Blog – Page 2 – Ginger Bailey, Founder

Eating for Exercise

Everyone knows that exercise is one of the surest ways to get fit and feel great. But did you know you can make exercise both easier and more effective if you eat correctly before and after? It’s true! “Eating for exercise” is a concept that some of the world’s top athletes have started embracing over the last decade. So, before you hit the treadmill or pump iron, learn and follow these simple tips on how to get the most out of your exercise regimen through better nutrition.

QUICK NOTE BEFORE WE BEGIN: You might think that if you aren’t an athlete, you don’t need to understand how to eat for exercise. However, if you have a goal of losing weight, building muscle, hitting personal records, feeling more energized, decreasing inflammation, or just becoming healthier overall, then you must learn the basics of fueling for a workout.

Pre-Exercise

As a dietitian, I feel like I have heard every excuse in the book for why people don’t eat before they exercise. Maybe you relate to some of these!

You don’t feel hungry when you wake up in the morning
Eating before exercise makes you feel bloated and weighed down
You don’t have time to eat before exercise
You are trying to cut calories to lose weight
You go straight from work or school to the gym

I strongly encourage everyone to eat something before they exercise, but the exact timing will be different person-to-person. Some people do well with a larger meal 2-4 hours before exercising, and others need a high carbohydrate snack in the hour before. Many people need both! Either way, have you spotted what both approaches have in common? Yep, you guessed it: Carbohydrates!

Carbohydrates are your body’s energy source. They are going to power your workout and make you feel energized. Carbohydrates by themselves are quickly digested and absorbed into the blood. Eating too much protein and fat can actually slow down digestion and make you feel weighed down during exercise. This is why I recommend that the closer you get to exercise, the more you focus on carbohydrates.

Carbohydrate foods also tend to feel a little easier on the stomach if you are doing an early morning workout and don’t tend to feel hungry. Your body will adjust as it gets used to eating before exercise.

If you feel like you are short on time or always on the go and don’t have time to eat, there are plenty of carbohydrate options that can be kept in your car, office, or gym bag. Here are some of my favorites:

Dried fruit
Fruit bars and fruit leathers
Crackers
Pretzels
Wheat thins
Applesauce pouches
Sports drinks

During Exercise

If you are working out for less than 90 minutes and you feel energized during your workout, eating during your exercise is probably not necessary. But your energy reserves (in the form of carbohydrates) will only last you so long, so you may need a little pick-me-up during longer bouts of exercise.

You might benefit from fueling during exercise if:

You have trouble eating enough before exercise (especially if you exercise early in the morning!)
You are doing a more intense workout
You are exercising in extreme conditions (Like going for a run when it is super hot!)
You struggle with energy levels during your workouts
You feel lightheaded or sick during your workouts

**DID YOU KNOW?** “Gatorade” was first developed by researchers at the University of Florida to help their student-athletes replenish carbohydrates and maintain energy levels during sports.

One of the benefits of working with a dietitian is that we can figure out a fueling plan that is best for you and your situation!

If you do need a little extra fuel during exercise, stick to simple sugars. They will be the easiest and quickest thing for your body to digest. Sports drinks like Powerade and Gatorade are my top choice because liquids tend to sit well with the stomach during intense physical activity. You can also go for things like applesauce, fruit, dried fruit, fruit juice, pretzels, crackers, fruit snacks, and sports gels. This is why you often see professional athletes, like tennis players, snack on a banana during breaks.

Post-Exercise

I recommend eating a balanced meal or snack (or both) within an hour of finishing exercise. Choose a good source of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats, as they each play an important role in recovery.

Carbohydrates help to refuel your muscles. During exercise, you are burning through your muscles’ store of sugar, or energy. Eating carbs after exercise enables your body to replenish those stores for the next time you need to exert yourself.

Protein helps your body to rebuild itself. When you exercise, especially when, say, lifting weights, you are actually creating “microtears” in your muscle. The process of repairing these tears is how you actually build muscle. Protein is what your body needs to do this more quickly and efficiently.

Healthy fats are important because without them, your body can’t absorb certain fat-soluble vitamins, like A, D, E, and K. (Note that you should not eat food with a lot of fat before exercise, because it takes longer to digest and inhibits blood flow to muscles. But eating healthy-fat foods after exercise is very beneficial.)

I commonly hear that people avoid eating after exercise because they don’t want to “undo” all the work they just did. Think about it this way- if you are putting strain on your body and pushing it to its limits but aren’t giving it any fuel to rebuild itself, get stronger, and actually change, you aren’t doing yourself any favors!

Eating for exercise might include reevaluating your relationship with food and your body. Remember, nutrition and exercise are not a punishment, but rather, an amazing form of self-care! As you fuel properly for exercise, you might be surprised at how well your body responds and how much easier it is to reach your goals!

If you are starting a new exercise regimen, we can help you make progress toward your goals! We offer special nutrition- and meal-planning packages for people looking to manage their weight or boost their energy levels. We also frequently help both professional and student athletes who are looking to get their body in peak competitive shape! Feel free to contact us with any questions or book an appointment today.

– Jessica Ashton

The Top 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Nutrition

In my practice I have people come see me for a myriad of reasons, but I do get asked certain questions by most of my clients. These are questions that almost everybody, regardless of age, weight, or health, tend to have at some point.

For this reason, I thought it might be helpful to give some quick answers to my most frequently asked questions. Not everyone is old enough to remember when David Letterman used to do Top 10 lists on his Late Show, but it was always entertaining. I thought it might be fun to do this late-night style so I will start with the least common question and build our way up. Drum roll please….

10.) What is trans-fat? Why is it bad for me? And how do I know if it is in a product? (I know this is really three questions, but they are all related. Plus, why not start with a trifecta?)

A: Trans-fats are manmade fats. Scientists take an unsaturated fat, then chemically cram extra hydrogens onto it, and voila! They have a fat that is more shelf-stable, which means all those high-fat goodies can sit on a shelf for longer without spoiling. Manufacturers love this because it means they have longer to sell their products. Problem is, our bodies don’t have the pathways to break down and process this artificial fat. That means it just gets dumped into the arteries, because our bodies have no idea how to process it.

These types of fats are usually found in packaged, higher-fat items. Think peanut butters, pie crusts, and other sweets. Manufactures are really good at hiding it, since they actually know how bad it is for people, so they have found lots of tricky ways around labeling laws. That said, you can usually find it on any ingredients list by looking for hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated oils.

9.) Should I avoid eating anything for at least 2 hours before going to bed?

A: Generally speaking, I’m not really a fan of strict, arbitrary rules regarding nutrition. If it is possible for you to leave at least two hours between eating and bedtime, you will likely sleep better. But that’s not always realistic. For example, some people work late shifts and are hungry when they get home, but they still have to get to sleep right away. Going to bed on an empty stomach isn’t going to help you sleep well either.

