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ByAnn
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Intuitive Eating: Rejecting the Diet Mentality

If you have dieted your entire life and bounced back and forth between the latest and greatest fad diet that promised you would lose weight, you may have learned firsthand that DIETS DO NOT WORK! You may be saying “Duh Ann, thank you for this earth shattering information.” However, I encourage you to practice re-routing your thought process and think about intuitive eating.

Is it hard to re-train your brain? Of course! Keep in mind that different methods work for different people to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle, but I ask you to keep an open mind and consider some of these suggestions to break through the barrier:

What is intuitive eating? Intuitive eating is an approach to help you become more in tune with your body’s signals. As adults, we tend to ignore or forget about our body’s signals of hunger and fullness. Emotions and life’s stressors kick in and we eat if we are happy, sad, stressed, mad, bored – whether we are hungry or not. We can sometimes eat well beyond our fullness and end up feeling uncomfortable or sick.

Diet culture, social media, and our upbringings have caused us to set rules and restrictions on food. For example,

  • Labeling foods as “good” or bad”. If we eat a “bad” food, we feel guilty or ashamed, which will lead to further restricting.
  • Finish everything on your plate despite feeling full before that.
  • Unrealistic advertisements on weight loss. For example, “lose 30 pounds in 30 days!”
  • Only being allowed to eat specific foods in order to lose weight.

Intuitive eating is the opposite of this, and instead is re-learning to eat outside of the diet mentality. It’s (1) putting the focus on your internal cues (a.k.a. your intuition) like hunger, fullness and satisfaction, (2) moving away from external cues like food rules and restrictions, and (3) working towards not feeling guilty.

What are some principles of intuitive eating?

  1. Reject the diet mentality: Dieting isn’t sustainable. Fad diets are all about marketing. Unfollow social media accounts that push dieting behaviors, especially those that make you feel bad about yourself.
  2. Honor your hunger: Hunger is a normal feeling to experience – our bodies NEED food. If you are hungry, eat. Focus on eating slowly and savoring the food. Make healthy food choices that make your body and mind fee great. If you try to override feelings of hunger, this can lead to overeating and binges.
  3. Make peace with food: Stop categorizing foods as “good”, “bad”, or “forbidden” – no single food has the power to make you completely healthy or unhealthy. Deprivation builds into uncontrollable cravings and overeating. When you finally “give in” to that food, you’re likely to overeat, which can trigger guilt and start the cycle all over again.
  4. Relearn your satisfaction/fullness signal: This goes hand in hand with #2. If you are full, stop eating. If you have forgotten what true fullness feels like, make sure to “listen” more closely as you eat.
  5. Avoid eating for comfort: There are SO many reasons why we eat. It can be due to anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger, or stress. It’s okay to have these feelings, but it’s important to get to the root of these problems and find ways to nurture yourself and resolve issues without turning to food
  6. Respect your body: Do your best to feel good about the body you are currently in while you work on making changes to your lifestyle. Set realistic goals as opposed to striving for something that’s completely unattainable. Accept that making changes and being consistent takes time.
  7. Find exercise that you enjoy: Instead of focusing on the exercise you think you “should” be doing, shift your focus to what types of movement feels good to you. Are you exercising as a form of punishment for what you ate? Exercise should be something that makes you feel energized, improves your mood, strengthens you, and improves your sleep.

Allow yourself some time to practice these tips, even if it’s just one for now. Change doesn’t happen overnight!

ByAnn
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Healthy Shopping on a Budget

All of us have noticed the increase of food prices. This can become challenging when you are trying to shop on a budget AND eat healthy at the same time. Here are some great tips to help you maximize your shopping trips. Remember: a little research and planning ahead can go a long way to keep some extra cash in your pocket.

(1) Try Shopping Apps

  • Ibotta, Rakuten, Fetch: Get rewards or money for shopping that you are doing anyway!
  • Flipp, Basket: You can find local sales in your area without driving around
  • Brand Websites: Check out different websites to find coupons

(2) Buy in Bulk at Wholesalers (e.g. Costco, BJ’s, Sam’s)

You can freeze the additional packages you purchase or make enough when you cook for leftovers and freeze them.

