Tag: diet

If Losing Weight is your New Year’s Resolution, Don’t Forget Your Secret Weapon: IA

On By jodietitianIn dieting, hunger, Uncategorized, weightLeave a comment

Everyone is born with it. Babies and children know exactly how to use it. But something changes over time, over months and years, as our vast and varied experiences with eating and food accumulate. It gets unknowingly numbed, sometimes obliterated, taken away inadvertently by others, then finally thrown away by our own means. Eventually, most of us forget it’s even there, let alone how to use it to our advantage.

I’m talking about IA. Interoceptive Awareness.

Think about almost any child you know. A 4 year old will get half way through a plate of spaghetti and suddenly stop. “I can’t eat anymore”, or “I’m full” the child will insist. The informed parent will be wise and listen. But the typical parent will often visually look at the amount of food the child ate and feels it is just too little, it can’t be enough. So instead of allowing the child to follow is natural body signals, they insist the plate be finished, or the child take “just one more bite”. And so it begins.

That 4 year old body knows just how much he needs to eat. But he will lose this natural ability if his parent keeps this up.

Well, it’s that time again….New Year’s resolution time. People pledging to lose weight is probably up there as one of the most common pledges. I am not here to promote losing weight as a good goal for everyone, but I do know that lots of people gain weight over the years because they have lost touch with their IA. That means the weight they gained is not normal for them, it was a gradual accident. So let’s talk about IA, what it is, how you lost it and how you can get it back.

Interoceptive Awareness in simple terms is the way your body communicates with your brain about what is going on which helps you understand and decide what your body needs. A simple example is being thirsty. We have all experienced that feeling. You are outside working in the heat, or walking on a hot day. Your mouth feels dry, you feel uncomfortable and somehow you know you need water. That is your body using IA to tell you to drink. It involves a complicated process with your mouth, brain, blood volume etc. integrating signals and monitoring your physiology to make sure you do the right thing to stay alive: drink more water.

The same type of process happens with food and eating. Back in the day when I first became a dietitian in the 70’s scientists really didn’t understand how we knew how much or what to eat. They knew it was complicated (certainly genetics were a factor, as well as culture and environment) but they were just scratching the surface of it all. Leptin was discovered which was a big breakthrough. This messenger was found to actually monitor our fat cells for changes then sending signals to the brain to eat more or less depending on how much fat was there. If you ate too much, leptin would send the signal to eat less. The discovery of leptin was just the start. For those of you who are interested in a more detailed explanation, check out this article:https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/decoding-your-hunger-during-the-holidays/

We now know there is a specific messenger for fat intake, and for carbohydrates (every wonder why you sometimes crave sweets? Chances are you didn’t have enough carbs at your last meal). Yes, your body wants (and needs) balance. Please note that some people have to be on special diets due to medical conditions. Ketogenic diets are sometimes used for patients with seizures. Paying attention to carbs is important for diabetics. There are definitely medical conditions and genetic abnormalities that contribute to an individual who is not able to follow natural body signals. Babies born with Prader Willi Syndrome fail to thrive at birth however then tend to overeat with no shut off later in life and may gain an unhealthy amount of weight if not monitored. These are the exceptions. For most of us, our body signals and IA work fine. We just don’t listen.

Besides having well-meaning parents interfere with our natural ability to listen to our hunger and fullness, when we consciously try to manipulate our eating, especially in extreme ways, over time we really can do damage. I have had many patients in the past say “I am always hungry” or “I am never hungry”. Often, they have slowed their digestive processes and their metabolisms down by skipping meals or restricting, and they lose that feeling of hunger. They have to follow meal plans to get their digestive system and metabolism working again. Even if you have not gone to this extreme, but instead have simply tried to diet by eating less, your mindset gets engrained in a way that gets stuck. Many people simply don’t trust their hunger because the diet mindset tends to be “all or nothing”. Either you are walking around hungry because you are dieting or you are overeating and feeling uncomfortable, throwing caution to the wind because you are off your diet. This on a diet/off a diet lifestyle certainly keeps you disconnected from your natural IA.

So is counting calories, measuring foods or cognitively restricting your food intake the answer? As I have said many times, people do have the goal of losing weight and often do lose weight dieting, however they usually gain it back because they have not even begun to try to work on getting in touch with what their body is telling them. How do you start? Where do you start? One meal at a time. One snack at a time. Here are some tips to get you started.

  1. Identify Habits: before you can get in tough with your body signals regarding hunger and fullness you have to work on eliminating the triggers that cause you to eat when you really are not hungry.
    • Do you eat while distracted, such as at the computer, in front of the TV or while talking on the phone?
    • Do you graze all day instead of actually sitting down to a meal?
    • Do you keep food in your car, at your desk, in your bedroom?
  2. Designate a place to eat without distraction both at home and at work.
    • To help tune in to your gut messages it is helpful to avoid distraction and pay attention to what you are eating
    • Sit in a chair at a table or counter. Do not stand and eat.
    • Turn off the TV, leave your phone somewhere else, don’t read. Just eat.
  3. Designate meal and snack times if possible.
    • Snacking all day instead of eating a real meal can confuse your body. If you are a snacker plan on a breakfast time, ONE morning snack, a lunch time, ONE afternoon snack, a dinner time and ONE night snack
    • If you are a meal skipper and tend to wait until dinner time and after to graze all night INSTEAD plan 3 meals a day and ONE pm snack. Plan a breakfast time, a lunch time and a dinner time. You may not feel hunger since you have been tuning out your signals for too long but they will come back over time. Start small.
    • Be flexible. Eating at the exact same time every day is not the goal. It is the pattern we want to change. Eating within an hour time frame (for example, breakfast between 7 and 8, or lunch between noon and 1 pm) is a good goal. If this is hard for you even within a 2 hour time frame is a start in the right direction.
  4. Take time to think about what you want to eat. Sometimes your IA will plant a specific food or foods in your brain and that often means your body needs something. If you have been dieting and have been feeling deprived this may be difficult, but don’t give up. Take the risk, even for one meal a day. Some people feel too guilty letting themselves eat something they consider unhealthy. The goal is not to turn you into a junk food eater. The reality is that once you are in tune with your body, you will realize that you actually rarely crave junk foods as often as you think you will. I recommend if nothing is calling to you strongly, if you really are not craving anything, then try to choose a healthy meal that you really enjoy. Please note that if you are suffering from disordered eating, or have been diagnosed with an eating disorder please consult with your therapist and dietitian before making any changes to your eating. If you feel overwhelmed just thinking about any of this, I suggest even one consultation/evaluation with and therapist who specializes in eating issues.
  5. Tune in to your hunger/fullness level. Consider keeping a diary with a record of hunger level before eating and fullness level after eating. A scale of 1-10 is often used with 1 being “starving” and 10 being “stuffed”. A “3” might indicate normal hunger whereas a 4 is just a little hungry and you could wait to eat. After eating, a “7” would be a comfortable normal fullness whereas an “8” would mean eating a bit too much, a 9 definitely getting to uncomfortable. Keeping this record often helps recognize patterns and makes it easier to not eat when not hungry, and to be sure to eat when you are. Remember, this is a very subjective tool and I have known many people who can’t relate to it at all so if this is you, no worries! Just take the time to think about it. Stop and think about how hungry you are before you start eating, and reflect on how full you are after you eat a meal. Eventually you will identify how disconnected, if at all you are to your IA, to your awareness of hunger and fullness. (Note: we are all different with respect to a messenger (PYY) that tells our brain we are full. For some people PYY works really quickly and after eating a certain amount the messenger tells their brain to stop eating. These are the people you may know who just naturally do not over eat. For most people it takes 20 minutes for this messenger to work. For others it is longer. These are the folks who can seem to eat a lot at times but then feel uncomfortable a half hour later, complaining that they ate too much. For this type of person it might be helpful to set a timer for 20 minutes and after a plate of food wait for the 20 minutes before taking seconds. Chances are the fullness will kick in by then and that feeling of being overstuffed can be avoided). Oh, we also know that regular physical activity may help you be more in tune with fullness AND hunger.
  6. Appreciate the complexity of appetite. It is not that simple. The complicated neurochemical picture is hard to comprehend. There is so much to know. Did you every hear about NPY, the messenger that tells you to eat and won’t go away unless you eat enough protein? That is why after what you think is a healthy lunch of salad and fruit leaves you wanting more. Have you heard of ghrelin? This messenger also stimulates appetite and is elevated if you don’t get enough sleep! That is why you can’t seem to satisfy your appetite on those days after a late night out. Can you imagine how hard it is for someone with undiagnosed sleep apnea to maintain their normal weight? If you don’t sleep well, talk to your doctor. Finally, our emotions and personal histories make things even more complicated. We now know that pathways overlap in our brain that regulate both food intake and emotions. So if you ever used food to soothe yourself expecting to be able to suddenly be able to “listen to your body” is not realistic. Again, if you believe you are an “emotional eater” it might be wise to seek help.
  7. Educate yourself. Intuitive Eating is no longer a new concept and Mindful Eating is something that many people are working on. It is a much better goal than “losing weight”. Moving toward feeling better, feeling and being healthier is a good thing. Check out the website for more info. https://www.intuitiveeating.org/

