First, a shout out to a fabulous person: Kimberly Campbell of FitGurl Studio. Kimberly and I did a “healed healer” session and she helped me get clarity about an upcoming project. It is something I’m hoping will be big…HUGE. I will share more about it as it materializes but in the meantime, I wanted to share […]
How are you doing? What’s feeling good? What’s feeling not-so-good? This is a time of transition for many of us, school’s out, summer is officially here – and it’s a real summer this time…-ish. COVID-related changes are shifting yet again. This can bring up feelings. Strong ones and lots of them. As someone who has […]
I’m sitting in my apartment while construction workers jackhammer on the external walls just outside my apartment as part of a facade renovation project. I have dreaded this for years. Every New Yorker goes through it at some point but it is never easy. As someone who is incredibly sensitive to sound – among other […]
In my sessions with clients, we often begin with what’s going well. What is feeling like self-care? What is coming more naturally? What is feeling good about your Intuitive Eating path? This is not about putting on the rose-colored glasses. This is taking real stock of real progress in all of its forms, from the […]
I know this is not what you want to hear. You are wired to not want suffering, and yet suffering is so integral to our lives that it really does need to be explored. Suffering is the subject of the four noble truths, the first teaching given by the Buddha once he attained enlightenment. He […]
I cried this morning when I woke up. I felt the familiar spiky sensations of nerve pain in my back and it makes me deeply sad. Sometimes I feel angry at my body. Sometimes disappointed. Sometimes I just want to ignore it. But one thing that I have learned through my own Intuitive Eating journey […]
Short message this week but it’s an important one. Carl Rogers wrote in his On Becoming a Person, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” This would suggest that all our efforts at change – all the diets, self-help, programs, the striving, the ambition – are […]
I recently completed a process known as the Safe and Sound Protocol. Without going into too much detail, the SSP is a 5-day audio program that exercises the middle ear, which is part of the social engagement system within our nervous systems that wires us for connection and safety. During the protocol, I found that […]
Has consistency gotten in the way of a long-term Intuitive Eating practice? Many of my clients are hesitant to really dive in by creating some sort of structured meal pattern, experimenting with new foods, a movement practice, a mindfulness or self-compassion practice, all because of the threat of not maintaining consistency. From my point of view, humans […]
What went unnamed and un-spoken-about for a long time has finally made headlines: Revenge procrastination! Many of my clients breathed a sigh of relief to know that they were not the only ones staying up late, not totally knowing why, and suffering the consequences of lost sleep. Not only does revenge procrastination take away from the quantity and […]
A friend of a friend, Michael Carroll, has said of meditation that “we aren’t trying to get anywhere. We’re trying to be somewhere.” The same could be said of Intuitive Eating. When we begin, we truly have no idea where it will take us. We might have expectations, wishes, images of what it will look and […]
I have always said that whatever we do – no matter how dysfunctional it may seem – it comes from a place of just trying to feel safe and OK. Now that I’m diving into Polyvagal theory, I understand that this is a biological truth. Our nervous systems evolved to protect us. The earliest iteration of […]
Why do so many of us stop dancing, playing an instrument, playing a beloved sport, singing, making art? There’s a tyranny to the idea that we should only pursue interests if we excel at them. The concept disconnects us with what motivates us, what touches us deepest, what creates bliss and flow and joy. This […]
Hi and how are you faring during this late-stage pandemic period? It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written or posted. Like many of my friends, colleagues, and clients, I am both fine and not fine at the same time. And I’ve been participating in a polyvagal theory training that is rocking my world and awakening […]
Just a quick reminder that wherever you are on your Intuitive Eating path – whether you’re feeling good about it, whether you’re questioning it, whether you think you’ve screwed it up somehow (not possible, by the way), whether you’ve lost connection with it altogether – there is no moving backward. Because Intuitive Eating is a […]
I’m so excited to share with you the availability of two new books you must add to your anti-diet library. The first – available immediately – is from Fiona Sutherland, the Mindful Dietitian, and it’s called Vitamin A to Z. I love the simplicity of this book and how it helps you build the foundation […]
One of the biggest differences between diets and Intuitive Eating relates to the topic of certainty. For all the harm that they do, diets do promise an (illusory) sense of knowing what’s up – how many calories you are supposedly consuming in that packet of Cheez-Its, the supposed safety of not eating after 6 pm, […]
Become a trained meditation instructor and deepen your personal practice. Early bird price ends February 22nd. Limited to 50 participants. Our next Meditation Instructor Training program begins March 18th. This is the only Meditation Instructor Training course that we will be offering in 2021. About the Open Heart Project Meditation Instructor Training Program Over the […]
Taking care of ourselves can be a mind game! We have such amazing capacities, but many of the forces around us are confusing, suggesting that we can’t trust our bodies, that we’re never doing enough. Which is why it bears saying (and repeating again and again) that we should not let what we think we […]
Have you been wanting to dive into intuitive eating but not know where to start? Have you purchased The Intuitive Eating Workbook but not cracked the binding yet? Do you need or want companionship and accountability to move through the intuitive eating principles? Working the Intuitive Eating Workbook with Jenna Hollenstein will orient you to […]
I have a love/hate relationship with social media. It can be such a powerful tool for good, like Evelyn Tribole’s recent 10 days of Intuitive Eating (and if you haven’t seen it, check it out here) and Sonya Renee Taylor’s talks about, well, anything (follow her here). . Social media can also be a terrible […]
In her 1969 book On Death and Dying, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross described the 5 stages of grief as consisting of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Though there is no one way to grieve – and many have critiqued this description of the grieving process as oversimplified – having specific milestones to look for can help […]
Happy New Year. We’re off to a bizarre start. A new favorite meme I saw yesterday said something alone the lines of “2021 just to 2020 to hold her beer.” . Meanwhile, the month of January promises its usual deluge of diets-that-claim-not-to-be-diets parading their before and after photos, positive testimonials, and gaslighting gaslighting and more […]
