or “be good” the next day.

If you’ve been dieting for years, the idea that dessert can fit without guilt might seem silly but it’s totally possible.

Helping the women I get to work with allow foods back into their days is one of my favorite things I get to do because it’s one important step toward food freedom.

Let me know if you have questions about what this could look like for you because I’m opening up 3 1:1 spots for August and couldn’t be more excited!🎉

🚨WHY YOU STILL FEEL FOOD GUILT…even after you stop physically restricting food!🚨

Giving up dieting and working on your relationship with food takes time.

Moving away from physical restriction of food (actually allowing yourself to eat “forbidden foods”) is a HUGE win but is only one step in the process.

We just also let go of the mental restriction. What is mental restriction? In short, it is conditional allowance of the food. Mental restriction might sound like this:
✨you can only have the food IF you work it off later
✨you can have the food IF you save your calories for it
✨you can eat the food BUT only one serving
✨you can eat the food BUT only on the weekend

In order to get rid of this mental restriction, we must give ourselves UNCONDITIONAL PERMISSION to eat.

If you want to learn more about how to get rid of food guilt, stay tuned for a special announcement later this week!🎉

Did you know that feeling guilty about the food we eat is extremely common?

But what if we didn’t have to feel guilty for eating our favorite foods?

💥WE DON’T!!!💥

Before we can get rid of food guilt, we need to understand what it is and why we feel it.

Now imagine what your life could look like if you NEVER felt guilty after eating your favorite foods. Pretty amazing right?

✨Stay tuned for a special announcement that will help YOU enjoy your summer, no food guilt included🫶🏻

Nutrition myth: anti diet = anti health💥

Reality: you can give up diets AND care about your health.

Giving up diets does not mean you are eating donuts 24/7.

It doesn’t mean you can’t eat a salad or veggies.

I actually spend a lot of time talking about the importance of nutrition with my clients but teach them how to nourish their bodies rather than have strict rules.

They learn they can have freedom from food rules and guilt while still honoring their health.

On top of that, making peace with food can have so many health benefits like decreased stress levels, improved body image and decreased weight cycling.

🙋🏼‍♀️if you want to learn more about honoring your health, diet free!

Hands up if you feel this 🙌🏼

It’s so easy to miss out on life when we are consumed with diets. When food takes up all the brain space.

If all you can think about is the foods you CAN’T eat, you might miss more than just these foods…you might miss making memories and having fun.

What if you could:
✨let go of diets and restriction
✨enjoy eating
✨learn to nourish your body
✨make ALL the memories

This is exactly what I help the amazing women that I get to work with do. I’m opening up a few spots next week for 1:1 coaching so keep your eyes out🎉🎉

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!🎉🔥
Keep reading for a special announcement!!

Are you feeling pressured to start ANOTHER diet with summer around the corner?

Well what if I told you that this summer you could let go of diets and start enjoying food and start living free from diet culture?

Well get excited because I have something special for you that's going to help you do JUST THAT!

For the first time ever I am releasing a FREE GUIDE ✨Summer of Freedom✨

This free guide is going to help you to:
🍉Imagine what your summer could look like if it were diet free
☀️Get in touch with your hunger, fullness and satisfaction
👙Improve your relationship with your body and exercise

This is a 17 page guidebook that has so much value I honestly debated charging for it but I wanted to give you guys all the value.

Ready to feel confident in your bathing suit this summer and enjoy your burgers WITH the bun? Head to my bio to download the free guide 🎉

Want to know a secret?

You are allowed to eat whatever you’d like this weekend, without the side of guilt.

Comment below your favorite Easter treat!!🐣🍬🍫

A friendly reminder that a new year does not need to mean a new diet👏🏼

Anything you’d add to the list?

🚨Swipe for some tips and tricks to help you enjoy Thanksgiving, no side of guilt🚨

If you’ve been wanting to work with a dietitian and start your journey toward food freedoms, stay tuned! Keep an eye out for a Black Friday special dropping Friday morning👀

What exactly is intuitive eating?

If you look at the hashtag..chances are you’ll see a ton of pictures like this..promoting donuts.

And while, yes, you are allowed to eat donuts and any other food while eating intuitively, it is so much more than that!

IE is an evidenced based framework that helps you overcome the diet mentality, connect with your hunger and fullness, and treat your body with respect.

