Whole Self Nutrition, LLC

05/19/2026

Highly palatable foods (those high in fat, salt, and sugar) can activate your brain’s reward system, causing an increase in the neurotransmitter dopamine, and leading your brain to mark certain experiences as worthy of repetition. So, having a slice of cake when you’re feeling sad may temporarily boost your mood, and your brain may later link similar states with that experience, leading to future food cravings in similar scenarios. Emotional food cravings typically only become a problem if they’re your only source of coping.

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Are you ready to heal your relationship with your body and food?

If you’re interested in getting started with 1:1 nutrition counseling, or have questions about how it works, visit the link in our bio or send us a DM to get started!

05/14/2026

Food Cravings Decoded: What They Mean with (or without) an Eating Disorder

In a society shaped by diet culture, food cravings are typically cast in a negative light. They’re unfortunately seen as something to fear, to be controlled or removed entirely. However, there’s a different and more helpful way of viewing them, whether you have an eating disorder or not: food cravings are part of being human.

This post is based on an article Caroline wrote for .

Head to the link in our bio to learn more about food cravings and what they mean.

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Are you ready to heal your relationship with your body and food?

If you’re interested in getting started with 1:1 nutrition counseling, or have questions about how it works, visit the link in our bio or send us a DM to get started!

05/14/2026

Check out my latest article for Equip! Thanks to Amanda Marks, LPC at Resilient Counseling, Hilary Raciti, RDN, CDN, and Amanda Crowe for your insight.

"In a society shaped by diet culture, food cravings are typically cast in a negative light. They’re unfortunately seen as something to fear, to be controlled or removed entirely. However, there’s a different and more helpful way of viewing them, whether you have an eating disorder or not: food cravings are part of being human.

'Cravings are a normal part of the eating experience and not something that needs to be eliminated,' explains dietitian Amanda Crowe, MS, RD, INHC.

Unlike hunger, food cravings are not always related to your body’s biological food needs (but sometimes are, especially if you have an eating disorder) and can sometimes point to issues like unmet emotional needs, hormonal shifts, and medical conditions. Regardless of their source, Crowe says food cravings are important sources of information from your body, not something to fight against. Even if your food cravings are impacting your life negatively—which can be the case, especially if you have an eating disorder—they can still be your body’s way of sending helpful information and ultimately helping you on your path to healing.

Today, let’s define food cravings, look at the various types, and see how they show up in active eating disorders and recovery. Plus, we’ll look at when food cravings mean something’s wrong, and explore how to navigate them when recovering from an eating disorder."

Understand your food cravings, whether you are in eating disorder recovery or not. Discover what your body may be signaling, and how best to respond.

05/11/2026

If you’re in the middle of eating disorder recovery, you already know that some days the hardest thing in the world is just getting through the next meal.

On those days, the right words can do something quiet but meaningful. They can remind you that what you’re experiencing is real, that healing isn’t linear, and that you’re not as alone in this as it can feel.

That’s exactly why we put together this collection of eating disorder recovery quotes, drawn from the themes we come back to again and again in our work as registered dietitians specializing in eating disorder counseling

Comment ‘quotes’ and I’ll DM you 60+ recovery quotes — or grab it from the link in bio!

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Are you ready to heal your relationship with your body and food?

If you’re interested in getting started with 1:1 nutrition counseling, or have questions about how it works, visit the link in our bio or send us a DM to get started!

05/07/2026

Hi there! Recently, my team developed a free library of 60+ eating disorder recovery quotes, including categories of self-compassion, body trust, and rejecting diet culture. Whether you'd like to share it with clients, friends, family, or check it out for yourself, you can find it by clicking on the blog post here.

And if you'd like, subscribe to our monthly newsletter at the same time! I honestly love writing Whole Self Nutrition's monthly newsletter, covering all things non-diet nutrition, eating disorder recovery, weight-inclusivity, body image, yoga/mindfulness, and more. From poetry to research and free tools, my hope is to uplift, educate, and support readers—whether they are clients, fellow clinicians, or people just looking for some extra inspiration.

If you're in the middle of eating disorder recovery, you already know that some days the hardest thing in the world is just getting through the next meal. On those days, the right words can do something quiet but meaningful. They can remind you that what you're experiencing is real, that healing isn...

05/04/2026

Diet culture has normalized these behaviors and so much more.

So here’s your reminder that it’s okay to eat outside of certain timeframes, a granola bar or shake are not a meal, you do not need to start over if you’ve had a hard day with food, hunger is a normal way your body communicates that it needs food, and you don’t have to work out to “earn” a meal.

