Image Source: Courtesy of Lauren Cadillac [Array]

Lauren Cadillac, RD, CPT, calls herself the "Feel Good Dietitian" because she helps her clients break the cycle of diet culture and shift the way they view food [1] from "shame" to sustenance. But, she knows how hard it is to change your mindset when it comes to body image and daily meals, especially if you've consistently had a negative relationship with both. That's why she's offering decks of affirmation cards to aid in that journey.

Cadillac's Feel Good Flash Cards [2] ($30) are set to launch on August 20, and in the deck of 54 phrases you'll see words like "I treat my body with kindness," "I give my body permission to change," "eating is an act of self-care," and more. She describes the colour-splashed and inspiring cards as being for food freedom and body acceptance. "Food freedom means living free from the stress and rules of dieting," she explained to POPSUGAR. She uses it synonymously with eating intuitively [3] — though another RD we've spoken to in the past maintains that intuitive eating is a tool to achieve food freedom [4].

Cadillac also says food freedom is defined as "eating in a way that honours your body," or "listening to the cues it is giving you in order to make decisions about what, when, and how much to eat or not eat. It means finding a style of eating that nourishes your body, honours your palate, and allows you the freedom to live a life where you are no longer consumed by thoughts of food or weight."

Cadillac recommends these cards are for anyone recovering from an eating disorder, wanting to improve their body image or outlook on food, and wishing to reject diet culture. However, she notes that the cards are not a substitute for individualized care that qualified health professionals can give.

"The affirmations are essentially the antithesis of the lies we've been sold by diet culture," Cadillac said. "We've been sold harmful and negative messageing our entire lives so that someone can sell us the solution, and because of this, most of our automatic thoughts tend to be negative." Our thoughts influence our belief system, which impacts our emotions and our behaviours, she noted. Her cards will help "create new neural pathways so they can shift the automatic thoughts from negative ones to more positive ones." This will, in turn, guide people to have a more supportive belief system.

You can preorder the cards right now on Cadillac's website [5]. She suggests reading and repeating these affirmations for five to 10 minutes, one to two times per day — consistency is key in order to see a shift from negative to positive self-talk [6].

"Because we are changing the way we talk to ourselves and the way we perceive ourselves, I truly believe doing this work has the power to impact so many other areas outside of eating, from career to relationships," Cadillac said. "If we talk to ourselves in a more positive way, the stronger our sense of self-worth will be, and we'll be able to show up more confidently for all parts of life."