(3) Plan Around Sales and Check Store Flyers

Planning ahead will prevent you from wandering around the store aimlessly with no idea of what you will eat for the upcoming week. You may also end up buying extra food that you don’t need, which can end up going to waste. Plan your meals around what’s on sale at the time.

(4) Create a Shopping List

Use your weekly eating plan to create a grocery list. Try preparing meals that include similar ingredients throughout the week to keep your list from becoming too long.

(5) Don’t Shop Hungry and Don’t Stray From the List!

This is self-explanatory: the hungrier you are when you go to the store, the more likely you will buy more.

(6) Generic/Store Brands Can Be Cheaper

Compare different brands of the same item to find the lowest price. Using the unit price can help to compare the cost of the different sizes of products.

(7) Shop In-Season Produce

Produce that’s local and seasonal are at it’s peak flavor and are more abundant, so it’s typically sold at a lower price

(8) Try Frozen or Canned Alternatives

Frozen fruits and veggies are a great alternative to fresh ones since they have the same nutritional content and are typically low in salt if the only ingredient is the labeled fruit or vegetable. Be sure to check the ingredient list to avoid items with added sugars or salt! Check that canned fruit labels say either “in water” or “in juice”. Before you eat canned vegetables, make sure to rinse and drain them to remove excess salt.

(9) Tips for Purchasing Meat

  • Consider purchasing larger quantities of meat that are on sale and preparing enough for two or more meals.
  • Look for meat packages marked “Manager’s Special” for a discounted price (this only means that the expiration date is coming soon, so it’s okay to buy them and prepare them early in the week)

(10) Tips for Purchasing Dry Goods and Grains

  • Dried beans, peas, and lentils are great options to keep on hand and are cost-effective.
  • Buy in bulk, prepare ahead of time, and freeze.

(11) Reduce Waste!

Use highly perishable items, such as seafood, salad greens, berries, and fresh herbs early in the week. Enjoy leftovers for lunch or create new meals from leftover ingredients. Cooked meat and vegetables can be made into a casserole or soup.

(12) Last But Not Least: Order Less Takeout!

ByAnn
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Blasting Through Weight Loss Plateaus

We all know that weight loss is a journey and not a destination. As you start your journey, keep in mind two things: (1) your weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your weight goal, and (2) you want to achieve a weight that you can actually maintain. There will be ups and downs, so you need to have a plan for when you are on a weight loss plateau. A plateau is a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress.

Do you think you are on a weight loss plateau right now? Here are some tips to help you get through it:

  • Review what you’re eating: Make sure you haven’t become more lax, slowly increased portions without realizing, or are mindlessly eating. Did you remember to track that handful of potato chips you grabbed while walking through the kitchen? Extra nibbles here and there start adding up, so always ask yourself: “Am I hungry or am I bored?”
  • Track your exercise AND food: This is the best way to see what’s going on. If you think you’re in a plateau, track closely what you’re eating for 1 to 2 weeks and then let your dietitian review it with you to suggest possible changes.
  • Focus on the quality of your calories: It’s not only about calories but the type of foods you eat.
  • Change your workout routine: Your muscles become familiar with a workout that’s done repeately, so try a new fitness routine. Muscle mass is active tissues, so your body will burn more calories at rest if your muscle mass is greater than your fat mass. Gradually increasing the time and intensity of your exercise is beneficial too, but only do as much as you can tolerate!
  • Get adequate sleep: Sleep deprivation lowers leptin (an appetite-suppressing hormone), increases ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates hunger), and cortisol (a “stress hormone” that rises during tension-filled times).
  • Increase your fluid intake: Drink 80 to 100 oz of water per day (10 to 12 cups). The signs of dehydration can feel like hunger and trick your body into feeling hungry.

REMEMBER: Focus on the health benefits of your weight loss and celebrate your victories other than that number on the scale. Some other victories to celebrate include coming off of medication, increased energy levels, better mobility, improved quality of life, and feeling comfortable in your own skin. Any health goal that you have is important and worth working towards. Just because making lifestyle changes are hard doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You’re worth it!

