intuitive eating Archives - Page 26 of 32 - Diet Free Radiant Me | Intuitive Eating | Emotional Eating

The Negative Effect of T.V. on Eating Pleasure

This past Sunday was a busy day. I’m sure you have busy days too. But what I experienced Sunday really brought what I teach my clients to life.

My day started off cleaning out our storeroom. I’ve been after my husband for a long time to do this, so I was so glad we began this adventure. We then had some errands to do, and eventually we dropped my daughter off at her friend’s house for a birthday party.

The party was for 2 hours and it was a distance from our home. We wanted to hang out in the area and just go back and pick her up at the end of the party. We found a nice park to walk around and it was beautiful.

We decided to find a place to eat dinner, as it would be too late to eat when we got home. So, we went into a local restaurant, seemed nice enough. I ordered food at the counter, my husband went to find a table. When I brought the food over, I noticed that our table was right under a television hanging on the wall. I looked around and realized my husband chose this table because it was the only table available.

As I began to eat my chopped salad filled with artichokes, hearts of palm, egg whites, sun dried tomatoes and mandarin oranges, I was feeling very out of touch with my eating experience. I quickly realized that the T.V. blasting above my head was taking away from the pleasure in my meal. I was frustrated and wondered why on earth this restaurant needs to have a T.V. on in the dining area. Yes, it’s casual dining, but really? Doesn’t the restaurant owner know anything about mindful eating?

Apparently not.

I concentrated on my inner satiety signals, wanting to be sure I didn’t miss comfortable satiety. I took a few more bites and told my husband I was finished. I packed up the rest to take home.

As we were driving home, I thought about this experience. I was looking forward to this delicious salad, but the distraction and noise from the T.V. took away from my pleasurable experience. What a shame. Had I not been aware of this, I would have probably gone home and looked for food, anything to achieve satisfaction.

A lesson learned. I won’t be going back to that eating establishment any time soon.

Your turn to take action: Have you had a similar eating experience? Please share below.

There’s No “Throwing in the Towel” in Intuitive Eating

If you are a chronic dieter, then more than likely you have “thrown in the towel” quite a few times.

A new diet comes to market. It’s exciting, this will be the one. You start the diet and things are going well. But then you had a bad day at work, you went on vacation or you had a fight with your boyfriend. Or, you get on the scale on weigh-in day and it hasn’t budged.

Either way, you ended up in the pint of ice cream saying to yourself “forget it, what does it matter anyway”.

You have just “thrown in the towel” from another diet. When will this end?

I’ll tell you when! When you finally realize that diets are not working for you. Never have, never will. When you decide that to give up dieting, you need another path. And, you have discovered intuitive eating is that path.

Okay, so let’s talk about this. You start working with me to learn how to reclaim being an intuitive eater (I say “reclaim” because let me remind you that you were born an intuitive eater). And you immediately are having major “aha” moments. Wow, you are discovering things about yourself, your past, your beliefs that you never realized impacted your relationship with food.

This is great! You laugh, you cry, all from a good place of finally moving forward.

Then it happens. You disappear, stop showing up for your appointments and stop returning emails and phone calls.

What is going on?

More than likely, an old familiar trigger has popped up and you haven’t yet learned how to handle it. So, you fall back into past overeating habits. Now you feel bad, embarrassed and say to yourself “you see, this won’t work either”. And, you throw in the towel.

Please listen up! What I’m about to say requires capital letters.

THERE IS NO FAILURE IN INTUITIVE EATING!

THERE IS NO “THROWING IN THE TOWEL” IN INTUITIVE EATING!

Intuitive eating is a learning experience. It’s a process of ups and downs. Whatever trigger has thrown you “for a loop”, let’s learn from it. Don’t let it take you back to a place that you DON”T want to be….back to the land of dieting!

If this sounds like you, I care about you and I am here to help you.

Reach out and ask for help. There’s no shame in that. It’s something to be proud of.

Click here to send me an SOS email.

How Illness Affects Your Hunger Signals

I’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?

Intuitive Eating Brings Hope!

Dieting brings despair! Intuitive eating brings hope!

Susan is a client I recently started working with. She has been overweight for most of her life. She has tried diet after diet. Yes, she lost weight, but then she gained it back plus some.

This day was no different. She sat at her desk at work and decided she needed to start Weight Watchers, again, for the umpteenth time. But as she logged into her computer, she realized that there HAS to be another way. Weight Watchers worked for her in the past, but never for long. She always gained the weight back. So, this can’t be her answer.

Susan felt despair.

Susan felt hopeless.

She then set out to search on Google for another answer. And she happened upon my webpage http://DietFreeZone.com

As Susan started reading, she thought this can’t be true. I can really lose weight without dieting? It must be a gimmick.

Yet, something inside Susan told her to download my e-book 5 Steps to a Body You Love Without Dieting, and she did.

Susan immediately started reading it and lightbulb after lightbulb went off.

Wow, she thought. This lady really knows me. She really understands what I am struggling with.

Susan contacted me for a complementary phone session to learn more about breaking free of all the pain dieting has caused her, and changing her relationship to food. She then decided to sign on to work with me.

