a message from a millennial who (barely) survived the “heroin chic” extreme weight loss trend of the 2000’s

Written By Nicole Hagen

with a tumblr account filled with emaciated pictures of Kate Moss and 100-calorie meals, an obsession with America’s Next Top Model, and an addictive personality with an affirmation kink, 

I was diet culture’s star student. 

I did everything in my power to weigh less because

1. it was what society expected of me (and I love to exceed expectations 🤓), and

2. I wrongly believed that my weight was reflective of my worth/“goodness” 

and I guess you could say I aced the test… 

I lost the weight, 

dropped the sizes, and 

got validated by everyone asking me if I was okay and how I did it (in the same breath). 

Weight loss for the win, right? 

I thought so too… until I didn’t. 

Because along with the weight, I lost my hair, my mental health, and my period. 

No big deal, right?

I thought so too… until I didn’t.

Because along with the sizes, I dropped my strength, my energy, and my bone density. 

and, in time, all my (misplaced) hard work was validated…

with a fractured hip, 

a fractured spine, and 

a hypothalamic amenorrhea diagnosis. 

It was on bedrest with broken bones (that could have been completely prevented 😔) when I realized: 

weighing less isn’t worth navigating the rest of my life with osteoporosis,

fitting into the smallest size possible pales in comparison to feeling energized, healthy, and well fed,

I could spend my entire life starving myself for the validation of others, or, I could live my life accepting my unconditional enoughness and creating body composition change from a place of nourishment, not punishment. 

I’m not here to tell you what to do with your body (that’s all you, boo), but I can confidently say that having been there before, and after (barely) making it out the other side, I will not be participating in the current extreme weight loss trend. 

Looking to lose weight in a way that’s health-promoting, sustainable, and the by-product of a healthy and confident relationship with food? I’m here to help.

Nicole Hagen

A Nutrition Coach, adoptive mom, dog mom, and mint chocolate chip ice cream lover.

I didn’t always have this business: the Masters degree in Nutrition Science and Public Health, the passion, the clients... in fact, years ago you could have found me endlessly counting calories and trying to find my worth on the scale and at spin class, exhausted in my pursuit of (what I thought was) health and happiness.

In my early twenties, I struggled with crash dieting and disordered eating. Little did I know, those circumstances would be my one-way ticket out of my restrictive relationship with food & fitness. Those experiences led me here: to the life-giving, sustainable, habit-based nutrition philosophy I embody today. Today you can find me living life without a calorie counting app and spending time with my husband, one year old son, and our two crazy golden retriever pups.

I enjoy spending my free time reading, sipping on matcha lattes, and dreaming of ways I can help other women create healthy, confident relationships with food without selling their souls to food rules and calorie counting apps.

Because nothing lights me up more than helping women live full and vibrant lives without food fear, rules, or restriction. I want to be that permission granter in your life that whispers: “you really can do this” while the rest of the world continues to settle for short-term satisfaction.

https://nutritioncoachingwithnicole.com/
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