Embodied Nourishment Melissa Vasikauskas

If you've been trying intuitive eating and you feel like it is not working to bring you the peace and health you are looking for, I am going to tell you why right now...
The practice and principles of intuitive eating are IDEALISTIC. They are the end goal. But the end goal is not always the means to that end. Yes it sounds IDEAL to trust your hunger and fullness and to not have any food rules, BUT if you have a bunch of internalized rules that dictate your life, it's damn near impossible to adopt intuitive eating just because you want to.
Becoming an intuitive eater takes hard and challenging work. You have to actively and intentionally implement a nutrition practice that DIRECTLY challenges your food rules head on. For example, if you believe that you are only allowed to eat carbohydrates once per day, then you need a nutrition prescription that includes eating carbohydrates 3-4 times per day. And this must be followed every day for at least 6 weeks before your body starts to connect with carbohydrates and give you clear somatic feedback on how they make you feel.
While intuitive eating sounds like a walk in the park, the process of getting there is anything but that. It's emotional, it's challenging, and the experience of coming back home into your body is vulnerable. But it's also the most empowering thing you will ever do.
In today's podcast episode I dive deeper into why intuitive eating might not be working for you and I give you step by step instructions on how you can start to make it work for you, FOR REAL.
Find me on Instagram @embodied.nourishment
Work with me 1:1 here

"I want to lose weight because I am just so uncomfortable in my body."
Raise your hand if you've said these words!
What if I told you that there was a way to learn how to be comfortable in the body that you are in right now?
And what if I told you that your resistance to learning this comfort is not protecting your health like you think it is?
I know what you are thinking. You're sitting there saying "If I learn how to be comfortable with the body I have right now then I'm afraid I'm going to continue gaining weight."
I know you think that shame and judgment about your body are going to be the things that motivate you to lose weight or be healthier, but the truth is that shame and judgment are the very things that are keeping you stuck in the cycle of disordered eating.
There is a way to be kind to yourself, feel comfortable with where you are at, AND achieve your health goals.
In this podcast episode, I show you exactly how to do this.
Follow me on Instagram @embodied.nourishment
Work with me 1:1 by clicking here

If you don’t eat a 700 calorie cheeseburger because you think it’s unhealthy but then proceed to eat a bunch of “healthy” stuff devoid of the essential proteins, fats, and nutrients that your body was craving in the cheeseburger, bringing your total calorie intake to 1,200….why do you keep doing that?
So many times people will express to me that they eat so healthy but can’t understand why they keep gaining weight. Well guess what, if you’re constantly denying your cravings, which is your body’s way of trying to communicate to you what it needs, and instead you’re forcing yourself to eat foods that your body actually isn’t look for and doesn’t need, then of course your weight and appetite homeostasis is going to be way off.
You have plenty of room in your diet to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs and still have room for something like a cheeseburger. Not everything you ingest needs to be jam packed with vitamins and minerals. Your body also needs major macronutrients like protein and fat (cheeseburger).
Your cravings aren’t trying to deceive you. Your body is very smart. It regulates your heart rate, respiration rate, and body temperature, and it can also perfectly regulate your appetite and cravings as well if you decide to finally TRUST it.
In this episode, I dive into your sense of interoceptive awareness and show you how to prioritize satisfaction so that you can stop obsessing over food, achieve health, and be free to move on with your life.
Follow me on Instagram @embodied.nourishment
Email inquiries to melissa@thesaltydietitian.net
Work with me 1:1 by clicking here

Relationships that are characterized by control and manipulation stem from a lack of trust. When we are in a relationship with someone we don't trust, we tend to deploy our controlling side. This might look like creating rules to follow, invading the other person's privacy by going through their things, and picking fights.
What does your relationship with food look like? Is that relationship also characterized by control and manipulation? Similar to controlling relationships with other people, controlling relationships with food ALSO stems from a lack of trust. But this lack of trust instead stems from a lack of trust for ONESELF.
When you don't trust yourself with food you may deploy food rules and regulations such as:
no eating after 7pm
no more than 1,600 calories per day
only one serving of bread allowed each day
must exercise at least 5 days per week
I know you think that one day you can food-rule your way into peace and freedom with food, but reflect...has following diets and food rules every brought you peace or has it only made you more obsessed and anxious?
The way to actually arrive at peace and freedom around food is to work on the relationship that you have with yourself and to learn how to develop trust for yourself.
 
Follow me on instagram @embodied.nourishment
Work with me 1:1 by clicking here

I know you think that stepping on the scale is giving you control over your body and your food intake. But what if I told you that stepping on the scale is the very thing that is making you out of control?
It goes a little something like this:
1 - You step on the scale
2 - If the number is higher than desired, you eat less. If the number is lower than expected you continue eating less to “continue your progress”
3 - Your food intake in controlled by the number, not your intuition or your body’s actual needs
4 - The restriction is unsustainable leading to chronic episodes of overeating
5 - anxiety takes over and you step on the scale again repeating numbers 1-4
I know you think that stepping on the scale is going to one day be the thing that connects you with your body.
I promise you, it will never be the tool that does that for you. In fact it is the very tool that is preventing you from connecting with your body.
I know it’s scary to think about ditching the scale. And it’s a very normal human reaction to want to ease the anxiety right away. And you may feel a relief temporarily when you step on the scale but continuing to step on the scale is just deepening the void of this cycle. The only way out is to stop stepping on the scale.
Only then does the journey of reconnecting with your body and making peace with food become possible.
Good news for you, you don’t have to try this alone!
⚡️ MARCH 7th - 28th I am hosting a FREE 21 day challenge to DITCH THE SCALE ⚡️
What’s included in this freebie?
⚡️ a workbook to guide you through 3 weeks without the scale
⚡️ a private Facebook group for communal support to help cheer each other on
⚡️ some other surprises 🤫
Click this link and enter your email to join us!
Ditch The Scale Challenge

This episode is a little different today. I talk about my unmedicated birth story, kink, sex, divesting from oppressive systems and somehow tie it all together back to diet culture. I understand this episode may not be for everyone, it sure is a little "out there."
If you're a kinky freak, you'll certainly love it. 
Regardless of your sexual preferences, I recommend that everyone read the book that I referenced in this podcast,
Existential Kink by Carolyn Elliott, PHD
Find me on Instagram @embodied.nourishment