Well, this has been one hell of a year. You made it through, if not smoothly then hopefully with a modicum of awareness and gentleness. For me, it was a series of highs and lows, moments I adored and wanted to hold close and others that were excruciating and that made me want to bolt. […]
A life of satisfaction and meaning seems to come from living according to our values. Knowing what our values are helps guide us in our beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions. The same goes for how we eat. . Most of us are driven by certain food values without even realizing it. Thoughtfully contemplating what matters […]
I am no fan of that old saying “You are what you eat.” It’s judgmental, inequitable, and unjust. But I do believe that we are significantly influenced by what we consume. And I’m not even talking about food here. . Many of us are consuming images and words and messages about food, about eating, about […]
Compassion can be mistaken for always being sweet and kind. True compassion, however, can have quite the edge to it. True compassion might mean confronting a friend about the triggering diet comments they make or defining and defending boundaries with family members around holiday meals. . Idiot compassion, on the other hand, allows you to […]
Happy post-Thanksgiving. I hope your holiday was peaceful, delicious, and safe. Perhaps you found yourself dealing with an obstacle or two or questioning your judgment along the Intuitive Eating path. This is good news! The holidays can be a wonderful time to practice IE with all of their intensity and variety. Here’s a little approach […]
As we move into the holiday season – one that will inevitably be different from any one that has preceded it and likely different than any in the future – the need for gratitude is at an all time high. And because the holidays can be a painful time to have a body – with […]
This holiday season, I would love to support you by answering your individual questions because if you’re having them, you can bet your butterball turkey others have the same ones. . Please type in your questions (with the link below) and I will answer them in an upcoming video series via Instagram and Facebook. https://bit.ly/jennahelp
Our lives are affected by various cycles. The seasons, the school year, and our menstrual cycles are common cycles that have some predictable characteristics and affect us differently depending on where exactly we are in the cycle. . This is a presidential election year, if you hadn’t heard. It comes every four years. At the […]
Whatever happens in your life, it does not occur in a vacuum. Whatever arises, it may be a good practice to consider your constellations. . What do I mean by constellations? All of the factors – microscopic to macroscopic – that could affect how you perceive what is happening. . As I said, these factors […]
I may or may not have a tendency to overreact at times. I cannot say for sure, but my partner seems to think so. Once, after a disproportionately vehement reaction to something that turned out to be not so dire, I wrote myself a letter. In it, I shared the perspective I had gained on […]
We love round numbers: *100-calorie packs of Oreos *1 oz of potato chips *1/2 of cooked rice The problem is that these lovely, knowable, concrete numbers have absolutely nothing to do with your body, your needs, what will be satisfying to your unique needs in a given moment. They are in fact completely arbitrary, having […]
Hi there. I hope you are well. We are deep into it – homeschooling sucks, we miss one another, I’d give an eyeball for a massage and a movie in a theatre. But this is where we are, so… When working with clients, we often end up discussing neuroplasticity, that amazing way the brain can […]
Yet another thing that Intuitive Eating and Buddhist philosophy have in common is their deep and abiding trust and belief in each individual’s judgment and experience. Any Buddhist teacher (and Intuitive Eating counselor) worth their salt have uttered “Don’t take my word for it” (or something similar) many, many times. The bottom line is this […]
I hope you are well and safe and surviving these crazy days. The news of Justice Ginsburg’s death hit me like a Mack truck. The morning after I found myself restless, despairing, and ultimately wandering around Manhattan hoping for some deus ex machina to save us all. That clearly has not happened. What I have […]
One of my favorite parts of Intuitive Eating is that it begins by normalizing and giving us permission to feel anger. . In principle 1 – Reject the diet mentality – we are encouraged to “get angry at diet culture that promotes weight loss and the lies that have led you to feel as if […]
Perhaps the most striking difference between Intuitive Eating and, well, everything else is that you have full and unconditional permission to eat. That applies to what, when, and how much. Knowing that we have unconditional permission to eat allows us to stop “eating at” anything that limits us, whether a diet or ourselves. I think […]
I’ll be short and sweet this week: The way I see it, there is no such thing as backward movement on the Intuitive Eating path. We are only moving forward – noticing, collecting data, connecting dots, learning, and practicing. When we experience difficulty or even roadblocks, we do not regress. We join those obstacles with […]
A lot of emphasis is placed on the decisions we make in Intuitive Eating. This is good, of course, as before Intuitive Eating, many of us didn’t even realize we had decisions to make. We operate on autopilot, feel controlled by something outside ourselves, and yet bash our lack of self-control. The realization that we […]
Let’s face it, we don’t tend to love life’s uncertainties. It’s ok – being uncomfortable with uncertainty is human and completely normal. If it’s any consolation, one of my favorite books is Pema Chodron’s Comfortable with Uncertainty (get it just for the title). Naturally, we like to feel as though we are in charge, that […]
In Intuitive Eating, we speak a lot about physical hunger, the one that can only be fed with adequate food that is personally satisfying to you. The counterpoint to physical hunger is emotional hunger, or what Jan Chozen Bays calls heart hunger. But while we carefully examine physical fullness, we rarely speak of emotional fullness […]
Trying to do these weekly again but I realized that another reason I took a break for a few weeks was because coming back to “business as usual” was not an option given the current social and political climate. aka: [TRANS/QUEER/ALL] BLACK LIVES STILL MATTER I feel the deep connection between my work in Intuitive […]
It’s been weeks since I wrote you – I am sorry for that. I guess I needed a break. Despite being a mindfulness practitioner and teacher, sometimes I am the last to know what I need. Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to the presence of inequities and privilege in how we have […]
