Want to Make a Change? First be Kind to Yourself

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Sandi

Would you ever talk to your loved ones the way you talk to yourself in your head? Are you someone who uses adjectives like “lazy,” “pathetic” or “stupid” to describe yourself even though you would never describe others that way?

If so, you are not alone. There is a whole new area of psychological research called self compassion which focuses on how kindly people view themselves. The research shows that many people are very kind and supportive of others yet endlessly berate themselves.

The interesting part from a health point of view is that people who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Preliminary data suggest that self-compassion can even influence how much we eat and may help some people lose weight.

I have talked to many patients about the fact that self compassion is a very important first step in behavior change. The response I most often get is: “But if I don’t yell at myself, then I will never change anything”. The belief is that if you don’t whip yourself into shape, then you will stay on the couch forever.

The truth is that self compassion is not the same as self indulgence. If you care about yourself and view yourself kindly, you will most likely choose to treat yourself in a more healthful way.

This approach is backed up by a 2007 study at Wake Forest University. 84 female college students were asked to take part in what they thought was a food-tasting experiment. At the beginning of the study, the women were asked to eat donuts.

One group was instructed to be compassionate with themselves in relation to the food. “I hope you won’t be hard on yourself,” the instructor said. “Everyone in the study eats this stuff, so I don’t think there’s any reason to feel real bad about it.”

The researchers found that women who were regular dieters or had guilt feelings about forbidden foods ate less after hearing the instructor’s reassurance. Those not given the message of reassurance ate more.

The hypothesis is that the women who felt bad about the donuts ate more as a result of emotional eating. The women who gave themselves permission to enjoy the sweets did not overeat.

Think about how you might respond to a friend who is struggling with his exercise plan. Would you yell at him, tell him he has no self-discipline and that you won’t like him until he starts exercising? If you did that, do you think he would be more motivated to make positive changes?

So why do we think that approach will work well for ourselves? We are more motivated to make changes when we accept our strengths and weaknesses and are kind to ourselves.

Many of us have longstanding habits of being mean to ourselves. We need to actively develop more self compassion. It can be helpful to start by writing down the negative things we tell ourselves. It can be eye opening to just start to notice what those things are and how often we are saying them.

The next step may be to build self compassion into our regular routines. Can you stop for a moment and rub your neck or your shoulders? Can you take an extra ten minutes to make the food on your lunch plate look attractive? Can you tell yourself some of the kind things you say to your friends?

Kindness truly can move mountains. You may notice that you feel more relaxed and that you even have more energy for the changes you want to make. Here’s to self compassion – give it a try and see what you think.

References:

Adams, CE; Leary, MR. (2007) Promoting Self-Compassionate Attitudes Toward Eating Among Restrictive and Guilty Eaters. Journal of Social and Clinical Sociology. 26(10):1120-1144.

Parker-Pope, T. (2011, Feb). Go Easy on Yourself, a New Wave of Research Urges. New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/go-easy-on-yourself-a-new-wave-of-research-urges/

Personal Shopper Anyone?

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Sandi

I just had an inspiring conversation with Lisa Markley, MS RD in Overland Park, Kansas. She is a Whole Foods Market Healthy Eating Specialist and has been for just over a year. Her colleague, Dani Little MS RD, was the first Healthy Eating Specialist in one of the Boulder, Colorado Whole Foods Markets. They are both Bastyr University trained dietitians.

Lisa is clearly a woman who loves her job. She explained that Whole Foods Market added a seventh core value to their mission statement which is to promote health education to team members and customers. From this core value, the “Health Starts Here” initiative was born.

Lisa is essentially a highly trained personal shopper. Her role includes leading grocery shopping tours, teaching nutrition education and cooking classes and being part of community health events.

