Have you ever come home after a long day dreading the thought of having to prepare dinner? This is the time many of us resort to fast food. How much easier to go to the drive through and grab a quick meal!

Although this is fine to do once in awhile, if you neglect to plan ahead, it can become a daily habit! Something that works for me is “Sunday Cooking”! It is the one day of the week I actually have time to cook the way I love to. The beauty of it is that if you make a large amount of whatever it is you are cooking, you can freeze and save for use during the week. Turkey Chili (pictured above) is one of my favorites! There is no recipe that I use, and I make it differently every time. I tend to use whatever is in the fridge in addition to frozen ground turkey that I almost always have on hand. Just brown and drain your turkey, add in a large can of diced tomatoes, fresh ones, salsa if you have it, diced peppers (green, red, yello), onions, garlic, corn, grated carrots, any kind of bean such as kidney, cannelini, chick peas, and then your seasoning (chili powder, pepper, cumin, etc) or you can use one of those packets that come with all the chili spices mixed together. Either way, this is just one ideal meal you can cook ahead of time, freeze and just heat up after a long day at work! No drive through, healthier meal and money saved!!

I admit to getting frustrated on an almost daily basis when I hear the things that come out of the mouths of well meaning people regarding other people’s bodies. Sometimes referred to as “body talk”, it has become socially acceptable. Sometimes I feel we all have been brainwashed. It seems to me that everyone assumes we all have the same goal and that is to be thin. And so when someone loses weight, everyone gushes their praise. At other times, we have no problem pointing out someone’s weight gain. How does this affect the person receiving this praise or criticism?

Take it from me, you will never know. From my experience as a dietitian who has worked with individuals with eating disorders and weight issues for many years, it is rarely good. Some people who have lost weight are suffering on a daily basis from rigid eating rules and guilt around eating. They may be exercising compulsively and unable to stop (I remember a patient of mine getting very upset when she was on the treadmill at the gym and unable to stop,and a woman came up to her and said she wished she could be like her. She was suffering and yet this stranger thought she was paying her a compliment). Others have told me when they get compliments for losing weight (“you look so good!) they have wondered if they looked bad before. The hardest thing for me is when a parent points to their child’s belly and says “look at his belly! Show her!” And I can tell by the look of horror on the child’s face he wants to crawl into a hole. Even his own mother thinks he is fat.

So am I saying we should never pay a compliment to someone who has made some healthy changes in their life? Not at all! But instead of commenting on someone’s body, why not mention how nice it is to see them happy and energetic? Or admire the physical accomplishments such as running a road race after they quit smoking? Think about focusing on healthy accomplishments verses physical changes. And definitely never criticize someone’s body. Would you want someone critiquing yours?

I still suggest not saying anything to a stranger or someone you don’t know well, because you may be hurting them more than helping. And just for awhile, pay attention to all the “body talk” you hear (or do!) in your life. Awareness is the first step to change.

I often see children who are referred to me because they may be gaining more weight than normal (and now may be tracking far above their normal growth chart). One of the first questions I ask is about sleep. It is not uncommon for children these days to stay up until the wee hours usually playing video games, or watching movies on some electronic device that they often take to bed with them. Why is this a problem? Without adequate sleep, our body tends to produce more of a chemical called ghrelin, a messenger that tells the brain to eat more! Especially more fat and sugar. The same thing happens with adults. Have you ever stayed up way too late on a weekend and found yourself wanting home fries and bacon in the morning? and then still being hungry all day long? That is ghrelin taking over and that is the problem when we don’t get enough sleep. So take those electronic devices, TVs, cell phones away from your kids and get to bed yourself!

Sometimes when people are thrown off their schedules (such as getting stuck in your home because of the weather!) it puts them at risk for chaotic eating. There is no problem with chaotic eating once in awhile! but I have found that some people are NOT ok with this and they feel bad about eating randomly. If this is you, then it may help to plan ahead. Think about the day ahead and what you want to accomplish (or not!) and be sure to plan to have regular meals. This may mean running to the grocery store the day before a storm just like everyone else!! But if you have healthy foods in your home when you are stuck there, it helps. Of course if you are ok with snacking all day and NOT making a meal, well that works for some too! You know yourself best….in the mean time, enjoy the scenery! (PS I love to make soup on snow days!!)