Body In Mind Nutrition

The behavior of eating goes well beyond eating what you think is "good" for you.  The most common thread in all of my work with clients, no matter what their eating problem, is that eating (or choosing not to eat) is many times used to calm and comfort.  This is true for all ages.

Please remember this when you talk to your kids about eating and weight.  As a nation, we are doing a much better job of addressing the need for our kids to become more active and have access to healthier foods, but we are leaving out a major issue-emotional health.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/videos/news/bullying_weight_041911.html

I once had a client call Spring "Christmas in Shorts" because of the heightened level of stress in her life.  School comes to a close with exams and festivities, there are religious rites and family get togethers, which  all sound fine one at a time.  But they seem to be crashing into one another, leaving us feeling a little frazzled.  Please take a minute to read this amazing post about what the wise Jolee McBreen can teach us as she turns 100 years old!  "Drink Beer and Eat Chocolate", she says.  Not what you would expect to find a nutritionist writing about, but the stress messes with your eating, my friend.  So learn to let go first, the eating will follow!

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/04/drink-beer-eat-chocolate-live-to-100--jolee-mcbreen/

Great post with guidance about how to navigate the choppy waters of "diet and exercise" with your teen.

"It’s important to remember that each kid is different; what works for one child may not work for another. And Forman encourages parents to ask for help. “You don’t have to wait until you are in crisis,” she says. “Talk to a friend whose judgment you trust, someone maybe who has teens. Get advice from your doctor or from a nutritionist. Talk to a psychologist or social worker—they may have ideas you just didn’t think of. It’s hard being a parent—we need all the help we can get.”

In summary:

1. Model healthy behaviors and body image-Don't Diet!!
2. Provide an environment that makes it easy for your children to make healthy choices.
3. Focus less on weight. Instead, focus on behaviors and overall health.
4. Promote a supportive environment with lots of talking and even more listening.

Learning the skills which support mindfulness, mindful eating, and a mindful lifestyle are being used to manage symptoms of menopause, such as "hot flashes".  My experience is that learning to live and eat mindfully increases your ability to manage the stresses of modern life all the way around.  Now we have more and more research that supports this experience!  (Again, research is supporting what we already know-I love it!)

Next month's Mindful Eating Book Club discussion is focusing on Mindful Eating:  A guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food by Jan Chozen Bays, M.D.  Feel free to contact me if you would like to know more about this powerful and effective approach to eating and living well.

The link below describes the latest research on mindfulness and menopause.  Check it out!
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/videos/news/hot_flashes_041211.html

Feeding your kids seems like it would be a simple, natural job.  But there are mistakes and complications which sometimes create power struggles in the grocery store and at the dinner table, and can lead to bigger problems.  The following article does a great job of summarizing a series of simple meal-time strategies which can help even the pickiest eater learn to like a more varied diet.

1. Invite your kids to the kitchen and teach them to cook
2. Don't pressure them to "take a bite"
3. Give kids access to the pantry and choices
4. Don't model "dieting" lifestyle
5. Offer vegetables with a flare
6. Continue to offer, don't give up

Sooo many of us are getting less sleep than we need and it affects the way that we eat!  When we start to drag, we many times reach for the energy we find in food when we really need rest.  Get to know yourself well enough to know the difference.

Here are 7 very good ideas to help you get a good night's sleep in the first place!:  "Seven Steps to Sweet Slumber".

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9iAHV0/www.good.is/post/seven-steps-to-sweet-slumber/?utm_source=supr

We now have evidence that putting children on diets, although well intentioned, many times causes harm. Children learn to sneak and typically gain more weight.  There is also evidence that daughters who have mothers dieting"with" them, and becoming too involved in their eating,  have a greater risk of struggling with bulimia.

There is another way to handle concerns about your child's weight.  Focus on healthy eating and more activity for the whole family and remove the focus from weight.  Seek help from a professional for a clear understanding of approaching this subject with the greatest insight and skill and prevent problems down the road.

Below is a short interview with Dr. Ed Abramson discussing this issue in greater detail:

http://www.kqed.org/a/perspectives/R201104010735