Susan wants everyone out there reading this to know that INTUITIVE EATING BRINGS HOPE!

Intuitive eating makes total sense! She is amazed why she never heard of this concept before. Well, that’s because she, and probably you, are immersed in the world of dieting. The diet industry wants to keep you immersed in all the false promises so you can lose weight, only to gain it back and come back to them to go round 2….and round 3, then round 4 etc…

Break this cycle!

Be good to yourself! Tell yourself there IS another way, and that way is to learn how to trust your body to be your guide. Sounds difficult and scary? Yep, I get that. But with the right kind of caring support, you can achieve what Susan is achieving.

If I can be of help to you, just click here and request your complementary Break Free of Dieting Session.

The Rush for the French Fries

Were you ever eating with another person, or group of people, and found that you were eating so quickly for fear there wouldn’t be more food available if you wanted another portion?

Yesterday, my daughter Lauren spent the day with her friends. She has another few days before camp begins and they decided to walk to the local pizza store. The girls each ordered their respective slice of pizza, and one order of fries to share.

They placed the fries in the center of the table. And, here’s what my daughter reported.

Everyone was eating so fast, hurrying to eat the fries for fear that they would run out really quickly or one of them would eat more than the other. I explained to my daughter that this is a form of “rebound eating” and happens when one feels like they are in competition for the food and fears food deprivation.

I found it interesting that Lauren mentioned this to me, as she clearly noticed that something was wrong with this picture.

There are many reasons and different scenarios that you might find yourself in where you resort to overeating, even binge eating. More than likely if you are a yo-yo dieter or emotional eater with a list of forbidden foods, this happens quite often when you finally give in and eat something on your forbidden food list.

The key is to realize that no one food has the power to help you lose weight or gain weight. I know, there are a lot of so called “experts” on the internet telling you, no let me correct that…shouting at you, to “avoid these 5 foods at all costs” or something similar. They make you think that if you avoid those foods, your skinny jeans will fit you perfectly and your prayers will be answered.

Not so.

Take the power back from the food! You are in charge of your food choices. When you do this, you will see your forbidden food list begin to shrink, and you might even surprise yourself and realize that you don’t happen to even like those foods that plagued you for so long.

Your turn to take action: Share with me below a time when you felt you were in competition for your food and you feared deprivation.

Diet Chatter at the Hair Salon

It’s interesting the conversations you overhear in the hair salon!

Yesterday, I was at the salon getting my hair done. As I was sitting minding my own business reading some notes in preparation for an interview later in the day (as a side note, I was interviewed for a telesummit, more on that in the next week or so), I overheard a few women talking.

What do you think the conversation was about?

Well, when a bunch of women get together, the chatter is usually about the latest diet they are on. One woman was following Atkins, the other cut out all carbs but isn’t “quite doing Atkins”, yet a third is on a liquid diet.

My hairdresser, knowing what I do for a living, said to me “Bonnie, you aren’t going to like this, but I have cut out all carbs and breads. I just can’t figure out how to limit it”. She went on to tell me about her experience with Cheese-its. As much as she tries to limit to a serving, she wipes out the box in a day, okay, maybe 2 she says if she really has “willpower”.

Ugh, there’s that word again…WILLPOWER!

Listen up! It’s not about willpower. Willpower is you trying to get yourself to do something that you don’t want to do. You might be able to hold off for a few days, heck maybe even a few weeks, but then it gets you!

Another woman commented that her friend told her that she noticed when she eats slower, she gets fuller faster and is more satisfied.

BINGO! That woman got it!

By engaging in mindful eating and tuning into your inner signals of hunger and satiety, you can trust your body to tell you when you’ve had enough to eat. And, you can eat a serving of Cheese-its and stop.

Intuitive eating is a process. It takes time to learn. But, what’s your rush?

If you need help getting started on your path towards intuitive eating, don’t’ be shy. Reach out to me here.

Eating Intuitively While at Summer Camp

I work with both adults and children in my private practice. Most of my posts are geared towards adults, but today’s post will be focused on kids.

Obesity in kids is on the rise. This, I know, is not news to you. During the school year kids spend an awful lot of time in front of the screen such as the television, computer or smartphone screen. This takes away from the time they can and should be active and running around. Add to this the high fat school lunches, fast food dinners and processed food snacks and we have a problem.

Years ago when a parent would call me in tears that their child is overweight or obese and needs to lose weight, they would beg me to put together a meal plan for their child. I would reluctantly create this eating plan, keeping it fun and including the child in the planning as much as possible. And for many kids, this worked well. They changed their food choices, began to exercise and would lose an appropriate amount of weight. When working with kids, I stress the importance of the first goal being to stop the weight gain, and if needed, then encourage some weight loss. But oftentimes if we can stop the weight gain and change food choices, the child will “grow into their weight” and settle in at a healthy BMI.

But not unlike the adult chronic dieters that I work with, this was often not the answer for many children. There were underlying reasons why they would overeat and we needed to get to the root of the problem. So, what do you think happened when I would create this eating plan for these kids?