It is a non numbers approach to health because it it truly about connecting to and listening to your body.

It is relearning what your body needs with curiosity rather than judgement.

It is definitely not anti health. So often the anti diet approach gets thrown in the anti health category, but it actually takes in many aspects of health.

It can be eating the pizza. But also eating the salad. Having the plain yogurt or the flavored yogurt.

It is also so much more than I can put into a caption. But ultimately, it is the bridge between living a life of diets, restrictions, food rules and anxiety around food to enjoying food, feeling confident in your body and making choices that promote your most healthy self.

If you have questions about what intuitive eating could be for you, please let me know. I would never turn down a convo about how walking away from diets can improve your life♥️

Save this as a happy reminder🎃🍬

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO EAT HALLOWEEN CANDY!!!

Annnnnd even better…you don’t need to restrict your calories this week JUST so you can enjoy it.

Let’s play this out a couple of different ways:

1️⃣ you spend this week restricting your intake. You know Halloween is coming and you want to “save” your calories. Chances are you’ll be hungry most of the week. And maybe hangry. It will most likely lead to overeating at night or when the weekend comes. If you get too hungry..that’s when binges are more likely to occur.

2️⃣ you eat normally all week. You nourish your body with balanced foods that are both satisfying and delicious. Then you see Halloween candy on the counter or at work and you are 💯 fine having a few pieces because you aren’t super hungry and it sounds like it would be a good treat. Then you eat some more over the weekend because again, it sounds good. You don’t over eat because you’ve nourished your body all week.

As you can see, it is very possible to nourish your body and allow fun foods in. The two things can coexist!

Ummm, yes please!!

Remember to eat regularly this week!! Your body, mind and energy will thank you!🧡

Did you know that our brains are wired to keep us safe? To keep us in our comfort zone?

The moment we step outside of our comfort zones, our brain goes “ummm no way!! Go back to what you know!”

For so many people, dieting or being on a diet is all they know.

Diets have a sense of security because they provide structure. “Yes” and “no” foods that allow you to NOT have to make a decision.

They might provide connection for some people. It’s normal for people to bond over what trendy diets they are trying, sharing recipes, etc.

A diet might be all someone knows because that’s how they grew up.

So I get why the idea of “giving up diets” or putting weight loss on the back burner can be scary. It’s the opposite of what we know.

But as scary as it is, stepping out of the diet comfort zone can be one of the most rewarding things you can do.

When you make that decision to find freedom from diet culture, it takes away the power that food may have over you. It slowly gives you brain space to think about things you love and enjoy.

But I want you to know I understand that it’s not an easy step to take🤍

Have you been thinking about taking those uncomfortable steps away from the world of dieting? Have you thought about what that might look like for you or how that could impact your life?

🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

And of course: IT’S A LIFESTYLE NOT A DIET!!

Nutrition information can be super confusing, especially in the online space.

If you are looking to steer clear of diets and an account or company is promoting the above, I advise you to stay away!

So many companies/individuals label themselves saying “this is not a diet” in reality, they are.

If restriction and promotion of healthy versus unhealthy foods makes you feel guilt, chances are, it’s a diet!🚩🚩

I know there are a million other diet red flags I missed…comment below one that comes to mind!👇🏼

If you are looking for more support in letting go of diets and starting your journey towards food freedom, let me know! DM me FREEDOM so we can chat☺️

Are you confused by what diet culture is?

100% okay if you are! Fighting against diet culture and helping my clients find freedom from it is a large part of my day to day so sometimes I forget it’s not a common term.

First of all, the above is NOT an all inclusive definition of what diet culture is, but it is a start to identifying different characteristics of it. Above is just a surface level explanation.

Once you are aware of these characteristics, it is hard to ignore that it truly surrounds us.

It is in magazines, the news, social media and our day to day. Diets and weight loss are talked about at family gatherings, at work and with friends. We are FREAKING SURROUNDED by diet culture.

Even though DC is deep within our society, it is still possible to live a life free of the rules of diet culture…thank goodness.

Drop any questions below you might have about diet culture and I’d be happy to chat with you about it on a deeper level♥️

Probably thinking about snacks…

Health/nutrition myth: you shouldn’t snack.

