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Diana Reid, a registered dietitian and expat mom of three, talks about fostering a healthy relationship with food and body image for kids.
Mom Life in Luxembourg is a new parenting podcast made for all English speaking parents here in Luxembourg. From crèches to crémant, we'll cover everything you need to know about raising kids and living your best life in the Grand Duchy.
Please note that even though the podcast is called Mom Life, dad's are absolutely welcome!
In this episode I interview Diana Reid, founder of The Global Dietician. Diana is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RD/RDN), certified by the Commission on Dietetic Registration in the United States.
She is a Certified Dietitian in the State of Washington, and she is also a Diététicienne Diplômée, certified by the Ministère de la Santé of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and a Certified Intuitive Eating® counselor.
And of course, she’s an expat living in Luxembourg and a mom to three teenagers! Today we talked about how to raise kids that are competent, intuitive eaters who grow up to feel positive about their bodies.
The main goal, of course, is to raise mentally and physically healthy children who are confident in their body regardless of how it looks. I have to say, she really blew my mind about a lot of things. As an elder millennial who grew up in the age of Kate Moss in the suburbs of Los Angeles, there were a lot of "rules" about food.
Some kids were raised to have to clean their plates. Some kids were raised to count calories. Low fat, highly processed food and fake sugar was all the rage. In my day, it was definitely the thinner the better.
Diana says we should chuck all those food rules and assumptions about what a "good body" looks like out the window, for the health and wellbeing of our children.
According to her, the research shows that the more a parent (or doctor) intervenes with a child's eating, the more likely they are to become disassociated with their body's hunger cues and more likely they are in the future to have an eating disorder or to be overweight. It sounds simple enough, right?
But what if your kid’s idea of a "balanced meal" is six gummy bears, a sausage and an apple? (That’s literally what my kid proudly showed me when he returned from the buffet line one time). What if your kid already doesn’t like the way they look or feel positive about their body? What if they're being made fun of for their appearance? What if your kid literally won’t eat a vegetable except a carrot? Or won’t drink water? What’s a parent to do?
Listen to this show, that's what! Speaking to Diana was a truly mind opening experience. I recommend this show to all parents, expat or not. I'd love to hear what you think about her philosophy and if you will put it into action with your kids (or yourself!).
Please drop me a note at momlife@rtltoday.lu. And if you want more information about Diana and The Global Dietician, you can check out her website The Global Dietician or visit her on Instagram @theglobalrd.