But here comes the really cool part – you can meet with Lisa for a one hour nutrition consult for $30 and follow up consults for $15. She will help you assess your nutrition goals and needs and then will take you shopping in the store so that you have in your cart whatever foods are going to work best on your customized meal plan. She’ll explain how to prep the foods you may not have tried before and she’ll give you lots of ideas to get you out of your food rut. Lisa describes what she does as “sensory based nutrition education in the store”. She opens foods for you to sample, gives you quick and easy recipes and it’s all personalized for you. Now that’s what I call having a huge impact on behavior change!

I asked Lisa why people most often come to see her. The top three reasons are: food sensitivities (including gluten intolerance), cancer diagnoses and metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high cholesterol and blood sugar issues). She reports that customers often walk into the store to see her right after a doctor’s appointment. They may have been told to lower their sodium intake, take gluten out of their diet, or reduce saturated fat. They are often overwhelmed and confused. And that’s where Lisa enters the picture. I bet the sighs of relief are audible.

Lisa had some really interesting comments about gluten free living. She said that some customers come into the store just wanting to make sure that their gluten free diet means they can still have pizza or mac and cheese. However, Lisa works with them so that they can appreciate that a gluten free diet, like any other diet, needs to be as nutrient dense as possible. Lisa also said that her Whole Foods Market has been carrying Zing Bars for a little less than a month and she is so excited to have them in the store. Her personal favorite is the peanut butter chocolate chip. She and I spent some time discussing flavors

I love what Whole Foods Market is doing in this arena. How wonderful for physicians, dietitians and other healthcare professionals to be able to refer their patients to a person like Lisa who can do the hands on piece right there in the store.

Not all Whole Foods Markets have Healthy Eating Specialists so be sure to ask your local store to hire a dietitian if they don’t have one onsite already. I am betting that customer satisfaction goes up tremendously with this kind of service. And, most importantly, awareness and knowledge of healthy eating is going up too.

Weeknight (Gluten Free) Meals for the Stressed

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Sandi

I am sure you don’t recognize this scene at all. Mom and kids walk in the door from school and work and hubby is not home yet. Kids are starving, mom is tired, no food is prepared. Kids start whining, Mom takes a deep breath. It is super tempting to call for pizza…

My hope is that you are way more organized with weeknight meals than I am. Perhaps you cook ahead on Sundays or have a freezer full of food that you have put away to pull out for just this kind of day. I do those things occasionally too but not nearly as often as I would like.

So here’s what I often do for gluten free, stress free and healthy weeknight meals:

Frozen veggies – hurray! I buy them all the time and pop them in the microwave or in the steamer. My kids love peas, broccoli (we call them trees), corn and bell peppers. Add to any meal for more nutrition.

Speaking of bell peppers, I try to always keep cucumber, bell pepper and carrots at home (thank you Amazonfresh)! I pop these on the table with some hummus or dressing and let the kids dip away until the entrée arrives.

Thank heavens for Amy’s Kitchen gluten free vegan burritos. I buy them by the case and the whole family loves them. I microwave them and throw some veggies on the side and voila!

Taco bars are another staple. Food For Life rice tortillas or any brand of gluten free tortillas form the basis for a yummy dinner. I open a can of black or pinto beans, I keep Trader Joes guacamole in the freezer and salsa (which is always in the fridge) gives us a good dose of veggies. Shredded cheese joins the party if I have any in stock.

Gluten free pasta topped with Eden’s organic canned pizza and pasta sauce is another easy meal. I add protein by throwing in some white beans, and a bag of salad greens on the side rounds out the meal.

Ah…frozen sweet potato fries. They make a nutritious side for Amy’s Kitchen bistro burgers on any gluten free bread or bun. And the pickles and cherry tomatoes (if they are on hand) up the veggie quota.

Lundberg makes gluten free healthy “in the box” risottos which are scrumptious. I throw in some garbanzo beans when the risotto is cooked. I also thaw some frozen spinach in the microwave and add it to the cooked dish. I serve this for company and get rave reviews.

Start with some smoked salmon (which freezes beautifully), add some gluten free crackers (like Mary’s Gone Crackers) or bread, sliced tomato and salad greens. Put some frozen blueberries on the side and get out of the way of the hungry hordes!

The quickest fruit salad ever – thrown together canned mandarin oranges, canned pineapple and a fresh apple and /or pear. Canned is not my first choice but sometimes it just has to do!

Bean salad extraordinaire – open a can of baked beans in tomato sauce and throw it in a bowl. Add in a couple of cans of drained beans. Use whatever you like – I often use black and cannellini – but any kinds will do. Add some Italian salad dressing and serve. It is even better the next day.

I’d absolutely love to hear your suggestions. Let’s broaden our repertories by sharing what is quick, easy and healthy weeknight fare!

Don’t Let Valentine’s Day Throw You Off Track

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Sandi

I am a dietitian but I am also one of those people who has to work hard at living a healthy lifestyle. I know that healthy habits come naturally to many people – including my husband, Mike. But that is not the case for me. If given an option, my position of choice would be nibbling chocolate while I read a great book on the couch. So, I really value the support of my hubby and other significant people in my life as I focus on staying on a healthy track.

It’s Valentine’s Day this month – a day that focuses on loving relationships with significant people in one’s life. Mike knows that a big box of chocolates is not the loving gesture for me that it may be for other people. I need loving gifts that help me to achieve more balance in my life… he knows I am a much more pleasant partner when I am living healthfully. So his Valentine’s Day gifts tend to be back rubs, workout DVDs, or a fun family activity like hanging out at the indoor batting cages so we all play and get ourselves moving.

Research shows that it is much easier to stick to healthy habits when we surround ourselves with people who are supportive of our efforts. So this Valentine’s Day, consider asking friends or family for the support you need, and ask them how you can best support them too. Be as clear as you can when asking for the support you need and encourage others to be specific about how you can most help them too.

Try some of these ideas or come up with your own:

Ask for Valentine’s Day (or birthday or anniversary) gifts that support your health goals – like Zing Bars to keep in your desk, purse and car, new walking shoes, a stress reduction CD, or a subscription to a healthy cooking magazine.
Cook with your partner or a friend on a Sunday so you have healthy meals ready for the week. I find cooking so much more fun when I have some company as I cook.
Work out with a buddy – I work out with a dear friend three times a week and those are the workouts that I do not miss!
Instead of going out for dinner to celebrate every special occasion, take a dance class together, go for a romantic moonlit walk, or get a partner yoga DVD out of the library to try together.
Don’t give Valentine’s Day candy to your kids…there are more than enough other candy eating opportunities throughout the year. Instead of letting it become a day they always associate with candy, try a fun activity together. We’ve tried to see how many fruits and veggies we can make into hearts and we have lots of heart-shaped healthy foods at Valentine’s Day dinner. Last year, our son had fun spelling out Valentine’s Day messages with thin strips of carrots and bell peppers. It is so delicious eating off a plate that says “I love you!”

Here’s to a healthy Valentine’s Day. And even more importantly, here’s to surrounding ourselves with the support of loved ones as we work towards our health goals!

Back to Basics: What Does “Balance” Mean Anyway?

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Erin

Eating food is a basic necessity of life, so why can it seem so complicated at times?

Sometimes, life is more complicated when we have lots of choices. And when it comes to food we certainly have many choices, some better than others. The less healthy options are often more accessible and seem to fit in more easily with our busy schedules. Health claims cause us to constantly question which foods we should eat and diet fads have us counting calories, taking diet supplements, and even eliminating entire food groups.

But how can we get back to the basics of simply eating nourishing food? I think it boils down to two main ideas:

The quality (and not just the quantity) of the foods you choose to eat,
Eating balanced meals and snacks every three hours or so throughout your day.

Let’s start with the quality piece. By quality of food, I mean choosing to eat more whole foods. This means real foods that are as close to their natural state and the least processed as possible. Most whole foods can be found along the perimeter of the grocery store, while the more processed foods are usually found in the center aisles.