Truth: it is perfectly okay to snack. In fact it is NORMAL for you body to need food about every 3 hours.

One of the most common things I see is people waiting too long between meals, hunger increases to an unbearable level which then leads to overeating.

This is where the hunger and fullness scale comes in. When you learn how to connect with your body and relearn your hunger cues, we are able to nourish our bodies without discomfort.

This is a very base level explanation, and something I go much deeper with my clients on.

If learning more about this interests you, let me know! I have a few spots left in my 1:1 coaching program🎉

What is one area of your life that diet culture is keeping you from enjoying?

Maybe that one person if your life can help start the journey out of diet culture.

For me it was traveling. A trip I took in 2015 is what saved me from the depths of a restrictive diet.

At that point of my life, I had been a vegetarian for years and vegan for about 6 months. I told myself and others the reason for these changes were for health, but in reality I was looking for ways to cut out foods and food groups from my diet that seemed acceptable by society. Disclaimer: I am in no way against a vegan diet, and there are definitely ways people can eat this way and be healthy, but it wasn’t something I was capable of doing in a healthy way!

On this particular trip I was staying with a local family that graciously cooked for me. Do you know what every single meal contained? Dairy. Now this may not seem like a huge deal, but for someone that convinced themselves that I couldn’t eat dairy for my health, this was TOUGH.

When I made the decision to eat vegan, I promised myself that I would never let my eating preferences affect my travels. Do you know what I did? I allowed those foods back into my life because it was a promise I had made to myself.

Was it easy? Heck no! It definitely gave me anxiety, but at this point anxiety around food was a normal occurrence. I told myself as soon as I returned home, I would eliminate dairy again.

But I didn’t. I kept eating it. It was the door to food freedom cracking open.

And that crack eventually led to complete freedom from food rules.

It took some time but it is POSSIBLE! And if it is possible for me, it is possible for you too🙌🏼🙌🏼

Let me know if you can relate. DM me I’M IN and let’s set up a free call where we can map out your journey to food freedom♥️

EASY LUNCH IDEA: HARVEST CHICKEN BOWL!! SAVE THIS FOR LATER!⁠
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This salad has been a game changer when I need a quick lunch at home and would also pack well to the office or school too.⁠
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Ingredients:⁠
shredded kale⁠
1 small apple⁠
goat cheese⁠
1/2 of a large sweet potato⁠
salt⁠
garlic powder⁠
paprika⁠
candied pecans⁠
dried cranberries⁠
chicken of some sort ( chicken sausage pictured here but I have also made it with a grilled chicken breast)⁠
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Dressing:⁠
1 tbsp honey mustard⁠
a splash of avocado oil⁠
a splash of balsamic vinegar⁠
a sq**rt of balsamic glaze⁠
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1. Cut sweet potato into bite size pieces, coat with avocado oil and season to your liking! I used salt, garlic powder and paprika. Pop in your air-fryer for 13 minutes at 400 degrees. While potatoes are cooking, prepare the rest!⁠
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2. Cut chicken sausage into bite size pieces and heat in the microwave. If you are using chicken breast, HIGHLY recommend baking or grilling a few at the beginning of the week for easy use!⁠
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3. Combine ingredients for dressing and massage into your kale. Yes your hands will get messy, but its worth it! Add the chicken to your bowl.⁠
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4. Cut up apple into bite size pieces and add to your bowl.⁠
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5. Add in goat cheese (I used a pre-crumbled goat cheese), cranberries and pecans (I used pre-made mix from Target but feel free to do this on your own)⁠
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6. When the sweet potatoes finish, add to complete your bowl and enjoy!⁠
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**Another great option would be to use rice instead of sweet potatoes, or in addition to. Choosing a microwavable rice can cut out some of the prep time!⁠
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Use this recipe as a base and swap ingredients out for variety. Maybe try feta in place of goat cheese, tofu instead of chicken, or a different nut! The options are endless.⁠
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Let me know if you try this for lunch!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Ever been enticed by a new diet that comes out?

“This one REALLY works!”

“It’s a lifestyle, not a diet!”

“Check out all these amazing xx friendly recipes!”

🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️if you can relate!

Diet talk is ALL around us. It’s on our food packaging, our social media feeds, family gatherings.

We all are surrounded by people trying Noom. Keto. 75 Hard. Optavia. IF. WW. Whole 30. And the list goes on.

