Green Mountain at Fox Run helps women define healthy

Today, I'm thrilled to shine a spotlight on one of my fellow "body image warriors" -- Marsha Hudnall, R.D., director of Green Mountain at Fox Run, a "women's retreat for healthy living without dieting." I love Green Mountain's approach to women's health. Read on for more:

Tell me about Green Mountain at Fox Run. What is your program like?

Green Mountain was founded almost 40 years ago by a registered dietitian who knew that diets didn't work; in fact, they made people fat. She knew women needed to learn how to eat, not starve. In the 1970s, women also weren't exercising, but she recognized that physical activity was essential for feeling good, which is essential to reaching a healthy weight. She also knew that stress gets in the way of taking care of ourselves. And most importantly, she recognized early on that how we feel about ourselves and our bodies is a tremendous source of stress for women. She designed a program that helps women understand and put in place a way of living that helps them find and stay at a healthy weight. At Green Mountain, women learn what constitutes healthy eating for them as individuals; it's not a cookie-cutter approach. Our program guides women in practicing effective ways to manage stress and even while most women come to us to lose weight, they go home with a new perspective on how to support themselves in being the best they can be. They also develop a relationship with us at Green Mountain that lasts long after they leave us.

What's the most important thing for women to know about healthy weight loss?

Healthy weight is achieved by healthy living. It's not just about what we eat, how much we exercise, etc. It's about developing a healthy lifestyle that we can follow without a lot of struggle to stay on the "right" path. It's also extremely important to understand that one size doesn't fit all. Some of us are meant to be larger or differently shaped than the societal ideal. For some of us, that means healthy weight loss isn't possible because our bodies are already at a healthy place for us. One of our areas of focus at Green Mountain is to help change the societal ideal while helping women stop struggling to change themselves to meet it.

Why do you think so many women struggle to take care of themselves? What can women do to change the mindsets that might be holding them back?

In our crazy, busy world, women have so many responsibilities, and we aren't good at putting ourselves first. It seems selfish, yet when we step back, we know that by taking care of ourselves, we're much better able to take care of others. So that's a first step for all of us to take -- to put ourselves first.

Anything else you'd like to tell me about Green Mountain or about healthy weight loss?

Women don't have to come to Green Mountain to begin living the way we encourage. But if they find themselves struggling at home to put an approach like ours into place, coming to Green Mountain may be the best investment they can make -- because they take themselves out of their busy day-to-day lives that interfere with spending time focused on themselves, learning what feels good to them. They're in our supportive environment surrounded by expertise and camaraderie that makes their time with us not only valuable for their long-term well-being, but also makes it a wonderfully fun, feel-good vacation that can make a real difference to the rest of their lives.

What about your personal body image? What has your experience been like?

I was a "round" child, not fat by any means, but I had meat on my bones. I was teased about this most of my childhood -- sometimes my size was referred to in an effort to make me feel bad. This was all complicated by the fact that my very pretty mother thought she was too fat and worried that I was, too. I reacted by going on my first diet at age 17, a time when I was probably going through some developmental changes that made my body a little larger than I (and others) thought it should be. I moved to diet pills that were handed out like candy when I was about 19, then I became bulimic in my early 20s. I overcame these problems by myself, amazingly enough. Clearly, that was the primary motivation behind my becoming a dietitian. When I found Green Mountain, I found an approach similar to how I had helped myself overcome my problems with eating and weight and body image. But even being so experienced and educated in this area, it was a challenge sometimes to keep my head on straight as I went through child-bearing and now aging, to stay positive about myself and my body. So I empathize deeply with the struggles that women face around this issue.

Thanks, Marsha, for stopping by to share your thoughts. Readers can find Green Mountain at Fox Run on Facebook and Twitter. Visit Green Mountain at http://www.fitwoman.com

Comments

[Marsha @ Green Mountain at Fox Run]

Dara didn't mention that we LOVE You'd Be So Pretty If.... and feature it in our bookstore! The message definitely speaks to the women who come to Green Mountain.

[Sally McGraw]

WHAT a refreshing perspective! Thanks for introducing me to this wonderful woman and her work.