Happy New Year! Here’s to NOT trying to be perfect, but moving a little bit each day to a more aware, healthier and happier YOU!!!

Middle-Age Alert: The Time to Act is Now (5 Tips)

On By jodietitianIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The other night a bunch of us retirees were joking about what exact “age” we now consider to be “old”. We all remember way back when we were approaching our 30th birthday and how we felt . Being 30 was “old” to someone in their 20’s. But then we turned 30 and realized nothing changed. Now, 40 is definitely young (we have kids in their 40’s for heaven’s sake), and 50 we can barely remember, so that is definitely not old either. Now, we look back and realize how fast time flies. We wish we only knew then what we know now. So that is why, after taking this break from writing, I felt motivated to write again. To share with you what you might want to know now rather than later when it could be too late.

Do you sometimes wish you could see into the future and know what you are going to be doing and how you are going to feel in 20 years? Will you be working in a job you love? Will you be energetic and healthy when you finally retire? Will you still have the friends you have now? Will you be happy in your relationships? Not everything is in your control. Unfortunately, tragic events change lives and disease is sometimes genetic and can’t be prevented. But as I progress in years (you know, get older) I can’t help but compare the quality of life in those that make certain choices verses those that make other choices. There are consequences to our behaviors. Over time, the detrimental (or beneficial) effects of our behaviors add up. In other words, what you are in the habit of doing TODAY has a HUGE impact on the life you will experience later. If you want to be sauntering up and down those cobblestone streets of Cinque Terre, doing that bike and barge river cruise in Amsterdam, or just enjoying a swim in the pool at a resort in Cancun, the time to start thinking about the future is now.

 Most of what I am going to mention is nothing new to you. What I am hoping is you might appreciate the experience and observations of someone who is living through it, witnessing the changes and experiences first hand through those around her and feeling it herself. If your partner or mom give their advice it sometimes makes us resentful. I hope this post makes you stop and think.

 Here is a list of what I have personally observed to have the greatest impact on your future enjoyment of life itself:

  1. Moving Too Little (or Too Much)

 One of the benefits of retiring to Florida is getting to know a bunch of snow-birders from around the country. I have been blown away by the very fit people over 70 down here. Every day I see both women and men, some over 80, riding their bikes to the pool for water aerobics at 9 am. I see them walking their little ankle biters (I mean poodles) around the almost 2 mile block early in the morning or after dinner every single day. The same group of elderly men and women are going at it with pickle ball 5 days a week. Pete, who is 80, arrives like clockwork at 4 pm at the pool to do his laps for almost and hour. These happy, healthy elderly people MOVE and as a result, their bodies keep working for them, enabling them to have fun.

 On the other hand, I have observed some other people who do not move so much. They struggle going up stairs, they can’t easily get into the car, their knees and hips and muscles hurt. Yes, it could be arthritis or osteoporosis or any other affliction that plagues us as we age. So that is why I also pay attention to younger folk, people my age or even younger, who don’t yet have those afflictions, yet suffer from the same poor quality of life. They get sore from simple repetitive activities. They lose their breath going from place to place. Their body hurts after a little exertion. They struggle getting up from the couch or a lower chair. They have to rest a lot because their muscles just are not used to moving. Their “habit” of avoiding movement at all costs regardless of reason(too much time on social media, watching TLC, working at home on the computer, etc) is starting to affect their quality of life. Even at the age of 40.

 And then, of course, there are those exercise addicts who pride themselves on going to the extremes their entire lives. I have known people who didn’t stop at a few rounds of golf and had to play all day, every day and now can’t play at all because of shoulder issues. There are those with tennis elbow because they overdid their sport. Stress fractures and hip issues seem to have afflicted some elderly runners I have known because they never took a day off. The list goes on and on. Too much of a good thing ends up being a bad thing sometimes when you get older.

 So which are you? Do you incorporate some kind of daily moving in your life? Unfortunately, lots of people only “exercise” when they are dieting because their end goal is losing weight. This is a HUGE mistake. Actually, if this is your goal, and you can project into the future, think about what kind of life you want to be able to enjoy when you are older. Walking for 30 minutes a day, even if you can’t do it all at once (such as 10 minutes, 3 times a day) could change your future life. Over time it adds up. The typical person I have seen over my many years in the field joins the gym and starts the diet on the same day. They are determined and diligent. But it turns out to be almost impossible to meet the (ridiculous) goal of going to the gym consistently at 5 am before work or 6 pm after work 5 days a week in addition to following that restrictive diet. It is pretty emotionally draining to think about eating all the time in addition to the grueling workout schedule. Most people give in. They break the diet because with all that physical activity your body requires (and will crave) more carbs….which of course are not on most diets. So once the need for carbs (ice cream, cookies, chips) is naturally satisfied the diet is broken and the gym days are over, for now. Until the cycle starts again.

