Body In Mind Nutrition

Sometimes (mostly) it feels like we are swimming against the current, surrounded by a culture that is twisted around a plastic beauty ideal, fat stigma, and LOTS of focus on what is wrong and "bad" about food.  So I HIGHLY RECOMMEND creating your own tribe for the support of your health and recovery.  Here's to Rediscovering a Joyful Relationship with Food and a Comfortable Relationship with your Body!!  This blog offers a "best of" list for you-check it out!!


http://www.medicinalmarzipan.com/2011/05/01/body-loving-blogosphere-050111/

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

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/