Tag Archive for: healthy

Food and Celebrations: Lessons Learned

thanksgiving table with foodWhat is it about holidays and food? It seems that the word “holiday” is synonymous with the word “food” or should I say “TOO MUCH FOOD”!

 

I’ve just finished celebrating a month full of holidays. It’s been fun spending time with family…my parents, my children, my grandson. Have I mentioned my grandson lately? He is just so scrumptious! He’s able to call me grandma now…I just can’t get enough.

 

But I divert. Back to topic.

 

I told my kids that I wasn’t going to overcook this holiday. I was going to make a basic meal, ensuring that there was protein, whole grains and lots of vegetables. And I did. But the problem was…I made too much! Meaning, too many choices. I was so worried “what if she doesn’t like that, what if he doesn’t like this…I must have all these choices.

 

Well, I was wrong. After each meal ended (and there were many), I looked at the leftovers and said, “It looks like I’m putting away more than I took out”. Now, of course that’s not possible, but what I mean is people ate and then stopped. And, I was left with a lot of leftovers.

 

So, my lessons learned are as follows:
1) My family knows what it means to listen to their inner satiety (fullness signals) and they stopped eating when they were just full (okay, to be totally honest, some did eat a little past comfortable satiety, but even this happens now and then in an intuitive eater.)

 

2) Listen to my “gut” instinct. The next time I plan to make a basic meal, I need to stick to my plan and not worry that I won’t have enough food, because I always do!

 

3) Immediately freeze my leftovers, in small containers, so I have ready-to-go meals for during the week. I often work late hours, and it’s great to pull out already cooked food from my freezer so my family has a balanced meal every night.

 

4) Remember the reason we are celebrating, whether it be a holiday, a birthday, anniversary or job promotion. Food does NOT have to be the center of the celebration. Yes, it’s an important part, I won’t deny that. But, focus on the people you will be partying with, the conversations you will have, and perhaps new people you will meet.

 

What are the lessons you’ve learned from food-abundant celebrations?

 

 

How Illness Affects Your Hunger Signals

Tissue boxI’m writing this blog today with a cup of tea to my left, a box of tissues to my right and a throat lozenge in my mouth.

 

Yes, I am sick. My throat hurts, I am coughing and overall I just don’t feel well.

 

I don’t usually get sick so this is really throwing me for a loop. But I realize that there is a lesson here that I am eager to share with you.

 

After I woke up this morning from a difficult night sleep, I went into the kitchen to prepare my breakfast. What I realized as I tuned into my hunger signals was that I wasn’t really hearing hunger. I stopped to think about this. The last time I ate was dinner last night, and I am usually hungry in the morning. Yet, I just wasn’t feeling it this morning.

 

What do you think I did?

 

Well, I could have left the kitchen and said I’m not going to eat because I don’t hear my hunger. But that’s not what I did. I changed up my breakfast a bit, and had a much smaller breakfast with a cup of tea.

 

A few hours later, I sensed a gentle hunger, but still not typical of my usual hunger mid-day. Yet, I realized that it’s been some time since I’ve eaten, and it’s very important to keep my energy levels up with proper fuel. And so again, I tweaked what my usual lunch would be, and had a smaller lunch with another cup of tea.

 

The lesson I am sharing with you here is this.

 

While I encourage you to tune into your inner hunger signals as your guide to eating, there are times when those hunger signals might be blunted. And, one of those times is during illness. Therefore, even if you don’t hear and feel the hunger signals like you normally do, it’s still so important to eat so you can properly nourish your body. Choose healthful “sick friendly” foods that are easy on the stomach (and in my case, easy on my throat), but do eat recognizing that this might be one situation where you just don’t hear those hunger signals as sharp as when you are feeling well.

 

Your turn to take action: How does illness affect your hunger signals and how do you respond?

 

 

 

 

The 2 Steps You Must Take for an Intuitive Eating Experience this Memorial Day Weekend

bbqMemorial Day weekend is coming which reminds me that the warm weather is here to stay and the cold winter is behind us. I love the summer, being outdoors, breathing in fresh air and spending fun relaxing time with family and friends. It also means barbeques, pool parties and vacations which all involve food.

 

For the chronic dieter, this might bring you stress. How do you stay on your diet when you are invited to these social gatherings where you are not in charge of the menu and/or cooking? For many of my clients who first come to see me, they make promises to themselves that sound like this:

 

“I am only eating grilled chicken and salad at this weekend’s BBQ party.”

“I’ll have one hot dog, no bun, and that’s it!”

“I’ll enjoy myself while on vacation and start my diet again when I get back.”

 

I can go on and on. I’m sure these statements sound familiar to you. But do they ever work? Not really. You arrive at the BBQ but the steak on the grill looks and smells SOOO good, you have one hot dog but then feel bad so you fall into the “what the heck” trap and pile on the potato salad, pasta salad and mindlessly snack on chips and dips the entire evening. Well, tomorrow is another day, right? Later that night you are upset with yourself and now your inner talk sounds like this:

 

“Why can’t I just have the willpower to avoid those foods?”

“I’m such a failure. I’m doomed to stay on this roller coaster of yo-yo dieting for life.”

“There is just something wrong with me, I should be stronger.”

 

What does this inner dialog do for your trust in your body and food choices? It causes you to lose more and more trust in yourself, lowers your self-esteem and confidence and keeps you in a negative cycle of restriction-deprivation-overeating-guilt.

 

As an intuitive eater, you leave all this behind. You learn to trust yourself, your body, your food choices and you feel empowered when you walk into the holiday barbecue or summer pool party.