ByAnn
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Meal Prep and Planning

Preparing your meals the same day that you plan to eat them is very difficult. A lack of planning to prepare meals can lead to unhealthy food choices.

It’s important to find a routine that works for you. Meal prep should save your time and make it easier for you to eat healthier during the week. Getting into a routine may take some trial and error before you finally find what works best for you. Here are some tips to get you started:

—Storage—

If needed, buy new storage containers (I prefer glass containers with snap lids). It’s a good idea to buy containers that are the same size so that they can be stacked easily in your refrigerator.

—Plan—

Planning is essential before you go to the grocery store! Make a shopping list based on the ingredients you will need. DO NOT go to the store when you are hungry or have no idea what you’re making.

Come up with a menu for the week that will include each of your meals and snacks. Remember to make enough to have leftovers so you don’t have to cook every single day.

—Preparation—

Do all of your food preparation in advance: dice and chop vegetables, hard boil eggs, and/or grill or bake protein. These can be used during the week to make meals, such as salads.

Make easy meals that don’t require a lot of ingredients and time. A crockpot is a great way to make a large quantity of food for the week.

One-pan meals are easy and delicious too. Don’t forget to add seasonings, herbs, and spices to make your meals taste great!

Make whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, barley) and potatoes (sweet or regular) in advance. These will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a few days and can be added to salads or used as side dishes for your main meals.

—Time—

Set time aside for yourself on a weekend day to meal prep for a few days. For example, prep on Sunday to get you through Wednesday. Then prep on Wednesday for the rest of the week. Put everything in containers and store them in the refrigerator so they are easily accessible. Do what’s best for you – package all your meals for the week in containers at one time or package meals day-by-day with the foods you’ve prepared.

—Cooking—

The point of meal prep is to make life easier for you during the week, but this doesn’t mean that you have to pre-cook everything! For example, you can marinate chicken breasts or lean beef, place them in the freezer, and defrost them when you’re ready to cook them. The same thing applies to other food items, such as homemade turkey burgers, meatballs, and soups.

If you like your vegetables or proteins freshly cooked (like me!), then you can portion them out for each meal and put them in containers when they are ready to be steamed, sautéed, or grilled. The only thing you will have to do the day of your meal is to cook them.

—Snacks—

Portion snacks into snack-size bags, but look at the serving size on the label too. This is very helpful in preventing you from eating mindlessly straight out of the bag and consuming too much at one time.

ByAnn
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Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

Many people believe that severely restricting their calories is the only way to lose weight. This is FALSE! Your body wants and needs to be fueled properly to function. Your body uses energy for lots of things, such as your brain to function, your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, and your digestive system to digest foods. When you restrict too much or completely eliminate any particular group of foods, your body will not be able to work the way it wants to.

It’s often forgotten that it’s not always about the physical amount of food you are eating, but also the type of food. For example. living on protein bars isn’t the same as eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins. Your body utilizes these foods better as opposed to artificial or highly processed products.

What is metabolism anyway? Metabolism is the process of converting food into energy to power everything we do, from moving to thinking. Here is a way to think about it: picture a fire. If you keep putting wood (the fuel) in the fire (your body), it keeps burning. If you stop fueling the fire, it starts to weaken.

Here are some ways to boost your metabolism and help you lose weight:

  1. Incorporate weight training or body weight exercise into your routine. Increasing muscle mass is beneficial because muscle is active tissue. This means that the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest, even while sleeping. Fat mass is inactive tissue.
  2. Stay hydrated. Your body needs water to process calories. Being dehydrated all the time can ultimately slow down your metabolism.
  3. Snack smart. When you go too long without eating, your metabolism can slow down over time. You want to eat every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day. Choose snacks that include proteins, healthy fats, and high fiber carbohydrates to keep you full as opposed to high sugar and highly processed foods.
  4. Incorporate whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats into your meals. These foods take longer to digest, so you end up burning more calories during the digestion process to break these foods down.
  5. Avoid fad diets! Jumping from one new restrictive diet that you hear about to another can have a major effect on your metabolism over time. The word “diet” is a red flag since it is short-term. Focus on lifestyle changes.
(c) SHS Nutrition, LLC (2021)