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Are you ready to heal your relationship with your body and food?

If you’re interested in getting started with 1:1 nutrition counseling, or have questions about how it works, visit the link in our bio or send us a DM to get started!

05/01/2026

How Your Relationship to Food Impacts Your Child’s Eating Disorder Recovery: Part 2

When a child has an eating disorder, they’re relearning how to eat and how to relate to food and their bodies, so how parents relate to food is more important than ever.
When parents or loved ones are restricting or using other unhealthy food or exercise behaviors,
it’s like their eating disorder has an ally at the table.

Here are some more highlights from Carolines most recent article for . Swipe through this post and head to the link in our bio to read the full article

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Are you ready to heal your relationship with your body and food?

If you’re interested in getting started with 1:1 nutrition counseling, or have questions about how it works, visit the link in our bio or send us a DM to get started!

04/29/2026

Happy to be featured in Vogue about lowering cortisol during perimenopause and menopause (a topic that can be confusing and overwhelming)—thanks Christina Pérez for including me!

“Do not go on a restrictive diet, even if you experience weight gain,” advises registered dietitian Caroline Young. “Instead, focus on eating a balanced diet you enjoy, emphasizing nutritious foods like whole grains, fatty fish, and fruits and veggies—and still allow room for dessert. Dieting will only lead to higher cortisol levels and other consequences that impact quality of life, like food preoccupation, lack of focus, binge eating, and social isolation. Plus, restrictive diets almost always lead to eventual weight re-gain.”

“Going out into the woods, mountains, beach, or even your neighborhood park will help naturally lower your cortisol levels and boost your well-being,” notes Young. “One of the reasons why nature helps lower cortisol levels is because it engages the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and decreases sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) activity."

Young agrees: “It’s possible to work with your body instead of fighting against all of its natural changes. Focusing on meeting all your needs—physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and so on. Befriending your body, perhaps with the help of a therapist or dietitian, will go a long way,” she says.

During perimenopause and menopause, fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone can make the body’s stress response more sensitive, disrupting cortisol.

04/28/2026

How Your Relationship to Food Impacts Your Child’s Eating Disorder Recovery

The way parents relate to food and body impacts their children’s food and body relationships. When parents model healthy practices like trust in their bodies, eating for fun and nourishment, and eating with flexibility, their children will benefit.

In eating disorder recovery, parents’ relationships to food—including their food language, food variety and flexibility, and emotional tone around food—affects their child’s recovery process, for better or for worse.

It’s never too late to build awareness of your own food, body, and exercise beliefs while supporting your child through their eating disorder recovery. Doing your own healing work, adjusting your language, and normalizing all foods are a few powerful ways to help your child’s recovery.

Caroline wrote this article for , head to the link in our bio and stories for the full article and stay tuned a part 2 post later this week!

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Are you ready to heal your relationship with your body and food?

If you’re interested in getting started with 1:1 nutrition counseling, or have questions about how it works, visit the link in our bio or send us a DM to get started!

04/24/2026

I am really excited to share my latest article for Equip! Thanks to Keira Oseroff Lambert, JD Ouellette, Meaghan Ormsby, MS, RDN, & Emily (Peterson) McNally, RD/LD for your expert insight.

https://equip.health/articles/treatment-and-recovery/parent-food-attitudes-eating-disorder-recovery

"When I worked in a child and adolescent eating disorder hospital, I had the opportunity to be part of many patients’ treatment teams, alongside a doctor, therapist, psychiatrist, and parents. I witnessed parents’ pain, stress, and fear, as well as their unwavering love and hope for their child to be free from the prison that was their eating disorder. After working with countless families, I saw a trend—kids whose parents who had healthy relationships to food, body, and exercise often seemed to have the best chance at recovery. However, kids whose parents held unhealthy food beliefs and behaviors were also able to experience recovery success—if they became aware of and were willing to shift their attitudes.

'If you use the experience to ensure the whole family moves forward in a more holistically healthy way when it comes to food and movement, you will have gained something that will improve everyone’s life going forward,' says JD Ouellette, Director of Lived Experience at Equip.

Today, let’s look at how parents’ relationship to food impacts their child’s eating, as well as expert-backed ways to best align your food relationship with your child’s long-term recovery. ..."

Your own relationship with food impacts your child’s eating disorder recovery. Learn how your habits, words, and beliefs can hinder or help their healing.