Instead, just imagine that over the next 10 years your body managed to walk 3,000 miles! Do you think that body would be stronger, more fit and feel better, even without dieting? The reality is that body also would sleep better, be more in tune with how much it needed to eat, be less stressed and happier as well as be at a more natural weight. The point is, if we stop linking moving with losing weight and dieting and instead just focused on how to incorporate more movement, even just walking 2 hours a week our lives would be different when we are older. Much different.

Take my mom for example. She is 91 years old and is in constant motion, walking inside the house, counting her steps up to 100 if she can’t get outside. When other people her age nap on the couch all day, she is out having fun. Because she can. She is the best example of how moving every day, no matter what it is, will change your life. She also is pretty funny. She loves to say “that will be a dollar” every time she gives advice or says a prayer for you that gets answered. I should have added humor in my list of factors that make you healthy. Anyway, as far as physical activity, you don’t have to run a marathon. Just start moving.

2. Smoking Cigarettes

 Duh. Of course you know smoking is bad for your health (causing cancer, heart issues, etc). And yes, if I look around at people who are over 60 and smoke, it is true, they do appear older because of how smoking affects your skin and appearance over time, but the health repercussions are what is crippling, not wrinkles. With that said, I realize knowledge is NOT power when it comes to smoking. Smoking is an addiction to a substance as well as a deeply ingrained habit that is hard to change. I can speak to this issue because of personal experience, so I am going to share that in hopes it may shed some light. If even one person quits smoking from reading this, I will be thrilled.

 So when I smoked cigarettes it was in the 1970’s. I was a senior in high school. I vaguely remember that my Newports cost about 50 cents a pack. I went off to college and for some reason, I went from a half a pack a day to almost 2 packs! And then, I clearly remember the price jumping up to over 60 cents a pack. That was it. I couldn’t afford that! Also, I was moving in to an apartment with 3 women who did not smoke and I did not want to be the one stinking up the place.

 So here is the thing, the important take-home message: I MADE A DECISION. Yes, I had “tried” to quit smoking before, and if you have tried to quit, you may relate. Before, deep down I would be thinking, “how long will I last?” This was the first time my thinking was different. I DECIDED that I did not care what I had to go through, I was quitting. I also remember consciously adopting a brand new identity: Healthy Person. This was new (which is funny as I was a nutrition major at the time, but smoking was socially acceptable back then). I also (as a “healthy person”) started exercising for the first time in my life. I dragged myself to the pool in the field house at UConn several times a week at night to swim. I had ants in my pants and needed to do SOMETHING. I remember leaving the field house and walking to my car in the freezing cold and my hair would turn into icicles and clink. Then, in the spring I took up jogging. I was REAL SLOW, but I felt so empowered and very cool as a “healthy person” it didn’t matter that it took me 20 minutes to cover a mile. I loved it. I was hooked.

 That’s the good part. The bad part was the process. Several years after the fact I became a Registered Dietitian. I took a part time job at the local YMCA and was trained by the American Cancer Society to teach their “Fresh Start” classes on quitting smoking. I learned about the 3 parts of being addicted to nicotine and smoking. I reflected back on what I went through and it all made sense. The first part is the chemical addiction. Luckily, it only takes about 10 days to get the nicotine out of your system. The second part of the problem is the HABIT you have practiced over the years that has become deeply ingrained in your brain. This means that certain things become “triggers” to make you want to smoke. For me, I had a cigarette when I took a break from studying (and I studied a lot). I had one with my coffee in the morning and one with a beer on the weekends. I had one after eating and socially smoking was always involved. I smoked when I was stressed and I smoked while walking to class and after class. Like most smokers, having a cigarette was associated with all kinds of activities. That is why every time you do the activity (eat, drive, have a coffee or a drink, etc) you are going to want a cigarette UNTIL you KEEP PRACTICING a new behavior. For me, it was being very aware of simply sitting there…doing nothing. That was it. The hard new behavior was doing nothing. Funny thing is now I crave times like that, just sitting in quiet. The reality is for any bad habit the act of practicing doing something different over time actually changes the brain’s pathways so that eventually it becomes automatic. You don’t have to think about it or even try anymore. You just have to practice.

The third, and most difficult for me anyway, is the “emotional” aspect of the addiction. I did not understand what was going on at the time. I just found myself crying for no reason. I felt like someone died. After the fact I learned that I had made a friend of cigarettes. They were there for me every time I needed them. They connected the events of the day for me. They filled the space, a void. And when I DECIDED to let them go, well, the pain was real. It may sound weird to those of you who never smoked. But smokers will relate. It is painful to let it go, and that is because of the emotional addiction. It DID feel like someone died because something was gone. But just like with a bad break-up, you do get over it. And boy, life is SO much better, especially as you age. After I quit, when I walked to class, I could not believe how much energy I had! I could breathe! This is how I am supposed to feel, I remember thinking. Trust me, you don’t even realize how crappy you feel until you don’t feel crappy. It is life changing. I honestly, thank God, still feel that good. 45 years later (or more).

 Not to mention the money you save. Let’s just say if a pack of cigarettes is about 10 bucks, and you smoke a pack a day, that is over 3,000 dollars a year. If you quit now and retire in ten years, that’s 30,000 dollars for that new house down payment, or better yet, for that European River Cruise on your bucket list. Enough said about smoking. But please, think about it. I hope you make the decision, go through the pain and come out the other side. Check out The American Cancer Society website for help https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/tobacco/empowered-to-quit.html.

3. Ignoring Nutrition (or Obsessing about it)

 Unfortunately, most people I have known and met over the years think about eating and food with the very narrow view of how it affects their weight. They think “good” and “bad” when it comes to food. They often have dieted over the years, lost weight, gained it back and then stop paying attention at all. It is socially acceptable to diet and focus on eating only as it relates to helping you lose weight or not. That’s too bad because food and eating well can be such a wonderful and enjoyable part of life. It is sad that so many people are probably reading this and thinking “are you kidding me? I am tortured by thinking about food!” So, I am not going to pretend this is easy. It is not. What I am hoping to convince you to consider trying to change extremes of eating. The fact is that eating more fruits, vegetables and healthy fats as well as fiber have a huge influence on preventing disease in our future lives. Waiting until you have prediabetes or heart disease is not a great time to start thinking about what you are putting into your body.