If you do get into a position where you find yourself hungry later at night, and know you need to hit the sack soon, I usually recommend avoiding high-carb foods. Instead, focus primarily on foods with protein or fat. Avoiding a lot of carbs before bed will generally allow you to sleep better without having weird dreams.

8.) Is it better if I eat every 2-3 hours?

A: This ties into my response to the last question. No hard rules here, however eating balanced meals more frequently is generally better for your system. The important thing is to eat when you feel hungry and not ignore hunger signals. Most people’s lives are not flexible enough to be getting food that frequently. If you eat a properly balanced meal, it should be able to last you at least 3-4 hours without overwhelming your system. It’s best to not eat large amounts at a time, because that can overwhelm your digestive system. However, let’s be real here. Who really has the time to eat something every 2 hours? I don’t think most people can realistically do that. So, if you need to go a longer period without eating, you can eat a slightly bigger meal. The important thing is not ignoring your body if it is hungry – and by extension, not ignoring your stomach when it’s full.

7.) Is going vegan healthier?

A: Not necessarily. I do not recommend veganism for health reasons; however, I do understand the ethical issues some people have with consuming animal products. Everyone sees life differently, and as a dietitian, it’s not my business to question people’s ethics or values. That said, if you are trying to lose weight or achieve a healthier lifestyle, veganism is not the best option. Why? Because you’ll be denying yourself some critically important nutrients that can only be found in animal products. As always, when it comes nutrition, balanced is almost always better than extreme.

On the other hand, most people consume more animal products than they truly need. Eating vegetarian several days per week isn’t a bad idea, except in some more rare circumstances. So, if eating meat just isn’t for you, consider a vegetarian, rather than a strictly vegan, diet.

6.) Is eating breakfast really that important? Even if I don’t feel hungry in the morning?

A balanced breakfast is key to good nutrition and high energy levels.

A: 100% yes. Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. If you skip that meal, you are expecting your body to function with no fuel in your system. Many people don’t feel hungry after waking up, either because they overate the night before, or because they have gone so many years skipping breakfast that their body stopped giving them a hunger signal in the morning. But if you want to manage your weight or simply feel better, eating a healthy breakfast is one of the best – and easiest – places to start!

If eating a morning meal is difficult for you, I recommend starting with liquid calories, like a smoothie, instant breakfast drink, or yogurt. (But NOT coffee! More on that in a moment.) If necessary, start with something small and light. Then, eat more in an hour.

5.) Is coffee okay for me?

A: Coffee in and of itself isn’t inherently bad. People tend to add a lot of fat and sugar that isn’t really beneficial, so at that point it could become a net negative. The biggest issue with coffee is the caffeine. Caffeine is a drug, and an extremely addictive one! From a nutritional standpoint, a caffeine addiction can interfere with your ability to “hear” your own body cues – which in turn makes it easy to gain unintended or unwanted weight. So, if you are trying to manage your weight, it pays to be judicious with caffeine,

Coffee is also NOT – I repeat NOT – a replacement for breakfast. Many people drink coffee and then don’t feel hungry enough to eat breakfast. So, they haven’t given their body any fuel to work with and are in essence slamming on the gas peddle with no gas in the car. This is very damaging to the body, and ultimately has a very negative impact on energy levels. All the people I have worked with that decide to cut out their coffee in the morning, or at least save it until after they have eaten breakfast, come back to report a major increase in energy levels.

4.) Why can’t I seem to resist sugar cravings in the evening? Is this a sign that I lack self-control?

A: Believe it or not, this isn’t a self-control issue, and you didn’t “fall off the wagon.” What most likely happened is that you didn’t eat enough calories earlier in day, either because you were busy, or you were “trying to save your calories for later.” As a result, you created an energy deficit larger than what your body was comfortable with, and it went into what I refer to as “override mode.”

You see, the human body doesn’t respond kindly to being starved, and has built-in mechanisms to prevent starvation. So, if you go too long without eating, or try to deprive yourself, it will backfire on you. I have nicknamed this phenomenon “The Vicious Cycle of Awfulness.” People often skip breakfast, and then don’t eat enough for lunch because they are “trying to be good.” Then, dinner rolls around and they want to eat everything plus the kitchen sink…to be followed up with a sugar binge right before bed. They end up super-full late at night and then can’t sleep well. Then, they wake up the next day and do it all over again. Hence, the Vicious Cycle of Awfulness. They feel tired and deprived all day, then miserably full at night. It results in nothing but awfulness.

Fortunately, there’s an extremely easy fix for this. Eat a proper breakfast, and don’t skip meals/snacks during the day!

3.) Should I try intermittent fasting?

A: Intermittent fasting is all the rage right now. It’s often promoted as a fast, relatively simple way to lose weight, which can be music to your ears if you’ve struggled with reaching your weight goals. But, as a professional, dietitian, I have to be blunt:

Please don’t do it.

I know there are lots of “studies” out there touting all kind of positive benefits and results. But here’s what you MUST understand. It’s not that fasting doesn’t result in weight loss. It’s that the weight loss is rarely – if ever – sustainable.

Remember how I mentioned before that the body doesn’t respond kindly to being starved? Intermittent fasting does not allow you to give your body the proper energy when it needs it. That messes up your system and causes it to be more protective in the long-term. and time again, people have come to see me frustrated that they have “fallen off the wagon” and gained back all the weight they lost from intermittent fasting. But they didn’t fall off the wagon. It’s just that their body did what it’s supposed to do: Protect them from starvation.

In the meantime, intermittent fasting can result in trading short-term results for long-term problems beyond just weight gain. Over the last few years, I’ve worked with many clients who have developed health problems and performance issues. One common denominator? Intermittent fasting. You see, it’s not just starving your body of calories. It’s starving your body of energy…even when your body is begging you not to.

Any type of eating system that encourages you to ignore your own body cues is a bad idea.

2.) What about keto? I tried it, and it worked for a while, but I couldn’t manage to sustain it.

A: Short answer to this is DON’T DO IT!! Again, it’s not that it can’t work short-term, but the reason that it works isn’t because you are in ketosis, but because you are creating a calorie deficit. Ketosis is dangerous! Earlier in my career, when I worked at LDS Hospital, I helped treat many patients who had been hospitalized for ketosis.

The keto diet was originally developed for children with unretractable epilepsy that didn’t respond to any other treatment method. It was so dangerous that they would hospitalize the children for monitoring when they were first put on it. It was not intended for weight management.

If that doesn’t scare you enough, ketones are acidic, which puts the body in an acidic state. Guess what grows really well in an acidic state? Cancer.

As a dietitian, my job is to help people achieve a better life through better nutrition. There are many ways to achieve better nutrition. Keto is not one of them. If you are trying to lose weight, please feel free to come see me. Together, we can find a strategy that is not only more effective, but healthier for you, too.

Can you guess the most commonly asked question I get? By this point, you probably have a clue. Second drum roll please…

Are carbs bad for me?