Check out the ingredient labels on your favorite packaged foods. If the list of ingredients is long and includes unrecognizable words, is it real food? There are certain packaged foods that are great staples to keep in your pantry, such as canned beans, organic low-sodium broth, canned chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, whole grain pasta, and frozen fruit and vegetables. Your hunger and fullness can be your guide when you are eating more whole foods.

Let’s move on to the balanced meal and snack piece. A balanced meal or snack includes carbohydrates, protein, and fat. All three of these macronutrients are energy sources for your body, but they are broken down in different ways and at different speeds. So combining them within the same meal will give you some quick energy along with sustained energy. You’ll feel satisfied longer. Your blood sugar level will stay steady, which can help improve your overall energy and mood, reduce cravings, and help you maintain a healthy weight. Does this mean a bacon cheeseburger counts as a balanced meal? Not quite! This is where quality comes into play again.

Skip the sugar and white flour. Carbohydrates should be higher in fiber so they will break down more slowly.
Focus on fresh vegetables and fruit (all colors of the rainbow), whole grains, and legumes.
Avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, and wild-caught Alaskan salmon have healthy fats that can help reduce inflammation, keep cholesterol levels in check, and boost brain health. A little bit of healthy fat in a meal can go a long way to help you feeling satisfied.
Excellent protein sources can come from both plants and animals, and include lentils, dried beans and peas, organic eggs, and organic low-fat yogurt. Look for grass-fed meats, organic poultry, and wild-caught seafood.

So how do we practically make this happen in an actual day? Think outside of the box and try some of these ideas:

For breakfast, a bowl of pinto beans (and brown rice topped with lots of your favorite salsa) and a few slices of avocado.
A mid-morning snack could be a few whole grain crackers topped with almond butter.
For lunch, eat a bowl of lentil soup plus a green salad dressed with olive oil and vinegar and sprinkled with toasted almonds.
A balanced mid-afternoon snack of a crunchy apple with a few small slices of organic cheese will keep you satisfied until…
…Your dinner of baked wild salmon quinoa pilaf, and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Don’t worry if those suggestions are far away from your current way of eating. Start with a small step. Perhaps add some veggies to a meal or snack. It often works best to start with the meal that happens during the least stressful part of your day. Or if you tend to skip meals, focus on eating more often and add in small snacks between meals. Each small step adds up quickly until you find that the good food you’re eating is adding up to a nourishing and energizing day of food choices.

Erin Hugus, MS, CN is a new contributor to the Zing Blog. Erin has a Master’s degree in Nutrition and is a fellow graduate of Bastyr University. Erin is an expert in Diabetes care and is passionate about empowering people with realistic strategies for optimal health. She takes great pleasure in her time spent in the kitchen and loves cooking nourishing meals for her family.

Say No to New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Sandi

How are those New Year’s Resolutions going?

It’s not quite yet the middle of January and my favorite question for people at this time of year is “How are those New Year’s Resolutions going?” Most people I talk to have given up on their New Year’s Resolutions already so if you are in that situation, you are definitely not alone.

I personally am not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. Any time I mention this, people stare at me in amazement and ask me why. The answer is simple – I spent over a decade of my adult life setting New Year’s Resolutions and giving up on them by January 15^th. I think I made it one year to Jan 23^rd and that was my dismal personal record. Like most humans, I enjoy continuing behaviors that I am good at and New Year’s resolutions do not fit into that category.

This attitude does not mean that I do not examine my life and work on positive changes. I do that on an ongoing basis and see it as an important step to maintaining lifestyle balance. However, I do it in a way that helps me to be successful, rather than hitting my head against that New Year’s resolution brick wall.

So here are a few of my strategies for making sustainable changes:

The New Year is not a magical time for starting new behaviors. It’s more important to take into account your personal circumstances when you are considering making behavior changes. If, for example, a family member is in the hospital, or you are about to move homes, you may want to consider delaying the process or starting with a really small change.

