Danae Mercer opens up about 'healing' relationship with food for her daughter

Danae Mercer is shedding light on her journey towards healing her relationship with food for the sake of her daughter.

On Sunday, the body-positivity advocate shared a powerful Instagram Reel paired with a note on developing a healthy relationship with food. Her goal is to ensure her seven-month-old daughter Aurora Ricci grows up with a healthy perspective on her own body and nourishment.

The video begins with Mercer eating from a yogurt cup alongside on-screen text that reads,"Healing my relationship with food," before cutting away to a clip of her daughter drinking from a bottle, "So that she doesn't have to."

Accompanying the Reel, the influencer explained her daughter has started eating solid food, and with that, Mercer is making an effort to lead by example.

"I want her to see me eating without guilt or shame or weird food hang-ups, and to know she can eat that way too," she penned.

Mercer highlighted the detrimental effects of societal influence, stating: "So many of us were taught about diets from the people dearest to us: our moms, our grandmas, our aunts. We grow up hearing about restriction or watching our calories.

"We learn rules that will all whisper the same thing: Staying small and staying slim is a woman's job," she continued before fiercely challenging the narrative. "We have every right to eat in a way that fuels us. We deserve a life not lived in hunger, but rather one full of vibrancy, of joy, of flavour."

In closing, Mercer implores, "So today, sit yourself at that table. Enjoy that meal. Rewrite the narrative."

In the comments, fans thanked Mercer and supported her powerful sentiment.

"This has me in tears. Thank you for posting such an important message, one I needed reminding of so I can also do better for the sake of my own children. You are appreciated beyond words!," one Instagram user wrote.

Another added: "Thank you. So many of us rewriting this narrative. Healing."

"Good job, mama!," someone else chimed in.

"Beautiful and important thoughts!," a fan commented.

"That just spoke to me so powerfully, and put things in perspective. Thank you," one person shared.

In December, Mercer shared an Instagram video about the use of online filters, comparing her posed and filtered body to her normal and unedited self.

"Proof social media is fake," the on-screen text read while Mercer posed to make her waist look thinner. "So don't compare yourself to whatever you just scrolled past."

"We’re messy and raw and complex and conflicted," Mercer concluded. "We come wrapped in bodies with cellulite and stretch marks."

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