A: Carbs (short for carbohydrates) are the subject that people are most confused about. Life is not black and white, and food definitely isn’t. Carbs are what our body uses as its fuel source. The more energy you burn, the more carbs you generally need. If you are primarily getting your carbs from refined sugars, that don’t provide any other helpful vitamins or minerals (think soda, alcohol, or packaged sweets) that isn’t going to benefit you as much as if you had gotten your carbs from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and other-minimally processed foods.

Carbs are a critical source of energy and they shouldn't be cut out of your diet entirely - just keep them as part of a well-balanced meal!

Does that mean you can never eat your favorite dessert? No. It just means that you should:

Eat carbs when your body needs the energy, and
That it is best to get your carbs from less processed sources.

Yes, you can eat bread, and rice, and pasta, and potatoes, and fruit, and all the foods you really like. Just try to have more whole grains, more whole fruits, and eat them sooner in the day when you body needs the fuel. (Just another reason to never skip breakfast!)

In short, listen to your body. Give it the energy and nutrients it needs. Choose balanced meals over extreme diets. I know it’s not the latest fad. I know it’s not “sexy.” It’s something better.

It’s healthy.

And best of all, it works!

***

Okay, so I’m sure this wasn’t as funny as David Letterman’s top 10, but hopefully you found at least one of these answers useful to you. If you still don’t feel like you got your question answered, or have questions about something else entirely, I would be happy to meet with you one-on-one. My assistant Barbara is very friendly and happy to help you schedule an appointment. You can also request an appointment yourself directly from my website. Happy eating!

Managing Gastroparesis: How to Eat When Your Stomach Doesn’t Empty Properly

Gastroparesis is the medical term for when the stomach doesn’t empty like it should. This is a condition often caused by some other type of illness or disruption in the body. Often times it is due to the nerves not working correctly, which impairs the firing of the muscles that move food along the digestive tract. This can lead to several bothersome symptoms, including nausea, bloating, sense of fullness, reflux, and in severe cases, vomiting. The end result is that many people who suffer from gastroparesis lose their desire to eat and end up suffering from malnutrition and unintentional weight loss.

If you have been diagnosed with gastroparesis, you have probably been wondering, “Now what do I do? How am I supposed to eat if my stomach doesn’t empty?”

The good news is that if you are careful with how to you eat, you can usually decrease your symptoms dramatically. That’s because, with gastroparesis, your stomach will eventually empty, just not as quickly.

It’s important to understand that not all foods digest at the same rate. So, if you understand what foods to eat and when, you can help your system function better. Here are a few overall guidelines that can help:

Eat smaller amounts more frequently. Avoid putting a lot of food in your stomach at once.
Stay upright for 30-60 minutes after eating (if possible) to allow gravity to help pull the food through your system. A light walk, or any kind of gentle activity, can also help. Avoid sitting hunched over after eating.
Chew foods well so that your food is more broken down by the time it gets to your stomach. Blending foods (especially those high in fiber) can also be beneficial.
Drink water with meals to liquify the contents of your stomach.

There are also a few types of foods you want to pay attention to, as they take longer to digest and will tend to delay the stomach emptying. This doesn’t mean you should avoid them altogether, because they are an important part of a healthy diet. However, it can make symptoms worse if you consume a lot of these foods, especially at one sitting. Some of these foods include:

Insoluble fibers, which are found primarily in raw veggies, fruits, and grains.
Protein, especially from tougher meats. Liquid proteins will generally digest faster.
Fats, especially deep-fried foods and those with a lot of added oils. (Foods that naturally contain more fat are generally a little easier to digest as long as consumed in small portions. Examples of this are salmon, avocado, and nuts.)

I know you are probably thinking, “But…that’s all the good stuff!” And yes, you are correct – there are lots of yummy foods on that list. Just remember that these guidelines aren’t strictly black and white, because food isn’t that way either. It’s a matter of balance, and not eating a lot of those foods all at the same time, or in large quantities. Also, you will likely find that some foods bother you more than others, so the guidelines you follow should be tailored for your specific situation. Not everyone’s body is going to respond the same way, because it also depends upon what is causing the gastroparesis. However, with a little time and patience, you will likely discover which foods work for you and which don’t.

Gastroparesis is manageable with the right diet and medical treatments.

I was diagnosed with gastroparesis several years ago, so I know how frustrating this condition can be. Fortunately, my symptoms have dramatically improved, and I feel great most of the time, provided I avoid overeating. That’s why I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who are suffering! Gastroparesis can be difficult, but there are things that be done both with diet modification and medical treatment to manage it. In my experience, if you simply pay a little more attention to what you eat, you will make living with this condition much easier.

Of course, if you try some of these recommendations and are still struggling, feel free to reach out to your medical provider and/or a registered dietitian for extra help in creating a more specific treatment plan for you.

Good luck!

–Ginger

Diet Management for IBS: How watching what you eat can make your bowels a little less irritable

If you have been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) you know how troublesome (and sometimes debilitating) the symptoms can be. IBS is a rather non-specific diagnosis, as the way symptoms present can vary quite a bit from person to person. Some may have diarrhea, while others struggle more with constipation. For others, nausea and bloating are more severe.

The good news is that by better managing your diet, you can often reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Finding what works for you can be tricky, as dietary management varies based on each person and their symptoms. However, there are a few general recommendations that can be helpful.

Keep a food/symptom log

This is the best way to find out which foods trigger your symptoms and which help alleviate them. Because people often don’t eat one food at a time, it can be difficult to pinpoint if there is a particular food that seem to be causing issues for you. Make notes about any symptoms that appear within an hour of eating. Over the course of time, it will become easier to find correlations.

Also, if your symptoms ever flare up, make note about other things happening at the time, even if they don’t involve eating. Are you feeling more stressed than normal? Did you just have a difficult conversation with someone? Did your schedule change suddenly and unexpectedly? Did you go to a new place? Keeping a log will help you learn more about how your body operates – and by extension, how you can take care of it.

Limit the amount of processed foods you eat, including those with artificial ingredients

The fact is, the human body doesn’t deal well with artificial sugars, fats, colors, etc. These foods also tend to have a negative impact on the microflora of your gut (the types of bacteria in your digestive system). The balance of bacteria in your GI tract is super important! Eating a lot of processed foods tends to disrupt that balance and can worsen GI issues, in addition to just being overall detrimental to our systems. Instead, look for foods with ingredients you recognize. You can never go wrong with fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole, unprocessed foods are great, too!

Learn what activities help you discharge your stress.

While the demands of daily life mean it’s often not possible to eliminate – or even decrease – your stress, there are ways to better manage it. There are ways of discharging stress and other negative feelings rather than holding onto them.

Why is this important? Simple: Your gut has tons of nerves in it! Research has found that stress can wreak havoc on the nerves. If we don’t let go off all our “emotional baggage”, it is very easy for that built-up tension to then affect the nerves in your GI tract.

There are many ways of discharging stress, and the best methods can be unique for each person. My personal favorite is martial arts! Exercise, meditation, and listening to music are all great ways to help dissipate pent-up energy and frustration, even for people who are not athletically-inclined or musically trained.