They would not follow through, they would sneak eat and hide the wrappers from their parents and would ultimately continue to gain weight.

This scenario sets this child up for a life of dieting and a poor relationship with food.

I decided no more. I will no longer create meal plans for these kids. I will teach them about mindful eating and intuitive eating just like I do with my adult clients.

And they are thriving!

It’s still important to teach nutrition but I do so in a non-rule based manner. I teach them to listen for hunger and fullness, and how to respond. I teach them how to figure out if they want to eat because they are hungry or because they are upset at someone or something.

A number of my “kid” clients are now heading off to sleep away camp for the summer. While they and their parents worried in the past about the food at camp, they are no longer worried. These kids will take with them what they have learned and will have a fun time focused on friends, laughter and good times.

If your child is heading off to summer camp, here are 3 tips to help him make healthy mindful choices and feel good doing it:

1) Take 3!

Encourage your child to have 3 food groups present at each meal. This will prevent an overlarge portion of one food item that might be a less healthy option. For example if the main lunch option is mac and cheese, suggest that your child pair that with the vegetable option (say green beans) and a salad, and finish off with a fruit. This is much better than saying “don’t eat the mac and cheese”. You and I both know that’s not going to happen.

2) Tune in!

It’s very easy to be distracted when eating at a table with a bunch of other kids in a noisy dining hall. Remind your child to put his fork down mid-meal and check in to see if he is still hungry. If he isn’t, then let him know its okay to stop eating and not finish what is on his plate.

3) Drink up!

Water, water, water. Need I say more? Send water bottles to camp with your child (if the camp allows). And, encourage your child to hydrate throughout the day with pure water. Remind him that juice drinks, bottled teas and sodas are full of sugar and don’t do a body good!

Here’s to a fantastic time to all the kids heading off to summer camp. Enjoy and take it all in!

Your turn to take action: What will you do to help your child have a healthy mindful summer?

I Have Nothing to Wear!

You are standing in front of your closet and have no idea what to put on to wear today. You think “nothing will look good on me”. You reluctantly take out a pair of pants and a shirt and put it on. You look in the mirror and immediately rip these clothes right off your body. “Ugh”, you think. “Looks terrible”. Out comes the next outfit, then the next, and the next. Until you finally give up and leave the house with the first outfit you put on.

Would you like to change this scenario? Would you like to rewrite it as follows…

“What should I wear today? Oh, this outfit is nice and I haven’t worn it in a while”. You take it out of the closet, put it on, twirl around and head out the door.

Done.

You just saved yourself at least 30 minutes in the morning (if not more!)

So the big question here is how can you turn around YOUR morning routine and be happy with whatever you put on?

First you have to accept your body for where it is at right now. I don’t mean throw caution to the wind and eat mindlessly and for all the wrong reasons. I mean part of changing your relationship with food is letting go of the harsh body bashing that you do. Stop comparing your body to others, stop talking negatively towards yourself and accept that this is where your body is right now. Then, work on understanding the underlying reasons why you turn to food for reasons other than hunger, why you eat mindlessly, and commit to taking a different approach to eating.

Commit to learning to become an intuitive eater, learning to identify gentle hunger and comfortable fullness as your guide to starting and stopping your eating. Learn to cope with your emotions without food. Start moving your body not because you think you have to in order to better your body, but because you feel EMPOWERED when you do. And then, respect that your body is what it is now and you need to feed it, cloth it comfortably and talk nicely to it.

Doing this will allow you to transform your relationship with food and ultimately will help you achieve the body you love and feel good in.

I know this is a tall order. Well, I am here to help you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you need some support. Just email me at bonnie@brghealth.com .

You can also join my FREE support group on Facebook right here.

Here’s to an extra 30 minutes in the morning….

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

Memorial 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:

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.

Say Sayonara to the Idea of a “Perfect Bikini Body”

It seems like we don’t have any “in-between” weather anymore. You know the kind of weather I mean. The days of cool breeze where you wear a light “spring jacket” or sweatshirt as you run your errands. Nope, we’ve gone from the cold of winter to the hot humidity of summer, even though it’s not officially summer yet on the calendar.

Although it is not summer yet, the beach craze seems to be spreading already. I’m sure you have heard and seen advertisements promoting diets, pills, and supplements to give you that “perfect beach body in just 3 weeks.”

Let’s be honest. They are all a hoax! I know that as a mindful eater, you must know this already. There is no quick fix to losing weight and getting healthy. The only way to see true, long term success in weight loss is to commit to bettering yourself through eating and lifestyle changes.

There is another problem I have with these promotions for getting a “bikini body” before summer. Who decided that you have to have a certain body to feel comfortable in a bikini? The media is constantly sending out the message that you must be thin, toned, and bronzed in order to be considered beautiful. It is time to throw this idea away.

This beach season I have a new idea for you. LOVE your body and NOURISH your body rather than damage it with extreme diets and pills that are harmful to your body. The only way to achieve a body you love and are proud of is to eat mindfully, make mindful lifestyle changes and respect you’re here and now body.

Sayonara, diets. We had no need for you this winter and we certainly don’t need you this summer or ever again!

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