Diet Free Radiant Me™ Archives - Page 28 of 46 - Diet Free Radiant Me | Intuitive Eating | Emotional Eating

Revealing My ‘Word’ of 2017

We are 5 days into the New Year….how are you doing with your New Year’s Intentions?

Remember from last week’s post, I am not a believer in resolutions! I like to think instead of “Intentions for the New Year”

There’s a lot of talk online about picking a word or theme for the year. This is a word or theme that will define how you want to feel and act in the New Year. I’ve never been one to actually pick a word or theme, but this year was different.

It just happened. I felt it in my bones. It was intuitive. And all of a sudden I was posting in my business support group my intentions for the New Year and my word for 2017 came alive.

Ready for it?? Here it comes………….

FUN!

I have decided that I want to add more fun to my life on both a personal level and a professional level. Now, I’m sure you can figure out how I’ll add fun to my personal level. Think date nights with hubby, fun activities with my kids, and giggles with my grandsons.

But how will I infuse fun into my professional life?

Well, it happened organically at our New Year’s party Facebook Live! I put on my New Year’s hat, 2017 funky glasses and had my party horn, with music playing and was dancing live in our private FB group. The members of my group joined in…posting selfies in their New Year’s getup and dancing wherever they were (home, in a hotel, in their car – as a passenger!).

In between all the fun, we settled down and got down to business, learning about the mental blocks that keep you spinning in the diet-deprivation vicious cycle.

It was amazing! I got positive feedback and made some great connections (seems my 2^nd word for the year is becoming ‘connection’). And from this experience, my 2017 word was born…FUN. We can have fun and overcome our deepest struggles at the same time.

Are you ready to have fun AND leave your food and body struggles behind?

If so, I have an opportunity for you! And, here it is:

Freedom to Eat Forever™ is a LIVE group program where I take you through my 5 step system to breaking free of dieting to become an intuitive eater. The program is opening for enrollment in February. But don’t wait until then.

Register in January to receive 2 amazing bonuses:

36 Ready-to-Go Nourishing Meals and Bonus Recipes

60 minute Private Coaching Call with me

Email me at Bonnie@DietFreeRadiantMe.com to set up a complementary time to speak with me to learn more about the program and to see if it is a right fit for you. No pressure! If it’s not a fit, I will tell you!

These January bonuses disappear on January 20^th and will NOT be offered to those who enroll in February!

Freedom to Eat Forever™ is your opportunity to make peace with food, enjoy guilt-free eating a life free of dieting and a body you love.

I’m waiting here for your email. Or, just call me direct at 516-486-4569.

P.S. What’s YOUR word of 2017? Tell me in the comments below!

New Year, More Mindfulness

Whenever the New Year nears, it’s all about “New Year, New Me”. The “new me” is usually associated with joining the gym and going on a crash diet, all to lose a few pounds. Instead of starting your New Year off with enjoyment and ready to tackle what comes your way, you’re starting it off with food restrictions and stress about going to the gym and “needing” to lose the weight.

Why do you associate the New Year with weight loss?

Let’s try something different this New Year and reframe your thought process. Change your “New Year, New Me” mentality into “New Year, More Mindfulness”. By taking a step back from focusing solely on weight loss and what your body looks like, you’ll develop a greater appreciation for what your body is capable of and what it needs to be its best.

Here are 5 tips on how to, or continue to, be mindful in the New Year:

Recommit to your diet-free journey. Remind yourself why you began your intuitive eating journey, or are planning to begin it. Then every time another commercial hits the airwaves, an email pops up in your inbox or your friend chews your ear off with the new diet she is on, quietly repeat this mantra to yourself “I have committed to a diet-free life. I rock!”

State your New Year intention. Set a clear intention about what you want to experience in 2017 and what steps you will take to reach your goals. Write down your big intention and keep it in a visible spot around your home. Reflect back on it throughout the year when you need a reminder about what you want to accomplish by 2018!!