For those suffering from specific symptoms, here are some other suggestions:

Coping with Constipation

When a person is constipated, their stool moves too slowly through the large intestine, resulting in hard, painful bowel movements. To avoid this, ensure you are getting adequate fluid and fiber intake. Avoid eating too many starches – bread, pasta, cookies – as those tend to be more binding. If there are foods your body is reacting negatively to, that can cause things to move slower, too. (Another reason to keep a food/symptom log.)

You can also talk with your doctor about taking probiotics. These can be helpful for maintaining a good balance of healthy bacteria in your intestines, and there are some formulations that are specific for gut troubles. Eating plenty of fiber also helps provide more bulk so that your colon knows to move the food along more consistently. Fruits and vegetables have lots of great fiber in addition to other nutrients. When upping your fiber intake, though, be sure to also drink a lot more fluids. (Too much fiber combined with not enough fluids can actually make constipation worse.)

Dealing with Diarrhea

People with diarrhea have the opposite problem of those with constipation – their stool is moving too quickly. In this case, starchy foods and foods high in soluble fiber tend to help bind extra fluid. For example, oatmeal has quite a bit of soluble fiber. Adding a soluble fiber supplement, like Benefiber, may also be useful, but add it to your diet slowly and gradually!

Getting Rid of Gas

Some foods naturally produce more gas, whether you have IBS or not. These include beans, lentils, potatoes, eggs, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions, garlic, lactose (found in milk), soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, and some whole grains. The situation just becomes worse for those with IBS. Many of these foods are good for you in other ways, though, so you shouldn’t eliminate them from your diet entirely. Just practice moderation, and note in your food log if one of these foods in particular is giving you trouble.

Wheat can be a common trigger for people in this area. It may be worth eliminating wheat for a period to see if it improves symptoms. Also, increasing your fiber intake suddenly will tend to cause more gas and GI distress. Consuming excess amounts of insoluble fiber in particular can also do this.

Again, gas isn’t an excuse to not eat your vegetables! Just try to avoid eating a lot of gas-producing foods together in one day if you are already struggling with breaking wind.

Treating Nausea

Personally, this is usually my first indicator that something I ate didn’t agree with me. It typically starts before any of the other symptoms. So, I will immediately make note of anything I ate at that particular meal or snack. (Once again, keep a food/symptom log. It really is a powerful tool!)

If you do experience nausea, ginger and mint are both excellent natural remedies. I can’t tell you how much ginger ale I consumed when I was pregnant and had morning sickness! Ginger or mint tea – hot or cold – can also work. There are also ginger mints you can buy from many grocery stores that are great for nausea. Ginger also adds a great flavor to meals. In addition, sometimes when I have fresh mint growing in my garden, I will just wash some leaves and put them in my water without even steeping it. Mint can worsen reflux, though, so it’s not recommended for people with reflux disease.

As a dietitian, I have personally struggled with IBS myself, and I know how challenging it can be. That said, because I have listened to my body, I have found ways of keeping my symptoms manageable, and I feel good most of the time. I have had to make some dietary modifications for myself, like eliminating wheat. I have found through both my own personal experience, as well as those of my clients, that the most important thing is to listen to the cues your body gives you. Our body knows what it needs – we just don’t always pay attention.

My final thought on this topic is to do your best to create a positive environment surrounding eating. When people struggle with GI issues, food often becomes something they don’t even want to think about anymore. If your brain creates negative associations with food, it can make the situation worse than it already is. Try to make the experience of eating as positive as possible. Eat with family, listen to uplifting music while you eat, or even eat at a favorite location. Anything you can do to make eating a positive experience can be helpful. After all, good food is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures!

Think of it this way. Imagine it’s a Monday, and all day long you find yourself having to deal with things you’d rather not deal with. You get stuck in traffic, your desk piles up at work, the weather’s awful, and when you get home, you see that no one bothered to clean up the kitchen. You’d probably feel pretty irritable, wouldn’t you?

Your body works the same way. When we subject our GI tract to unhealthy food – or food our body simply doesn’t tolerate well – it reacts exactly the same way we do: It gets irritable. But by following the steps above, you can make your gut a lot happier. When you do, I guarantee that you’ll be happier, too.

Good luck!

How to Avoid Gaining Weight During the Holidays

I love food as much as anyone. In fact, a really good meal brings me great joy! But you know what I don’t enjoy? That miserable “stuffed” feeling you get after an overly-large holiday meal. Even worse is the feeling you get when you step on the scale for the first time once the holidays are over.

Fortunately, I have good news. There are ways to enjoy eating during the holidays without slipping into overindulgence. Here are few tips I recommend you try this year to make your holidays happy and healthy:

General tips:

If someone brings or offers you food, remember: you don’t have to eat it. You can either politely tell them you aren’t hungry, or you can take the food and share/donate it later to someone in need. It’s okay to decide if a food is truly worth eating or not. We make decisions all day about how to spend our money and time. Consciously deciding how to spend our calories is just as wise.

avoid weight gain during holidays — You don’t have to avoid these as long as you make mindful eating decisions during the holidays!

Be careful of liquid calories. Many beverages can contain a lot of empty calories that don’t make us any fuller, but can contribute a lot of extra pounds. It is also easy to quickly drink a lot of calories that can take a long time to burn off. For example, an 8 oz. cup of hot chocolate is easily going to contain at least 150 kcal. For me, burning those calories takes at least 30 minutes of walking at a fast pace, or about 10 min of running to burn. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t drink any hot chocolate or eggnog or whatever else you enjoy, if you’re willing and able to do some cardio after.

Make sure to keep your home well-stocked with more nutrient-dense, less calorie-heavy foods. If you make sure to get plenty of good nutrient dense foods in per day, you won’t be as hungry for the foods that contain more empty calories. By no means am I saying you should skip out on your favorite treats. But if you eat nutrient-dense food first, you won’t probably feel the urge to snack on holiday fudge as much.

At gatherings

Scope out all the food selections before grabbing a plate or starting to eat. Decide what foods really look best to you. See if you can narrow it down to 5-6 foods you really want to try the most.

Start with very small portions of each food and then decide what foods you enjoyed the most and truly want more of. In other words, use your “second helpings” wisely! By not filling up all at once, you can eat more of what you really like as the meal goes on.

Don’t hang out near the food. Get your food and go sit down somewhere, preferably across the room from the buffet. If you finish your plate and are still hungry, then go back for more.

At many holiday gatherings, everyone is responsible for bringing something. I recommend bringing a lower-calorie option to share.

Have a snack before you arrive at a large gathering. Some people think if they skip the previous meal, they will have more room in their calorie budget for the buffet. This often backfires and ends in overeating. In other words, never skip breakfast Thanksgiving morning! (Or any morning.)

Remind yourself that you can have more food later if you get hungry again. You can even put food on a plate and set it aside for yourself to eat later on.

