真的超級榮幸和開心，因緣際會下可以來到ＩＣＲＴ的廣播電台作為專訪嘉賓。
已經離開美國回到台灣生活六年多的我，一開始對於自己的英文能力有所質疑，焦慮了好久。。。
想當初在紐約擔任營養經理的時候，那個一問一答對話中順遂的程度，根本就是母語者～甚至很多時候明明很簡單的日常單字，我看了老半天想不出中文字，腦袋裡面的記憶只有英文了。 現在回想起來，真的覺得有夠不可思議。也很驚訝自己一離開那樣高壓和必須快速用英文應答開會的日子，退步的速度之快啊！！
Anyways, 回到正題。
總之，這次的專訪因為是線上ＬＩＶＥ直播，所以沒有辦法像ＰＯＤＣＡＳＴ那樣講錯還可以修改，我在拿到訪綱之後，還寫了逐字稿準備ＸＤ
不過，當天因為ＩＣＲＴ錄影出現狀況，所以並沒有辦法將直撥的畫面儲存起來，所以我們的訪談內容沒有辦法在ＹＴ上播放。
因此，我決定將訪談的逐字稿，分享在這裡，提供有興趣用英文來學習直覺飲食的夥伴，或是英文讀者因緣際會看到這篇文章，可以有所幫助～～
NTERVIEW OUTLINE:
Today, we’re delighted to welcome Cindy, a nutritionist (US registered dietitian) and Taiwan’s first Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, here to guide us on a journey toward food freedom. With a master’s degree in nutrition education from Columbia University and experience as a nutrition manager for major companies like Google and Warner Media, Cindy returned to Taiwan with a mission: to break free from diet culture and help people build a balanced, joyful relationship with food. We’ll dive into her personal story of recovery from disordered eating, the founding of her Balance Wellness Studio, and the empowering philosophy behind intuitive eating. Plus, we’ll discuss her unique insights into redefining health and body positivity in today’s world. Welcome, Cindy!
Hello, fellow listeners of ICRT, I’m really excited to be here! I’m Cindy, a US-registered dietitian currently based in Taiwan.
I declared my major back when I was a high school student in the US. At that time, as a teenager, I was still influenced by the idea of pursuing a career path that my parents wanted and what society considered “successful.” I was also eager to find my purpose and self-worth through others’ opinions of me. Plus, I was already a foodie back then. Throughout high school, I always wished I could eat whatever I wanted while staying in shape. (I guess most high schoolers go through that phase where we’re very conscious about how we look and how others perceive us.) So, all in all, I thought: “Okay, I want to work in the medical field (like a doctor, so I can help people, make myself useful, and make my parents proud). I love to eat, so if I can figure out how to stay fit forever while eating what I want, that would be the perfect job for me.” And ta-da! Dietitian! I’d get to wear a white coat like doctors do, teach people how to eat healthily and stay in shape, and help people recover from illness.
Little did I know, I was heavily influenced by diet culture and was about to embark on a 10-year journey of struggling with an eating disorder, recovering from orthorexia, unlearning all the things I thought were absolute facts about nutrition, and slowly losing the ability to be at peace with food and myself.
I had not heard about Intuitive Eating or anything related to eating disorders when I was an undergraduate. Questions like what could cause someone to develop an eating disorder, what the symptoms are, and how to treat an eating disorder were not part of our curriculum until recently.
I only learned a little about this during my master’s program at Columbia. It was just one class, where a guest speaker came in to share her experiences working with eating disorder patients and her journey to becoming a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian (CEDRD). And that was it.
My first real encounter with the concept of Intuitive Eating (IE) happened during my internship. I was working in an eating disorder unit at a psychiatric institute in New York. Through my experiences working with eating disorder patients, as well as my own personal journey of fighting through an eating disorder, I began to learn about the concept of IE. However, it took me years to fully accept and understand its value. For me, it was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel—it pretty much saved my life. That’s why I decided to become a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor (CIEC), to help others who are also fighting through disordered eating.
Rather than focusing solely on perspectives on nutrition, I’ve come to realize that our understanding of health is deeply influenced by diet culture. We rarely question societal beauty standards or challenge the notion that “eat less, move more” is the ultimate path to health. In reality, this approach is far from comprehensive—and often misleading.