Listen to your body. Instead of focusing on the weight you “need” to lose and restricting your favorite foods, focus on listening to your body. What is your body trying to tell you? Does it want you to stop dieting? Does it want you to feed it nourishing meals? By taking the time to listen to your body, you’ll develop a stronger relationship with it and you’ll learn to love your body.

Practice moderation, not deprivation. You may feel like you need to deprive yourself to avoid weight gain, but that’s not true. When you deprive yourself, the backlash is overeating and bingeing. If you take the time to listen to your body and savor each bite, you’ll find you are satisfied with smaller portions.

Avoid celebrating with food. Whenever something good happens in life, birthday, promotion, anniversary, etc., going out to eat is the common way to celebrate. But, if you’re struggling with your relationship with food, this can be a difficult time. Instead of going out to eat to celebrate an occasion, find another way to celebrate that makes you feel comfortable and happy,

By becoming more mindful of your body and what your body needs, you’ll be able to give your body what it wants. With mindfulness, you’ll learn to become an intuitive eater. You’ll be able to avoid overeating, feeding your emotions and loving your body once again.

If you want to talk, just contact me here.

Saying Yes to Your Own Needs This Holiday Weekend

It is easy to get lost during the holiday season. The stress of making everyone else happy and planning the perfect holiday can cause you to throw YOUR self-care out the window.

But, if you take the time to focus on yourself and YOUR needs, you’ll feel like a different person this season.

Take the time to say yes to your own needs.

Take a bubble bath and de-stress.

Engage in mindful body movement.

Spend time with your family away from cooking and cleaning.

Ask for help when the days become overwhelming. You do not have to do everything yourself.

When you stop taking care of your own needs, it can also become difficult to listen to your body’s hunger signals. This can lead to you arriving at meals starving and eating until you are uncomfortably full which can be followed by feelings of guilt.

If you take the time to listen to your body and acknowledge what it needs, you’ll be able to truly enjoy yourself this holiday season and your body will thank you.

Learn more about why you should say yes to your own needs by watching this episode from The Diet Free Zone Show™.

Click the image below to watch.

What steps will you take this holiday season to ensure you are taking care of your own needs?

How to Treat Yourself without Food

You’ve had a long day. Heck, it’s been a long week. You need a treat. You head to the _______ and get yourself some ______________.

How would you fill in these blanks?

When I pose this question to the women who reach out to me for help with their weight, they fill in the blanks with the words ‘kitchen” and ‘ice cream’. Or, ‘store’ and ‘chocolate’. Or ‘freezer’ and ‘cake’.

Sound familiar?

The first thought that most likely pops into your mind when you are looking for a treat is food! Why is that? Why do you associate a treat with food?

An emotional connection with food is created from the moment we are born and placed on our mom’s chest to bond. And then, as you get older and need comfort, you are given some milk and cookies. Of, if you fall down and hurt yourself, you are consoled with a lollypop. There are numerous examples of how the emotional connection to food continues to be reinforced around you.

But how has this served you now into adulthood? Not very well I’m guessing. It has led to your struggle with emotional eating and your never-ending ride on the yo-yo diet roller coaster.

It’s time to treat yourself with something other than food. It’s time to treat yourself like a queen and to take good care of yourself so you don’t need to find comfort in food.

Let me share a story with you.

The last few months have been very busy and well, quite stressful. So yesterday I decided to treat myself like a queen. One of my dreams has always been to have a personal shopper come into my home and go through my clothes closet with me. Toss what is no good, keep what is, and create new outfits with what I have. Then head to the store with my personal shopper in tow and buy some new clothes.

Well, I didn’t exactly get that full dream….no, a personal shopper did not come to my house. But I did make an appointment with a personal shopper at Lord and Taylor and meet with her yesterday. This is a complementary service for shoppers…I never knew that! She set me up in her exclusive office fitting room and brought me clothes to try on based on what I told her I was looking for.

Wow, what an experience. I felt like a celebrity. This was the best experience ever! I bought some really great new clothes and felt really amazing.