The key thing to remember is to listen to your body, and to be mindful about your eating. You can make conscious decisions about eating without being restrictive or depriving yourself.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Meals

Here are a couple questions you can ask yourself before and during meals to help promote more mindful eating:

What food looks best to me right now? What am I really in the mood for?
Am I enjoying this food as much as I did when I began eating it?
Is there a different food I would rather eat right now?
Could I stop eating, walk away from the table and not feel like I “need” more food right now?

All these tips probably seem very simple. That’s because they are! I promise you, losing weight – or in this case, avoiding weight gain – doesn’t have to be complicated, and it certainly doesn’t mean you have to “go on a diet” or “be miserable” during the holidays. It means making conscious decisions about what, when, and how you eat.

Of course, if you would ever like a more personalized weight management plan, I would be happy to help you create one! In fact, one of the smartest times to see a dietitian is during the holiday season. As a reminder, I also offer personalized meal planning, diet analysis, and grocery store tour services. If you would like to schedule an initial consultation, feel free to contact me by calling 801-815-7301 or emailing me at gingerbaileyrd@gmail.com.

Special offer:
Mention this blog post and get $10 off your first consultation!
(Cash pay only. This discount does not apply to those paying through their insurance.)

In the meantime, follow these tips! If you do, it’s far more likely that when you step on the scale come December 26, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you see.

Happy holidays!

The Best Motivator for Weight Loss

One of the first things I discuss with clients is what motivates them to want to change. As you know, change is hard. And making significant lifestyle changes (like how you eat) takes motivation.

When I ask people what is motivating them to change, here are some of the common responses I hear:

I want to feel better
I don’t want to develop health problems (i.e. diabetes, sleep apnea)
I want to have more energy
I want to look better
I want to lose weight
I want to walk up a flight of stairs and not feel winded
I want to keep up with my kids

All these answers have something in common: people want to be something they currently aren’t. Or in other words, they aren’t happy with how they are right now. They want something more for themselves.

While the desire for self-improvement is natural and healthy, understanding the motivation behind your desire is very important. Specifically, it’s critical to understand the place the motivation is coming from. Is it positive or negative?

For example, see if you can spot the difference between this:

“I am a valuable member of my family, and I contribute to society. I want to eat better so I can feel good and function better.”

And this:

“I feel fat and tired all the time. I don’t like myself and I feel unattractive, so I am going to go on a diet to lose weight and not feel so bad about myself all the time.”

One is a positive motivation, the other negative.

Body Positivity

Why is this important? Because research has shown that body positivity actually helps promote permanent change far better than shame. This should come as no surprise, as love has always been a stronger force than hate. That said, loving ourselves is not always easy. We are often our own worst critics. And sadly, some of the negative things we feel and think about our bodies are reinforced by society, sometimes even by family members or friends. Sometimes, when these thoughts and ideas are reinforced, they can even become the basis of an eating disorder.

Unfortunately, the media is excellent at putting pressure on both men and women to have a specific, idealized appearance that has no semblance in reality. Given how much of our time is consumed by ads, social media, and the news, these issues probably won’t diminish any time soon. Since no one I know is ready to toss their iPhone in a lake, sell their TV, or move out to the middle of nowhere, the alternative is to work to develop good body positivity. I know this is easier said than done, but it tends to be a good shield against the storm of negativity and judgement we face on a daily basis.

My own struggle with body positivity

What I am about to share is very personal, but I think will help you understand why I find this topic so important.

As a child, I was always very thin and fit until about age 15. I really didn’t know anything about nutrition back then. Unfortunately, it was at this point in my life that congenital malformations began to show themselves. First, I started having issues with my joints. I was in track and field and developed such severe patellar tendonitis in my knee that I was forced to quit running, and spent over 2 months on crutches waiting for the inflammation to calm down. I had to stop doing all the sports and activities I was accustomed to, and spent all my free time resting on the couch or in bed. I gained a significant amount of weight and felt miserable. Even after I was well enough to resume normal activity, my knees were never really the same. I was not really able to get the weight off that I gained and I wasn’t very happy with how I looked. I was the last one of my friends to be asked to Jr. Prom, and found out two days before that I was a pity date.

I didn’t feel attractive, nor did I feel healthy.

To make a long story shorter, let’s fast forward to my college years. I had worked hard to get accepted into a competitive dietetics program at Utah State University, and was excited to start my junior year. A week into the semester, I became very ill. I was in and out of the ER, doctor’s offices, clinics, and got no answers. I was in excruciating pain all the time. Different doctors put me on and off lots of different medications in an attempt to make me feel better. Not only did these medications fail to help, they caused me to gain 30 pounds in a month and a half.

While this was going on, I was still attempting complete my classes. After three months with no answers, I started questioning if my life would end before the doctors could figure out what was happening. Fortunately, after four months of misery, I finally received a correct diagnosis – but the damage was done. I had lost most of my muscle mass and gained a lot of weight. Worst of all, my nervous system was damaged from being in severe pain for so long. I still struggle with chronic pain as a result of this episode.

As I tried to get back into shape, I started having difficulty with my joints again. This was partially due to skeletal malformations, but also due to the weight I had gained from being ill. I felt unfit, unattractive, and broken. But I knew the only way to ever feel better was to exercise, embrace better nutrition, and get back into shape. Fad diets and extreme measures weren’t going to cut it – what was needed was a commitment to doing the right things for my body.

It was very hard at first, but the more I did it, the more I realized how much I had actually missed eating well and exercising. After spending so much time barely being able to get out of bed, it occurred to me that what I wanted most was a better quality of life. I didn’t want to lose weight to please someone else’s ideal of what a woman should look like. I wanted to lose weight because I knew I could be an active, contributing member of society. Because there were things I wanted to do with my life – and getting in better shape would enable me to do them.

A change in motivation, a change in health

When you are afraid you might be dying, you stop worrying about how attractive you are. I started exercising and eating better because I wanted to feel better and be more functional, not just to meet an unrealistic and superfluous standard set by Hollywood. Looking back, I only wish I had come to this realization before all those medical problems struck.

It was after this adjustment in perspective that things changed for me. This is when my personal exercise and nutrition program became consistent, and I began to eat well and love exercise for their own sakes. My lifestyle changed because I wanted to do everything I could to maintain a higher quality of life. I had no desire to live 60 more years if it meant not being able to do the things I loved.

I still have chronic pain. I still struggle with my health on a daily basis. But every day I do what I can, and it has paid off. And the reason I am able to keep moving forward is because I understand why I do it. My motivation is not fleeting, because it is not based on negative feelings about myself. It is always there because I have found a way to love and respect myself.

So, as you seek to meet your own health-related goals in life, I encourage you to ask yourself these questions:

Why do I want to change?
What motivates me?
Does it come from a positive space?
If not, how could it be more positive?

I love what I do. I love helping people find their “why.” And mostly, I love helping people achieve a better quality of life through better nutrition. So, if you are feeling like maybe changing is just too difficult on your own, feel free to enlist my help. Whether you need help with weight loss, gastrointestinal issues, managing diabetes, or just having more energy, always know that I would love to work with you.