 When it comes to healthy eating, there are a few different mindsets I have noticed. There are actually people who escaped the entire diet-obsessed weight-focused movement and do not have the diet mindset at all. They like to eat. They just honestly don’t think about it. Let’s say you fall into the “ignore nutrition” mindset. Maybe you don’t think about what you eat because you simply have no interest in food. You never enjoyed cooking, and having people over for a dinner party is more stressful than joyful. Planning meals for the week and packing a lunch to bring to work feels like so much work. So you tend to pick up a burger for lunch or just grab some chips, a soda and a candy bar to get through your day. Isn’t that why they invented Coca Cola? You feel ok, what is the big deal? It is also easy to buy some frozen meals or pizza or whatever. You grew up with canned green beans and corn. TV dinners were the norm as was hamburger helper. Twinkies and Bugles were a staple in your home (and they still are).We all did not grow up in families with adults who just loved to cook. Some of us just could not afford to eat differently anyway.

  OR maybe you DO have the diet mindset, and you don’t want to think about what you eat because you are not following a diet right now. You DID fall into the craze but right now, you are off the diet bandwagon. You know you will be going back on eventually, when you are motivated again to lose the weight. Maybe it’s Weight Watchers, or Noom, or counting carbs or calories or “clean eating” (hate that expression). It doesn’t matter, just that now you are ignoring it all. So why not just eat what is easy, convenient, tastes good, quick, and especially what you know you won’t be able to have when you start that diet?

On the other hand there are those of you who may be TOO focused on what you are eating (and it does not always necessarily mean you are concerned about your weight). You read every label looking for whatever it is you are afraid of (fat, carbs, additives, artificial ingredients, etc). You spend way too much time worrying about what you are eating. You used to enjoy food but now eating is work. You tend to eat the same thing everyday because over the years you have found the foods and meals that make you feel “safe”. From my experience these foods tend to be low fat and low sugar foods such as plain yogurt, vegetables, some fruits, lean chicken and cereals with absolutely no sugar (heaven forbid you buy the honey nut cheerios by mistake). Going out to eat or to a dinner party is never that fun because typically the foods offered are not on your safe list.

 The truth is there are many different types of “healthy” eaters too. If you buy and prepare healthy foods most of the time, but CAN enjoy, and actually look forward to going out to a favorite restaurant or to a friends for dinner, then no big deal. Maybe you even buy what I call “fun foods” like your favorite ice cream or chocolate to have in the house when you crave them. You never feel guilty after eating anything. You may read labels once in awhile to check for protein or sodium or a specific allergen you react to. Maybe heart disease runs in the family so you prefer to choose products with no trans fat and less saturated fat. Well, this type of eater is probably balanced, not stressed out over food, but simply trying to create a healthy food environment. This person actually truly enjoys their kale salads and Greek yogurt with chopped fruit. But they also like and enjoy a wide variety of foods. They have a healthy relationship with food and eating, and they likely never dieted.

Another type of “too healthy” eater typically feels guilty after eating. They may have a long history of dieting and weight fluctuations. They may be in and out of “diet jail”. They will not eat something if they don’t know what is in it. They count calories and will only eat small amounts, or they lose control and binge eat, alternating with dieting. If this sounds like you then getting an evaluation with an eating disorder specialist may the only way to know if you truly have a problem that needs to be addressed. You can ask your doctor for recommendations in your area and with your insurance. If you don’t get help now imagine still being trapped in this draining mindset 10 to 20 years from now. I know people who are. This is no way to live.

 So what is they best way to eat if you want to be enjoying life in your older years? I believe making the effort to eat healthier without excessive focus on being perfect sets the stage for both a healthier body in the future as well as lots of joy when it comes to food and eating . Learning about healthy cooking and eating actually DOES matter. I have seen people in their 50’s and 60’s experience all types of health issues simply because of poor eating habits. Type 2 diabetes, stroke, hypertension, heart disease, digestive issues, etc can often be prevented with just a little attention paid to healthier eating (without driving yourself crazy). Little changes add up if you start when you are younger. Simply focusing on adding in fruits and vegetables helps. Remember, all fruits and vegetables provide antioxidants. It is these wonderful substances that fight the bad things, that help prevent damage and disease. I know people in their 50’s who have had heart attacks and who have lived on “brown food” (burgers, fries and not much else) their entire lives. Could it have been prevented? It’s worth a try.

So where do you start? Maybe you could start buying apples and bring one to work. It is perfectly alright to make it easy. Add some frozen veggies to your freezer so you could just microwave a portion to have with your dinner, whatever that is (frozen broccoli has just as much vitamin A and fiber as fresh). Buy a bag of salad at the grocery store when they go on sale if making your own feels like way to much work. Maybe start experimenting with cooking on the weekends if you have more time then. The idea is to just start somewhere. Check out the website https://www.eatright.org/ and https://www.myplate.gov/ for more guidance on healthy eating and cooking.

 Remember, stressing about eating is not good either. The time to start working on your relationship with food and eating is now. Check out these websites https://thecenterformindfuleating.org/Principles-Mindful-Eating and https://www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/ for more guidance on mindful, non-diet eating.

4. Bad Sleeping Habits

  If you are going to bed with your phone or iPad or laptop, or binge watching your favorite TV show until the wee hours (after midnight) and you do this on a regular basis, it is going to be next to impossible to eat healthier or move more. We now know that lack of sleep actually has a profound affect on the foods we want to eat. Lack of sleep affects metabolic messengers that make us crave carbohydrates and fats so that our goals of choosing healthier foods are sabotaged. Have you ever noticed that you are craving junk foods or greasy fatty food after a horrible night sleep, or after late night partying? You just can’t ignore it. Your body won’t let you. The urge to eat junk food is as strong as the need to use the bathroom. It’s physiological. There’s no stopping it. So if you are motivated to eat healthier, please don’t blame yourself or feel bad if you struggle. If you aren’t sleeping well, that is most likely the culprit.

 The other huge factor in predicting a healthier life in the future, moving more, is also going to be next to impossible if you are tired. If you aren’t getting rested, if you wake up exhausted every day, even getting out of bed can be dreadfully difficult. Who could blame you if you don’t want to go for a walk and especially go to a gym? It’s even difficult to make the bed or do the dishes when you are consistently getting poor sleep, let alone go for a jog.

 I probably should have put sleep as number one, because without it nothing else healthy can happen. If this is you, I strongly recommend asking your doctor about a sleep study. Check out the website https://sleepeducation.org/sleep-disorders/. The sooner you find out what is going on and how to correct it the more active and enjoyable, healthy years you can add to your life! I know people personally who have said “I feel like a new person!” after getting their sleep issue corrected. Don’t wait! The time is now!

5. Avoiding the Doctor

 Prevention is so much easier than cure. If you knew you had a very tiny precancerous lesion on your body somewhere that, if removed, could save your life, what would you do? Remove it of course! But if you don’t know it is there, the outcome would be different. Yet, so many people just don’t take the time to do the important recommended “screenings” that could mean the difference between life or death. Everyone my age knows someone who passed away because they did not get diagnosed with a disease until it was too late. Don’t let that be you. Yes, it takes time and is not always fun but if you could see into the future, you would have wished you did it. I hope you get that mammogram you have been putting off, or that colonoscopy or skin check for that new mole you noticed. Do that stress test. Tell your doctor about that chest pain or shortness of breath or any other issue that is new and not going away. The earlier you address it the more likely you can prevent something horrible and the more likely you can look forward to enjoyable years ahead. 

