‘MY WORKSHOPS HELP WOMEN UNDERSTAND THE EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS BEHIND IMBALANCED EATING HABITS’

Hala El-shafie, 44, Bdaregistered dietitian and founder of Nutrition Rocks

Food isn’t just fuel.

In my 20 years of working with clients, I’ve learnt that a woman’s relationship with what she eats is much more complex. Many of the women I treat are aware of the rules of healthy eating, but emotional triggers get in the way. That’s why before I tackle the ‘what’, I’ll always explore the ‘why’. Understanding behaviours around food – which are often formed during childhood – is key to forming healthy eating habits.

A lot of the work I do revolves around intuitive eating, mindfulness and relearning what your body wants.

But that only comes from prioritising it. The Nutrition Rocks workshops and retreats provide that by focusing on self-care, mindfulness and the relationship a person has with themselves. As well as a food diary, clients keep a mood diary and journal, too, which are powerful tools for identifying patterns and pinpointing when a problem started.

I’m better placed to help than many other counsellors.

My clinical background is in eating disorders; I’ve seen people whose illnesses have led them to a lifethreateningly low weight – and others whose struggles have left them requiring gastric-band surgery. Seeing these extremes impressed upon me the importance of healthy body image

and made me intent on helping more women get there. The language we use is important. During our retreats and workshops, I ask women to identify the negative ways they speak about their bodies, before guiding them towards more positive selftalk. I don’t call foods ‘good’ or ‘bad’, either. Demonising the food you put into your body isn’t going to improve your relationship with it. Find out about Hala’s series of summer workshops in London at nutrition-rocks.co.uk; @nutrition_rocks