Body In Mind Nutrition

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Ks1ceHkus&feature=player_embedded

One of my clients said it best, "now it is not OK to just look like a mom, now you have to look cute too".

“Women with eating disorders who are age 30 and above fly under the radar in terms of getting noticed and treated,” says Dr. Tamara Pryor, clinical director of the Denver center and the author of the study. “Over the past four years or so, we've been seeing more midlife women with eating disorders in our center.”

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23680261/

As I coach and guide my clients to become aware of their eating, their thoughts about their bodies, their choices to rid themselves of the food they have devoured, I ask them to be a student of their behavior and to please try to "drop the judgement".  To struggle in disordered eating is to struggle with the harshest of inner critics.  Asking to drop the judgement is a very tall order, yes, but essential.  To begin to  see food as nourishment and not the enemy requires the harsh, mean voice of judgment to be quiet. A calorie is a source of energy-and that is all.  Drop the Judgement.

This poem by Jane Hirshman beautifully describes the internal dance we all have with Judgement.  I highly recommend listening to the audio as a way to begin your day with the intention to Drop the Judgement.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=31251

Have you ever noticed how much promise there is in starting a new diet?  How many numbers there are?  How effortless it all sounds?  How all of your dreams come true if you just get this one right?  No wonder the continued seduction to start "fresh" with the next diet is so powerful!!  But most of the diets with the promises are not sustainable ways of living your life in the real world.  There is another way to approach controlling your eating and your weight WITHOUT DIETING!  This post does a good job of summing it all up!

http://www.healthforthewholeself.com/2011/02/conquering-the-urge-to-diet-three-steps/

Yes, there is good reason to try to make healthy choices when you are deciding what, and how much,  you are going to eat.  But sometimes, trying to make these choices starts to take on too much importance and creates a rigidity in your behavior and an imbalance in your life.

Most eating disorders start with a "diet" or an attempt to start to eat "healthy".  Below is a link to a well respected and validated screening test which you can give yourself to take a look at your own attitudes about eating.  Identifying eating problems early, before you become entrenched in these habits, can mean preventing your own eating disorder.  If you think that your attitudes about eating and food have become rigid and create emotional discomfort, please ask for help now!

http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/eat.htm

Just a little something to raise your awareness of the presence (NOT) of women in your movies...check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bLF6sAAMb4s

One of the most common themes with my clients struggling with eating issues is anxiety and/or an inability to tolerate strong feelings.  It is fairly common to use eating, not eating, purging, excessive exercise, and/or obsession with controlling body size as a way to cope with anxiety and uncomfortable feelings.  Learning the skill of calming you mind and tolerating emotional discomfort is essential in both preventing, and recovering from, disordered eating of all types.

"The same mind that can create such harsh judgments is capable of undoing them through the power of awareness and attention."


This article by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche summarizes the process of developing awareness very well:

Step one:  The Main Exercise

• stage one:  just notice and identify what you’re thinking or feeling
• stage two:  meditative awareness - approaching thoughts and emotions as objects of focus through which we can stabilize awareness, again without judgement
• stage three:  intuitive “tuning in” to determine the effect of the practice

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.  I will post every day this week in dedication to this cause.

Today's post is to acknowledge the essential nature of loving one's Self to both protect yourself from this very mean dis-ease and to recover from it.  As you read this wonderful poem from The Writer's Almanac, The Kama Sutra of Kindess:  Position Number 3 by Mary Mackey, read it to your Self as your object of sweet love.

To kick off National Eating Disorder Awareness week, check out the powerful partnership of NOW and NEDA!  Check out these videos and/or submit your own!

What you can you do?  Just try one week of being intentional about ending your own "Fat Talk".  This is harder than it sounds because the "Fat Talk" in your own mind counts!  Would love to hear your ideas...

http://now.org/press/02-11/02-20.html

I am posting a blog about a reaction to an article in today's NY Times regarding Obesity research in primates.  Obesity is a serious problem and research which provides insight into eating behavior is essential.  However, this author makes several points which ring true and of them, I would like to share this with you:


"Fight the problem of obesity yourself: the solution is ancient – ignore your restless monkey-mind and eat mindfully.
Let’s face it: there is no shortage of overweight primates (just look around); there is a shortage of humanity and compassion.  Fill the gap.
Wake up, fellow primate!"

Another example of simple, but not easy.....


http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindful-living/

When the domineering, the harsh, mean voice in your head is pushing you to be perfect, talk back!!  What we consider to be our problems and our flaws are opportunities to be liberated from the craziness of perfectionism.  Self-compassion is the antidote to perfectionism and frees us to be fully, joyfully, in the flesh human!

 Below is a link to a video of Krista Tippett presenting on the topic of " a linguistic resurrection for reconnecting with compassion" to the United Nations, well worth your 18 minutes!

http://blog.onbeing.org/post/3401777593

 This is an old article, but worth reading again.  Bittman does a great job in writing an overview of the environmental impact of eating meat, so I thought I would post it.  I'm not saying "go forth and be vegetarian", but eating less meat is a really good idea!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?_r=2

We all try to pack so much activity into our lives, that we many times forget that our bodies need to be nourished every four hours or so.  This is especially important for kids and teenagers, but they need the support of parents who plan, and make time, for snacks.

"Parents need to work with teens on managing their time, planning healthy meals and snacks and providing them time to eat," she says.
"Parents need to role model the behavior they are looking for in their teenagers as well. Monkey see, monkey do.
" If Mom and Dad don't take time to eat breakfast, pack a healthy lunch and have nutritious food stocked in the house, it sends the message to the child that nutrition is not a priority."

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Running-on-empty-1009607.php