Greetings as we continue to ride this roller coaster. A friendly reminder: nothing is constant – our bodies are constantly changing, our environment is constantly changing, EVERYTHING is constantly changing. And as a result, the ways in which we relate to ourselves – through eating and body image – will continue to evolve and change. […]
The last few weeks have been A LOT. . If you are feeling confused, overwhelmed, overjoyed, angry, urgent, afraid, hopeful, hopeless, or a combination of all of the above, you are not alone. . What we have seen in terms of anti-black racism, policy brutality, white supremacy, and the concentric circles of white anger, defensiveness, […]
We are deep in it. 80+ days deep into our experience of a global pandemic. Deep into the most recent uptick in our collective awareness of systemic racism – not only police brutality, but also thought and action-policing of black outrage and disproportionate COVID sickness and fatalities. All the while working with ourselves, our relationships […]
It’s been about 75 days (plus, for many of us) of sheltering in place to varying degrees. One of the things that has gotten me through (besides the purchase of two beautiful caftans) has been a morning meditation practice, these days offered via Instagram live at 9 am eastern. . I’ve been reading from one […]
You gotta hand it to ’em. Even though diets suck on too many levels to list, they do offer a blissful honeymoon phase full of fantasy and promises (however empty). Images of what your life will look like at that fictional future point at which you finally fit into the culture’s narrow standard of what […]
When you’re dieting, any challenge that pops up is meant to be whacked like a carnival mole. Obstacles in this sense are all about overcoming, overriding, vanquishing, and emerging victorious. This seems ok, until it isn’t. Once we hit an obstacle that truly challenges us – and admittedly, many of us are in a diminished […]
In our diet culture, the word discipline has taken on a particular meaning – one of militant, self-denying, aggression. . In the Buddhist sense, however, the word discipline has a completely different connotation. It is not about overriding our desires or rigidly applying rules despite changing conditions. . True discipline is about coming back to […]
Traditionally we think about generosity as giving to others – material goods, services, help, kindness. But I would argue that as other-oriented as we may be, sometimes true generosity looks like accepting from others. Think of the joy you receive when you give to others. When that person realizes that you have considered their feelings […]
When I work with clients, I usually find myself drawing two circles in the air with my index finders – one representing our physiology or biology, the other representing our psychology. Then I move my hands together to indicate that these two circles are more overlapping than not. This is how it is for us, […]
You probably already know I have strong feelings about the vilification of “emotional eating,” as if the goal of Intuitive Eating should be to eradicate any emotions about food, eating, and our bodies. At the same time, the words “emotional eating” have come to represent for a lot of us the type of eating we […]
Intuitive Eating and mindfulness have a lot in common: trusting in your own body, self, and judgment; living your life according to internal (rather than external) drivers; being in the moment and constantly referencing yourself and your environment to take the next right step. Ultimately, both Intuitive Eating and mindfulness are about being yourself – […]
This simple truth never fails to provide perspective: It is completely normal and human to prefer pleasure over suffering; it is also completely normal for grasping onto pleasure to increase our suffering. What does this mean? For evolutionary reasons, our human minds and bodies prefer things that feel good to things that feel bad. Doesn’t […]
Hi there and welcome to the new normal (for now). . As many of us shelter in place and withdraw from regular social interactions, we might discover new ways in which our food and body “stuff” manifests. . Perhaps you find yourself self-soothing with food more often as a way to manage fear, anxiety, and […]
One of the exercises I like to do with my clients is to imagine what it looks and feels like to be at peace with one’s self, to be embodied, to feel fully alive. Some of the responses are beautiful: . – listen to music more often – wear beautiful, bright colors – cut my […]
Back when I was still drinking (and damn, I was good at it), something inside me would quietly whisper, “what are you so afraid of?” It was years before I really listened to that voice closely enough to become curious. . What was it? Why did I drink? What was I trying NOT to feel? […]
The words “emotional eating” have assumed a negative charge like few other. They conjure up images of collapsing onto the kitchen floor with a gallon of ice cream, or ugly crying while smashing potato chips into our pie holes. . I understand the fear around emotional eating – the terror of that chaotic feeling and […]
Many people wonder if they can practice meditation, mindfulness, and mindful eating and still want to lose weight. While there are absolutely no thoughts, feelings, or desires that are off limits, it’s also important to know that a focus on weight loss is inherently in conflict with mindfulness practices. . Weight, as we know, is […]
Hi there, By now, you’ve heard me mention self-compassion many times. Dr. Kristin Neff, a researcher at University of Texas at Austin brought the concept of self-compassion into the mainstream conversation through her studies clarifying what it is and isn’t and what are the characteristics and experiences of people who practice it. Put simply, self-compassion […]
Hi there, Start the new year with a month of mindful eating reflections and exercises. For exactly zero dollars, the 2020 World Mindful Eating Month theme is “Planting the Seeds of Self-compassion.” World Mindful Eating Month is an online international event that runs through January in which we will create a community of practitioners with […]
Hi there, This year I’m moving my mindful intuitive eating counseling business 100% online to allow me to focus on two new writing projects and some teaching gigs – more on those in a future email. What does this mean for you? If you have ever considered a mindful Intuitive Eating path – starting anew […]
Hi there, Today is my 45th birthday and I want to give you something to celebrate!! Before, during, and after the Thanksgiving holiday, I heard and read so many things about eating, weight, and body image. The good news is that there was an amazing array of body-positive, intuitive eating-inspired posts about how to hold […]
When you’ve struggled with food – what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat, how much to eat – it’s not difficult to understand why you might seek out something that would let you stop thinking about food. But this is not the point of Intuitive Eating. Everyone has to think about food […]
Many people come to Intuitive Eating hoping that it will finally be the thing that helps them lose weight. But turning Intuitive Eating into the eat-only-when-you’re-hungry diet isn’t truly Intuitive Eating. It’s yet another self-aggressive distortion. Again: weight is not a behavior. We do not control it.