I treated myself like a queen. I felt the stress lift off my shoulders, just like that. Doing something for yourself really feels good! You don’t need food to comfort or console yourself. Taking care of your needs on all levels and nurturing yourself will help you cope with your feelings without turning to food.

Try it…and let me know how it works out for you. If you want to talk, just contact me here!

Mindful Eating During the Holidays

The holiday season is here and if you are concerned that you will gain weight like in past years, let me assure you that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Holiday weight gain often comes from mindless eating such as eating fast without even tasting the food, munching mindlessly on hor d’oeuvres before dinner or having that second piece of pecan pie because you felt pressured by the host.

In contrast, when you eat mindfully, you are more aware of your eating habits and the sensations you experience when you eat, such as the taste, texture and aroma of the food.

Here are 5 easy ways to get started.

Slow down. Are you the first one to finish your meal or the last one? Before you begin eating, think about how you will proceed to eat your meal. Consciously decide that you will slow down, and allow at least 20-30 minutes to eat. Take the time to appreciate the food you are eating.

Sit down at the table. Eating while standing in front of the refrigerator, buffet table or while walking around will decrease your attention and satisfaction with your meal. Instead, plan to sit while eating, even at a buffet party. Fill your plate appropriately with food, and find a table to sit. Friends and family will likely join you and you can enjoy nice conversation while being more mindful of your eating.

Savor your food. Focus on each bite of food that you put into your mouth. Experience the taste, texture, flavors and aroma of the food. Is it sweet, salty, sour, crunchy, or smooth? Do you like it, dislike it, or it’s just okay? If you aren’t fully satisfied with it, don’t finish it.

Be in the moment. Are you fully present when you are eating? Be sure to turn off the television, and avoid reading or talking on the phone while eating. These activities take away from the mindfulness of eating.

Put your fork down periodically throughout the meal. Observe what you do with your silverware during the meal. Do you keep it in your hand? Are you preparing the next bite of food on the fork while chewing what’s in your mouth? When you turn your attention to the next bite, you are not being mindful and completely miss the food that you are currently eating. Instead of enjoying the food in your mouth, you are focusing on matters beyond the present. So this year, put your fork down on the table while you are chewing and give all your attention to the food in your mouth. When you finish that bite, pick up the fork and take another.

Another possible contributor to your holiday weight gain: food pushers.

If you have family or friends that are food pushers, it can be difficult to stop eating when you are full. But it is OK to politely say “No thank you, I am full, but I will take a piece home for later.” Many people will not push you any further, since you will be taking some home.

It is important to listen to your body and know when you are full.

Taking the time to listen to your body and following these 5 easy tips will get you started on your journey towards mindful eating and help you avoid unwanted holiday weight gain.

If you would my help and support through the holidays and New Year, just go to www.TalkWithBonnie.com and we’ll set up a time to talk.

The Secret to Avoiding Weight Gain Over the Holiday Season

You love the holidays but dread the anticipated weight gain typical of the holiday season. Instead of stressing about how much weight you might gain and then setting your New Year’s resolution around finding a diet to drop the weight, why not try a different approach this year.

The secret to avoiding the expected holiday weight gain is to focus on weight maintenance.

Maintaining weight can be achieved by following a few simple strategies.

Three is key

This represents three meals, which means don’t skip breakfast and don’t overeat at the midday holiday meal in anticipation of skipping the last meal of the day. Skipping breakfast can potentially cause your blood sugar to drop, as well as your mood, and lead to overeating at the holiday meal. The key is to start your day off with a healthy breakfast and have lunch and/or a snack before guests arrive or before heading out to the party. Tune in when you eat and let your body’s internal signals guide you.

Indulge in your favorites

Don’t avoid your favorites that come around once a year. Avoidance can lead to caving in and then to overeating. It is much better to eat a small portion of something you really want than to give it up entirely. Choose those treats that you don’t typically have year round such as Aunt Susan’s green bean casserole, Momma’s roast beef with gravy or Grandma Sarah’s holiday sugar cookies. Take one portion one time without guilt.

Survey the buffet

Take a walk around the buffet table and see what food offerings there are. Choose 3 to 4 items that you absolutely want, making sure that they include a protein, grain and vegetable at the very least so you have a balanced plate.

Keep hydrated

Drinking lots of water helps to keep you hydrated! Ensure that you are drinking at least eight (8 oz.) glasses of water each day. Start your day with 16 oz. before breakfast, have another 16 oz. with lunch and dinner, and one glass mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

De-Stress

The more you stress, the greater the surge in cortisol, you primary stress hormone. This sets you up for sugar cravings and weight gain. Commit to practicing deep breathing every morning before you get out of bed, every evening before you lay down, and any time during the day that you need it. Include yoga, Pilates, meditation in your daily/weekly schedule to help with stress relief.

Daily Exercise

An important element in weight maintenance over the holidays is continuing with your exercise routine. Incorporating interval training and strength training has been found to be just the right to help you keep your weight in check over the holiday season.

Weight maintenance throughout the holiday season is a realistic and smart goal. These tips will help you enjoy the holidays without the worry of weight gain. Start the New Year off with a new mindset. You will feel the difference!

Are you looking for something to help you make it through the holidays and use these tips? Come on over to our private Facebook group to take part in a 4 Week FREE Challenge “Enjoy Your Holiday Festivities and Sweets without Guilt.”

I’ll post a challenge each day, and ask you to post your action and results! Let’s shine through the month of December and enjoy all the celebration while feeling great!

Starting December 5, 2016

Week 1: Self-care during the holidays
Week 2: Navigating holiday parties
Week 3: Eat Your Sweets without Guilt
Week 4: Party into the New Year

This challenge will be happening in our Private FB Group! Join here!

A Happy and Mindful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is hands down one of my favorite holidays. I love having the whole family over and a table full of good food. It is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season!

But I do know it is easy to get lost in the chaos. Don’t let yourself feel out of control this year. Start your holiday season off on the right foot! Make this the year that you conquer your dieting habits and turn to intuitive and mindful eating for a body you love.

Mindful Eating

Engaging in mindful eating can be the perfect way to help you enjoy Thanksgiving this year. Here are four tips to help you stay mindful.

Stay fully conscious. It’s easy to lose yourself in all the food, conversation and football. If you maintain an awareness of your food choices, amount of food you are serving yourself and eating, you can avoid overindulging. This can be difficult in a social situation, but if you set your intentions out in the morning, you can do it!

Serve small portions. With a holiday that only comes once a year, you can easily serve yourself large portions of your favorite dishes. You may even fall prey to “my eyes are bigger than my stomach”. Start with small portions to avoid overeating yet still satisfies your craving. If you are still hungry you could always have more.

Listen to your body. Do you belong to the “clean your plate club”? This year commit to staying present and listening to your body’s signals as you are getting satiated. Stop eating when you feel comfortable, you can always wrap up the rest of your food and take it home. If you do this, you will be able to enjoy your favorites when you get hungry again.

Pace Yourself. During the meal, pacing yourself is key. Put your fork down and spend time talking to relatives in-between bites. This allows your brain to register the food that is entering your stomach. Your body will be able to signal when you are satisfied and have eaten enough.

The holidays can be a difficult time for someone who has just started on the intuitive eating journey. Resisting the urge to overeat can be hard to overcome. But you can do it!

Recipe Modifications

While it’s great to eat your favorite traditional Thanksgiving dishes, consider modifying the recipes just a bit to better nourish your body.

Sweet Potato Casserole – Who doesn’t love sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows? But guess what… the marshmallows are not a necessity! Instead, you can top the sweet potatoes with raisins, chopped pecans and a small handful of mini marshmallows. This way you won’t miss the sweet melted topping, it is now just a lighter dish.

Mashed Potatoes – Do you normally take all skin off the potatoes and use whole milk when making mashed potatoes? Instead, leave the skin on and use low-fat milk or soy milk. I promise you it will still taste delicious, but with less fat and more nutrients.

