HEAL: The First Pillar
HEAL is the first pillar of Heather Martin Nutrition, and it holds a special place in my personal journey. As some of you may know, my decision to become a nutritionist stemmed from my own experience with an eating disorder and the path I took to overcome it. While I consider myself to be "recovered," that experience fundamentally changed the way I view many things—myself, food, and what it truly means to heal.
Healing from anything is never simple, but I found it especially challenging with an eating disorder. Food is part of everyday life—you can't avoid it. The most important lesson I learned during my recovery was that healing is not linear. One day, I would feel like the person I was before the disorder, and the next day, the thoughts would return, louder than ever. This constant back-and-forth of emotions and thoughts was harder to handle than I let on.
I tried to tell myself, “Just stay calm and collected; that will make it better.” But that mindset only made things worse. The more I tried to ignore the thoughts, the louder they became. I’d find myself wondering, "Was it really that bad? Maybe I should just listen and see what happens."
It was in those moments, when I was most tempted to give in, that the true lessons emerged. Healing was never going to be easy, and it shouldn’t have been. If I wanted to heal, I was going to have to fight for it every day. And so I did. I started standing up to those thoughts—literally telling them out loud that they were wrong. The more I fought back, the more power I gained, and the better I felt. It was like slamming the door shut on an ex who kept trying to sneak back in. And once that door was closed, I realized: I had the power all along.
Once I had that realization, the real healing began. I could start looking inward and unraveling the deeper reasons behind the disorder. What beliefs did I need to unlearn? Which thoughts were truly mine, and which ones had I been conditioned to believe? It was through this self-reflection that I was able to define what the word HEAL means in my life:
Happiness: Find what brings me joy and make it part of my daily routine. True happiness comes when you live for yourself, not for others.
Eat: Enjoy the foods I love without guilt. Forget about the latest trends or the food rules that others impose on me. I've always loved food, and I embrace that love fully, without shame.
Allow: Give myself the time and space to discover what works best for me. Explore what makes me feel my best, both in terms of food and movement. Nothing is a failure; it's all a learning experience.
Listen: Tune into my body. It's meant to be my ally, not my enemy. When I listen to my body, it tells me what I need—whether it's hunger, movement, or rest.
If you've gone through similar struggles, I hope these words offer you comfort and maybe even a new perspective on what healing could look like for you. And if you're still struggling, I encourage you to create your own HEAL mantra. Make it personal and live by it every day. Come back to these words whenever things get tough and remember: you have the power to fight back.
Moving forward, all posts in the HEAL section of the blog will focus on my own healing journey, the different aspects of healing, and how healing can look different for everyone.
Until then, take some time to reflect and start your own healing journey. Get your HEAL on!