The title is unfortunate but the basic premise is Mindful Eating, so I thought I would pass it along to those who missed Dr. Michelle May on Dr. Oz this past Monday.
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/can-you-think-yourself-skinny-pt-1
Focusing on all of the ways you are grateful for your body rather than your perceived "imperfections" actually pays off!! We actually have research showing the benefits of the "Acceptance" model which reports that women can more accurately eat when they are hungry and stop when they are satisfied when following this approach! Finally.....
"the more women are able to focus on the inner workings of their body -- or how their bodies function and feel -- rather than how they appear to others, the more they will appreciate their own bodies.
And the more a woman appreciates her body, the more likely she is to eat intuitively -- responding to physical feelings of hunger and fullness rather than emotions or the mere presence of food.
"Women who focus more on how their bodies function and less on how they appear to others are going to have a healthier, more positive body image and a tendency to eat according to their bodies' needs rather than according to what society dictates,"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110329141559.htm
Please take a minute and give this short article about Eating Disorders in Midlife a quick read. I see this so often. There is so much pressure to stay thin and look young that as we become older, we get more desperate and aggressive in our attempt to manipulate and control our bodies.
Experts say that while eating disorders are first diagnosed mainly in young people, more and more women are showing up at their clinics in midlife or even older. Some had eating disorders early in life and have relapsed, but a significant minority first develop symptoms in middle age. (Women with such disorders outnumber men by 10 to 1.)
Building your own support for loving your body in today's world is ESSENTIAL for pushing ED away! I've pointed to this blog before but she has pulled together a post on the "body-loving blogoshphere" that is a great place to start supporting yourself.
"Medicinal Marzipan is a blog about body image and unconditional self-love, as well as learning to lead a positive and authentic life."
Check it out!!
http://www.medicinalmarzipan.com/2011/03/27/body-loving-blogosphere-032711/
One of my missions is change the vocabulary we use when we talk about food and nutrition from the fear-based and disease-oriented to the "what our food provides and supports" in us. Words like nourishment sound so good to my ears! So I simply relish posting research that once again highlights the many benefits of a food like Cocoa!! Bon Appetit!
http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20110323/cocoa-rich-in-health-benefits
When you feel tired, do you find yourself reaching for the energy that you receive from food or the restoration of a nap? Ask yourself if you are hungry (from your stomach) or are you tired or both? If you are hungry, eat. If you are tired, nap (if possible). At least ask yourself the question and discover the difference!
Of course the energy required to discern between body-centered eating and emotional eating is harder to come by when you are sleep deprived. A new study finds that those who had only 4 hours of sleep eat around 300 calories a day more than those who had a good night's rest.
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2011/03/Sleep-deprived-people-eat-300-more-calories-a-day/45227686/1
I often advice my clients to notice when they are eating not because their bodies are asking for nourishment, but because they are emotionally uncomfortable. Becoming aware of that moment when you are no longer eating because you are hungry. You are now eating to control your feelings. This awareness creates the opportunity for choice. Conscious choice is the starting place for recovery!
A new book has just been published about how overeating or binge eating can be used to control feelings:
Food,The Good Girl's Drug by Sunny Sea Gold. In it she explains:
"Another widespread but subtle myth is that going on a diet will help to reduce binge eating. It’s the idea that dieting will give people with BED the control they lack. That somehow rules and regulations will keep their eating in line. To the contrary, dieting usually leads to overeating and is a major trigger of BED. Diets don’t treat BED"
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/food-the-good-girls-drug-how-to-stop-using-food-to-control-your-feelings/
To move from a negative, judgmental, pejorative dialogue about the issue of obesity in our country to one focused on what we CAN do is most welcome!! To move our discussion to how we support health and fitness separate from weight will serve us all.
"The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation" is an attempt to change the national conversation from a negative one about obesity and illness to a positive one about being healthy and being fit. We need to stop bombarding Americans with what they can't do and what they can't eat. We need to begin to talk about what they can do to become healthy and fit."
"We should remember that individuals are more likely to change their behavior if they have a meaningful reward - something more than reaching a certain weight or dress size. The reward has to be something that each person can feel, can enjoy and can celebrate.