Salt – In many traditional dishes, salt is a staple. However, it isn’t the only seasoning that can be used to add flavor. Try adding other herbs in place of salt, such as thyme or parsley.

Sour Cream – Do you serve baked potatoes topped with sour cream at your Thanksgiving dinner? Swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt and add a sprinkle of scallions for more flavor!

Still looking for more ways to have a mindful Thanksgiving? Start your day off with a long morning walk to kick-start your body. Also, don’t forget to eat breakfast! This will keep you satisfied and help you avoid heading into dinner starving.

Check out this article from BRGHealth.com for tips on how to have a safe Thanksgiving.

Another New Weight Loss System that’s Doomed to Fail

Trying to figure out how the picture here connects with the blog title? Read on…

It is not unusual for you to open up a magazine or hear on TV about a new weight loss procedure or miracle diet/supplement to help you lose weight quickly.

If you are a chronic dieter, you probably take notice whenever there is a new “best” way to lose weight. And, you’ve probably tried most if not all of them.

Well, today I had to write about another new weight loss procedure that is about to hit the market because I just can’t believe it. I will describe it to you, without naming names (for good reason).

This latest FDA-approved weight-loss system is minimally invasive. It consists of three tiny capsules, each containing an inflatable balloon attached to a catheter. You would swallow each of the capsules, three weeks apart, and X-rays are taken to ensure they are just in the right spot.

(You would be swallowing inflatable balloons!)

Once the balloons are in the right spot, gas is pumped through the catheter, filling the balloon up. The catheter is removed, and you would go home with a small balloon (or balloons) in your stomach.

The balloons stays there for six months, filling up the stomach. This is meant to help you feel full so you don’t eat as much. After six months, the balloons are removed via minimally-invasive endoscopic surgery.

UGH!

But, why do you need to resort to this type of procedure?

Wouldn’t it be better to learn why you feel the need to overeat, and to change your relationship with food?

The research for this procedure did have the volunteers meeting with a registered dietitian every three weeks, helping them making healthy lifestyle changes, which is good. This system is meant to be done in conjunction with diet and exercise and the company says you would need to meet with a dietitian regularly as part of the program.

But, why not meet with a registered dietitian certified as an intuitive eating counselor to do the deeper work that you have to do NOW so you can finally be free of all these weight loss systems and procedures (which by the way doesn’t keep the weight off long term)?

This is where intuitive eating can be beneficial. If you learn the why behind your eating and what is actually driving your overeating you will no longer seek to fill those needs with food! You will learn how to listen to your body’s hunger and satiety cues and give your body what it wants.

You CAN do this. No device or procedure or pill is needed.

Remember, there is no “quick-fix” to obesity, it is a disease that requires a long-term solution via a multi-faceted approach.

Start by understanding the real reason(s) you overeat, the WHY behind your eating. As I have said many times before, it is not about the food.

If you would like my help to create a healthier relationship with food, your mind and your body, just go to www.TalkWithBonnie.com and we’ll set up a time to chat.

Dieting Information Overload – When To Start Taking Action

I’ve been a registered dietitian nutritionist in private practice for over 28 years now. Wow, hard to believe. And a lot has changed in the industry in the last 28 years. When I first got out of school and opened my business, I was mostly treating patients for medical conditions using nutrition therapy. These conditions included uncontrolled diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, gastrointestinal conditions, to name a few.

In most of these cases, except for some of the gastrointestinal conditions, weight loss was always a part of the treatment plan. I created a nutrition plan that included a meal plan tailored to the patients’ medical condition and weight loss goals. My patients were getting better and losing weight. It all seemed so perfect.

At some point, I asked myself what can I do to help prevent these illnesses or the complications from occurring due to their diseases. Again, weight loss was usually part of the prevention plan and my patients wanted a meal plan to follow, which I obliged to.

Yet, at some point about 5-6 years ago, I realized that these meal plans are actually doing a disservice to many of these patients. The meal plan turned into a diet for them to follow and they just didn’t know how to navigate certain situations in their lives when they couldn’t “follow” the meal plan I created. These included vacations, weddings, deaths, job loss and other events and circumstances. They then felt guilty, ashamed and upset that they just couldn’t “do it”. They lost total confidence and trust in themselves.

