Nutrition & the City is a monthly feature offering non-diet tips to help you eat well and feel great.
Do you feel anxious about whether you’re going to “blow it” food-wise at social events? Or are you able to walk into any food situation, trusting your own decisions on what and how much to eat?
If you’ve read some of my past posts, you’ll know I’m not a fan of dieting and promote a research-based approach called Intuitive Eating (a.k.a. Attuned Eating), developed by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. I hope to bring to life the stark differences between having a diet mentality versus an Intuitive Eating mentality by telling you a fictional story (based on real events) of one cocktail party, lots of delicious food and three women: Mary the Dieter, Jenny another Dieter, and Lucy the Intuitive Eater.
May you give yourself the compassion you need in this moment.
Nutrition & the City is a monthly feature focused on non-diet tips to help you eat well and feel great.
I’ve been fascinated by the topic of self-compassion from a personal standpoint for quite some time, and now I’m excited to learn more about its potential in promoting a healthy relationship with food. But first, exactly what is self-compassion? According to Dr. Kristin Neff, professor and leading researcher of self-compassion at the University of Texas at Austin, self-compassion is comprised of three main components: 1) self-kindness (being warm and understanding to yourself, especially during times of suffering or feeling inadequate) 2) mindfulness (paying attention and noticing moments of stress or suffering without judgment) and 3) common humanity (recognizing that you’re not alone in your pain and that suffering is part of the shared human experience).
Nutrition & the City is a monthly feature focused on non-diet tips to help you eat well and feel great
Happy Monday (and President’s Day)! Do you feel prepared to eat healthfully this week? If “preparing for the week” brings to mind cooking for hours on Sunday only to have a freezer full of leftovers you don’t want, keep reading. Here are five practical tips to help you eat well, save time and money, and enjoy it.
Prepared to eat well this week?
1. Set aside time to prepare. My fiance is now used to me asking every week, “Honey, are you ready to do some meal planning?” (Oh, the joys of dating a nutritionist!) We sit down with this handy form from theprojectgirl.com, look at our week, mark out the nights we plan on going out, and decide our dinner plans (including who is responsible for cooking) for the nights we aspire to eat in. Budget a little time each week for this process, which also includes assessing what perishables you might want to use up (Leftover fresh rosemary? Rosemary new potatoes, it is!), looking up any recipes, making a grocery list and of course, grocery shopping. If you’re not used to cooking, I promise this sounds more complicated than it really is. And you’ll get better at meal planning the more you practice. Sitting down to meal plan shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and will save you time the rest of the week.
2. Cook once, eat twice (or thrice). Maximize your cooking time by making enough to pack leftovers for the next day’s lunch or dinner. You can also experiment with making a big batch of something that holds up well in the fridge so you can enjoy it a few more days of the week, such as soup, massaged kale salad, cooked beans or lentils, and whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice or whole wheat pasta. Or try a simple recipe you can throw in the slow cooker in the morning, and come home to the delicious aroma of a home-cooked meal.
Quick note: If you grew up in a household of non-foodies where leftovers were an even worse-tasting version of the previous day’s ho-hum meal, you may have unfairly written off leftovers. This is worth challenging because I swear, life is a little easier if you’re able to appreciate good leftovers.
3) Keep it simple. If you use fresh high quality ingredients, there’s no need for complicated recipes. (Hmm, feel free to insert “Visit farmer’s market” in Tip #1.) You might want to keep a list of easy dishes you already know how to prepare visible on the fridge. It might look something like this: stir-fry, pasta with already-cooked chicken sausage and veggies, veggie and cheese omelet with whole-grain toast, burrito, huevos rancheros, etc.
I often hear people complain they don’t like cooking for one. My advice? Get over it. I just got back from a yoga retreat in Whidbey Island today, where I met a lovely UW med school student who prioritizes cooking wholesome meals for herself because it helps her think and feel better. If a med school student can make time, we all can! Again, keep it simple, and save your fancier dishes for company.
