Moms, Daughters, Food, and Body Image with Karen Diaz [Podcast]

If there’s one theme I’ve witnessed repeatedly regarding moms, daughters, food, and body image, it’s this:

Mom has poor body image and food issues (to varying degrees). Despite this struggle, mom wants to keep her issues from infecting her daughter. She hides this part of herself, hoping her daughter never finds out the truth. She doesn’t share her unhappiness with her body, doesn’t restrict food at home, and never brings up the subject of weight.

Yet despite this cover-up, mom often watches her daughter walk the same painful path. What gives?

Today’s’ show we get right into why this happens. It’s not about helping only girls or only moms, it’s about healing both at the same time. The goal is to end the legacy of body dissatisfaction and food struggle that gets handed down from generation to generation.

Dietitian Karen Diaz shares insight from her experience working at an eating disorder clinic and helping moms and daughters over the last six years. Karen is certified in intuitive eating and uses her Signature Program Break Free to guide women in overcoming dysregulated eating and body image struggles. Her soon-to-be-published book Within is aimed at helping moms and daughters come to peace with their bodies and food so they can build a healthy and happy home.

Highlights from the Show

• Why Karen got interested in eating disorders and what she learned working at an eating disorders clinic for 9 years.
• The most common theme Karen has found in her work with mothers and daughters, and how to make this journey a bonding experience.
• The real reason moms give up on themselves but want to save their daughters.
• How to break free from the “forget me save her” mindset by moving into the future and leaving the past behind.
• The variety of reasons girls go on to develop eating disorders.
• The do’s and don’ts of being honest and sharing appropriately with your daughter.
• Why it’s so important to talk about weight and bodies instead of keeping silent.
• How to solve the “I can’t keep it in the house or I’ll eat it” problem, that often leads kids to feel restricted.
• The first step mothers can take to heal themselves and the role professional help plays.
• How to be what Karen calls “self-full” and why it’s more about the little things, not big gestures.
• What to do when you can’t accept your weight or body as it is, and how to build a strong foundation that helps instead of hurts.
• How to heal the psychological piece of body image and food by being aware, nonjudgmental, and asking the right questions.

Quote from the Show

The legacy ends with us. We get to choose what we move forward with…there are going to be amazing qualities we get from our legacy and there are things we can decide to end.