This week we are getting to know a little more about Lauren Anton –  a dietitian, iaedp approved eating disorder specialist and supervisor as well as certified personal trainer in private practice in Los Angeles. Lauren’s background and experience have provided her expertise in sports nutrition and eating disorders. She has worked at most levels of eating disorder treatment (residential through IOP) and has spoken at numerous national and regional conferences and events on adolescents, eating disorders, and sports nutrition. She has also presented her own research at two conferences examining the effects of intuitive eating – based nutrition education on adolescent female cross country runners. Take the time to connect with Lauren on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We loved and learned so much from Lauren’s webinar presented to our members, now available in our webinar library, called Reclaiming Victory: Guiding an Athlete From and Eating Disorder To A New Relationship with their Sport and Body.

“Do as much as you can with joy and gratitude in your heart: eat with the knowledge that, in this moment, you are giving yourself nourishment; move with the realization that no matter the movement – whether it’s running, soccer, hiking, dancing, yoga, or swaying in your chair – that movement is joy coursing through your body. Enjoy it. Enjoy you.” – Lauren Anton

Tell us about your private practice: (you can learn more here)

I work primarily with the eating disorder population and work on nutrition therapy and intuitive movement. Some people are coming to me from treatment centers and many are working with an outpatient team that includes a therapist, a physician, and possibly a psychiatrist. I work with people who have just started their eating disorder recovery journey, those who might be experiencing a relapse, and those who are looking to maintain their recovery. People from all ends of the recovery spectrum.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I love helping those I work with to renew their relationship with food, body, and movement. I love helping guide people to their own definition of recovery, allowing them to see they have permission to create what their recovery will look like. I love when someone engages in physical activity for the sheer fun of it instead of doing it because they feel they “have to” or to burn x amount of calories. I love when someone truly enjoys the food they have chosen to eat, and learns to trust their innate hunger and fullness cues.

Why eating disorders treatment? What drives you?

Well, you get to see a lot of introspection and depth when working with eating disorders. I feel I can truly make a difference in the lives of those whom I get the privilege of working with. They are allowing me to see a very intimate part of their lives – their relationship with food – and entrusting me to help them through this difficult time in their lives. There’s nothing that compares to it!

Who are your favorite social media influencers in the non-diet, recovery, body liberation space?

• Dietitians Unplugged Podcast (Aaron Flores and Glenys Oyston)
• Fiona Sutherland (The Mindful Dietitian)
• Christy Harrison (Food Psych)
• Nalgona Positivity Pride
• Ragen Chastain (Dances with Fat)
• Carmen Cool
• Linda Bacon
• Deb Burgard
• Desiree Adaway
• Ericka Hines

…just to name a few!

What are your favorite books or resource that have made a difference in the way you work?

Body Respect by Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor

Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

Eating in the Light of the Moon by Anita Johnston

The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

Hunger: A Memoir of My Body by Roxanne Gay

The Podcasts I listed above. Also, Facebook groups such as the HAES Therapists and Dietitians group and The Mindful Dietitian, the ASDAH listserv, the IFEDD listserv.

What is one non-diet, Intuitive Eating, or Health at Every Size® pearl of wisdom you’d like to share?

“Do as much as you can with joy and gratitude in your heart: eat with the knowledge that, in this moment, you are giving yourself nourishment; move with the realization that no matter the movement – whether it’s running, soccer, hiking, dancing, yoga, or swaying in your chair – that movement is joy coursing through your body. Enjoy it. Enjoy you.”