There of course are more things that affect your future health. Hating your job, struggling with a relationship, going through stressful life events all affect health. It is well established that stress affects everything. If you wake up with dread everyday, don’t ignore it. Ask your doctor about affordable therapy. Taking that first step is sometimes all it takes to feel more positive about life. Making an appointment with a therapist is the first step towards your new, happier life.

 Don’t wait until you are 60. Don’t wait until you retire and you think you will have more time (you won’t). Do it now. Start today.

That will be a dollar.

 

The Dieting Game: Can You Really Ever Win?

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hungry man and burgerI have two questions for you. Question #1: Do you know anyone who followed a diet and lost weight? I bet you do, because ALL diets work. Yes, I said that. And NO, I don’t believe in dieting, but they DO work…..initially. If you ever tried one, then you know. That is why I often hear “I am going back on the Atkin’s Diet (insert Weight Watcher’s, Zone Diet, Hollywood Diet, etc) because I lost a lot of weight on it last year, it works”. Yes, all these diets “work” because they provide less calories (energy) than you were eating before (if you follow the restrictive guidelines spelled out in whatever plan). Voila! You lose weight.

Question #2: How many of those individuals that you know who were “successful” in losing weight continue to maintain their weight loss a year or two later? I am guessing there aren’t too many. Research predicts this, past experience proves this, yet, millions of people continue to support the diet industry (or continue to repeat the same diets over and over). Even worse than gaining back weight is falling into a destructive eating disorder, another fall-out of starting on a restrictive diet. If you are reading this and thinking “hey, I actually lost weight and have kept it off!” then you, my dear, are the exception. Hopefully, you are one of the lucky ones who made some positive changes in your lifestyle as a consequence of starting your diet; and hopefully, none of that disordered thinking that goes along with most diets did not stick.

I have known people who started exercising at the same time as dieting and learned they actually loved moving. They end up becoming yoga fans, or loving the gym or zumba, and enjoying every minute. Even when they give up the diet, they have successfully incorporated something healthy into their lives that is helping them have a healthier lifestyle (and body). Sometimes, people who are forced to learn to cook healthier because their diet calls for different foods realize they actually enjoy some of the healthier meals. They may learn how to shop smarter and eat out less and end up eating healthier in the end, even though they give up their weight loss diet. Again, these people are the lucky ones who have taken something positive from their restrictive diet and are able to move on and incorporate a healthy habit or two. But this is the exception rather than the rule.

Unfortunately, for most people, this is not the outcome of following a strict weight loss diet. Instead of loving the new exercise regime they started, they give it up immediately because the only reason they started it in the first place was to lose weight. And since they are off the diet, they of course are off the exercise. To them, exercise still feels like punishment, so why would they continue?

As far as learning and incorporating some healthier cooking and eating habits, most dieters end up missing the foods they have been restricting so much that they tend to overeat them once they give up their diet. They avoid salads like the plague. They go right back to the easier life of picking up fast food or eating whatever is quickest. They go back to that “all-or-nothing” thinking (and eating) because in the back of their minds, they know another diet will come (so why not enjoy it all now, right?).

If you are a dieter, but not one of the lucky ones who has evolved into a healthier lifestyle, and just can’t imagine life without another diet in your future, what other options do you have? How about a reality check?

The reality is that YOU are not like anyone else. Over the years I have learned that our bodies (and weight) are affected by so many complex factors that only focusing on eating/food/exercise is like taking a toothpick to chip away at an iceberg. You really need to get to the bottom of it. We all have our own “big picture” of what affects what we eat, how we live and what we are, and these factors can be supportive of health or non-supportive. What kinds of things am I referring to? I group these contributing factors into three categories:

  1. physiological
  2. behavioral
  3. psychological

If you do not address each of these areas then evolving into a healthy happy lifestyle is next to impossible. Although some diet programs attempt to address things like behaviors, positive thinking/emotional eating and metabolism, they typically only scratch the surface, and they tend to be “blanket” approaches. We are all different and what works for one may not work for another.

So where to begin? Instead of judging yourself (I notice people often beat themselves up emotionally when they fall off the dieting wagon) I recommend a “detective” approach. It means more of a problem-solving, discovery model of moving toward change rather than a judgmental approach. In other words, you just want to gradually figure out, step by step, by trial and error, how to move into a lifestyle that is better for your body (and mind and soul for that matter). For example, let’s start with #1: Physiological.

What kinds of things contribute physiologically to your body and weight? Here are a few:

  • Conditions such as low thyroid (hypothyroid),  PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome-a condition many women have and don’t know with symptoms such as irregular periods) and genetics all contribute.
  • Lack of sleep affects hormones that cause weight gain and food cravings.
  • Inadequate protein intake or imbalances in macro-nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) may contribute to food cravings.
  • Not moving enough, loss of muscle mass, sedentary lifestyle in general compromises our body’s ability to self-regulate (in other words, active people are more in tune with their hunger and fullness, making it easier to avoid over-or under-eating)

As far as #2: Behavioral, some things that contribute to our not-so-healthy behaviors include

  • repetitive behaviors that have evolved into automatic habits (such as sitting on the couch the minute you walk in the door from work, or stopping in for a donut just because it is on the way to work, or eating in the car, or skipping meals, etc).
  • Non-supportive food environment: purchasing lots of unhealthy foods because it was on sale (hard to resist those buy-one-get-two chips!); leaving food on the counter where it becomes a trigger every time you walk by; not planning ahead for dinners so you have to resort to eating out; going to the grocery store hungry so you end up buying stuff you didn’t plan to buy
  • Clean-plate Club: you were made to finish your food even if you were stuffed because someone is starving somewhere
  • Eating food because it is free (such as when your work provides free pizza or donuts or whatever and you just had your lunch, you are not hungry, but you eat it anyway…because it’s free)
  • You eat food because you think you should, because it is good for you, even though you don’t want it or aren’t hungry anymore (note: some people with a history of disordered eating often do have to make themselves eat according to a meal plan, even when they may not feel hunger. This is critical for them as they may not be connected to their body signals).

