We all make judgements about things but some of the harshest judgements we can have is about ourselves and our abilities as practitioners if we don’t look or do things a certain way.

During your study, you see so many different practitioners during your degree and, whether we mean to or not, we take on judgements about them and from them, all adding them to a mental scrapbook of the practitioner we DO and DON’T want to be.

In this blog post, I’m going to share with you a little bit of my story about my struggles with body image and then some things that I have found helpful as a practitioner – I hope you find them helpful too!

I’ve always struggled with body image and food. I was always either “on” or “off” my diet and always picking apart things that I didn’t like about my body, especially my weight. I wanted to study nutrition because I loved helping people, science and diets. I started my degree at a university in a conventional dietetic type degree and, although I valued my time there, I am grateful I made the switch to Endeavour which focused on more of a holistic type approach to nutrition. I really loved learning about food – my problem became when I started to use what I had learnt as a weapon against myself.

I would go on very restrictive diets in the name of balancing my hormones, cut out carbohydrates because I read a study and try every supplement. On one hand, it’s because I love health and nutrition but, on the other hand, it’s also because I had a poor relationship with my body and was trying anything (and everything) to make it smaller.

I used to think that unless I was in a smaller body no one would take me seriously! Who would think that I was a Nutritionist? Who would VALUE what I have to say? Would people think I was a fraud? Would people think I didn’t know what I was talking about?

I used to make so many judgements about what I should look like, how I should be exercising, how calm I should be and how I should eat. I used to think that my value came from how wonderful of a Nutritionist others thought of me by how healthy I looked.

I know that I’m not alone in this. There was a study in 2017 in America with 2,500 [SF1] dietician students and it found that nearly 50% of students were at risk for Orthorexia, which isn’t a classified eating disorder in Australia but refers to the obsession with eating healthy food. Of this same cohort, 12.9% were identified as being at risk for an eating disorder and 8.2% currently seeking treatment for an eating disorder. That’s equal to one in every five being at risk or currently have an eating disorder and one in two having an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.

This information isn’t to scare you but to remind you to be kind to yourself and that health degrees especially those involving nutrition may add to already reduced body image. It’s also a reminder to be kind to your peers and watch out for warning signs of disordered eating which you can check out here.

I’d like you to take a moment to give yourself the space to ask yourself this question: “What do you think makes an amazing practitioner?”

Is it their compassion?
Their knowledge?
Their understanding?
Their life experience?
Their passion?
Their love for the job?
Their kindness?
Their skills?

Does it have anything to do with their body? Or is it how amazing they make their clients feel?

Write down some things you admire about a great practitioner and ask how you can add this into your practice.

Your body isn’t your business card. You are an amazing practitioner or future practitioner regardless of your body.

Body size doesn’t indicate health status. Looking holistically there are so many factors for someone’s health, including genetics, biochemistry, environment, pathologies, food, lifestyle, and stress!

Don’t all of our clients deserve the same compassion, understanding, empathy and thorough investigation regardless of their body size? Isn’t that holistic care?

Offer yourself the same compassion and understanding and know that you offer the world more than the body you show up in.

I’m so glad that Endeavour is offering more courses surrounding the psychological aspect of food and learning more about eating disorders.

Here are my top tips for improving body image as a practitioner:

1. Reflect, Review and Reframe!
   Check in with yourself and reflect on some of your preconceptions and judgements you may have about body size and health. Does this affect your clinical thinking as a practitioner? Does this affect how you judge yourself? Does this affect how you show up for yourself? Review where you got these ideas from and why you think it. A good place to start is to keep asking “Why?” Until you can’t answer it! Reframe! If you asked yourself some of these questions and, for example, you may have had a belief, just like me, that people wouldn’t listen to your advice if you didn’t look a certain way – REFRAME IT! Maybe showing up as your authentic self makes people feel they can be themselves too, maybe coming across less like what they expect helps them be more vulnerable!
2. You can’t pour from an empty cup! Look after your mental health as much as your physical health. What we do as practitioners is very mentally draining not just for the knowledge aspect but also for the emotional aspect. Make sure you are incorporating mental health practices that are supporting you. If you notice that you are developing an unhealthy relationship with your body or food, here are some signs to watch out for.
3. Get yourself some support! Be kind to yourself and get supported. Talk to a mental health professional about feelings and thoughts you may have that may be impacting how you feel about your work. Know that this is normal and many people will have moments where they doubt themselves or lack confidence. It’s okay to get support. Also, Endeavour has a wonderful mental health support program which you can find out about here.
4. Find like-minded practitioners and a mentor! It’s okay if you have a different opinion to others. It doesn’t make you wrong, just different! We all have different niches and you don’t have to be the best at everything. Find a practitioner that you admire and ask if they can mentor you. Reach out to other practitioners in the field and make some practitioner friends. Community over competition!

Believe in yourself. You’re so worthy of being an amazing practitioner. Believe that you can learn, grow and have a special gift to bring to your clients. You can also be a part of someone else’s healing even when you are on your own path. You don’t have to be fully “healed” to help!

Interested in Nutrition?

Discover the world of nutrition through our practical, evidence-based courses. Find out more about our Bachelor of Health Science (Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine) and Nutrition Short Courses.