If you are someone who gets stuck on this myth, stay with me. It is not surprising that we would worry that listening to our bodies would cause “something bad” to happen. We have been told this implicitly and explicitly since we were 6. The truth is more complicated. When we adopt the behaviors of […]
Are you familiar with the Descartes quote, “I think, therefore, I am?” Although this was part of an inquiry about whether or not the “self” exists, I always think it highlights how identified we are with our minds, our thoughts, and our cognitive processes. For this reason, it’s not surprising that some people assume Intuitive […]
Hi there, Intuitive Eating is NOT another program! Sorry, I’m not yelling, it’s just that this is such a terrible misconception about this humane approach to eating that I get very worked up about it. What Intuitive Eating does is elevate you to the level of expert of yourself. It provides a framework within which […]
Our next Intuitive Eating myth is that it’s the “new thing.” Intuitive Eating has actually been around since the 1990s but growing interest, scientific research, and diet culture fatigue have created a tipping point of sorts in which Intuitive Eating is hitting a new stride right now.
The fourth myth about Intuitive Eating is perhaps the most common of all. When you live in a culture that tells you to listen to those outside of your own body to tell you what, when, and how much to eat, and where not doing so will supposedly lead to something REALLY BAD…doing something different […]
The third myth about Intuitive Eating is that it can be combined with some form of diet (or lifestyle change) such as the company formerly known as Weight Watchers, keto, garden-variety low-carb diets, etc. This is problematic and contributes to a lot of confusion. Intuitive eating is about shifting our allegiance away from external cues […]
The second most prevalent myth about Intuitive Eating is that it’s the thing that will finally “fix” you. The thing that will finally put an end to your suffering, your insecurities, your pain. While Intuitive Eating does in fact end suffering in certain ways, it cannot fix you, first and foremost because YOU ARE NOT […]
When folx come to speak about Intuitive Eating they often have a number of myths or misconceptions in mind. So please enjoy today’s video, which is the first in a series of 10 on the top Intuitive Eating myths I’ve encountered in my conversations. IE Myth #1 is that it’s about being “smart” with your […]
Hi there: I’m coming to you this week from the Academy of Food and Nutrition’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in Philadelphia PA. For our final Halloween-themed video, I share what’s really scary and what you can do about it. Please enjoy the holiday! Love and much respect, Jenna
Hi there: For the third week of our Halloween-themed emails, I share my thoughts on why sugar is so terrifying for so many people these days. Also… This year’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo will be in Philadelphia and I’ll be there. If you will be too, I’d love to see you. On Monday, […]
Loved speaking with my pilates pal Danielle Alex about flipping the script on the diet industry and taking back our intuitive eating power.
For the second week of our Halloween themed emails, I share how a line from my favorite horror movie reminds me of the current diet industry and their shape shifting offerings.
Halloween is a favorite holiday for me. Here I offer some words on how to make this one different.
Last week I gave a webinar on the importance of meditation for those of us who practice in the nutrition field. When I got to a certain slide – the one on why meditation is particularly potent for our clients who are on a non-diet path – I realized I haven’t touched lately on […]
For all my dietitian, nutritionist, therapist, and health coach friends: . Meditation is a tool that can help us both personally and professionally as clinicians, and it can be a useful complement to a mindful eating practice if we learn to teach it to our clients. . Meditation changes both the structure and function of […]
I am so happy to finally share with you the new Eat to Love website. It’s a much-needed refresh and hopefully an uplifting and beneficial resource. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.
Happy September! . I just returned from two and a half weeks in Sicily with my partner, our son, my parents, my in laws, and about 15 others constantly coming and going from the home we stay in. I’ll use the term “vacation” as a relative one hereon. . Two days into this trip I […]
Hi there: Very excited to share this upcoming event with you featuring my friend and colleague, David Treleaven. This event is offered by the Center for Mindful Eating and you can attend whether or not you are a member (but please consider a membership because this is the best little organization you’ve never heard of!!!). […]
Whether you work with others and would like to share meditation with them, or you would like to deepen your own practice, I would love for you to join me for this one-of-a-kind 9-week online program. It is specifically designed for those who want to offer meditation instruction to individuals and small groups as part […]
Bear with me a moment. Think of your brain as a lovely mass of tofu. As I learned from years of vegetarianism, tofu takes on the flavors of the things around it and only really tastes like anything if you soak it in a marinade with some salt, spices, acid, and other strong flavors. Your […]
I’m often speaking of the benefits of meditation, particularly in supporting an Intuitive Eating practice so this week I’m offering a recorded meditation to use at home. I share a couple of thoughts to set the stage – mainly that this is about real life, not some pseudo-spiritual ideal – and then dive right in […]
Hi there:Last week I did something totally new for me: a live interview. The Daily Burn is an online fitness community that streams live workouts daily and offers other resources and inspiration including interviews with people like me!JD, the host, and I spoke about diet culture, why focusing on weight loss is exactly the wrong […]
Hi there.I thought I’d introduce myself. You know my name is Jenna and that I’m a non-diet dietitian but I’d like to share a little more about me. . I am not a lover of selfies. I’d rather be living my life than documenting it. But here I am after a long day, a day […]
As we come to the last in the series of worksheets, please know that I have the utmost trust in your body and your judgment. These worksheets are not meant to tell you what to do, but rather to help you re-establish that trust for yourself. . This worksheet is another tool in helping you […]
This worksheet contains thoughts about the basic questions to ask and answer in order to create and maintain a meditation practice that supports not only your intuitive eating path, but the rest of your life as well. Click here for your copy.