And, finally, #3: Psychological

  • You grew up with lots of attention paid to body image, weight, dieting
  • You have used food throughout your life to provide pleasure (after all, you got a cookie when you were good growing up, now you can reward yourself whenever you want to)
  • You have used food and eating to stuff emotions (you are not good at expressing yourself or you grew up repressing how you really felt because it just wasn’t acceptable or permitted); you never received counseling or got help for this or you may not even be aware of it
  • You have dieted so much in your life that you are fearful of being without food
  • You had a parent (or spouse or friend or sibling) who restricted your food or commented on your eating or your body/weight and so you are rebelling
  • You have extremely negative “self-talk”, in other words, you beat yourself up in your mind way too much

These lists are just examples and do not come close to all of the factors that can have an affect on our eating and health. They are probably just the tip of that iceberg, and I am guessing you can think of many more examples in your own personal life. The bottom line message is to accept how complicated and intertwined all of these things become over time, and how difficult and complex it can be to figure it all out. It takes time. It takes more than a diet. So please don’t feel bad if you are one of those people who didn’t last on one. Instead, maybe you did learn something about healthy cooking or grocery shopping, or maybe you discovered you really do like grilled fish or roasted veggies. Don’t give those good things up just because you are not on that specific diet anymore.

Maybe you can use your experience with dieting and only keep what you want.

But then consider putting on that detective hat. Can you ignore what everyone else is doing, and instead start to look at your lifestyle, habits and emotions that are unique to you? Just start somewhere. Maybe you don’t get enough sleep. I promise you if you start getting to bed earlier (before 11 pm) and getting those 8 hours of sleep you will feel better immediately (and likely have less food cravings). Or, if you are tired all the time, or have irregular periods, maybe it is time to get checked out by your physician. You can’t be active or motivated if you are exhausted. You may decide to make a small change such as meal planning instead of eating on the fly. It is up to you, after all, you know your life best.

Can you win at the dieting game? Yes, you can. If you just take what you learn from them….and leave the rest.

 

 

Why Dr.Oz Gets on My Nerves

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face-extreme-1554895 “Flatter by Friday! One Week to Shrink Your Stomach!”…… and Dr. Oz will tell you how. That was the quick blip I heard when I turned on the television while loading the dishwasher yesterday.

I had to watch. I imagine a million other women watched too. What magical solution to our obsession with our bellies is Dr. Oz sharing that I need to be aware of, and ready to answer questions about to the many people in my life both personally and professionally who have body image concerns? When it comes to throwing out the right hook to grab an audience, Dr. Oz is the best there is (although Donald Trump is right up there with him, no politics on this blog, but you catch the drift).

So I watched the show, and to my amazement he talked about the flat belly topic first (I figured it would be at the end, that is usually how shows get you to watch the whole thing). The segment was shared with Chris Powell, a “core expert”. Anyway, he likes to use visuals, and that makes it more fun for the live audience. So as he spelled out each reason our tummies get bloated, he demonstrated it. It was actually pretty funny. We were told to imagine that our bodies are a “house” and explained that we get visitors. The first visitor to walk in the door is “water”, then “Bloat” and finally  “Fat”. This animated cartoon demonstration was followed by the recommendation to eliminate alcohol, processed foods and sugar (just for a week, you know, to get that flat tummy).

They never really discussed bloat (except to say it was from gas produced in the digestive tract) but did talk about water retention and how to help your body avoid it. They demonstrated how eating a donut causes your body to hold onto a cup of water. They had a bunch of water soaked sponges on a table, each representing different high carbohydrate foods and how much water they cause you to retain (demonstrated by squeezing the water out of the sponges to produce the visual). They went over a specific diet plan and the reasons for every food (for example, the asparagus you are supposed to eat at dinner is supposedly a natural diuretic). It was pretty much a low calorie and low carbohydrate diet plan. The funniest part was when they had different women from the audience come up and try the special smoothies that are supposed to substitute for the foods you really are craving in between meals (such as chocolate, chips, coffee drinks). The first woman who tried a shake made from blended greens and fruit made the funniest face that made you know it was disgusting. It was too funny! Nothing against smoothies, I know lots of people who love them and they can be healthy. Personally, if it takes pulling out a blender to make a snack, it won’t happen. I only go to that trouble if I am cooking something special (like a pumpkin soup I made once three years ago).

So was there any new information that can transform your tummy and make it flat in just 7 days? While it is true that a low carb diet will tend to cause your body to lose water, and yes, losing water weight might make your tummy feel smaller, just as with any quick weight loss restrictive diet, your body will re-hydrate once you start eating normally again. Decreasing processed foods is good advice, but it is the context of the recommendation that bothers me. Why does it always have to be focused on the stomach as a reason to make a healthy change? Why bother to try to get rid of some water weight just to fit into some dress for just one occasion? Especially because the person going through this type of fast weight loss plan for this reason is likely obsessing about something that just is not there. We are talking about a tiny change in a body part that I can guarantee you, nobody is looking at except the person dieting. Who can say they really care about another person’s belly fat or bloat or water retention, or that you would even notice any change? Why put your body (and even worse, your mind) through the stress of following such a restrictive diet for even one week, for something that will not last? Why can’t we focus on helping each other become healthier? I enjoyed part of the show where experts answered some random questions about health (for instance, did you know you don’t have to wash your face with soap? a dermatologist on the show explained why, now that was interesting…). Learning new healthy recipes, how to break bad habits, how to build fitness, now that might be helpful.

Oh, and as for reducing bloat (gas) I think it is a good idea to avoid foods that cause you gas. Not because it makes your tummy look less flat, but because it makes you feel better. Broccoli is not my friend and I avoid it like the plague.

So the next time you get drawn in by some advertisement or commercial or anything else that throws out the “hook” of resolving your concerns about your tummy, remember, there is no fast solution, and never will be for any quick fix for any of our body image issues. That is why caring about health and feeling good is a wiser focus for your precious energy. When you want a quick fix for looking better, do what I do. Go see your hairdresser!

 

New Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020 Released

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stock-illustration-65223149-top-view-of-empty-plate-with-spoon-and-knifeThe Eight Edition of the Dietary Guidelines was released this week, The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020. The guidelines refer to three different eating styles, Healthy U. S. Style, Mediterranean and Vegetarian. Please see the link below for all of the details. Please keep in mind the guidelines do refer to preventing “disease”, and they consider “obesity” to be a disease by definition. Those of us who believe in a Health at Every Size approach (HAES) understand that a Body Mass Index in the “obese” range does not mean a person is not healthy. It is all about lifestyle and healthy habits. So please look beyond the lingo and check it out if you want to know some of the details. I recommend using these only as a general guideline (it is good to know if you are not eating enough fruits, vegetables, calcium, etc.) but it would be nearly impossible to meet some of the unreasonable expectations for things such as sugar. I am a dietitian, trained in calculating needs regarding nutrition and I could not spend even one day on trying to calculate if what I ate exceeded the recommended 10 percent of calories from sugar. You do not have to do that to be healthy. Becoming aware of your eating patterns and how you feel (do you snack on sweets all day and crash every afternoon? Then adding in some healthy foods and protein of course will make you feel better!).  You really don’t have to be so specific and add things up like that. Seek the help of a Registered Dietitian Find a Dietitian  for even one visit if you really aren’t sure if you are getting what you need. Here is the link for the new Dietary Guidelines

The WHO Report on Processed Meat: So now what do you eat for lunch?