The real reward is optimal health, which allows people to embrace each day and live their lives to the fullest - without disease, disability or lost productivity. "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/21/AR2011032103241.html
Many of my clients have concerns about changes in their weight if they begin to take birth control pills. I wanted to pass along a well done article discussing this issue.
Bottom Line: " The story that taking birth control pills makes you gain weight is based on more fiction than fact." The recommendation is to take the lowest dose that is effective for you.
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-birth-control-pills-20110316,0,3564299.story?page=2
You know that I don't believe in "Diets", because:
1-they don't work
2-they set you up for reactive overeating
3-they disconnect you from your Body's own ability to control your eating (if you commit to mindful eating)
4-they many times create harm (disordered eating)
Actually, the list goes on, but I will hush.
I just want to give you a head's up on the latest Fad Diet that everyone is talking about. I am attaching WebMD's evaluation, which includes statements from well-respected experts in the field.
Don't fall for the Dukan promise of magic!!!
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/dukan-diet-review
Yep, there has been a theme around here this week-the healing power of loving your body! I continue to unearth more and more places to stand as we join in the effort to feel good about our bodies-exactly as they are!! Feeling comfortable in your skin is the ultimate place of power. I wish you confidence as you take the next step...
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2011/03/body-image-booster-building-confidence-being-bold/
Yesterday, I blogged about creating a world of Body Love through connecting with bloggers writing about this topic. Today, I am taking it up a notch and recommending Activism. Instead on being unhappy with yourself, direct your anger/unhappiness outward and become an Activist for Body Love. Here is a post which directs you to a couple of exciting projects to get your blood flowing, pumping, cursing through your veins!
The Illusionists is a documentary about the body as the “finest consumer object,” focusing on how mass media, advertising, and several industries manipulate and exploit people’s insecurities about their bodies for profit.
This week in London an international summit “Endangered Species: Preserving the Female Body.” Eminent experts, activists, and politicians are holding presentations and workshops under a common goal: to “challenge the toxic culture that teaches women and girls to hate their bodies.”
POWERFUL STUFF-DON'T MISS IT!!
http://ht.ly/4eO7d
Funny how making a commitment to your Self, in whatever form, is a much harder endeavor than committing to caring for others-even if the other is a dog! I had a very wise client say to me many years ago, "If I could just move mySelf up on the priority list before my dog, I will be doing so much better". So take a look at this well done article on how having a dog affects your health....
“If we’re committed to a dog, it enables us to commit to physical activity ourselves.”
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/forget-the-treadmill-get-a-dog/?nl=health&emc=healthupdateema2
The work (and at first, it is real work!) of body acceptance requires great intention and commitment. It helps to create support for this effort as you walk around in a world obsessed with unhealthy, twisted images and messages about our bodies. I am finding a wealth of blogs which are committed to Body Love.
Take a look at the blog below. This particular entry invites you to join this community of "happy bodies" by submitting your own thoughts, story, poetry, video, photograph, you name it. Please take some time to review the submissions of others.
This is a powerful way of creating and cultivating supportive connections as you tip toe, leap, grab or brush up against loving your own precious body!!!
http://happybodies.wordpress.com/join-us/
Before you go into the kitchen and start to rummage through your pantry and refrigerator, try this simple yoga exercise. If your body still tells you "I am hungry for nourishment", please eat....
http://www.yogajournal.com/dailyinsight/yjnl_20110311.html?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=dailyinsight
"Participants who followed the Mediterranean diet had better outcomes for waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and glucose, as well as reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, compared with those on control diets or those who had low adherence to the Mediterranean diet...The meta-analysis also found that active lifestyle coupled with the diet had additional preventive effects on metabolic syndrome components."
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/25287?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&em=debra@bimnutrition.com
Mindfulness is about being fully aware of whatever is happening in the present moment, without filters or the lens of judgment. It can be brought to any situation. Put simply, mindfulness consists of cultivating awareness of the mind and body and living in the here and now.