During my time working with large companies, most clients requested initiatives such as teaching kitchens, healthy food stations, or nutrition labels highlighting calories and macronutrients. From the perspective of diet culture, these efforts seemed valuable and essential. At the time, I also believed that this was my purpose as a dietitian: to help people understand what they eat, provide information to help them control their food choices, and promote “healthy eating awareness” as part of a broader movement.
However, through my personal experiences, I came to understand that an overemphasis on these practices can be counterproductive. They often detract from our ability to tune into our body’s natural signals—what it needs, what it wants, and why. Instead, we find ourselves constantly memorizing new food rules and obsessing over what to avoid. This creates a cycle of anxiety around food, where every bite is accompanied by worry about its impact on our health or weight.
Ultimately, we lose the simple joy of eating.
Today, many people are consumed by an obsession with food, nutrition, and health. Unfortunately, this obsession, fueled by the pervasive influence of diet culture, often does more harm than good to our overall well-being.
One of BWS’ primary services is coaching sessions designed to guide individuals toward achieving food freedom. I’d like to share a brief overview of what food freedom means, along with some examples from my clients’ experiences to provide a clearer understanding.
First, it’s important to address a common misconception: many people believe that food freedom means indulging every day as if it were a “cheat day.” This misunderstanding stems from diet culture, which teaches us to control and suppress our natural urges to eat certain foods—typically those labeled as “bad” or associated with weight gain. However, the more we suppress these urges, the more likely we are to lose control, leading to cycles of binge eating and the constant need to restart new diets. People often lose some weight temporarily, only to regain it later.
Food freedom, on the other hand, is about letting go of this suppression and control. It’s about reconnecting with our body’s natural needs and desires, and learning to eat intuitively. Instead of following restrictive rules, we listen to what our bodies truly need and want.
To illustrate, think of it this way: if I asked you to hold your breath for two minutes, what would happen afterward? Would you breathe slowly, as if meditating, or would you take big, gasping breaths like you had just sprinted to catch a bus? The same principle applies to food. When we restrict ourselves for too long, our natural response is to overcompensate.
Recently, a few of my clients shared their progress with me. One client, who used to binge eat three boxes of Oreos in one sitting, now enjoys just three pieces and feels completely satisfied. Another client, who relied on a daily dose of bubble tea to cope with the stress of afternoon office meetings, now enjoys bubble tea more consciously and mindfully. They’ve even discovered alternative ways to manage work-related pressure, rather than turning to sugary drinks every day.
In essence, food freedom is about having the flexibility and autonomy to decide when to eat, how much to eat, and what to eat—without guilt or deprivation. It’s about breaking free from the constant cycle of restriction and rediscovering a balanced, healthy relationship with food.
Intuitive eating is based on 10 principles:
reject the diet mentality,
honor your hunger,
make peace with food,
challenge the food police,
discover the satisfaction factor,
feel your fullness,
cope with your emotions with kindness,
respect your body,
enjoy movement, and honor your health with gentle nutrition.
Traditional dieting, on the other hand, is a trend perpetuated by diet culture (DC). It’s as if you’ve entered a “perfect body shape” game arena, where the ultimate goal is to feel confident in your appearance so that society will accept you and refrain from bullying or judging you. To reach this goal, you’re encouraged to try various methods and invest increasing amounts of money, energy, and time into achieving the result that DC has defined as ideal. This is why we see people constantly cycling through diets, taking diet pills, joining MLM programs, trying Chinese medicine and acupuncture therapies, attending fasting camps, undergoing weight loss surgeries, or using weight loss injections like Ozempic (瘦瘦針).
The fundamental difference between traditional dieting and intuitive eating begins with how we perceive and treat ourselves. Those who subscribe to diet culture and enter this “game arena” often believe they must look a certain way to be loved and accepted. They are taught to distrust their body’s natural signals, such as hunger and rest, because these signals are seen as obstacles to achieving “good health” or an ideal body. As a result, they end up at war with themselves—their bodies, their love for food, and their need for rest—all in pursuit of external approval. The harder they push themselves, the more they equate this effort with being disciplined, responsible, and worthy.
Intuitive eating, however, operates in a completely different realm. It begins with self-compassion and involves learning to understand what our bodies truly need and why. It emphasizes self-acceptance, self-awareness, and self-care. This mindset and approach are the complete opposite of the restrictive and punitive attitudes fostered by diet culture. By cultivating a healthier relationship with ourselves, intuitive eating generates positive impacts that ripple through every aspect of our lives, ultimately leading us to true wellness.
