Hope Harrell: Personal Trainer + Nutrition Coach

If we followed everything that diet culture told us to, we would have nothing left to eat,

Literally.

Keto and Paleo say that carbs are bad. Vegan says all animal products are bad, but carnivore diet says all fruits and veggies should not be eaten. There are even diets that say lettuce is not good for you! The list goes on and on… and all of a sudden we have run out of food to eat. It is exhausting trying to keep up with the information that is spinning all around us. What is true? What’s a lie? It is so hard to filter through it all, and it can feel overwhelming, especially if you have no idea where to start.

That’s where I come in.

All food is good at different points in our lives and in our days. There is no “bad” food or “good” food. Everything in moderation is appropriate.

Food takes on so many different meanings and roles in our lives. It is our energy, first and foremost. It is the fuel our bodies need to survive and thrive. It’s also what gathers us around the table with our friends and family and brings us closer to our community. It is how we feel connected to our culture, by taking part in a recipe that has been in your family for generations, or it can be a part of your heritage that allows you the opportunity to connect to your ancestors by eating the same food that they ate. Food is how we celebrate: it’s at every birthday party, wedding, anniversary dinner, family reunion, etc. Food is ever present in our lives for all of these reasons and more.

The fact that food is everywhere all the time can be overwhelming and intimidating for people. You may find yourself feeling out of control with your relationship with your nutrition (trust me, I was right there with you too just a few years ago). Even the word “healthy” might be a lot for you to handle because of the stigma put around that word over the past decade.

Incorporating a healthy relationship with food and daily habits that make you feel confident in yourself is the key to sustainability for the long run. We may be able to stick to a diet for three months, and get the results we want, but the reality of it is this: we cannot stay on any diet forever. We will always have a birthday or a date or a dinner party or a celebration that we want to take part in. We will always have some sort of stressful event come up; it’s inevitable. It IS possible to heal your relationship with food and become the healthiest version of yourself. It is about incorporating the lifestyle, not about the trendy diets. It is about having the proper support when you don’t know where to start. As an anti-diet nutrition coach who is passionate about helping people become the healthiest versions of themselves, I will coach you through how to achieve the life that you want: a life of balance, enjoyment, and free of the stress of having to eat the “right” things all the time.