This story is making it's way across major media outlets. Please make sure that you take a look, pass it along, and talk to your kids about it. We need to keep talking about this part of the story instead of just Pediatric Obesity. Do you think there is a relationship between the two?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=134341051
The fact that women (mostly) are willing to pay $1000/month to be injected by a hormone and starve themselves on 500 calories a day to see TEMPORARY weight loss is the sign of pure desperation. The resurgence of the very old diet craze utilizing hCG shots (a hormone derived from the urine of pregnant women) is "as popular as ever, even though there is scant evidence that it makes any difference."
Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard medical school who researches weight-loss supplements, said that aside from the issue of side effects, the use of hCG as a diet tool was “manipulating people to give them the sense that they’re receiving something that’s powerful and potent and effective, and in fact they’re receiving something that’s nothing better than a placebo"
The following article from this morning's NY TImes describes the side effects and other costs in more detail.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/nyregion/08hcg.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2
When it comes to making changes in our habits, there are several steps that we go through without realizing it. At first we imagine ourselves doing things differently. New research supports the fact that picturing yourself actually engaged in the behavior you want to work on increases your chance of success! Intentionally picture yourself breaking the habits that concern you and actually doing what you know would improve your health.....
"...research has shown that if people make a concrete plan about what they are going to do, they are better at acting on their intentions. What we've done that's new is to add visualization techniques to the action plan"
http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=650501
This wonderful interview with Seane Corne from Krista Tippett's radio show "Being" gets inside the" practicalities and power of yoga". I encourage my clients to integrate yoga into their program of changing their eating habits for all of the reasons that she so beautifully describes.
http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2011/yoga/
I know that the week dedicated to End Fat Talk is in October, but I hear so much "worry" about bodies during the Spring, that I wanted to dust this off and post it now. Well done piece by Tri Delta, check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKPaxD61lwo&feature=player_embedded
This is so exciting-Jamie Oliver hits the road with a Food Revolution Food Truck!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12629525?utm_source=streamsend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=13511981&utm_campaign=Food%20News%20Friday%2C%20March%204
I have been working with clients to help them manage weight for almost 25 years and "fat prejudice" has always been a part of the conversation. Some people avoid exercising outside of their homes because of the concern that people will make jokes about them (and who likes to use exercise equipment at home really?). Some people avoid seeking regular medical care because they do not like to be weighed and lectured to about the obvious need to lose weight. For those who struggle with overeating, stress and isolation contribute to the struggle. It is no surprise to me that we now have research that makes this association perfectly clear.
"Obesity is a physiological issue, but when people have negative interactions in their social world -- including a sense of being discriminated against -- it can make matters worse and contribute to a person's declining physical health," Schafer said."
We need to be careful as we develop programs to address obesity, especially programs for kids, that we do not contribute to this stigmatization.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/03/03/stigma-often-adds-to-burden-of-obesity
This is amazing technology which could help increase awareness of your eating. But would you start to obsess? How do you think this would go for you?
http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-food-app-110303,0,5695750.story
Encouraging your kids to eat "from the rainbow" with more fruits and vegetables just got a little easier. (I am not talking about added coloring agents, but colors in foods coming from the ground!) Try this Nutrition Sudoko to engage them in a conversation about trying more fruits and vegetables every day. This would be a great game just before your next trip to the market-invite them to join you in the produce isle!
http://www.eatright.org/nnm/games/sudoku/kids/index.html
Can you be trusted with food? Most of us think not and look to rules and diets to keep us in check. If we don't know what we "should" eat, then our fear is that we will be "out of control". I believe not trusting ourselves is at the root of the need to impose strict guidelines for our own eating. So when we break these imposed rules, the judgement rages in our own heads!
Being compassionate with yourself will allow you to break free from this rigidity and the negative self-talk that follows close behind. Not beating yourself up and finding compassion does allow you to be more in control with your eating AND invites a more positive attitude.
Now we actually have research that supports incorporating self-compassion as an integral component of a successful weight management program!! Here you go:
"Preliminary data suggest that self-compassion can even influence how much we eat and may help some people lose weight."
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/go-easy-on-yourself-a-new-wave-of-research-urges/?ref=science