Side note — these are all still diets.

It’s hard to be surrounded friends and family talking about their new diet…or lifestyle😉. When you make the decision to let go of diets, you may feel disconnected from those around you. You can no longer bond or recipes or your distain for carbs (even though you truly love them) when you disengage from diets. And they can be, well, difficult.

BUT I don’t want that fear of missing out to make you feel like you should jump back on the next trendy diet for a few reasons:

1️⃣what works for someone else, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for you

2️⃣if a diet is restrictive or has rigid rules (calling you out 75 hard) it’s likely not sustainable

3️⃣95% of all diets fail. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT. It’s the DIET FAILING…NOT YOU!

If you feel pressure to start a new diet or go back to an old one just ONE MORE TIME, let me help you break that cycle! Click the link in my bio or DM me to set up a free call!📱

Do you struggle with an all or nothing mindset?

You aren’t alone if you do!

So often diets consist of rigid restrictions that lead to increased cravings and desire for these “off limits” foods.

This is one of the main reasons diets don’t work. They aren’t sustainable and keep us starting over on Monday.

Is this a sustainable cycle? Or an enjoyable one? In my professional and personal, no..not at all!

This is one of the HUGE obstacles I help my clients overcome when working toward food freedom. So many of us start with food rules, off limit foods and restrictions that have been heightened by diet culture.

Allowing all foods to fit into your week helps relieve the desire to have cheat days, to binge, to say “screw this” and go wild on the weekends with fun foods and treats.

These foods can fit in any day or the week, guilt free. Without the pressure to “start over” on Monday.

Is this you? Are you currently hanging out on the all or nothing side but would rather be on the all foods fit side? If yes, click on the link in my bio to schedule a FREE call📲 to chat about your goals♥️

Shout out to my amazing client, Blair 🙌🏼

It’s been so amazing seeing Blair find joy in both food and movement and finally become FREE from diet culture👏🏼

The journey to food freedom can be so scary and can have a lot of ups and downs along the way. It takes time to let go of food rules we have held for years. It’s not always easy to look at movement as something we choose to do and enjoy over need to do to change our bodies. But IT IS POSSIBLE.

When your WHY is strong enough, you find the how.

So proud of you Blair for reconnecting with your body, choosing to nourish without diets and LETTING GO of diet culture.

My Nutrition by Bridget coaching program has a 4 1:1 openings in August. If you are looking to let go of diets, learn to nourish your body and find joy in good, DM me JOY and we can chat!

Which side do you relate to?⁠
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Have you ever felt pressured to do exercise you absolutely hate?⁠
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You do not need to do exercise that you don't like! Save this as a reminder. Seriously, find some type of movement that you enjoy and do that! Do it because it makes you happy. Because it give you energy. And because it makes your feel good. ⁠
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You don’t have to break a sweat. You don’t have to have your butt kicked or think you’re going to pass out for exercise to count.⁠
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Here are some ideas for some lower impact workouts: go for a walk, take a yoga class, go swimming, ride a bike, try a new hobby like rock climbing or gardening. ⁠
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Start to shift your mindset around your WHY of exercise.

It does not have to be to change your body or to lose weight. It can simply be because you enjoy it and it promotes your health.⁠
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Your relationship with exercise can be tricky, especially when moving away from diet culture. If you need help navigating what this looks like, I am happy to help. I help my clients shift their mindset around exercise and start to enjoy it again.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🚨you don’t need to be stuck in this cycle any longer🚨

Does this look familiar to you? 🙋🏼‍♀️ if you can relate!

If so, you are NOT alone, my friend! So many of us are stuck in this, what seems to be never ending, cycle of dieting.

Prior to working with me, many of my clients found themselves in the cycle of restriction, binging, guilt, and diets. But they chose to STOP the cycle. To break free from diets.

YOU have that choice too. You are so much more than a diet. YOU are not the problem. It wasn’t YOU that failed, it was the diet!

If this resonates with you and you want to learn more about what it takes to stop this cycle in your life, let me know! DM me if you want help taking those next steps♥️

Does going out to eat stress you out? 🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️ if you can relate!

Let me tell you, you are not alone!

For years, eating in a restaurant brought me SO much anxiety. I had so many food rules and restrictions, thinking about what I could possibly eat took all of the fun and enjoyment out of the experience.

