Interviews from The Brownble Podcast: RDN Charline Adriaens on Intuitive Eating, Being Vegan while Practicing Intuitive Eating & More

I’m very excited to introduce you to our special guest, registered dietitian, anti diet dietitian and certified intuitive eating counsellor, Charline Adriens. An expert on the intersection between eating a vegan diet and practicing intuitive eating, being plant based and also having an anti diet and non restrictive approach.

I find it so helpful when professionals in the field of dietetics, health and mental health open up conversations about this very gentle approach that as you know has changed my life, and that is intuitive eating, leaving our dieting days behind, understanding why diets are bad for us and our health, and working on body neutrality, body acceptance and healing our relationship with food. I find it even more of a unique and special gift when people in these fields also dare to talk about how these approaches and making food choices due to ethics (for example being vegan or eating a vegetarian diet) can intersect. It is rare, and Charline is one of those people that just makes me feel understood, that allows space for nuance, both within veganism, and within practicing intuitive eating. 

Today I ask her so many of the questions I had when I got started on my intuitive eating journey and this path towards body acceptance and making peace with food, some of the questions you have asked me, and some of the misconceptions there are about the intersection between vegan diets and intuitive eating.

Charline shares some of her own personal journey with food, body image and becoming a dietitian as a second career, and we also dive into the topics of diet culture and its effects on our mental and physical health, into some of the intuitive principles, like rejecting the diet mentality, challenge the food police, honor your hunger and feel your fullness.

She also shares her perspective on body image work and you’ll hear her say, the phrase you’ve heard hundreds of times in this podcast, food is never just about the food. She discusses the importance of doing body neutrality and body acceptance work, and how to navigate that question so many of us have "How do I love my body if it doesn't meet society's standards?", and "How to accept my body when so many messages tell me I shouldn't".  I find Charline incredibly helpful, compassionate and understanding of the journey each eater has to go through and I know you will get so many actionable tips from this episode.

Charline Adriaens is a registered dietitian and proud certified intuitive eating counselor. As a vegan herself, she specializes in plant-based nutrition in her private practice. Nutrition is a second career for Charline who previously worked in the contemporary art world. While looking for a solution for her own difficult relationship with food, her interest in nutrition led her to becoming a dietitian and eventually to intuitive eating. She started her private practice in 2020 which is mainly virtual. In January 2021 she launched her very own podcast where she talks to her guests about how they eat plant-based and what intuitive eating means to them.

As you’ll hear towards the end of the episode, Charline sees clients in her private practice which is mainly virtual so you can reach out to her for a consultation and learn more about her practice and resources, and enjoy her beautiful content on instagram @intuitief_plantaardig.

For all the other links mentioned in today's episode, click here.