Food Peace  http://learntruehealth.com/food-peace/ Food peace is all about how to love food again. Most of us fear food because we are afraid of gaining weight. But my guest today is registered dietician Julie Duffy Dillon who will break down some steps on how we can achieve food peace. On A Mission Julie Duffy Dillon is an eating disorder specialist who helps people with weight issues and helps them attain food peace.  She was a conventionally-trained dietician and generally, it takes people six years of study to do the job. Getting out of school, Julie Duffy Dillon thought she was more than prepared to help people achieve food peace. After a few years, she realized that most people were not able to lose weight and the tools she had for food peace was missing the point. “I felt there was another dynamics, so I quit and got a degree in mental health counseling. Then I started researching diets,” said Julie Duffy Dillon. “No diet will help you go long-term. Diets lead to weight regain. It led to me getting into knowing how eating disorders happen.” Busting Myths According to Julie Duffy Dillon, when we pursue weight loss, we miss health. She says health is also how much power we have in our world. The journey towards food peace comes from finding what works for you and fixing the world’s view of our bodies. “Many people think they can control all aspects of health. It’s not just about the food we eat or the way we move our body. Stress, poverty, and depression also play a big factor. Outside things determine 75% percent of health,” Julie Dillion said. Julie Duffy Dillon essentially helps her clients realize that the body has wisdom.  To be able to have food peace, one must learn how to listen to their body and figure out what energizes or depletes them. PCOS I have dealt with polycystic ovary syndrome.  It is a condition wherein my hormone levels were affected, but I was able to reverse it through a change of diet and lifestyle. Julie Duffy Dillon says medical doctors tend to tell their patients they’re not trying hard enough. They usually advise patients to cut food groups and exercise more.  But Julie Duffy Dillon says she has found a way to veer away from diets by practicing self-care. “I help people find their place of passions. We shouldn’t feel like being tortured by food. Eat enough to be a human to have energy,” said Julie Duffy Dillon. “I help clients pick something sustainable and educate them on how to listen to their body.” Body Shaming Shame is a big part of eating disorders, and it deters attaining food peace. According to Julie, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, so they’re a big deal. “I want to do every I can to help prevent it. Shame doesn’t promote health, although it’s something we often lean on. But it’s certainly not something that works to change behavior in the long-term,” said Julie Duffy Dillon. I had experienced shame when I was younger. My mother would subject me to shame whenever I ate rice or anything unhealthy.  It was my mom’s way of showing she loved me enough to care about my health but emotionally and mentally, it did affect me. “Unfortunately, when our motivation is fear-based, we don’t tend to make the best decisions. We need to come from genuine love because we live in a world that is not too kind to people of size,” Julie Duffy Dillon said. Trust Your Body Julie also stresses the need to teach children to love their bodies and to trust the messages of their body. Society puts too much emphasis on body size, and that leads to more severe problems like eating disorders. And when that happens, food peace fails. I was concerned about my weight mainly when I was pregnant.  But I learned from my Naturopath that apparently, weight has nothing to do with a healthy pregnancy.  In fact, the primary thing to look out for was blood work, and mine was great! “I think there’s a manipulation in the diet industry that makes us all freak out when we are 10 or 20 pound