Hey friends! Happy Tuesday- time for another episode of the Grapefruit & Granola Podcast!

Good week / bad week

Bad week:

I’ve just had one of those where you feel like things are falling apart and you’re not as young as you used to be. Does anyone else experience that from time to time? I’m 32. Help me.

Face – I’ve noticed my face has really changed a lot recently. My skin is uneven and breaks out more, my pores are larger, and my combination skin experiences extreme dryness and oiliness. I switched face products and started exfoliated 2-3x/week. Nothing has helped. Should I get a facial? See an aesthetician? Halp.

Vision- I’ve also noticed that my vision is going downhill, too. I pretty much need my glasses 24/7 now. I’m currently looking into contacts. Womp Womp.

Good Week

I’ve read 2 books recently that have really helped me declutter my home:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – by Marie Kondo

The Simplified Life – Emily Ley

I like in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up how she stresses that if something doesn’t make you feel good and you never use it that it’s OK to give it away. Sometimes I don’t declutter because I have certain things that make me feel good (even though I never use them) and I don’t want to be faced with the dilemma of giving them away). To wrap this up into a good week, we gave a load of books to The Ronald McDonald House and they were very appreciative. It makes me feel good to know that someone else will enjoy items that were in my home not being used at all :)

Episode 7 of The Grapefruit & Granola Podcast with Rachael Hartley.

Rachael Hartley is a Columbia-based dietitian who specializes in intuitive eating. Our paths crossed when I was starting my private practice and she was one of the very first guests on my podcast. It’s funny to go back and listen to it because I was SO nervous. And I basically screamed into the mic “HEY RACHAEL!” in the very beginning. Nevertheless, we have a really great conversation about listening to your body and moving it in a way that feels good to you. Here are the show notes:

Intuitive Eating 101

Rachael briefly defines intuitive eating as teaching you to get back into your internal cues with eating: knowing your hunger, fullness, and cravings and using those to guide your food choices, rather than external cues like calories and food rules.

Intuitive eating is weight-neutral, meaning that weight loss is not the goal. Your body should settle at your natural set point weight. Intuitive eating is also health-promoting. Sometimes eating something that’s very nutritious is the healthy choice and other times maybe the healthy choice is eating a brownie that’s super enjoyable.

Intuitive Movement

Intuitive movement doesn’t have a super set definition. It basically means connecting with your internal cues to guide decisions about movement. This includes the intensity, type, movement and length. Think of it differently as “exercise”, which is a formal, set regimented way of moving your body. The difference is that you’re moving your body because you want to, not because you have to.

Why should we embrace intuitive movement? We all want to feel energized and feel good! Intuitive movement does both.

Exercise and weight loss

Rachael is not a fan of exercise and weight loss. Neither am I. Some studies show that exercise is not an effective tool for weight loss. This may be because we increase our food intake when we’re working out.

When we associate exercise with weight loss, it can be discouraging when we don’t lose weight so we stop what we’re doing.

Intuitive Movement & The G&G Nutrition Community

I asked Rachael for advice about incorporating more movement into your day if you’re someone out there with little time. Here’s her advice:

The general recommendations for exercise is really not a lot per week:

• 150 minutes moderate per week of exercise (this equals out to 22 minutes per day)
• 75 minutes vigorous per week

She recommends breaking things up into mini bursts of movement throughout the day if you don’t have time to do something all at once.

Also, give yourself grace. Embrace the seasons of life if your schedule doesn’t allow meeting exercise recommendations each and every week.

How to find motivation

Rachael recommends tapping into your cravings for movement and embracing how great you feel afterwards. She sometimes has clients write a letter to themselves after movement to remind them how great they felt afterwards.

If you are someone who has physical limitations from injuries or orthopedic issues, start small with what you can do and drop the expectation of thinking you have to do X,Y, and Z. There are physical and mental benefits to starting small and/or doing things in small spurts.

About Rachael Hartley:

Rachael Hartley is a Columbia, SC based private practice dietitian and blogger at The Joy of Eating. Her passion is helping clients and readers rediscover the joy of eating and nourish a healthier relationship with food and their body. She works with clients locally and throughout the US via Skype, specializing in intuitive eating, healing from chronic dieting, disordered eating and digestive disorders. 

• Rachael Hartley Nutrition: website
• Rachael’s Blog: The Joy of Eating
• Rachael’s Instagram
• Rachael’s Twitter
• Rachael’s blog post about intuitive movement

Thanks, Rachael!