4) Keep it even simpler for breakfast and lunch. For super easy planning, it can be helpful to have as few as one or two options for breakfast and/or lunch, perhaps only changing with each season. Breakfast in the summer might be organic yogurt with berries/peaches and granola; in the winter, perhaps steel-cut oats with banana/raisins and chopped pecans. Lunch might be leftovers or some variation of a sandwich, wrap or salad (containing protein and whatever veggies you have on hand), seasonal fruit and whatever else helps you feel satisfied and stay energized. For me, I like packing leftovers to work or making a PCC run (see next tip).
5) Have a back-up plan. While I’d love to say this process works out perfectly, and my fiance and I only eat out once a week, it simply will probably never be the case. For those extra busy or less organized weeks, when we haven’t made it to the grocery store or working late, we’ve got some go-to’s to fall back on: Metropolitan Market for Cucina Fresca sauce and pasta (fresh pasta takes 2 minutes to cook), PCC deli take-out (I think PCC has the best-tasting and best-for-you prepared foods section of any grocery store in town), Whole Foods salad bar (which has much more than salads; or Asian noodle soup bar if you’re near the Westlake location), Vietnamese pho, or digging in our freezer for an Amy’s Organic meal/pizza or Evol burrito.
Like almost everything, it’s about progress, not perfection. Even if you start cooking at home or packing your lunch just once or twice this week, that’s progress. And know that there’s not a perfect method for meal planning (if you do find one, I’m all ears). Since everyone has a unique schedule and food preferences, it takes trial and error to learn what works best for you. So experiment lots–and try to have some fun while you’re at it.
What tips do you have for eating well on a busy schedule? I’d love to hear about it.
If you’ve set ambitious New Year’s resolutions pertaining to dieting and weight loss, research suggests there’s a good chance you might be feeling disappointed right now. Enthusiasm for resolutions typically peters out only a few weeks after the calendar turns January 1 every year. Take heart, and know that it’s not you that failed, it’s the diet that failed you. (Seriously, can you imagine any doctor prescribing a medication with a 95% failure rate?)
We are constantly bombarded with ads featuring promises of quick and easy weight loss paired with suspicious-looking “before” and “after” photos–and even more so this time of year as weight loss companies aim to maximize revenues in their most profitable month of the year.
Nutrition & the City is a monthly feature focused on non-diet tips to live a healthy, vibrant life.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There’s few things that beat relaxing with a glass of pinot in a cozy home with family or friends, savoring delicious food prepared with love, and reflecting on what I’m grateful for. But I know for many, many people, the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s brings up a tremendous amount of food stress. So I’m excited to share the Intuitive Eater’s Holiday Bill of Rights from Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, co-author of Intuitive Eating. Evelyn published these tips last year on her Intuitive Eating site, and my clients appreciated them so much, I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy–and Happy Thanksgiving!
Some people call it “The Voice”; others in the eating disorder world call it “Ed”; Jan Chozen Bays, MD, Zen teacher and pediatrician in Oregon, calls it the “Inner Critic”. However you name it, everyone has one. Dr. Bays recently gave a teleconference on the Inner Critic’s role in creating out-of-balance eating to members of The Center for Mindful Eating. I’m grateful for her permission to present to you the highlights of her helpful teleconference here.
What exactly is the Inner Critic? Dr. Bays says it’s an energy, developed early in life, which we perceive as sensations, emotions, thoughts, and as a “voice”. The Inner Critic actually comes from a place of good intention–primarily as a misguided effort to keep us safe, successful, and loved. Unchecked, it creates pervasive “fear and anxiety, disrupts our ability to think clearly, saps our energy and undermines our self-confidence. It can destroy our innate ability to enjoy eating and maintain natural balance in what and how much we eat.” Not helpful.
Here are some examples of what the Inner Critic might sound like:
“I can’t believe you ate that. You have no self-control. You’ll be fat forever.”
“You’ve blown it. You might as well eat the whole box and disappear.”
“Your thighs are so disgusting.”
“You’re so stupid. No dinner for you tonight.”
“You don’t deserve to eat.”
What does your Inner Critic sound like?
Is what you're saying to yourself kind enough to say to this little girl?
Nutrition & the City is a monthly feature focused on non-diet tips to live a healthy, vibrant life
Brunch at the Bay Cafe = Nutrition + Yummy. Best part? Hashbrowns, of course!
For someone who’s been dieting for years, a “good” day of eating might look something like this:
Breakfast: 1 cup of high fiber twig cereal with skim milk and blueberries
Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with low-fat dressing or vinegar
Snack: Fat-free yogurt with 6 almonds
Dinner: Grilled chicken (again) with broccoli
Snack: Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich or sugar-free pudding cup
Hunger, low energy and feelings of deprivation (and the inability to even look at another plain grilled chicken breast) naturally and inevitably lead to a “bad” day, which might look like this:
Nutrition & the City is a monthly column focused on non-diet tips to live a vibrant, healthy life.
If you struggle with binge-eating, you’re familiar with that dreadful “oh shit” moment after a binge, when aside from feeling painfully stuffed there’s intense feelings of guilt, shame, regret and hopelessness. What many people don’t realize is that what you do during that vulnerable time after a binge can help set you up for success–or another binge. Waking up from a food coma, it’s common to panic and engage in catastrophic thinking (e.g. “I blew it. I’ll always be out of control with food.”) Reminding yourself of the following facts after a binge can be reassuring and decrease the likelihood that you’ll panic, which is counterproductive:
The facts above are not meant to encourage self-indulgence (which is not self-care) or being overly permissive with food, but rather to help you feel more calm and less hopeless after bingeing, which makes following through with these tips much more likely:
The painful aftermath of a binge makes it easy to want to beat yourself up, isolate and vow to “be good” tomorrow; in other words, set yourself up for another binge. Instead of trying harder, try something different. Experiment with these tips for treating yourself differently after a binge, and notice what happens. I’d love to hear about it.
Nutrition & the City is a monthly feature focused on non-diet tips to live a vibrant, healthy life.
I often have new clients come to my office who want a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food, but aren’t sure where to begin. Now, there’s an easy assessment that allows you to quickly determine which area(s) of your relationship to food to focus on. Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, one of my mentors and co-author of Intuitive Eating, developed this assessment based on the research of Dr. Tracy Tylka from UCLA. According to Tylka’s research, an Intuitive Eater displays three core features: unconditional permission to eat; eating for physical rather than emotional reasons; and reliance on internal hunger/satiety cues. More “true” answers in a category indicate more mis-attunement in that category.
Intuitive Eating Brief Assessment by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD:
