Hi, I’m Kramer – one of Sydney’s longtime friends! When she asked me to guest write for her blog, I was thrilled and knew exactly what content I wanted to fling out into the social media world. But first, a little background info. I’m a consulting Registered Dietitian for a private gastroenterology practice. I counsel about 30 patients a week – and yes, I’ve heard it all: keto, Weight Watchers, bulletproof coffee, Advocare, you name it. While sometimes it can get frustrating due to the public’s lack of nutrition knowledge, I can relate. I am empathetic because I’ve been in that exact same spot; obsessing over the scale, diet after diet, eating less, hunger and self-loathe. Before getting into the nutrition field, I’ve tried every ‘weight loss’ approach there is, eventually leading into a type of disordered eating.

My mindset about food was very “good” food ,“bad” food; very restrictive. Food was completely black and white. I HAD to be perfect and when I wasn’t, I was a failure, which enhanced the self-loathing. My mental health and my self-esteem were at rock bottom. Now that I know the science behind nutrition, I cringe when people say “oh, I shouldn’t eat that – it’s bad.” It is OK to get pleasure from food and not feel guilty about it.

So how should you look at food in your diet?

Obviously, as a dietitian, I LOVE nutritious foods and people should eat it most of the time. It’s not about eating less, it’s about eating better. And now I eat healthy because I LOVE myself, not because I hate my body. I think one of my best talents is lightening up recipes and making healthy versions of old favorites, but sometimes, you need the real thing. Indulge in something special, there is nothing wrong with that. Restricting yourself never ends well in the long run because being healthy means not always being healthy!

Of course I don’t encourage pizza, cookies, fries, chips, soda every single day, but the ‘diet culture’ has created this restrictive mentality that has a negative impact on our health, especially our mental health. If your ‘diet plan’ has you missing out on social events, dinner with friends and celebrations, and causes guilt, you need to reevaluate your approach, because in the end, our mental health is MUCH more important than a silly number on the scale. GUILT is the enemy of good health.  So next time you want a cookie, pay attention to your portion, slow down, savor what you’re eating and then – move on.

Kramer Ahrens, RDN, CD

You should follow Kramer on Instagram, she is full of tips and is super cute! Check her out! If you have any questions for Kramer just drop them in the comments.

If you want an example of a healthy recipe check out my Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti