26 August 2010

Honest Cravings

I wanted to take a quick second to talk about cravings. I think some cravings are honest — your body needs a certain nutrient and it’s trying to tell you the only way it knows how — but some cravings are dishonest. Dishonest cravings are primarily those that pop up for emotional/non-nutritional reasons. How can we tell the difference? It’s tricky, but possible.

Ask yourself:

• Was the craving triggered by seeing, smelling, or tasting a certain food? It’s probably not an honest craving.
• How long as the craving lasted? If it’s been less than a few hours, it’s probably not an honest craving.
• Did the craving directly follow some kind of emotional event? It’s probably not an honest craving.
• Have you had the craving for a day or two, tried to quench it with other things, and were unsuccessful? It might be a honest craving!

An example: A couple days ago, I had a craving for ice cream (SHOCK! No, not at all. I love ice cream). So obviously, I wrote it off because I love ice cream so much that I probably “crave” it all the time. But yesterday, I still was craving ice cream like a fiend. So I accepted my honest craving, got some ice cream, and now I’m good (for at least another few days!).

Another example: Yesterday, I started craving salad. A big, elaborate salad with lots of veggies, fat, and protein (learn to build a better salad here!). It’s been more than 24 hours and I STILL want a salad. So there’s no question in my mind: it’s an honest craving.

Cravings triggered by emotion or merely seeing the food aren’t necessarily to be avoided. I’m always in favor of listening to your body, and eating what you TRULY want most of the time. I just don’t believe you’d truly want ice cream, doughnuts, and Doritoes most of the time. I believe if you listen closely, and figure out your honest cravings, you’ll find your body creates a pretty good balance all by itself.

25 August 2010

Rachel Wilkerson on the Thing About Body Image

Rachel Wilkerson, friend and life coach expert on my YNC panel, wrote a post I just had to share with you all. There are a few words from her below, but please go read her full post!

Hey, everyone! Rachel Wilkerson here. I know everyone knows that Leah and I are blogging bffs, but you may not also know that I actually help her out with her nutrition consulting business. Sometimes, her clients want a little more than nutrition advice — they also want a friend to talk to, who understands what they are going through, and can provide an extra source of motivation. And that’s where I come in! My role as a life coach means I cover everything from how to get out of bed for a morning workout to how to deal with the emotional aspects of losing weight.

Last week, I was chatting with one of Leah’s clients about a problem she was having: the desire to lose weight, along with major guilt because of her desire to lose weight. It seems that now women are being told to love themselves with the same fervor that they are being told to lose weight. Ugh — we can’t win.

But if there’s one thing I hate, it’s being made to feel guilty about my choices — I believe in owning everything I do, and that’s what I told her client. We had a great chat and I later realized that this was a topic more women probably want to discuss. So I wrote a post about it for my blog, which I’m excited to share with all Nutritionista readers:

The Thing About Body Image

I want you all to know that you CAN love yourself and still want to lose weight. Don’t let people make you feel like it’s a choice.

Want to love yourself but still get support while you’re losing weight? Check out YNC!

19 August 2010

When High-Calorie Is a GOOD Thing

My clients are usually a bit surprised when I tell them that sometimes, calorie-dense foods are good for them. But their surprise makes total sense. They’ve been told over and over that “calories in, calories out” is THE formula for weight loss. So it follows that the lower in calories a food is, the more frequently it should appear in their pantry/mouth.

But the “fewer calories = better” philosophy doesn’t always hold true. In fact, it probably holds true a lot LESS of the time than you’d think.

The problem with the low-calorie way of life is this: MANY LOW-CAL FOODS JUST AREN’T SATISFYING!

I want to know who on God’s green Earth has ever felt satisfied, energized, or “full” after a 100-calorie pack — or any other “reduced-calorie” snack. So tell me if this sounds familiar:

• You eat a bag of Baked Lays.
• It does absolutely nothing for your hunger, and you’re still feeling munchie. 
• You break out a 100-calorie pack of Oreos and hope it does the trick.
• It doesn’t.
• So a little while later you have a piece of fruit. That’s good for you, right?
• Two hours later, you feel like you’ve eaten absolutely nothing.
• You’re just as hungry as you were before the chips, cookies, and fruit.

Let me save you the trouble next time: Eat half an avocado and a hard-boiled egg and TELL me you’re still hungry in an hour or two!

Both avocados and eggs (whole eggs, not egg whites) are known for being higher in calories. But let’s do the math:

110 cals (Baked Lays) +
100 cals (Oreos) +
80 cals (apple)
————-
290 cals (and remember, you’re still hungry!)

150 cals (avocado) +
70 cals (egg)
—————
220 cals (and you’re satisfied! If you really need a salty crunch, try adding a pickle or two… that still won’t add up to as many calories as the first option.)

So, in a sense, choosing satisfying higher calorie foods to begin with (as long as they’re UNPROCESSED — this is very important!) can actually lead to you eating FEWER calories in the long run.

I say choose whole, unprocessed foods without concentrating too much on the calorie count. If something is naturally calorie dense (meaning, in its NATURAL, UNPROCESSED state, it’s higher in calories), it’s for good reason: It’s probably super satisfying and won’t give you the munchies an hour later!
 

6 August 2010

10 Things about Food and Fitness You Need to Know Now

It was definitely a challenge to distill my food and fitness philosophy for YNC, and I’m so glad I did. But when someone recently tweeted my “10 Commandments of Food and Fitness,” I realized I had never posted them on the blog! Especially for new readers (welcome!!), I definitely want to share these basic principles:

1. I know food is best when it’s closest to its natural state (i.e., food that’s minimally processed with a short ingredient list — if it has one at all).
2. I accept that many cravings aren’t just in my head. They can represent nutrients I’m lacking or stem from eating patterns I know how to break.
3. I will not eat processed, convenience, or diet food unless it’s my only option (and it shouldn’t ever be).
4. I realize that fat and calories aren’t the enemy.
5. I understand health claims on food labels are marketing tactics, not medical facts.
6. I’m willing to make my health a priority, even if it means spending a bit more time in the kitchen or a bit more money on food. I believe it’s worth spending a bit more to get higher quality food.
7. I understand that how I look and feel is about 75% what I eat and 25% how I move.
8. I believe strength training is a crucial component of health and fitness.
9. I realize that I don’t have to spend hours in the gym to get a good workout as long as I incorporate movement into my daily life as much as possible.
10. I won’t use exercise as a way to make up for “bad” eating.

I want to help every single person live these principles! Find out more.

…And next week, I promise to bring you more recipes, answers to your questions, and all that good stuff.

4 August 2010

Your Hunger Is Not An Emergency

During a recent conversation with one of my Your Nutritionista Consulting clients, we discussed the idea that hunger is not an emergency. At least, not for us. It’s often simply a feeling that comes and goes, much like an itch. Consider this next time you’re “hungry”:

• Hunger is a feeling. It’s not always comfortable, but it’s not fatal.
• There are plenty of feelings much more uncomfortable than hunger.
• Hunger is not the same as a desire to eat.
• Hunger is not the same as starvation. Usually, we are not, in fact, starving (though we may say we are!).
• You can learn to tolerate hunger better. It just takes practice.
• The feeling of hunger comes and goes. It usually only lasts for 5-10 minutes before fading a bit.
• If you turn your attention to other things, your hunger will probably diminish.
• Going along with that, you can respond to hunger in ways other than eating.

So next time you feel hungry, especially if you ate recently or don’t have access to healthy foods, think about the above points before you chow down! Consider whether you’re hungry or just “hungry.” Want to learn more about understanding your hunger cues? Contact me!