FOOD, FEMININITY, AND FREEDOM FROM LABELS WITH RENAE TEEL. Welcome to episode 16 of the Free Spirit Academy podcast with Fertility, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Nutritionist, Renae Teel. I first met Renae 7 or 8 years ago when I was a Flight Attendant and I was temporarily working in Arizona where she lived. We had become connected through our little detox community and, as you'll hear me tell her, I was such a nut case but hiding it well. I was trying desperately to eat one meal a day and do a ton of juice fasting and not eat any sugar and I'd have at least weekly breakdowns in my hotel room after a binge on the airplane. and I'd journal, and go on and on about my emotional eating problem, and plan a fresh new start for the next day. And in and amongst this, Renae and I met up near a Whole Foods for tea and I remember being so impacted by how SANE she was. She had this glowy, natural ease and, as you'll hear in our conversation today - that ease was well earned by years of learning to trust herself. I've watched her evolve from a detox counselor and foodie to this incredibly heartfelt nutritionist for women surrounding pregnancy. We talk about: ...Renae losing her mom to cancer as a teenager and how it left her with a fear of becoming a mom, ...How she had to ease up on her diet rigidity when she got pregnant and realized how much nourishing she needed, ...How not listening to her body left her feeling incredibly depleted, ...The different parts of her identity she discovered with the births of each of her 3 children, ...How we can find community and identity within a certain diet and how that can keep us stuck, ...What it actually means to be lead by our heart, ...and my favorite- the natural cycles we go through as women and why we don't need to be ON all the time. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Renae Teel. Links Mentioned: Renae's Facebook Renae's Instagram Free Spirit Academy website. Free Spirit Academy courses. Free Spirit Academy Facebook group.