{Ep. 015} Abbey Sharp on Orthorexia, Navigating Weight Gain, & Ditching FitBits, and More!
One exciting aspect of Abbey’s career as a registered dietitian is her Youtube channel, Abbey’s Kitchen. On this channel she debunks diet myths with the help of Diet Debbie, her diet crazed “alter ego”. At the beginning of this episode we touch upon a few hot topics in the diet world such as restricting to maintain weight, gluten free diets and some of the controversies behind wearable devices such as the Fitbit.
Throughout the rest of the episode we talk about where Abbey is today in her career and the journey she followed to get there. She had never struggled with her weight or dieting until after high school when she was told by a naturopathic doctor she was allergic to ALL forms of sugar. At that point she developed a fear of food that ultimately lead to what is now known as orthorexia. Her biggest shift in her relationship with food came after she graduated college and began her career in food media. She quickly realized in this career she would not always have access to what she considered to be “clean foods”. She realized that if she wanted to be successful at her job she had to have a strong and healthy relationship with food. Abbey is now a weight neutral dietitian who believes that health is not dictated by weight. These beliefs were tested as a result of personal weight gain, however through that experience she was able to accept the weight she had gained instead of trying to lose it.
Today, Abbey’s day to day in her career varies and can include anything from speaking at conferences to recipe development in the kitchen. She is also in the process of finishing her cookbook of 100 different recipes celebrating the pleasure of food and providing readers with food that simply tastes amazing! Listen to the full episode to learn more about Abbey, her journey and where she is today.
If you loved this episode - make sure to share it with a friend! Share my favorite quote from the episode below on Instagram, and make sure to tag @JessiHaggertyRD and @AbbeysKitchen with #BodyLoveProjectPodcast.