This slogan, Practice the five strengths, the condensed heart instruction, contains everything you need to frame your day-to-day intuitive eating path. The five strengths are: Strong determination Familiarization Seed of virtue Reproach Aspiration Strong determination: You begin by setting an intention and then check in at the end of the day to identify what made […]
This next worksheet is still a work in progress but I’m sharing it nonetheless. The Eat to Love values mandala practice invites you to take a more expansive look at your self, your body, your actions, and your life. Sometimes when we focus on the narrow slice of our experience that is our physical bodies, […]
Sometimes (or even often) accepting our bodies feels out of reach. This is usually because our focus has narrowed to some aspect of our bodies that is not complying with our expectations, not conforming to the patriarchal society’s requirements of female bodies, or simply causing us emotional or physical pain. In these moments, one of […]
Here’s your next worksheet in the series. This one is important. It helps us to see where we are in any given moment, to feel what we are feeling, and to discern what it is that we actually need. This is called the Three Poisons Worksheet because it is based on a lojong slogan known […]
One of the most eye-opening, painful, and necessary steps to getting on the Intuitive Eating path is recognizing and acknowledging the deep and meaningful costs of magical eating to your life. These costs can be monetary, yes, but perhaps more difficult to admit is how much joy, experience, pleasure, and energy have been utterly dashed […]
Hi there! It sounds so simple: Eat according to internal sensations. And in a way it is, but it’s definitely not easy. Especially if you are a member of this insane culture that convinces us not to trust our own bodies and instead to turn over that power to so-called experts, plans, and programs. Before […]
Hi there! This week I’m sharing a worksheet (the first of many) with you that will help you discover your “middle way” of hunger and fullness. That is, the level of hunger at which food is tastiest and at which you have the most pleasant eating experience, and the level of fullness at which you […]
Hi there! I’m so happy to share that the Eat to Love Kindle Edition is available this week (March 18-22nd) for 99 cents. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can also read Eat to Love on the Kindle app with your phone or tablet: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp Download the Kindle ebook here: In the US, click […]
My stomach lurched when I realized that I had received my first 1-star Amazon review. Of course it did. What author doesn’t hope for solid 5-star ratings? And when you release a piece of yourself into the world in the form of a book, you make yourself very vulnerable and there is no way to […]
Join me on February 28th for the Eat to Love book release event at Deepak HomeBase, on the mezz at ABC Home with Supermodel Emme. Eat to Love, A Conversation on Transforming Your Relationship with Food, Body, and Life with Jenna Hollenstein and Emme Your ticket includes a copy of my new book, Eat […]
Hi there! I’m so happy to share that the “Eat to Love” audiobook is available now and that it was narrated by…ME! Here’s a sample for you: http://bit.ly/eattoloveaudio You can get the entire audiobook for free with a 30-day Audible trial here: http://bit.ly/eattoloveUS In the UK, use this link: http://bit.ly/eattoloveUK In Germany, use this […]
My new book, Eat to Love: A Mindful Guide to Transforming Your Relationship with Food, Body, and Life, is officially out! I wrote this book for you – and for us – because I see and I know how powerful you are. And how that power is sapped by thoughts of not being good enough […]
Sending you much love and good wishes for the new year from Sicily. Please enjoy this video for some thoughts on pleasure and play and what we lose out on when we are trying so hard to fix ourselves.
I am excited to share this Eat to Love book trailer with you. Specifically I want you to know why I wrote the book. The short version is: you are powerful when you recognize your inherent goodness. For the slightly longer version, watch the video.
Hi there! Now that we are at the halfway point of the “holiday eating season,” consider what are your moments of progress, awareness, and growth. In this week’s video I share two of mine and talk about why the magic is truly in the moments. What’s your moment?
Please check out this link for some wonderful items to bid on or simply to donate to support the amazing work done by The Center for Mindful Eating: https://bit.ly/2zuldKY
Hi there! Just adding my invitation to the many already out there. Please consider using your wonderful intelligent body as an instrument (instead of an object) today by getting out and voting. Thank you! Jenna
To my beloved Eat to Love Community: First off, I want to thank you for being part of this group and for committing to (or at least being curious about) transforming your relationship with food and body in ways that are sane, compassionate, and sustainable. The world needs the real you – the person who […]
Hi there: Some slightly more formed thoughts as a follow up to my impromptu Facebook live regarding Weight Watcher’s makeover. As you can imagine, I am not sold, but you should decide for yourself. I discuss some thoughts to help you do so (because I trust your judgment!). As always, hit reply and let me […]
Hi there! Many of us struggle to maintain or even begin a meditation practice because of the difficulties inherent in sustaining it. In this week’s video I share a personal story – one that is still unfolding – about how I’m working with my practice through its inherent ups and downs. Please enjoy and, as […]
As another summer draws to a close, your body is communicating with you. Just a quick video as I finish setting up my new office at WeWork. This week, I’m talking about how our bodies are so wise and sensitive, they pick up on things before our minds can catch up. We think of Seasonal […]
I’m very excited to announce that Eat to Love is moving to a new office space at WeWork on September 1st at 750 Lexington Avenue in New York City. Part of the reason that I’m doing this is that I am also working with more virtual clients. If you have ever wanted to work with me […]
Hi there. This week I’m talking about how even when you seem to be doing everything right, life can still feel hard. Intuitive Eating isn’t about getting it all “right.” It’s about working with things as they continue to change. Meditation helps you do that.