 

While I can’t give you a crash course on becoming an intuitive eater in this blog, I can provide you with 2 steps to take towards an intuitive eating experience this Memorial Day holiday weekend.

 

Ready! Here they are:

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1. Set your intention before you leave your house to go to the barbecue or party that you will be fully present and aware when making your food choices. That means surveying the food offerings, deciding what you REALLY would love to eat that would truly satisfy you, put it on your plate and go sit down. Remind yourself that you will not be influenced by what others around you are or are not eating, and you will honor your true food preferences.

 

2. Eat and focus on your every bite. How does it taste and feel in your mouth? Is the taste, texture, aroma, and appearance pleasant? If not, don’t feel pressured to continue eating it. Put it aside and find something that appeals to all your senses. When you are comfortably full, stop eating and spend the rest of the day/evening socializing and enjoying great company and weather.

 

Your turn to take action: What is your intention for eating this holiday weekend? Write it below and commit to it.

 

 

A Mindful Eating Lunch Experience at the Kitchen Table

Rush, rush, rush! That’s how most of our days are. There never seems to be enough time to do the things we need to do.

 

How does that affect your eating? Do you stop during the day to actually sit down at the kitchen table to eat your lunch? Or, if you are at work, do you walk away from your desk and sit in the cafeteria or break room and mindfully eat your lunch?

 

If you do, then congratulations! But, if you are like most people, the answer is probably no.

 

I want to share a personal experience with you that happened yesterday.

 

It was lunchtime. I had a busy morning in my home office, and I felt the need to walk away for a while. I have been making it a practice to leave the office and go to my kitchen to eat my lunch at the kitchen table, away from the phones and hustle bustle. It doesn’t always work out, as sometimes I am running behind with appointments, but I am working at this just like you are. Yet, yesterday, something was just different.

 

I went up to the kitchen, asked myself what I wanted to eat, prepared it, and sat down at the table. It was a beautiful day out (thank goodness, it’s about time) and I looked out through my bay windows in the kitchen as I was eating my lunch. I was not rushed, I had time until my next client appointment and I very slowly and mindfully ate. I was noticing the flavors, the textures and how the food felt in my mouth. When I was finished, I was very satisfied and commented to myself that I had eaten this sandwich hundreds of times before, but this time was different.

 

This time, I really delved into the sensory qualities of the food I was eating. And, my satisfaction was a 10! It reaffirmed for me what I am teaching you guys. Mindful eating is a key part of your intuitive eating journey.

 

I’m not making this up. It really feels good. It is amazing! I am worth the time it takes to take care of me and to honor my body. YOU are worth the time too. All your other work and errands will get done. You have one body. Treat it well and it will treat you well.

 

Please share your mindful eating experiences below.

I Ate a Feta Cheese Veggie Quiche. Would You?

Have I mentioned recently how wonderful it is to be an intuitive eater? Yes, I know I have and my hope is that you are moving forward on your intuitive eating journey.

 

I want to share an example of why it’s so wonderful to be an intuitive eater.

 

I’m just back from vacation visiting my parents in Florida. The sunshine was fabulous, and it was really nice to relax and spend time with family. One evening, my husband and I went out to dinner. As I looked over the menu, I wasn’t quite sure what I was in the mood for, and then my eyes landed on the Feta Cheese Veggie Quiche. I decided that THAT was exactly what I wanted. I was contemplating ordering one of the dinner salads (which also sounded delish), but when I read the description on the quiche, I really knew that this was what I wanted at that moment.

 

Never having ordered a dish like this before, I wondered what it would look like. When it arrived, I was very pleased. The piece of quiche came with two types of side salads drizzled with dressing. I started to eat, savoring every bite. I put my fork down in between each biteful so I can focus on the food that was in my mouth, and not the next forkful.

 

You may be reading this and wondering why was this so special. I’ll tell you why.

 

Before I became an intuitive eater, I followed a “healthy meal plan” and would NEVER have ordered this quiche dish in a restaurant. I would have figured it was too fatty, greasy and cheesy. I would have ordered either an egg white veggie omelet with salad and baked potato (which I still love by the way) or one of those dinner salads I mentioned earlier, even if I really wanted the quiche. I would have gone the “safe” route which really limited my eating pleasure.

 

But now, I asked myself what I really wanted to eat in that moment, and when the answer was the Feta Cheese Veggie Quiche, I went with it and I enjoyed every bite. No guilt, no worry, just pure pleasure.

 

For many of you reading this, if you struggle with yo-yo dieting and a diet mentality, it is very likely when you go on vacation you think like this: “It’s vacation, I’m going to eat what I want and start my diet when I get back”. We both know that this way of thinking leads to overeating and weight gain and continuation of the vicious cycle of dieting.

 

Bottom line is this: you can eat what you love and eat intuitively and mindfully while on vacation (and even when you are not on vacation).

 

Your turn to take action: Choose a food or menu item this week that you would never think of eating if you were on a diet. Eat it mindfully, tuning into your satiety signals, and describe the experience below.

 

5 Tips to Help You Eat Less

If you’ve been working on losing weight by following diet plans, you are probably eating a certain amount of food that the diet tells you to eat. But the truth is, there are other strategies that you can use to help you eat less.

 

Learn about those strategies on this week’s episode of The Diet Free Zone Show™.

 

Just click the image below.

5 Tips to eat less

 

 

 

 

 

 

After you watch the show, please leave your comments below and let me know which tip works best for you.