On By jodietitianIn Uncategorized1 Comment

hot-dog-1320133It is all over the news today, so of course I need to add my two cents. I just hate when these studies come out and people get scared and start to eliminate a food from their diets just because of one report. The reality is, to be healthy, it is never one simple thing.

If you check it out, according to the World Health Organization, about 34,000 deaths per year worldwide are attributed to diets high in processed meats, but that is still just a small fraction of the 8.2 million deaths caused by cancer in 2012. It is specifically colon cancer they are referring to. The review is actually going to be published in The Lancet so if you are interested, check out the link (you may have to pay for the article when it is published). You can also check out  WHO Report.

But I like a realistic look at it, so please take a look at the NYTimes article that explains a bit more about how other factors play a role. Before you cut out anything from your diet, think about all of the other things that contribute to health. Ask yourself:

  1. Do you smoke? then please consider quitting because cutting out hot dogs should not be your first priority.
  2. Are you a couch potato? then consider adding in some movement in your life because a body that has no physical activity will not be any healthier just from cutting out salami.
  3. Do you eat all brown foods? In other words, do you dislike fruits and vegetables and so never eat them? Then omitting the bacon from your burger may not help much in your efforts to be healthy and avoid cancer. You need those antioxidants from foods with color.
  4. Do you hate your job? Are you stressed out everyday? Unhappy in your relationship or life in general? Then never having another ham sandwich in your life is not going to help.

My point is that you need to look at your entire lifestyle, your life in general before you think that making one dramatic change is going to matter. Think about your health, both mental and physical. No, you should not have hot dogs or bacon every day. But having bacon on a Sunday morning is not going to matter if you are otherwise doing all the other healthy things you need to be doing to feel good. Having a great bacon cheeseburger when you go out to eat at your favorite sports bar once in awhile will probably not cause colon cancer. Having salami for a week straight when you go to Italy for your dream vacation also will never affect your health long-term. IMG_5676But if you are someone who eats processed meats (think bologna, salami) every day, never eat fruits or vegetables, is stressed out, a couch potato, and smokes, then maybe just trying to change some of those unhealthy habits would be a good idea. Never eating another hot dog is not the answer.

Do You Need Vitamin Supplements?

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end-of-the-bottle-1495091One of my pet peeves is when people are taken advantage of by the diet industry. When someone dangles a magical carrot in front of those struggling for answers to a difficult problem, it is hard not to jump on it. Things like diet pills have been around for a long time, but what about vitamin, mineral or herbal supplements? So many people I have known throughout the years have spent a lot of money on these. Are they necessary? If so, which ones do we need and why? How much to we take and when do we take them?

Since every person is different, I will not even attempt to answer that question, however I will share with you the situations I have encountered where it is smart to get some guidance on whether or not to take a supplement. I also will explain some basics so that you might be able to have a better understanding of the issue, and make more informed decisions. When it comes to nutrition, we often refer to “macronutrients” and micronutrients”:

Macronutrients: include carbohydrates, proteins (amino acids) and lipids (fats). These all contain carbon (“organic”) and provide energy to our body (they provide us with calories and are needed in larger amounts than micronutrients). We obtain the macronutrients from food. Some people buy supplemental protein powder, drinks or bars, or they may buy certain supplemental fats such as fish oil or coconut oil. Some athletes may buy supplemental carbohydrate (I remember a very high carbohydrate product that came in a tube that many of my bicycling friends used to use for an instant glucose source while biking long distances).

Micronutrients: include vitamins (C, A, D, E, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, folic acid, B12, B6, biotin, pantothenic acid) and minerals (iron, zinc, calcium, phosporous, magnesium, copper, selenium, etc). We need these in very small amounts and they also are provided in foods. Although vitamins contain carbon, minerals do not. Vitamins and minerals do not provide any energy to our body (they are not a source of calories like macronutrients). They DO however function in many reactions in our body that help us utilize energy, and provide other important functions. Consider the mineral iron (part of hemoglobin) which helps to carry oxygen to our muscles so we can move. Or the mineral calcium that besides contributing to our bone structure also acts as a catalyst in many reactions in our body. The vitamins niacin, thiamin and riboflavin play major roles in glucose and energy metabolism while vitamins C, A and E may serve as antioxidants along with other functions. But just because the micronutrients perform all of these functions does not mean the more you take in the better.

Besides the macro and micronutrients, there are other substances that help our bodies stay healthy such as antioxidants. Again, these are obtained from food, but also offered in supplements. Take a walk down the vitamin isle in any store and you will also see enzymes, energy enhancers, protein supplements, the list goes on and on.  Everything is pretty tempting if you just glance at the labels! Who wouldn’t want more energy, better sleep, more stamina, less hot flashes, clear skin, better eyesight, improved digestion, disease prevention? How do you decide if you need any of these products?

I suggest taking a look at your usual dietary intake. If your insurance covers it, or you want to invest in even one visit with a Registered Dietitian, you would be able to get a good assessment of your needs and what you might be missing in your diet. Women of child bearing age or who are pregnant or nursing have very different needs than a postmenopausal woman. Elite athletes have different needs than a sedentary office worker. People with food allergies, or vegetarians or vegans are going to need some very specific advice on the nutrients they are missing and how to meet their needs with diet, or if supplementation is necessary.

What are some of the concerns with supplementation when you do it on your own without expert advice? (Please don’t trust someone who works in a health food store, remember they are usually trying to sell their products. Unless they have at least a degree in nutrition, I would be leery).

  1. For most vitamins and minerals your body can can only absorb a certain amount. Any additional (such as mega doses) may be lost in the urine or feces, or worse, interfere with the absorption of other nutrients, or some may have negative side effects, depending on the person.
  2. Some supplements interfere with the function of prescribed medications. Talk to your doctor before taking any supplement.
  3. You never really know what you are getting, especially with herbal supplements. They are not regulated as a drug and may contain more or less than the label says.
  4. They are expensive. Food is usually cheaper.
  5. Protein powders are risky, especially for teens or children because it is easy to add too much. Excessive protein can put stress on your kidneys and this can be dangerous.
  6. There are many healthy benefits in real foods that we do not even understand yet. Some things you just can’t bottle.

Some suggestions:

  • If you are a picky eater or have eliminated an entire food group (such as dairy or meat) from your diet for whatever reason, you may need a supplemental source of a vitamin or mineral (such as calcium) or you may need to learn about alternative sources of macronutrients such as protein. Talk to a registered dietitian (RD) for advice or check out Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics-eatright.org for more information or to find an RD near you.
  • If you are pregnant or planning to be, talk to your doctor or a Registered Dietitian about obtaining all of the nutrients you need to promote a healthy pregnancy.
  • If you do decide to get a supplement, avoid those with greater than 100 percent of the Daily Recommended Intake.
  • ALWAYS talk to your doctor before taking any supplement or herbal product as many of these can be dangerous depending on your condition or other medications.
  • Never give a supplement to a child without consulting with your pediatrician.
  • For more information, check out: NIH: Should You Take Dietary Supplements?

