Family gatherings, especially those centred around food, can be a minefield when it comes to diet talk and body comments. While your relatives may be “well-meaning,” at best these comments are unhelpful, and at worst can send you down a shame spiral and toward restrictive eating behaviours that you have been working so hard to move away from.

Here are 10 ideas for responding to these comments at your next holiday dinner:

I was invited by CBC’s The Current to share my thoughts on the article, “As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push ‘anti-diet’ advice” published in the Washington Post

By focusing on and tracking habits that I could do every day, I was able to keep up with my new year’s resolutions even after I stopped tracking them.

Polyphenols and antioxidants are so last decade. What are some of the real health benefits of tea?

Apps like MyFitnessPal and Noom are popular amongst folks who would like to eat healthier. While I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t tell you how many calories are in a food without looking it up, there are some things that I can tell you that an app can’t.

How is your relationship with food? While some disordered thoughts and behaviours are easy to recognize, others are normalized or even celebrated in our culture that upholds narrow standards of beauty and “health”. Here are 5 questions to help you give yourself a quick self-checkup on your relationship to food:

Are you feeling unhappy with your eating habits and unsure of where to start? These three questions, which are ones that I try to ask my clients when I get the chance, can help you cut through the noise and calm overwhelm, so that you can get clear on your next steps toward change.

There is so much more to new year’s resolutions than health and weight—relationships, career, finances, or learning a new skill are all areas that you can set goals around. Even if you would like to work on improving your health in the new year, there are so many ways to address that desire beyond diet and exercise.