Episode 89 | Heidi Strickler on Moms, Kids, Food & Body Image
by Nikki Parnell — November 26, 2022
This week we have Heidi Strickler on the podcast again (if you didn’t tune in for episode 44 back in 2020 you should listen to that one too)! Heidi is our favorite Sports Dietitian – she specializes in nutrition for endurance female athletes, RED-S, amenorrhea, disordered eating and more.
Today we discuss how we as parents can talk about food and body image in a healthy way with our kids! We learn about body neutrality (“our bodies are the skin suits that allow us to experience life” as Heidi says), body positivity when appropriate, steering away from the mindset that our bodies have anything to do with our worth as a human, and how to set kind and/or firm boundaries with other people who comment on our kids’ bodies. Heidi emphasizes how we can communicate the benefits of our kids eating complete meals but how all foods can fit within that and how we can move past many of the food shaming and negative judgments of certain foods we hold onto (ex: listen in to hear how Luna Bars compare with Pop Tarts)! We also hear about Heidi’s personal experience with an eating disorder, how she extends freedom and permission to herself in her recovery and offers the same freedom and permission to us as well, and we’re so appreciative.
This was an incredibly helpful conversation for us and we hope it brings insight and inspiration to you too! Just remember, we won’t do this perfectly, but trying to be intentional, maybe breaking some negative intergenerational cycles where we can, and embracing the little teachable moments with our kids goes a long way towards raising healthy, confident, self-loving humans!
Show Notes:
Follow Heidi on Instagram!
Two Book resources from Nikki written by Hillary McBride:
- The Wisdom of Your Body (AMAZING)
- Mothers, Daughters and Body Image (Only a couple chapters in, still AMAZING)
Use code RUNHARD10 to get 10% off delicious Treeline Coffee… because a cup of coffee is basically a cup of vegetables (**refer to the conversation in this episode) and the best way to start your day