Studies show that people who are internally motivated are more likely to be successful making a behavior change than those operating on external motivations. This just means doing something for yourself, rather than doing it for others. Examples of internal motivation are health, personal values, principles that matter to you, and even curiosity. Examples of external motivators would be doctor’s orders or your spouse nagging you to do something differently. For many of us, including me, changing a behavior is motivated by a mixture of internal and external factors. There is nothing wrong with having your initial motivation for change be kicked-off by an external motivation, such as advice from your doctor. But it can help increase the chances of making a change permanent if you get in touch with the things that really matter to you.

I’ll share a personal example. I used to be a late night snacker – eating chips while checking email. My initial push to decrease evening snacks was seeing the scale go up a few pounds (external motivation) but I maintain my healthier behavior by focusing on my personal value of having energy in the morning. I like to jump out of bed and greet my family with a positive attitude. And that’s hard to do when I’m sluggish from too many chips.

Social support is really important too. I have a 5:30am workout buddy and our three times a week workouts would be far less consistent if I was not picking her up on the way to the gym. Receiving support from others and spending time with others who share the same goals as you can be very beneficial. Research indicates our behavior is affected by what those around us are doing. If you are going out for dinners with people who drink a lot of wine and order desserts, chances are you will too. It can be helpful to share your health goals with others and ask for the support you need.

I think my biggest problem when I was setting New Year’s Resolutions is that they were far too ambitious. Absolute goals like “I will never overeat again” or overly aggressive goals like “I will lose 30 pounds in January” are a recipe for failure. When we’re not successful we get discouraged and give up.

Think about your plans to change as baby steps that you can sustain in the long-term. Each small positive change you make will improve your health if you can keep going with the behavior.

So tear up those New Year’s resolutions that you may already have given up on, and start with a couple of changes that you feel excited about making. Before you know it, you will be building on your successes and will be well on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

Happy 2011!

Preventing Post-Holidays Food Regret

Posted on December 18, 2010 by MinhHai

Preventing Post-Holidays Food Regret

Minh-Hai Tran, MS, RD, CSSD

On January 1, 2011, many Americans will wake-up feeling their clothes fit a little uncomfortably snug, and regret overindulging during this holiday season. When you’re up against endless parties offering an array of enticing high-calorie fare, alcohol, relatives who ‘love you with food’, holiday stress (and sometimes emotional distress), and a “Well, it only comes once a year” attitude, it can be a little more than challenging to eat well intuitively. Eating well during the holidays often boils down to damage control.

With never-ending cues to eat, there’s nothing riskier than being on autopilot. The main name of the game is staying conscious. There really is a happy middle ground between deprivation and over-indulgence. Here are some tips on how to achieve it:

Be a food snob. It’s a very simple but important concept: if you don’t really enjoy eating it, it’s not worth it. Those grocery store cupcakes and slightly too-hard, dry cookies will always look better than they taste. But my friend Pham’s made-from-scratch chestnut stuffing? Worth every bite.

Be here now. It’s just too easy to eat while completely distracted at holiday parties, and therefore, notice only two sensations: hungry and painfully stuffed. In order to feel satisfied after a comfortable amount of food, it’s important to be fully present when you’re eating, tasting every bite. As Tribole and Resch recommend in Intuitive Eating, ask yourself, “How does the food taste?” and “What is my hunger-fullness level?” to help you stay connected to yourself.

Be a smart food shopper. When you walk into your favorite clothing store, you might love many items in the store, but you still have a budget. So you spend some time looking at everything in the store, and only your top favorite pieces make it to the check-out counter. That’s similar to shopping the buffet table; your stomach can only comfortably hold a certain amount of food at any moment, so take some time to survey what’s being served before making any food decisions .Too bad there’s not a risk-free refund policy after you’ve eaten.