Can you relate?

This is when I turned my attention to helping people break free of dieting to learn how to re-trust themselves and their bodies again to make the food choices that feel right for them. Yes, this is where my intuitive eating work comes in.

But here is what I have found.

As I started talking about and spreading my message about giving up dieting, all of a sudden the internet was swarming with coaches doing the same thing. It caught on like wildfire! It seems like every other day there is another summit with ‘expert interviews’ telling you how to give up dieting.

I’ve been on these summits, and I do believe they can be very helpful. But I also believe that there comes a point where you need to stop collecting information and start taking action. That’s when the real change happens.

So, in theory, yes, giving up dieting is your answer to finally achieving the body and life you want without food restriction, deprivation and feelings of guilt after you eat. But, if you don’t begin to practice this, you will continue to struggle.

3 Tips to Help You Start Taking Action

Stop signing up for every “end dieting” summit that pops up in your newsfeed. Choose 1 or 2 experts that you resonate most with and follow them (hint…I hope I’m one of them).

Pick one action step and focus on that for one week. Self-assess each evening to see how you feel with your progress. When you are ready, add a second action step and so on. Don’t take on too many changes at once.

See support to help you on your journey. These changes are tough! Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being truthful! There is no reason to go this alone. An RDN coach can walk the journey with you and support you. If you’d like to see how I can help you, just contact me here.

I am excited for you that you have made the commitment to give up dieting forever. I also know how scary that thought is. Please don’t let that fear keep you in the “gathering information” phase. Start taking action today. I am here to support you.

Your Emotional Health, Self-Talk and Weight Loss

I have many clients that come to me with the frustration of not meeting their weight loss goals. They come to me wondering what they can do to reach their “goals”. I usually sit down with them and go over what they are eating and if they are exercising; the typical conversation I have when a client comes to me for weight loss.

But their eating pattern isn’t the only thing we discuss.

My clients and I may also discuss how they feel about themselves after not reaching their “goals”. Where is their mindset at? How are they feeling on their journey to a healthier lifestyle?

Often they might see not reaching their weight loss goal as a failure and a reflection of who they are as a person. They may then develop a negative internal monologue with themselves that tends to only perpetuate weight gain or the inability to lose weight.

Does this resonate with you?

Bullying yourself is not the way to long lasting weight loss, nor is it part of a healthy lifestyle.

Many times the roadblocks in the journey to weight loss are not a lack of nutrition education or even support, but rather they are barriers you put up in your own psyche that prevents you from moving forward.

Your emotional health is key to your physical health, and talking yourself down will not lead to success.

How many times have you eaten what you consider “poorly” or not in keeping with your “diet plan” throughout the first half of the day, and your inner voice starts bullying you saying, “You can’t even make it a few hours without eating unhealthy” or “Can’t you stick to anything? You’re such a failure! You’ll never lose weight!” The disappoint that accompanies these thoughts almost always leads to more unhealthy choices throughout the rest of the day.

Instead of criticizing yourself, be your own cheerleader.

The day is not ruined if you chose to eat a bagel for breakfast instead of oatmeal. Tell yourself it is OK and move on.

There are so many more things to the day than what you eat.

Food should only be a part of your life, not what controls it.

The more you can shift your mind from the negative to focusing on all the great things about what you do in a day, the more success you will have with living a healthy lifestyle.

Support from others is great and is a key piece in a healthy mindset (and intuitive eating), but the support you give yourself is equally if not more important. After all, you are on this journey for you and nobody else, and while weight loss is great, achieving happiness and a sense of peace with the way you maintain a healthy lifestyle is even better.

Intuitive eating can help you change your mindset and help you overcome body bashing. You will develop a better relationship with food and no longer have feelings of remorse or anger if you go off your “diet plan”.

If you would like to learn more about intuitive eating and how it can help you, contact me here.