In today's episode we're going to talk about about a common concern I hear from women before they start focusing on eating for fertility: What if this morphs into unhealthy obsession/disordered eating?

It's a great question and a fair concern. How do we balance the importance of striving for a consistently healthy diet while also maintaining a healthy relationship with food?

In today's episode, we're talking all about intuitive eating, and how it can actually go hand-in-hand with eating for fertility.

Here’s what I break down:

1. Why so many women are afraid that having nutrition targets will automatically turn into food obsession
2. What Intuitive Eating actually is, including the 10-principle framework created by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch for eating disorder recovery, and why it wasn’t specifically designed to regulate cycles, treat PCOS, or improve fertility
3. Why intuitive eating and fertility nutrition are not opposites, but why nutrition education often needs to come first
4. How our cravings, “healthy meal” ideas, and food rules are shaped by upbringing and diet culture
5. Why many gut-health habits, like eating enough fiber or fermented foods, are not naturally intuitive
6. Why extreme calorie restriction can slow your metabolism and negatively affect ovulation
7. Why ignoring hunger cues can damage trust with your body
8. What “making peace with food” really means to me, including letting go of “good” and “bad” food language
9. How I personally had to learn to honor fullness
10. Why your hormones respond to consistent patterns over time, not one imperfect meal
11. Why women with PCOS are at higher risk for eating disorders, and the red flags I want you to watch for, like anxiety around social meals, skipping events, compensatory exercise, or obsessive tracking
12. The difference between intentional, flexible nourishment and punishing, rule-following eating
13. How to adjust protein and blood sugar targets when life is hectic without falling into all-or-nothing thinking
14. And why your nutrition plan should calm your nervous system, not stress you out
15. +so much more

Connect with Lauren:

Get my FREE PCOS Guide here

Join the Empowered Path to Pregnancy here

Instagram

Work With Me

Thank you so much for listening to the About Health and Hormones Podcast! If you...