Why Hiring a Registered Dietitian Shouldn’t Be Your Last Resort

Whenever I meet someone new, it’s not uncommon for them to ask me what I do for a living. When I tell them I am a Registered Dietitian, the person will usually proceed to tell me about their nutrition problems and the many things they have tried and failed. (They also like to tell me everything they ate that day.)

Very rarely do I meet a person that says they have actually worked with a dietitian.

Instead, many people have met with doctors, supplement suppliers, or weight loss groups, but never even thought to seek out a dietitian. I see it often, and yet it still surprises me! It’s like hiring a bagpipe teacher when you want to learn the piano. Yes, the bagpipe teacher might know something about music, but they aren’t going to be very successful at teaching you how to play a piano.

So if you know you have a problem with your eating or nutrition, wouldn’t it make sense to hire a Registered Dietitian that specializes in that specific area?

Don’t spend hours and hours trying to do it all yourself. Hire a dietitian to help!

You see, people like me go to school for many years so that we can help others get better. I spend almost one hundred hours every year staying up to date on the current research on various nutrition-related topics so my clients don’t have to. Similarly, I hire a CPA because the thought of having to understand all those complicated tax laws makes me want to cry thinking about it. I am happy to pay someone else to do that for me, thank you very much. Why not pay a dietitian to sort through the many and often complicated nutrition studies for you?

The other comment I often hear is “I know what I am supposed to do, I just don’t do it.” My response is typically, “That is what I help people with.” I am an expert in nutrition, but there is a reason I call myself a nutrition coach. My responsibility to my clients is not just to spew information at them, but to actually work with them to help them make changes and reach their nutrition goals. That is what good dietitians do. Basic nutrition information is just that, basic. Implementing healthy eating behaviors, though, is where things get more challenging, which is a big reason why dietitians can be helpful. They can help to actually make lasting changes, while not making you miserable in the process.

The truth is, the majority of my clients coming to see me for the first time for help with weight loss actually had a binge of their favorite foods the night before, because they were afraid I was going to put them on a “diet” and tell them not to eats those foods anymore. Fortunately for them, I have never done that with any of my clients. I consider myself a foodie, and greatly enjoy eating myself, so I don’t believe in depriving other people the joy of eating either. Not only that, but deprivation will nearly always end in binging, which is the inherent flaw with diets – especially fad diets – in the first place. The good news is that I can teach people how to enjoy their food, but eat reasonably enough to have good nutrition and maintain a healthy weight.

I have found that almost everyone has some type of nutrition concern, but only a wise few choose to hire a registered dietitian. I know that cost can be a huge deciding factor for many. (One of the first questions I always ask when looking for service of any kind is “How much is this going to cost?”) The reality, though, is that hiring a dietitian can be less expensive than you think. Better still, the tools I teach people will last a lifetime, and can ultimately end up saving you a TON of money in the long-run. Plus, I am a preferred provider for several insurance companies and can often get my services covered at 100%!

So, if you are ready to finally address the nutrition concerns you have with something better than a simple Google search, then give me a call. If you would like, I can even answer the phone like this:

I can be reached at 801-935-6500. I look forward to speaking with you!

How to Set a Health-Related New Year’s Resolution You Won’t Want to Give Up on Almost Immediately

Research has shown that the majority of people who set New Year’s resolutions include a health-related goal. Maybe that’s because we realize another year of our life has gone by and we want to slow the aging process – or maybe it’s because we ate too much of our father-in-law’s delicious fudge during the Christmas season. (In my defense, it was really great fudge.) Either way, setting health-related goals is always a positive thing.

But there’s an old adage that says, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” In this case, it’s critical that you create a plan to reach your goals.

You see, it’s common to set goals that just lead to more frustration. That’s because many people set goals that can never be achieved, and then they feel frustrated because they aren’t “succeeding.” In fact, I bet you can think of someone right now who set a health-related goal only to give up when it proved more difficult than expected.

Fortunately, there’s a very simple solution: make sure your own resolutions are S.M.A.R.T. ones! You may have heard this acronym before, but it’s always useful to review exactly what a SMART goal is, and how to set health-related ones. By following the steps below, you’ll be much more likely to achieve your New Year’s Resolutions.

So here it goes, let’s learn about setting SMART goals:

S is for Specific. Maybe your goal is that you want to get fitter next year. Awesome! It’s great to be fit! But what does that really mean? How are you going to know if you end up getting fitter than you were the year before? In what ways do you want to be fitter? Are you actually wanting to increase muscle mass, lose fat mass, or lose weight? If so, how much? I have many people come to me and say “I want to lose weight.” That’s a worthy desire, but it doesn’t yet qualify as a goal. An actual goal would be something like, “I want to lose 20 pounds this year.”

When I work with clients on their health-related goals, the first thing I do is make sure their goals are specific.

M is for Measurable. Maybe you’ve decided that your desire to be fitter actually means you want to decrease your body fat percentage. Now your goal is a bit more specific. But to make it actually measurable, let’s pinpoint an actual amount. For example, “I want to decrease my body fat % this year by 3%.” Or if your goal is that you want to lose weight, your goal could be to achieve to a goal weight of 160 lbs. This allows you to actually measure your progress compared to where you started.
A is for Achievable. This is where I see a lot of people struggle. It can be hard to know what is actually achievable and what isn’t, because it requires a more in-depth understanding of the human body than most people have. This is why there are professionals (like me, *wink wink*) that can guide you.

For example, say you want to lose 20 lbs. in 2 weeks. That’s only achievable if you have a death wish. You see, some things might be theoretically possible, but that doesn’t make them safe or smart. I could technically lose 10 lbs. overnight, but by the next day I would probably be so dehydrated I couldn’t stand up. Losing 10 lbs. of fat weight in one day simply isn’t achievable for me. Now, if I were to decide to try to lose 10 lbs. of fat weight over the course of a whole year, that might be achievable.

Also, keep in mind that while something might start out seeming achievable, things can change. Maybe your goal is that you are going to exercise at least 5 days per week, every week for the month of January, but then you break your leg half way through the month. Have you failed because you broke your leg and couldn’t make it to the gym? No. That’s why it’s important to remember that you can adjust your goal if needed to accommodate for changing circumstances. That keeps your goal achievable.

R is for Realistic. This, in my humble opinion, might be the most important aspect of setting SMART goals. Let’s say I’ve decided that in order to be fitter, I want to lose 10 lbs. over the course of a year. It’s specific, measurable, and technically achievable, but is it realistic? For one person, it might be, and for someone else it might not.