On my last day of vacation in Sicily I would love to share a few thoughts about a book I’m reading here called Waking Up White by Debra Irving. It’s a white woman’s story about finding herself in the story of race, doing the work to educate herself, and figuring out how to be a […]
Hello there! Just like Dorothy with the ruby slippers, you already have what you need to rediscover body trust. This week, I’m coming to you from vacation in Sicily where my senses are all on high alert. Watch to hear me explain how the senses guide us to trust our bodies again. Love and gelato, […]
This week I’m talking about the origins of the body positivity movement as well as some important nuances. Please enjoy and send me your feedback! Love, Jenna jenna@eat2love.com
In this week’s video, I share my thoughts on why getting on the path to peace with food and body is urgently needed. The world needs the real you.
In today’s video, I talk about my friends’ new book The Four Noble Truths of Love. As always, I found a way to connect this back to our relationship with food and our bodies.
Just wanted to share some thoughts on how diet mentality and magical eating can sneak up on us when we are stressed. Hope you enjoy this personal story and the special appearance by Darwin the cat.
Just got back a few days ago from a wonderful workshop in Boston with Marci Evans, MS, CEDRD, cPT and Fiona Sutherland APD, RYT and had some thoughts about our relationship with our bodies. Just thinking out loud.
I invite you to experience Shamatha meditation with me. It’s a wonderful support for transforming your relationship with food and body.
A few words on “mindful substitutions” and why I don’t recommend them in changing your relationship with food and body. I’m still experimenting with this video set up so please enjoy all the lovable imperfections in this offering!
Hi there: For Mother’s Day I thought I’d share an essay I wrote for a collection of stories about the first year after giving birth that never came to fruition because…motherhood. My own body has continued to change in the nearly three years since giving birth but this captures what was going on in my […]
I love the New York Times. I was raised on it. First to increase my SAT scores and then because it’s where I found my people. But like all individuals and groups, it has its blind spots. The coverage of health as it relates to weight, eating, and dieting – and particularly Intuitive Eating – […]
In breaking with tradition, I’m offering you an end-of-year cleanse so that you can confidently enter the New Year with your head held high and a spring in your step. This cleanse is for…your Kindle. So while you might have cut out gluten, sugar, or carbs in the past, this cleanse is all about detoxing […]
I remember exactly where I was standing when I received a frenzied series of text messages from a client who was sitting in her doctor’s office for her annual physical being warned (mansplained) of the dangers of obesity and strongly advised to lose weight. She was perfectly healthy by all lab measures. Interestingly, her doctor […]
The first time I remember hearing it, I was a freshman at Penn State. A girl who lived at the end of my 4th floor dormitory hall returned to school after spending a month at home recovering from mono. She still looked so pale and frail and seemed overwhelmed by everything she needed to do […]
Giving up dieting is like walking into the ocean and beginning to swim, trusting that eventually you will get to another shore you can’t yet see. Intuitive Eating is that other shore and I assure you, it’s there. You’re smart, accomplished, well-liked. A productive member of society. A model citizen, good friend, stellar parent, […]
So I screwed up the free Chat with an IE Pro this past Tuesday. I miscommunicated, sent out the wrong information, and there you have it. I sincerely apologize. What can I say? I’m an imperfect human being. Like a lot of us, I’ve been carrying a lot lately so something was bound to fall […]
A new study published in PLOS Biology found that the bacteria in our guts tell us what to eat in order to maintain a balance in their various populations, thereby keeping us in working order. In the study, explained in plain English in Scientific American, researchers found that when flies were fed diets lacking in […]
It’s no secret: I love RuPaul’s Drag Race and think everyone should be watching it. Not just because the queens have such incredible range and talent: they write, do comedy, host, sing, dance, choreograph, direct, act, ad lib, design, sew, and are makeup ninjas. All of this would already make them sort of superhuman. Even […]
When you think of spirituality, you might call to mind a framework or set of rules that show you the way to inner peace, to end your suffering (and possibly even avoid death), is to be good. On the darker end of the spectrum, however, behavior is often driven by a fear of consequences (of […]
Since the presidential election, I have felt called to do more. To get involved with organizations that stand for the values I hold dear, to call my elected officials to give them a piece of my mind (or at least read one of the suggested scripts from Facebook), to march and rail and educate myself […]
In Part 1 I talked about the top five benefits of meditating when you’re a mom. In Part 2, I discuss the major obstacles and how to overcome them. There are plenty of barriers to creating and sustaining a meditation practice for any of us, but when your life centers on caring for small humans, […]
When my son was 10 months old, he already had 8 front teeth and an appetite to match. Without molars, however, he could literally bite off more than he could chew. Nevertheless, anything that neared our mouths was exactly what he wanted. One afternoon, at a bistro with my mom, that anything was a hunk […]
Within the first few nutrition therapy sessions with a new client, I inevitably ask her (or him) to do something that seems impossible: to stay in the icky, fearsome, claustrophobic space between having a painful emotion and automatically reacting to it by overeating. This might not sound like much, but to someone struggling with emotional […]
When people enter onto the Intuitive Eating path, one of the most important steps is to give themselves unconditional permission to eat. After years – sometimes decades – of deprivation, good and bad foods, and resisting “temptation” until they couldn’t take it anymore, many find this step daunting. And yet…intriguing. The idea that they could […]
I couldn’t pick up my son on his first birthday. We were in Sicily celebrating with his grandparents and cousins, aunts and uncles. It was a joyous occasion in every way except for the stabbing pain that extended from my middle back to beneath my left shoulder blade and the dull ache I felt down […]
Three years ago I launched Eat to Love. Much like my own understanding of meditation, mindfulness, and Intuitive Eating, my understanding of working with clients has deepened in surprising ways. It is with the “new beginning” of this site that I share three little insights into that deeper understanding: of myself as a person/nutritionist/business owner, […]