We also need water of course since our bodies are over half water and water helps to make all those reactions happen among other important functions. We need electrolytes such as sodium, chloride and potassium, and we also need fiber. Remember, that good ole boring advice: eat a balanced diet of all food groups, proteins, grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables. And use all the money you save from buying supplements for something much more fun!

Should You Have A “Cheat Day”?

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donut vs apple and womanWhen I hear a person say “Saturday is my cheat day” I gotta be honest, it pushes my buttons. To most people it sounds like a harmless thing, but to me it is a red flag. An alarm goes off, triggering this irritating feeling throughout my body. I try not to react, it is a conscious decision on my part to ignore it if I am overhearing a conversation in the elevator of the hospital where I work part time, or somewhere else where there really is not time to get into it. Otherwise, such as a party or other informal gathering where women especially tend to chat about what they are doing to change their bodies…. I always take the opportunity to educate people about Health at Every Size, and how focusing on being healthy verses being thin is a much more sane goal. Then I may ask what they mean by”cheat day”. Inevitably, it means following some type of “healthy” eating plan or dieting throughout the week, then allowing themselves to overeat any of the foods  they have denied themselves during the week on Friday or Saturday, and often again on Sunday.

What bothers me about this approach to eating is that it ignores all of the principles of “mindful” eating, and about “listening to your body” . It gives food so much more power than it deserves. It makes me think of how back in the day (and actually still today unfortunately) food is used as a reward. For example, “if you finish your spinach, you can have the cookie”. What does that message send? It says “something is very wrong with spinach, and something is very special about cookies”. I wish food was never treated this way. If you are really honest with yourself, you have to admit, that sometimes fresh vegetables or a great salad or roasted garlic with asparagus is extremely yummy. And an Oreo cookie could never substitute for that taste. If however, one were to hold that Oreo up as a reward, then it might be different. Over time,we might become conditioned to look at that sweet in a different way, and want it even if we really didn’t want it! If we really were mindful and not conditioned to think some foods were good and some foods were bad (that we could only eat them on a “cheat” day) and REALLY listened to what our bodies wanted, then we would not even need a “cheat” day. We would eat in a mindful way, cooking meals that were healthy and that we enjoyed, because we want to feel good, have energy and live a long and healthy life. But that means enjoying the fun foods too, the ones that are important to us, in our culture, our family traditions or socially. Having a homemade blueberry muffin at Grandma’s house or sharing a favorite dessert when out with our old college roommate,or Grandma Harmon’s favorite cinnamon buns that you only get once in a blue moon. It may not be a Saturday or a “cheat” day, but it may be and should be just part of normal life. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday….I hope everyday you listen to your hunger, and fullness, and enjoy healthy eating, have energy, and never miss an opportunity to enjoy a serving of a special food that you enjoy. Heck with “cheat” days. Enjoying life is living, not cheating.

Are You in Diet Jail?

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Idiet jail first encountered the term “Diet Jail” in 1975. I was a biology major at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. I remember clearly working with the lab teacher who was doing his research on birds (he kind of looked like a cool woodpecker). He made me count bird chirps he had taped on a recorder. I decided I did not want to be a biology major because counting bird chirps was incredibly boring. So I met with my adviser who asked me what I was interested in. My best friend Joyce was a vegetarian and ate very interesting things such as yogurt with sunflower seeds and honey, and so I told him, I though vegetarianism was interesting. He told me I should be a dietitian. I did not know what that was, but anyway, I ended up transferring to the University of Connecticut to study nutrition. For my first nutrition class (Nutrition 101) I had to do a  report about fad diets and at the time there were many books out there on the market, including the Atkins Diet. But I found one called “The Psychologist’s Eat Anything Diet” by two psychologists, Dr. Pearson and his wife, also Dr. Pearson.  It changed my thinking in a way that lasted, well, forever. The authors were decades before their times in the strategies they were promoting, before we knew about mindful eating or how our bodies regulated themselves regarding calorie intake, fat, carbohydrate intake, etc. They described what they called “diet jail” where individuals who diet tend to “lock themselves up” in a jail where only the healthy foods exist. In other words, they tell themselves they are only going to eat healthy foods such as grilled chicken, vegetables, fruits, salad, etc until they lose the weight. So psychologically it is as if they “lock themselves up” in a world where only the healthy foods are available (or allowable). But outside the jail are all the other foods, the “bad” foods. The chips, cookies, ice cream, burgers, pizza, you get the picture. All the foods they have determined they are not allowed to eat (while they are on that diet). And so, most people can last a bit in Diet Jail. Yes, they get cravings, but they use their “willpower” and overcome them. Unfortunately, we now know our bodies send out very loud signals when we are not getting enough carbohydrate or fat (the foods that do not exist in Diet Jail!) and so eventually, our bodies drive our brains to give in. Add this physiological drive to an environmental trigger, such as walking into your friend’s home who just baked some homemade chocolate chip cookies, and things change. Your brain, which is triggered by the deficiency in your body, tells you to eat a cookie! It has just what you need, what you have been missing, that fat and carbohydrate! But you can’t have someone throw just one cookie into your jail cell, so you have to step out of the jail to get that one cookie…….the problem is, once you take that bite, your realize you are out there! Out of Diet Jail! And since you know you will go back in (you tell yourself that on Monday you will really start again!) you better eat while you are out here! So you decide to order pizza, and then have ice cream (a lot) because, heck, you are going to start again on Monday. Often a full blown binge results. Because you know this is just this one time. Soon you will be back on track. Back in Diet Jail. Until the next time.

As repetitive as this cycle is in so many people’s lives, they do not seem to stop. The next diet craze offers the next magic scheme. Weight is lost and then regained. Back then we did not know the physiological reasons people were driven to eat but now we do. We know if you restrict you will suffer from “disinhibition” or breaking out of Diet Jail.Often referred to as the “what the hell” effect. It is a very sad and draining cycle.

So why not take those bars down? Why not entertain the thought of changing what you have been doing that is not working? What if you were to start to believe that all foods are equal? No food is good, no food is bad, they all have a place in your life. Yes, we need certain nutrients to feel good, have energy, normal bowel movements, prevent disease, etc. So educate yourself (I will gladly help you!), experiment, enjoy your cultural traditions (yay. pasta fagioli!) but start paying attention to your body. Are you hungry? Are you full? Are you so confused that you might really want to get some help (such as from an eating disorder specialist?). Wherever you are, it is ok, just take some time to truly reflect on your patterns. My hope for you is to enjoy eating, be healthy, and take down those darn bars.