Unconditional Permission to Eat
1. I try to avoid certain foods high in fat, carbs or calories.
2. If I am craving a certain food, I don’t allow myself to have it.
3. I follow eating rules of diet plans that dictate what, when and/or how I eat.
4. I get mad at myself for eating something unhealthy.
5. I have forbidden foods that I don’t allow myself to eat.
Eating for Physical Rather than Emotional Reasons
1. I find myself eating when I’m feeling emotional (anxious, sad, depressed), even when I’m not physically hungry.
2. I find myself eating when I am bored, even when I’m not physically hungry.
3. I cannot stop eating when I feel full (not overstuffed).
4. I find myself eating when I am lonely, even when not physically hungry.
5. I use food to help me soothe my negative emotions.
6. I find myself eating when I am stressed, even when not physically hungry.
Reliance on Internal Hunger/Satiety Cues
1. I cannot tell when I’m slightly full.
2. I cannot tell when I’m slightly hungry.
3. I do not trust my body to tell me when to eat.
4. I do not trust my body to tell me what to eat.
5. I do not trust my body to tell me how much to eat.
6. When I’m eating, I cannot tell when I am getting full.
Unconditional permission to eat is the most misunderstood concept of Intuitive Eating. It is not simply the lack of a diet or eating whatever, whenever. Someone who struggles with this concept will have more rigid rules about eating and be at higher risk for experiencing food guilt – both which backfire. A lack of unconditional permission to eat often leads to obsessive thoughts about food. Helping others eat for physical rather than emotional reasons is one of the most rewarding areas of my work. In my Intuitive Eating groups, we often spend a fair amount of time on this concept. If you struggle with emotional eating, you are far from alone. Be self-compassionate and remember that emotional eating is a sign there’s an unmet need. If that need were obvious, you wouldn’t be turning to food. There are lots of techniques and tools that can help you manage emotional eating. It is also empowering for people to learn that they are the ultimate expert of their body by relying on internal hunger/satiety cues instead of external cues. Someone who has a long history of dieting or an eating disorder may need more structure to relearn their hunger-satiety cues. Ready for some good news? You are born with the all the internal wisdom you need to become an Intuitive Eater. It’s time to reclaim that wisdom.
I’m facilitating a new Intuitive Eating Group at my NutritionWorks office, starting May 9. It will be every other Monday at 5:15-6:45 PM for 4 sessions. There are only two spots left and early-bird registration ends April 22. Email me at minhhait@gmail.com if you have any questions at all.
Nutrition & the City is a monthly feature focused on non-diet tips to live a healthy, vibrant life.
The number one strategy for eating healthier is keeping a food diary. Our modern food environment is a challenging one and it’s human to have eating decisions negatively influenced by so many external factors, from the people around you to your home-work-social environment. Most of the time, people aren’t even aware! There’s something about the process of writing down what you eat that consequentially lessens that, along with other forms of autopilot eating. A food diary can also be an invaluable tool for decreasing emotional and binge eating and provides insight on overall patterns. And the benefits comes from the process of keeping a food record, not the food record itself. It’s entirely up to you whether you decide to burn, shred or delete the journals afterward. Just the act of writing it down facilitates awareness and self-monitoring – two essential factors for making healthy lifestyle changes.
Many of you have already tried keeping a food record with varying levels of success. However, successful food journaling is much more than just tracking what you ate. Below are key tips on how to get the most out of what sounds like an annoying and tedious suggestion.
Slip a pretty journal from Elliott Bay Book Company in your pretty handbag
Drop the Judgment. It’s just food, and unless you’ve stolen what you ate, there’s no need for food guilt or shame. I don’t pass any judgment when I review my clients’ food records, and I encourage them to do the same. I concur with my colleague and Zing co-founder, Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD, who has told clients, “There’s nothing that can shock me. I’ve seen it all or done it myself.” Judgment is incredibly discouraging and interferes with the ability to stay curious, a prerequisite for self-learning.
Lower Your Expectations. Consider it a red flag if you catch yourself saying, “I’ll start this on Monday”, which hints at unhelpful diet mentality or all-or-nothing thinking. You’ll learn so much more by letting go of that inner perfectionist and capturing your real life. Got the happy hour, bachelorette party AND you’re hosting a dinner party this weekend? Writing it all down (or whatever you remember anyway) encourages mindfulness and damage-control.
Do It Your Way. Whether it’s pen and paper, your smartphone or computer, what’s most important is that you do what’s easiest for you. Unsurprisingly, a recent study shows people are much more likely to stick to food journaling if they do their preferred method. Some of my clients have even come up with their own key. A sad face may indicate binge eating; a star helps reinforce something positive or a learning opportunity.
Look Beyond Food (and Numbers). Many factors affect food intake, including timing, sleep, and mood/emotions, to name a few. At a bare minimum, I recommend having a column for time, food & approximate amount, and comments. Be wary of online programs or apps that are too numbers-focused (calories, points, etc.), which distracts from your ability to pay attention to your internal cues and increases food guilt (which ironically encourages overeating). Keeping a food diary for as little as two weekdays and one weekend day can give you a baseline idea of what specific behaviors or goals you want to focus on. Perhaps you want to start tracking your rate of eating, what you did for self-care each day, or your hunger-fullness levels before and after eating.
What are your thoughts on keeping a food record?