Be assertive with food-pushers. For a number of possible reasons, you might make a few people uncomfortable it you’re not eating at any point during the event or holding an empty plate. (“What’s wrong? Don’t you like my cooking? Here, have more!”) Try pairing a food compliment with a polite but firm “No thank you, I’m full.” Some of my clients report purposely leaving a little food on the plate at all times can successfully ward off food-pushers. If the hostess insists you eat more, offer to take some food home (even if you end up giving it to a homeless person). If you’re at a sit-down meal, putting a napkin on your plate can help prevent continuous nibbling past fullness and signal to others that you’re done eating.

Prioritize a little “me time”. It’s much more challenging to eat intuitively when you’re under a lot of stress. Despite increasing demands this time of year, most people can’t afford to slack off on self-care when they need it the most. Whether its yoga, kickboxing, naps, or curling up with a cup of tea and novel, make a little time everyday for what helps you feel restored and centered.

May you have the happiest holiday season yet and ring in the New Year with no regrets!

Follow Up: Feeding My Gluten Free Family – Surviving the Holidays

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Sandi

I wanted to share a great idea that worked very well during the Chanukah celebrations. Do you remember those cute baggies I talked about? Well, here’s what I did when we had friends at our house. I opened up a mixed box of Zing Bars and cut each bar into four pieces. I then popped a variety of pieces into each goodie bag and tied it up with a ribbon.
Each kid got a baggie to eat as we were playing dreidels after dinner. They were a hit! Kids were talking about their favorite flavors, adults were asking for bites and no one missed the traditional donuts one bit. Try it for your own holiday celebration and let us know how it works. Or share any other fun gluten free ideas that you might have!

Feeding My Gluten Free Family – Surviving the Holidays: Part 1

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Sandi

My husband, Mike, myself and my two kids all have celiac disease. So we are experts at the gluten free lifestyle. But no matter how good we get at gluten free living, this holiday season is an interesting time of year for us.

Chanukah is very early this year and so we are moving straight from Thanksgiving into our eight days of gluten filled celebrations. It is traditional on Chanukah to eat fried foods and, in particular, gluten filled fried foods. Potato pancakes, or latkes are easily made gluten free but not anywhere else we go except in our house. And donuts, the other Chanukah staple, are not easy to make gluten free no matter who is making them.

Last year, I felt compelled to give our kids (toddler and preschooler at the time) the real Chanukah culinary experience. I started preparing weeks before the holiday.

I searched online for gluten free donut recipes and gave them my best shot. After one bite each of a number of different versions, hubby and kids would not go near them. Sigh.

On to latkes. I made some for the first night without matzo meal and they were delicious. But they are also time consuming to make and so, despite my best intentions, we did not have any more for the remainder of the eight nights. And believe it or not, kids and hubby were none the worse for wear.

So this year, we are focusing on the one gluten free Chanukah item – chocolate coins (known as gelt). There are many gluten free options available and the kids can enjoy a couple per night instead of a donut as their Chanukah treat. I will be making far less time consuming potato kugel to take to friends’ houses so we are sure we have a gluten free latke alternative.

At this time of year, there are so many unexpected eating opportunities – friends ask us over to participate in tree decorating, kids go ice-skating and parents bring holiday treats, we pop into neighbors who serve hot chocolate and cookies. So I make sure my purse is especially well stocked with gluten free kid options at this time of year. Trail mix (with some chocolate chips thrown in) is a staple, chocolate coconut Zing Bars get my kids excited every time, and some little baggies of popcorn mixed with dried, lightly sweetened cranberries go a long way too. I put the food in cute reusable baggies and I make sure I pack enough to share as the other kids are always very interested in the gluten free goodies.

So here’s some advice from my gluten free family to yours:

Don’t drive yourself crazy with gluten free substitutes
Other kids will think your food is special if you pack it up in fun ways
Remember to focus on other fun holiday traditions that do not center around food

May this be a joyous holiday season for you and your family!

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