In preparation for our second free Chat with an Intuitive Eating Pro call Wednesday night (July 8th @ 8-9pm EDT), IE Lay Facilitator Katcha Sanderson has shared two videos on her own experience with the second principle of Intuitive Eating: Honor your hunger. Check out Katcha’s experience here: Find more videos like this on […]
A while back, I posted a four-point approach used by a client to turn down the “noise” of dieting. You’ll notice her first point was to choose NOT to consume, that is dieting and body-critical information from books, magazines, Pins, Instagram accounts, Facebook pages, and tweets. But inevitably some of these things get through, which […]
Have you ever heard this before? I guarantee you have if you’ve ever taken a flight anywhere in the US or abroad. The airlines are clear: if an emergency occurs, please make sure your own oxygen mask is in place before attempting to help others. Translation: you won’t be much help to others if you […]
Recently I wrote a post entitled “The truth about sugar addiction” in which I likened the newfound certainty around the dangers of eating sugar to my own misguided (but never unsure) youth. Over the years, we have rotated our focus on what foods are saintly or evil. Whereas the cholesterol and saturated fat found in […]
The short answer is yes and no. With Intuitive Eating, you can absolutely eat whatever you want, whenever you want, but I’ve learned that as my relationship with my body and food evolves, “whatever” and “whenever” and even “want” become more complex. Because of my history with disordered eating and deprivation, I began my Intuitive […]
One difficult thing about starting down the Intuitive Eating path is explaining it to others. Many of my clients have expressed feeling like a salmon swimming upstream in that they feel they are doing something that is counter to what they have done most of their lives (dieting) and against the tide of what seemingly […]
The other day a friend posted a video on Facebook. It’s the story of a disabled veteran named Arthur who transforms himself through a yoga practice. I’ve seen this particular video many times before, yet I never fail to click on it when it crosses my screen. In case you haven’t seen it yet, here […]
Many of us exist on as few calories as possible. We live with the thought that this is the only way to be safe, and we fear that if we allow ourselves to eat what we really want, all hell will break loose. We’re walking a tightrope. Eating according to what someone else told us, […]
I know, I know. Sugar is the present-day nutritional nemesis. We love/hate/fear it and KNOW it is bad for us with the same unquestioning disdain we had for eggs, shellfish, and red meat in the 80s and 90s. Our collective approach to “what is known” in nutrition reminds me of how I regarded life in […]
For many of us, everything we currently know about eating we learned from diets: Eat as little as you can manage Listen to “experts” instead of your body Be as hard on yourself as you can tolerate Stop eating what you like and eat what you “should” Cleanse or detox the harmful substances out of […]
When I was a teenager, my favorite part of magazines was the makeovers, you know, the “before” and “after” photos. As someone who naturally tended toward what magazines deemed “before,” I gazed in awe at the dramatic evolution from Plain (unsmiling) Jane to Exotic (ecstatic) Erica. The change was instantaneous, involved just a few simple […]
Last year I wrote a blog post entitled “What is your disordered eating costing you?” In it, I listed just a few of the ways – financially, emotionally, and time-wise – obsessive thinking about food, eating, and our bodies robs us of our real lives. Have you noticed how this has played out in your […]
With all of the experts, books, websites, emails, and podcasts telling you how to eat, what to eat, when to eat – for health, happiness, weight management, and eternal life – have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m 30 years old (or 40 or 50 or 60!), shouldn’t I know all of this already?” The […]
Want to REALLY make 2015 different? Make it the year you get off the restriction-overeating treadmill Are you still recovering from the indulgence of Thanksgiving and feel ill-equipped to deal with the landslide of holiday parties, banquets, and feasts? Are you already mentally planning your January 2nd juice cleanse, detox, or crash diet? Are you […]
Last week I talked about some of the major pitfalls that seem to make holiday eating especially challenging. They included: Not eating enough Letting ourselves get too hungry Eating according to beliefs and expectations (rather than what’s actually on our plates or in our mouths) Last-supper eating Letting self-care fall through the cracks Please note […]
No one can really know someone else’s relationship with food – even our loved ones. Eating disorders occur in people of all sizes and shapes, in men and women, young and old. And as much as we seem to hear about them today, they are still largely a secret struggle. The holiday season, especially Thanksgiving, […]
Yes, I’m just about done beating the S.A.D. drum. You know by now I’m all about anticipating, preparing, and combining fierce gentleness with honest discipline. You know that I believe meditation provides the foundation to having a sane relationship with food, our bodies, and our minds. So, to round out my little campaign, I wanted […]
When I was playing basketball in high school (badly), we often used the full-court press against worthy opponents. In this defensive strategy, rather than waiting for them to get the ball nearer the basket to score, we put stronger man-to-man pressure on them for the length of the court, which allowed us to better anticipate […]
For many years I had the same experience: I woke up some morning in mid-November and felt like my limbs had turned to wood. I looked at the clock and calculated how many hours there were until I could go back to bed. I moved about my day as if an invisible wet woolen blanket […]
WINTER WITHOUT THE BLUES: PREVENTING AND MANAGING SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER I am so excited to announce this upcoming workshop on October 20th at 6:30 pm at the 92nd Street Y. I’ll be co-teaching with friend, colleague, and wonderful naturopathic doctor, Dr. Peter Bongiorno (see below for his bio), on the prevention and management of seasonal […]
Did you have braces as a kid? If you did, you probably made many a trip to the orthodontist. I was lucky enough to have braces during the height of my awkward phase in the seventh grade and – as an added bonus – had them “installed” on Christmas Eve so I wouldn’t miss any […]
A while back I wrote a post about how meditation can help heal our relationship with food. In it I share a few of the many ways in which this daily practice supports our daily practice of eating, namely: By fostering a strong connection with the body By slowing things down and creating space By […]