Let me explain. Imagine I have 2 clients, who both want to lose 10 pounds in a year. One of them (let’s call him Bob) is 100 lbs. overweight, while the other (Sam) is 10 lbs. overweight. Technically, they are both overweight, and it is going to be safe for either of them to lose the 10 lbs. Both of them want to lose the weight to “be fitter” but if each of them loses 10 lbs., will they both actually end up getting what they desired? Maybe, or maybe not. That’s because most people in their quest to lose weight are going to lose some amount of fat free mass as well. Take Sam. He loses 10 lbs. total, but 4 of those pounds are fat-free mass. He technically weighs less than he did before, but he also notices that he can’t bench press the same amount of weight that he used to. Sam may not really feel fitter despite reaching his goal, because it wasn’t a realistic goal for him. Bob, on the other hand, lost 10 lbs. and also lost 4 lbs. of fat-free mass. In his case, he notices that his knees hurt less and it’s easier for him to get in and out of the car. He also notices that he can walk longer without feeling out of breath. Bob now feels fitter.

It’s important to evaluate if your goal will actually get you what you desire, because that is what makes it realistic. Again, this is often where professionals can help you know if your goal is realistic or not.

T is for Timely. This one is fairly easy, but still important. If you don’t have a specific time frame in which you want to meet your goal, it becomes more of a wish than an actual goal. I could say that I want to lose 10 lbs. of fat-free mass, but if I don’t indicate over what time period I want to do this in, when do I evaluate if I met the goal? Furthermore, what motivation do I have to actually start now? What if I gain 2 lbs. of fat the first month, and then lose 10 lbs. of fat over the next 6 months. Did I really accomplish what I wanted? It all depends on what time frame we look at.

Hopefully, these pointers will help you structure smarter goals with a higher chance of success. That said, even if you set SMART goals, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t achieve them every single time! Sometimes the breakdown doesn’t occur at the goal-planning level, but somewhere during the implementation stage. If you aren’t meeting your New Year’s Resolutions, it might be that you need to change the way you are going about trying to achieve them. This is often times when people give up, when really, they just need to make a small change. Maybe to lose that 10 lbs., you just need to cut out that extra serving of starch at dinner instead of giving up your favorite food altogether. Remember that if something isn’t working well, it’s okay to make changes along the way.

One more thing. For most people, achieving health-related goals can sometimes seem like a daunting, if not impossible, task. That’s why there are people like me to help you on your way! If you have a desire to improve your health but don’t know how, I would be happy to help you along that path. From meal-planning to diet analyses to grocery-store tours, my goal as your dietitian is to help you achieve yours.

By the way, if you have health insurance, I have many patients that are able to get their visits with me 100% covered. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

In the meantime, good luck with your resolutions! Let’s make 2017 everything it can be!

The Silent Killer Most People Don’t Know About – And How to Avoid It

In the past 10 years, there is a deadly condition that has become much more prevalent and yet many people have never even heard of it. It is suspected that in the next 10-20 years it will be the most common cause for liver transplantation—yikes! In fact, it is already suspected to affect up to 25% of the US population.

What is it?

The condition is called Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). This is when excess fat cells build up in the liver. The liver normally does contain some fat, but if the liver becomes more than about 5-10% fat, then it is termed “fatty liver”, or in medical jargon: steatosis.

Who is at risk for developing it?

Anyone can develop it, including children, but the populations most at risk for developing this condition include:

Those who are overweight or obese
People with diabetes
People with high cholesterol or triglycerides

Why is it so dangerous?

The excess fat can cause the liver to swell (termed hepatitis, which means swelling of the liver) which in turn can cause scarring (or cirrhosis in medical lingo). This leads to a condition known as NASH, which stands for Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis. This is the medical term for when the liver is damaged from too much fat and chronic swelling that has occurred over time. Once the liver becomes too severely damaged, the only option left is a liver transplant.

What are the symptoms?

NAFLD often has no symptoms, which is why it is deemed a “silent killer”. When symptoms do occur, they often include:

Fatigue
Weakness
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Abdominal pain
Spider-like blood vessels
Yellowing of the skin and eyes
Itching
Swelling of the legs (edema)
Build-up of fluid in the abdomen (ascites)
Mental confusion

How is it diagnosed?

Blood is taken to check the liver enzyme levels. Ultrasound is often used to confirm the diagnosis.

How is it treated?

There are no specific therapies for NAFLD or NASH. If liver damage becomes too extensive, a liver transplant may be required. However, there are some basic recommendations you can follow that can both manage an existing fatty liver, and most importantly, prevent a fatty liver:

Reduce weight if overweight or obese
Follow a balanced and healthy diet
Increase physical activity
Avoid alcohol
Avoid unnecessary medications

Weight loss has been shown to improve liver enzymes in patients with NASH, and has actually helped reverse the disease to an extent.

There have been some experimental treatments done with supplements, however currently there is not enough clinical evidence to support the safety or benefit of their use. Also, as the supplement industry is not well-regulated, caution should always be taken before considering their use, and the risks/benefits should be discussed with a qualified professional.

Even if you have not been diagnosed with NAFLD or NASH, following the basic recommendations provided above can help reduce your risk of developing it in the future. These recommendations, while seemingly “basic”, can still be very challenging to accomplish on your own. As a registered dietitian and nutritionist, I can work with you to come up with a realistic plan on how to better follow many of the above recommendations. Specifically, I can help you:

If you would like some extra help, or just want some more information, I am only a phone call, text, or email away. You can now also schedule an appointment for yourself directly from my website.

How to have a healthy relationship with food

Over the course of my career, I have worked with many clients who have developed a negative relationship with food and eating. This not only decreases their quality of life, but makes it much more difficult for them to meet their nutritional goals.

What does it mean to have a negative relationship with food? To put it simply, it means you have started to view food as the enemy, and eating becomes an action that causes physical pain, emotional distress, or weight problems. Sometimes this is a result of chronic dieting. Other times it is due to illness or trauma. Sometimes it is even due to verbal abuse from others. Whatever the cause, often emotions become intertwined with the eating process, which complicates things further. Once people start associating negative emotions with eating, it becomes very difficult to reverse. In some instances, it warrants counseling from a qualified professional.

There’s another way to develop a negative relationship with food, too. Once a person’s relationship between food and emotions become intertwined, it becomes very easy for eating to become a method of coping. In some instances, when people feel out of control in their personal or professional lives, they find that strictly controlling what they eat is a way to make them feel more in control. For others, they have learned that eating specific foods makes them feel less depressed, so when they are feeling down, they find themselves turning to food to feel better. (Eating actually can affect the brain chemistry, so there is a physiological reason why people do this. More on this in an upcoming blog post.) No matter what the reason, using food to cope is never a good thing, because it creates a vicious cycle that is difficult to stop.

You see, it’s easy to use food to ease or dampen unpleasant emotions, but that doesn’t actually solve the root problem that caused those emotions in the first place. And that’s when we develop a negative relationship with food. We eat (or don’t eat) to feel better, and then blame food when it doesn’t solve our problems or actually makes them worse. As time goes on, our relationship with food gradually becomes worse and worse. This is why people often need counseling to help them work through the emotions related to eating, and to learn healthier methods of coping. If you are to a point that you need professional counseling, do not feel bad about it. It’s simply a challenge that needs to be overcome – and life is full of challenges! So please don’t let anything stop you from getting the help you need.

