Christine Byrne - Journalist and Non-Diet RD-to-Be

I’m Christine Byrne, a journalist and soon-to-be dietitian.

What you’ll find here are links to my writing elsewhere, plus insight into intuitive eating, non-diet nutrition, and the Health at Every Size® approach.

What you won’t find is calorie information, diet advice, or anything suggesting that you should lose weight. Diets and weight loss aren’t my thing. Let me show you that they don’t have to be yours, either.

There’s a little more about me here.

Christine Byrne - Journalist + RD2Be

Christine Byrne Has Been Published in:

A few things I’ve written elsewhere

‘Health at Every Size’ Is the More Inclusive Future of Healthcare (Well + Good)

Yes, I’m In School for Nutrition. No, I Don’t Want to Hear About Your Diet. (Bon Appétit)

How to Live Your Anti-Diet Values in a Weight-Obsessed World (SELF)

It’s OK to Eat More and Exercise Less During Quarantine (Outside)

The Triangle Guide: The Best Places To Eat And Drink In Raleigh, Durham, And Chapel Hill (The Infatuation)

Is ‘Clean Eating’ Good for You? Not Really. (Outside)

Budget Cooking Tips Are Useless For Low-Income Families—Here’s Why (HuffPost)

The BMI Is Racist And Useless. Here’s How To Measure Health Instead. (HuffPost)

To see a larger portfolio of things I’ve written, check out my clips.

Latest posts by Christine Byrne

No, You Can’t Use Intuitive Eating for Weight Loss
by Christine Byrne
January 14, 2021
What Is Intuitive Eating Coaching? Why Is it Better Than Dieting?
by Christine Byrne
January 4, 2021

From a dictionary.com entry on offensive words to

From a dictionary.com entry on offensive words to stop using: “Guru is used in a similar way as Sherpa to refer to someone who’s good at something or an expert in a subject matter. “The word guru, however, comes from Buddhist and Hindu religions and refers to a spiritual guide or leader who is held in high esteem. Throwing the term around casually—as in referring to yourself as a marketing/love/business guru—is disrespectful because it diminishes the importance of the title and its origins.” I see otherwise well-meaning and social justice-oriented folks throw “guru” around all the time—TBH, usually in a derogatory way to describe someone like Gwyneth or a wellness influencer with no credentials. I don’t want to call anyone out, because I used to use it ALL THE TIME, but consider replacing it with something else in your writing/social media posts/everyday communication. If you’re talking about a credentialed expert, just call them an expert! If you’re talking about someone who ISN'T an expert but makes a living by positioning themself as one, be descriptive and call them out for exactly that.

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately—as a journalist, a public health student, and a dietitian-to-be—is the double-edged sword of distilling VERY complicated health information down into concepts simple enough for the general public to understand. On the one hand, simple health guidance can help empower people to make decisions about their health and their bodies. But (BUT!) on the other hand, simple health guidance often paints one way of doing things as *right* and other ways of doing things as *wrong*, without explaining why and/or what the many nuances and exceptions may be. I dream of someday writing a huge piece explaining how and why health communications cause harm and suggesting ways that we can do better. For now, though, here’s a story on “empty calories,” a phrase that appeared in the USDA’s MyPlate program in 2011. It’s a concept that was meant to translate complicated research into simple guidance. In reality, though, it spread misunderstanding and put a cloud of shame over many common foods. Some great expert input from @dr.amyporto here. Link below and in the bio. https://www.outsideonline.com/2420745/what-are-empty-calories

Interrupting my usual HAES/nutrition beat to tell

Interrupting my usual HAES/nutrition beat to tell you that puppy parenthood is just swell 💕

Writers, editors, influencers: Please, please, PLE

Writers, editors, influencers: Please, please, PLEASE think about how your #nedawareness week stories might affect others. Since putting this on Twitter yesterday, I’ve received several comments from people affected by eating disorders, who say that they dread NEDA week every year because of how triggering and stigmatizing it is to see all the before+afters, read the graphic recountings, and realize how fatphobic even the ED world can be.

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Want to get in touch?

Have a question? Want to work together? Just want to say hello?

Shoot me an email at christine@christinejbyrne.com or head to my Contact page.