Letting go of these restrictions and unlearning the food rules that had been engrained in my head for years is one of the best things I’ve done for my health, my anxiety, and my social life.

Let me know if this resonates with you. If this IS you. Seriously though, DM me! I’d love to chat and help you enjoy going out to eat again♥️

✨Hoping this message reaches someone that needs to hear it today♥️

You are not defined by a number on the scale, but by WHO you are as a person.

You are strong. You are caring. You are funny. You are a hard worker. You are loyal. You are smart. You love with your entire heart. You are selfless. You are full of self love. You are thoughtful.

Those are the things that make you who you are. Not weight.

If this speaks to you, share it with someone else you think needs to hear it today✨

It is so easy to get caught up by a number on the scale, I totally get it! I spent years focused and obsessing over how much I weighed. Letting go of that number was one of the most freeing things I have ever done. It’s something I’m grateful everyday I get the opportunity to help my clients let go of. Let me know or DM me if this is you, if you are ready to detach from that number..I got you☺️

✨You don’t need to start a new diet to be healthy!!✨

Are you looking for ways that you can honor your health and don’t include restriction?

Save this post as a reminder for later!

There are so many ways that you can take care of your body and improve your health that have nothing to do with your weight or a diet!

1. Your body needs rest! Getting enough sleep is vital for both your body and your mind!

2. Water. You need it. First of all, I will never tell you to satisfy your hunger by filling up on water (you need food to honor your hunger) but it is still important to stay hydrated. Not sure how much to drink? Start with just drinking more. Figure out how much you are currently drinking and increase the volume by a glass or a bottle. Slow, manageable increases are the best way to create a habit.

3. Eat ALL types of foods! Include all of the food groups (unless you’re unable to due to an allergy or specific eating patterns). Different foods contain different nutrients. ALL macronutrients are important and play a role in your body!

4. You can’t run on empty. Make sure you include things that fill your cup and give you energy! If you’re busy, try to schedule in “you time!”

5. Find movement you enjoy. Movement helps improve both your physical and mental health♥️

Is this idea of honoring your health without a diet new to you? Is it something you want to learn more about? DM me HONOR and let’s chat about what health means to YOU☺️

What do you do to grow?

I’ve heard the saying “growth happens when you step outside of your comfort zone” a million times before but the last 7 months have brought a new meaning to this.

When you push yourself, when you’re uncomfortable, when you’re challenged...that’s when growth happens.

For years, I let self limiting beliefs hold me back from doing big things. But I got out of my own way last fall and took a step out of my comfort zone.

Starting my nutrition coaching business was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.

I am constantly learning, reassessing and it requires a crazy amount of vulnerability.

This weekend I got the opportunity to spend time with an amazing group of dietitian entrepreneurs that are wildly passionate and incredibly inspiring. This group of amazing humans is the step out of my comfort zone that push me to grow.

Where do you challenge yourself? How do you get comfortable with being uncomfortable in order to grow?

Change is scary. No matter if it’s self development, making changes in your nutrition or investing in yourself to start honoring your health. Just know I see you.

Comment below if this resonates with you!! Let me know where you want to grow🙌🏼

❕A reminder that you need more than 1200 calories per day❕

What happens when we don’t eat enough? It takes a toll on both our physical and mental health!

Calories needs differ from person to person BUT our bodies are great at giving us signs that they need more calories!

1. If you’re always running on low energy, you may not be eating enough. Try adding in a snack or two rather than reaching for another cup of coffee.

2. Our brains are smart too..they are biologically driven to let us know when they need energy. Their FAVORITE source of energy: carbohydrates! Constant thoughts about food may indicate you need more of it!

3. Low energy, low calories and low carbs may have an affect on your mood. Being hangry is real! Shifts in hormones and blood sugar signal hunger and also have an effect on our mood.

4. Our bodies need calories to function. Even what seems like simple processes like sleeping and bowel movements require calories. If you aren’t sleeping well or dealing with constipation, it serves as another sign that you may not be eating enough.

Bottom line...our energy needs might be higher than we think they are. It is crazy how different you feel when you start to nourish your body correctly.

If learning how to properly nourish your body is something you want to know more about, DM me “NOURISH” and let’s chat☺️