Healthy, Sensible and Delicious!

Now that the holiday season has almost come to a close, I thought I would share a couple of concepts for getting back to regular food habits.

Get back to a healthy food routine

I encourage you to consider adopting a 3 meals-a-day routine.  Just like sleeping and waking, humans really do need to eat at least 3 times a day to function at our best.  And if your meals are more than 4-5 hours apart, consider adding a small snack, around 100-200 calories, to help bridge the gap to your next meal.

Deal with any small weight gain now

If you have gained a bit of weight over the holidays, it will be easier and quicker for you to deal with it immediately (read: start today!!), than wait until it's 5 or 10 pounds (or more) and several weeks worth of work.  Cut down your portion sizes, eliminate the treats, and move 30 minutes every day.  Repeat until you get back to the weight you like to maintain. :)

Find some healthy and yummy new recipes

Holiday food is so special because we tend to use ingredients we don't use all year round - lots of cream, butter, cheese, bacon....and so on.  Most of us cannot eat like this year-round and maintain a healthy weight.  So, find some new and yummy healthy recipes such as these ones below, to help you get back on track!

• American Institute for Cancer Research  - you can download these for free here
• Use MyPlate on Pinterest to help with portion sizing and here for recipe ideas
• The Food Network has some nice ideas too

Avoid Fad or Crash Diets

Studies show the majority of people who adopt a fad or crash diet gain all that weight back or MORE later.  Be kind to the body God gave you, realize that this is a journey, not a destination.  Gently adjust your habits (less calories, more exercise) until you get back to where you like to be.  It comes off the same way it went on...little bit, by little bit, by little bit.  So be patient and kind to yourself!

And contact me if you would like some personalized help and a one-on-one plan to acheive your goals!

Holiday Weight Gain

Well, it's that time of year again.  Those of us who on the one hand, love all those wonderful and special foods that only come around once a year during holiday season, but on the other hand, dread the inevitable holiday weight gain.  It's an age-old dilemma.  And with obesity rates in America at an all-time high, it's a battle with which so many of us struggle.

Given that the conventional wisdom of "eat less and exercise more" doesn't seem to be working, I went in search of some new and perhaps alternative, maybe even kooky, ways of managing this difficulty issue so fraught with feelings of guilt and failure.

Here are some things I found.  What the heck, what we are doing isn't working, so perhaps we could try something new this year? Lets take a look....


1)  Guilt and Food......two things that have absolutely NOTHING to do with each other! We inflict this on ourselves.  And while we're at it- punishing yourself for overeating, by eating more food....well....let's try to quit that habit too.  Listen to your self talk, own it, change it, repeat as needed. :)


2) Deprivation doesn't make you feel good, and eating until you feel uncomfortable with a belly ache really isn't fun either.  A friend of mine wrote this blog entry and I think it's great!

Hey Listen, you don't have to gain weight during the holidays.



3) On facebook, "Like" the Institute for the Psychology of Eating.  They publish some really interesting videos and while some of them may seem a little bit kooky, others of them ask questions that may help you gain a more healthful relationship with food. Here's an example I quite like.  Spiritual Lessons We can Learn from Weight

And lastly, if you do happen to gain a few pounds, see 1), follow 2) and 3) and deal with it as a little bump in the road.  This life is a journey, not a destination, after all!

If you have any tips that help you during this time, I'd love to hear from you!

Are You Hungry?

I've been meeting with a lot of people lately to help them with weight loss.  I guess January through Spring time is somewhat of the season of weight loss in this profession! 


It has reminded me that for humans, food is so much more than just an energy input.  We all have our own likes and dislikes based on taste preferences -- basically the "what we eat" side of the equation.  To some degree, we can categorize these into having a "sweet tooth", or loving salty foods, or disliking vegetables and so forth.  And as a Dietitian, we love to tell people what their plate should look like, or how much [insert food item here] they should have, etc.  And these are great life skills, but they don't really get to the root of the behavior change needed to alter a lifetime of poor food habits.


So it's important to focus on why we eat the things we do, and in this regard, I have found every individual to be completely unique.  One of the conversations that I think is the most helpful starts with the question, "do you ask yourself if you are hungry?". 


It's interesting to guide someone through the underlying emotions and habits around food.  Sometimes its centered around early family habits such as the requirement to eat everything on your plate "because there are starving kids in Africa...."...you all know how that goes!  Sometimes, food is used to sooth, comfort and calm.  And often in our culture it's used to celebrate!  It's important on your own journey not to judge these feelings, just to understand them.  With awareness, comes the ability to proactively make decisions, rather than being led by what you might interpret as "cravings".  Essentially, I help people engage the cognitive side of the brain, to gain back some oversight of food intake, instead of allowing these underlying feelings and habits drive everything.  Because in the conscious understanding of your own decisions, you can gain back control of a part of your life that may seem beyond your control.  And doesn't that feel comforting?  :)


If you would like my help on the journey to better eating, I'd be delighted to help you with a nutrition plan you can Live With!!