A wonderful guest post from my client Terri Barger, as she bravely moves along her unique path to Intuitive Eating: Sometimes the simplest phrase can have the most profound impact. Some friends and I got together for coffee last week, and we were discussing why we avoid certain fitness classes – even though they sound […]
I am fortunate enough to be on the East Coast of Sicily in a little town called Furci Siculo, not far from Taormina. This is the town my partner grew up in; his parents still live here and every summer, their home draws the rest of the family from all directions to share stories, laughs, […]
I am so excited to announce a new 4-week e-course in collaboration with meditation instructor, New York Times bestselling author, and wondrous being, Susan Piver, starting September 16th. This course came about as the result of a conversation (or several conversations) between Susan and myself about all the craziness, confusion, and paranoia that surrounds eating. […]
Sitting down to practice this morning, I opened one of my favorite dharma books, Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron, to this page on Nowness: Chodron tells the story of a proud woman in search of enlightenment. She goes to great lengths to attain it but is then surprised to learn what enlightenment requires: waking […]
In her most recent guest blog post, Terri Barger wrote about how seductive dieting can be and referred to the fact that is has become a billion dollar industry (that continues to grow). That got me thinking about how much dieting and disordered eating cost us, not just in dollars (though they’re significant), but also […]
In her second guest post, client Terri Barger shares some of the most relatable thoughts and feelings about dieting. Do yourself a solid and read on… I woke up this morning with a burning desire to weigh myself. Weighing myself was the last overt dieting activity that I gave up, and it is the […]
Ever wonder what it means to adopt a Health at Every Size approach? Terri Barger shares how HAES has completely changed the way she eats, exercises, and cares for her body and mind. Health at Every Size I was a lifelong dieter, starting my first diet before I was 10. Over the years, I’ve tried […]
Letting go of the dieting mentality can feel like one of the hardest parts of embarking on the Intuitive Eating journey. Even as you learn to listen to your own internal signals of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction and to shift your allegiance in this direction, there is a lingering pull toward the seemingly never-ending barrage […]
Do you ever find yourself eating when the hunger you feel isn’t in your stomach but rather in your heart? Feeling sad, brokenhearted, anxious, angry, or lonely can be so uncomfortable, we feel it in our mind and body. Sometimes we’ll do anything to shake those difficult emotions even if only for a few moments. […]
Do you wake up in the morning wondering if you’ll lose the battle with food? Whether you’ll be able to resist temptation, overpower your appetite, deny your hunger or desire for certain foods? Or do you wonder whether something will set you off – a comment from your boss, jeans not fitting quite as you […]
Full disclosure: I don’t drink anymore. More than 6 years ago, on my 33rd birthday, I drank my last glass of wine. It wasn’t particularly memorable except for the fact that it marked what I sometimes think of as the beginning of my new life. More on that later. For many years before that last […]
January can be a virtual minefield for those of us trying to have a healthy relationship with our bodies and minds. You can’t swing a yoga mat without hitting an article or advertisement for weight loss, undoing the effects of the holidays on our waistlines, or getting minutely closer to that ill-defined and literally impossible […]
I began to practice meditation several years ago after quitting drinking and as I was (re)starting a relationship. Since then, the effects of meditation have extended into nearly every aspect of my life: becoming more compassionate toward myself and others, becoming more patient, less reactive, and being more willing to tolerate the discomfort inherent in […]
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was lovely. We spent it at my sister’s home, where she hosted 16 of us. There was a variety of delicious and satisfying food, conversation, and holiday hijinks. Nothing particularly dramatic happened, but I was continually reminded of how difficult it can be to remain mindful during […]
Last week, I posted some thoughts on managing S.A.D., those sticky icky winter blues that descend upon us like so many premature snowflakes. This week I’d like to take a deeper dive into the foods and nutrients that can be helpful in managing S.A.D. and depression in general. And finally, I share my recipe for […]
The holidays are upon us, there’s an invigorating chill in the air, celebrations to enjoy, but you’re feeling anything but festive? Does your body feel heavy and leaden, your mind sluggish and unclear? When you wake up in the morning, do you look forward to the moment you can get back into bed? I know […]
Ever find yourself reading the classic children’s book Everyone Poops to your nieces, nephews, or kids and think, “I wish!” Or looking longingly at the Doberman effortlessly relieving himself on the sidewalk and wish it could be that easy? Yeah, me neither. But, whether we are willing to admit it publicly, pooping is a problem […]
Macaroni and cheese. Creamy mashed potatoes. Salty, crunchy chips. Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Halloween candy. For many people, these foods convey a sense of comfort and security. Knowing what foods you love and allowing yourself to have them is an important part of self love and care. But eating comfort foods can sometimes backfire. Many of […]
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, a Zen Buddhist teacher, once told his students “You are perfect the way you are…and you could use a little improvement.” I understand this to mean that we are inherently perfect with all of our messiness, neuroses, and confusion AND there is also some room to improve the things about ourselves that […]
The word mindfulness seems to be popping up everywhere lately. From mindful leadership to mindful communication and mindful parenting. But what does it mean to be mindful? And why is mindfulness important for eating? Mindfulness can be defined simply as the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. One can be mindful […]
We have all heard expressions like “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels,” “You can never be too rich, too beautiful, or too thin,” and “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.” If you have others, please share). They serve as mantras, reminders to be vigilant when our bodies and/or minds are […]
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