“Fear of losing control.” “I can’t trust my body.” “I always overeat.” “I will always choose junk food.” “I will become very fat.”
But is that really true? Instead of accepting these thoughts at face value, we can take a more conscious approach to examine the decisions we make, the emotions we feel, and the self-talk that accompanies them. By breaking down these stories and the so-called evidence behind them, we can uncover the truth of what’s really happening, rather than simply believing the narrative that diet culture (DC) persuades us to adopt.
Rewiring how our brain thinks and works is key. Consider how stereotypes, such as those related to skin color, are formed. These biases often stem from what we’ve been exposed to through social media, cartoons, and news, shaping our perceptions and making us subconsciously biased. When our brain operates on autopilot, we tend to trust those first impressions without questioning them. However, by learning to break this cycle of thought, we can develop a new habit of critically evaluating our beliefs.
The same principle applies to eating. If we stop believing every thought that crosses our mind and instead challenge those narratives, we can regain autonomy over our eating habits. By doing so, we can break free from the constraints of diet culture and reclaim control over our relationship with food.
Unfollow those calorie charts, before-and-after pictures, and messages that tell you you need to shrink your body to feel confident or achieve a happy life. You, as a unique and one-of-a-kind human being, already deserve a life you enjoy. You don’t owe anything to diet culture or to those who subscribe to its beliefs.
I’ve tried the all-in diet, attended counseling sessions, and read through the Intuitive Eating workbook countless times.
However, I think the most impactful and helpful step was hitting rock bottom with dieting—far too many times. I eventually lost the ability and energy to climb back up and start yet another diet. I just sat there, at the very bottom, allowing myself to simply be… and that’s when I began having honest self-talks.
I started learning to forgive myself, over and over again, for every decision I thought I should make based on the knowledge I had absorbed from diet culture. Instead, I began asking myself a different question: No, Cindy, what do YOU want?
It felt like I was finally speaking to my inner child. Instead of being the strict, critical parent I had been for so long, I chose to become a kind and compassionate adult—someone who leans in, listens, and genuinely cares about what my body truly needs.
I recently finished reading a book called Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia. The author, who I believe is a professor at Cornell University, has a Chinese name (which I’ll provide later). I’m excited to share that I’ll be hosting an online book club to discuss this book on December 23. I absolutely love how the author frames the issue, particularly this point:
We need to understand why fatphobia is a critical social justice issue and analyze what fatphobia is and how it operates.
Over the last several decades, implicit bias has decreased across many categories, including race and sexual orientation, but there is one glaring exception: body size.
When it comes to fatphobia, the solution isn’t simply to love our bodies more. Instead, we must dismantle the systems and forces that control and constrain us, and work toward creating a world that accommodates people of all sizes.
My course focuses on raising awareness of diet culture (DC) messages, helping participants avoid being brainwashed by the harmful narratives perpetuated by DC. It also emphasizes reconnecting with our body’s natural signals and needs.
Eating is deeply connected to mental health. In Intuitive Eating (IE), we approach it holistically, whereas diet culture (DC) treats eating as if we are machines—believing that a simple equation or formula can solve all problems. Hopefully, after engaging in this conversation, we can all agree that choosing and enjoying food is an essential part of mental health and self-care.
Mindful eating is not just about eating slowly or chewing 20 times before swallowing. It’s also about being intentional with our food choices and reflecting on the motivation behind them. Are we making these choices from a place of self-compassion or self-criticism? From self-care or self-punishment?
Absolutely! I have so many stories to share, and my eyes light up every time I get the chance to talk about my clients’ journeys. They are truly magical and incredibly motivating.
“ 聽到營養師談論飲食自由的真相的我，就像是一直被困在一個沒有終點的大海，拼命游，突然可以靠岸喘息，起身離去。thank you Cindy! ”
“ 很有溫度的音頻。好喜歡心地的節目，很不一樣的角度來看待營養和健康，想要被療癒的都應該來聽聽看，追求體態背後的真相和起源 ”
“ 感謝Cindy~ 聽完一集就已經如釋重負，感覺壓在心裡很久的大石頭被消除了。Cindy 的聲音很堅定溫柔，讓人想一直聽😀 ”