This article is not intended to fix complicated relationships with food, but simply to help you possibly start viewing food and eating in a way that maybe you hadn’t in the past. I’m hoping that some of these ideas will help you to start seeing food in a different light, which is often the beginning of the road to a healthier and happier life overall. (There’s a reason why my company slogan is Better nutrition for a better life! It’s not just catchy – it’s true.)

There have been points in my own life when I started to develop a negative relationship with food due to illness or other trauma. If it hadn’t been for my training as a dietitian, I cringe to think about what the consequences would have been. Sometimes I still have to work hard to keep my relationship with food healthy, but I know that it’s worth the effort. This is a topic that is very personal to me, so please understand that the point of this post is to help others, not to shame anyone. Everyone has their own journey with eating, and whatever feelings people experience are not to be disregarded, undermined, or used for bullying.

With that said, here are a few steps you can take to create (or maintain) a healthy relationship with food:

Remember that food is fuel. The purpose of eating is provide our body with the energy and nutrients it needs to function properly. Before you eat, it could be valuable to stop and ask yourself a couple questions:
- Why am I eating this? Is it for emotional reasons, or because my body actually needs food?
- Will what I am about to eat help my body function better?

If you find you want to eat for emotional reasons, then it’s a good time to stop yourself and find a better method of coping.

Avoid categorizing foods as “good” or “bad”. As humans, we love to categorize things. Safe vs. unsafe, happy vs. sad, tasty vs. yucky. It’s a way for us to distinguish things that we should seek out or avoid. The problem is that food isn’t so black and white. All foods are different and have a unique nutrient composition. Some foods are more nutrient-dense, meaning they are packed with more good nutrients relative to the amount of energy they provide. Some foods are less nutrient-dense, meaning they provide quite a bit of energy, but very little else. That doesn’t mean one food is “good” and another is “bad”. It just means the most nutrient-dense foods should be consumed the most frequently because they will provide our body with the vitamins, minerals, and fiber it needs to function well. Labeling food as “bad” has a negative connotation, which is what leads people to feel guilty about what they eat. If you are fueling your body well, there is no reason to feel guilty about eating. If you ever have questions about how to identify which foods are nutrient-dense and which aren’t, feel free to contact me and I can teach you more.
Listen to what your body is telling you. This can be confusing for people because sometimes they think their body is telling them something, but in reality, it is their emotions or their mind trying to drive their actions. If you pay close attention, your body will tell you when you really do need food and when you need to stop eating. (There are conditions in which these natural cues can become altered, so if you suspect that to be the case, consulting with a registered dietitian can help you figure out what’s going on.) Children are very good about respecting their bodies until adults teach them not to. If children are left to determine how much to eat, they generally will not overeat. So why do adults do this? Because they have learned to eat for emotional reasons, social reasons, chemical addiction, or for sake of time. Practicing mindful eating can help you get back to eating for the correct reasons, which again, helps to remove the guilt from eating.
Avoid creating forbidden foods. I frequently overhear people saying, “That looks so good, but it isn’t on my diet.” It makes me feel sad because they are preventing themselves from having some of the foods they enjoy most in this world, when in reality that deprivation isn’t necessary or I know that if I tell myself I can’t have something, it just makes me want it more. For example, cinnamon rolls are one of my very favorite foods. I also recognize that it isn’t the most nutrient-dense food that I could consume, so I don’t go out of my way to make or buy them often, but if someone offers me one and I feel in the mood for it, I eat it. I never feel deprived, so if I am not in the mood for it, or if I am simply not hungry, I can turn it down or save it for later when I am. If I told myself I was never going to eat cinnamon rolls again that would last maybe one day, and then I would be finding myself a nice gooey roll.The good news is that it is possible to eat foods you love and still enjoy them – you just have to do it within reason. Anyone seen the new Weight Watchers commercial? It has Oprah talking about her love affair with bread, and how she didn’t let herself eat it for a long time, and how happy she is now that she can eat bread. The key is that you don’t need Weight Watchers to gain that kind of freedom, just a healthy relationship with food, and the development of healthy eating habits. People usually create “forbidden foods” because they label them as “bad” for various reasons. Again, it makes it seem like food is the enemy, which it is not. For those of you that saw Finding Nemo…you saw how well the “forbidden food” idea worked for the sharks.
Avoid using food as a reward. This is a very temping thing to do, but I strongly encourage separating food and rewards. Once you start rewarding yourself (or your kids) with food, it then connects food and feelings, which as I talked about previously, is never a good thing. It may seem innocent at first glance; after all, when you do something good, it’s only to go out for ice cream. But what happens if you don’t meet your goal? Now, not only do you feel bad about not meeting your goal, but you’re forced to deny yourself the ice cream you were so looking forward to. How do you feel about ice cream now? Personally, I would probably feel resentful.Or do you give in and eat the ice cream anyway to make yourself feel better? Either way, you have connected another emotion with food—a negative one. You now also know that when you feel bad, you can make yourself feel better by eating ice cream.Let’s look at this from the eyes of a child. Imagine are potty-training your 2-year old girl, Sally. (I have highlighted all the emotions in red). You tell her that she can have a piece of candy every time she uses the potty. So the first time Sally use the potty, you both get all excited, and you give her the candy. She is happy. But the story doesn’t end there. Next time she sits down and tries to go, but she can’t quite do it. So you have to tell her that she doesn’t get a candy. She feels terrible and looks up at you with those big sad eyes and starts crying. Now she feels deprived of the candy that she was looking forward to soooo much. Do you give in and reward Sally with the candy anyway, “for effort”? If so, now Sally knows that she can get a reward whether she performs the task or not, and she associates food with a feeling of success or failure. She only gets candy when she “succeeds” and becomes deprived when she fails. See how many emotions can become connected with eating? Do you see how this can become dangerous really fast? Many of the serious problems people have with food first developed as a result of this very issue. Now, I am not saying that positive reinforcement can’t be a good tool – it just shouldn’t involve food. Remember, food is fuel, not a reward or a punishment.

Now, if you have done this sort of thing with your kids, don’t feel bad! I myself I have done it without really thinking about it. It’s simply something to be aware of, and a way that you can help your children – and yourself – develop a positive, healthy relationship with food.

These steps alone won’t solve or prevent all issues with food relationships, but they will help. Even if you have spent your entire life looking at food as the enemy, it isn’t too late to try to see it from a different perspective. It’s also never too late to get some professional help if needed. Having a healthy relationship with food can significantly improve your overall happiness and well-being, and is a goal worth striving for.

As always, if you would like a little help with your journey, I would love to work with you. I understand the struggle and want to be of assistance. From diet analyses to personalized meal planning to grocery store tours, I can help you create a plan that will enable you to reach your health and weight goals while simultaneously developing a more positive relationship with food – without having to give up the foods you like best! Give me a call at 801-815-7301 or email me at gingerbaileyrd@gmail.com to learn more.

In the meantime, happy (and healthy) eating!