By Julia Berkman
CW: This article contains talk of eating disorders and dieting
If you’re looking to better manage your healthy habits and you’re tight on money, look no further that the new dietician at the Student Health Center!
Amee Severson, a registered dietician, is now accepting appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays for consulting on healthy eating and exercise plans. Severson specializes in eating disorders and disordered eating, weight inclusivity, wellness and diabetes management.
Severson’s practice and approach is inspired by two movements: Health At Every Size (HAES) and Intuitive Eating.
Health At Every Size is a movement inspired by a book written by Linda Bacon. It “helps us advance social justice, create an inclusive and respectful community and support people of all sizes in finding compassionate ways to take care of themselves,” according to its website.
Severson believes that weight is no indicator of health. Just take a look at the vast difference between the body of an olympic gymnast and a shot-put thrower and you’ll agree. The HAES approach to food and exercise requires no focus on the number on the scale, and instead on doing and eating things that make you feel happy and healthy.
Intuitive Eating, another approach Severson practices, is broken down into ten steps that focus on breaking the toxic, diet-culture mentality this country perpetuates. The eating patterns in this country are already thrown so far out of whack- it’s surprising to realize many of the healthy habits you were taught are wrong.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to say whether food is ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Giving food morality is giving it too much power,” Severson said.
“Food is more than just fuel. It’s family, comfort, culture.”
Growing up as a woman, especially, has an extremely detrimental effect on what you perceive as “normal” eating and exercise. Whether it was your mother, grandmother, sister or aunt, a woman in your family was probably trying new diets and fads in order to lose weight. Many girls grow up with role models who are influenced by societal expectations and buy into the “ideal body.”
In advertisements, beautiful skinny women will try to sell you weight-loss pills and programs. On TV, size 2 actresses will obsess about the tiny amount of fat on their body to further a storyline. Middle-aged women will decide to be bad and order a sliver of chocolate cake. The commercials for “indulgent” or “so good you can’t believe it’s healthy” foods play in between episodes of Sex and the City where Carrie gains three pounds and has a breakdown.
None of this is normal or healthy, and yet so much of it has contributed to the mainframe of this country. If you look at it this way, the cards have been stacked against most people from the moment they became self-aware. It’s no wonder a dietician was in such high demand at the SHC! If you wish you were more confident in your own health-conscious choices, or need some guidance on how to take care of yourself, Amee Severson at the health center is here to help.