Legalize it

The 3rd principle in "10 Principles of Intuitive Eating" is Make Peace with Food. 

As someone who has explored the field of nutrition for the past six years, I know that food is a loaded topic. I know vegans who adhere strictly to their diet for animal rights and ecological reasons. I know people on ketogenic (aka little to no carbohydrates) diets that have quite possibly saved their lives. The Paleo diet sometimes seems as controversial as the latest immigration legislation between Republicans and Democrats. 

Food is absolutely political and charged. So, it's no surprise when I have clients coming to me with years and years of food beliefs deeply ingrained.  "Pizza is bad." "Salads are good." "French fries are bad for you but whole baked potatoes are good." "You shouldn't really eat cookies but you should have smoothies." 

So what do you do? 

 It's not that different from what I told you last week:

EAT.  Legalize it. Make all foods legal. Make all foods neutral. 

Eat the foods that you've forbidden yourself to eat in all your years of dieting. 

For those of you freaking out right now, KEEP READING!

Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch describe this in detail in the their book, Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works: 

 "Psychologist Fritz Heider stated that depriving yourself of something you want can actually heighten your desire for that very item. The moment you banish a food, it paradoxically builds up a 'craving life' of its own that gets stronger with each diet, and builds more momentum as the deprivation deepens. Deprivation is a powerful experience both biologically and psychologically," (Tribole & Resch, 75).  

In other words, your low-carb diet is like Eve in the Garden of Eden. As long as you can't eat that piece of bread on the Tree of Forbidden Carbohydrates, you will increase your feeling of deprivation and desire for that piece of bread. This will impact you on a biochemical and psychological level.  

The book also describes the "see-saw syndrome" of deprivation and guilt. At a certain point, our willpower runs out and we end up overeating the very thing we've been trying to avoid.  

To banish any guilt or deprivation you might be feeling, here's my story: 

I went on a pretty serious "28 day challenge" where I was eating a vegan, whole foods, no oil, low salt, low sugar diet. And I did it for 27 of those 28 days (one day I indulged with some oil in my vegetable soup), including a small bout of stomach flu. I lost about 5 pounds.

However, I also had a building obsession with macaroni and cheese. Like, it was all I could think about. I tried eating the "28 day challenge" version of it, which tasted good but didn't satisfy me like the genuine, ooey-gooey article. So, at the end of what I later called "Vegan Ramadan," I ate  an inordinate amount of macaroni and cheese,even though my stomach was curdling in response to it. 

I ate SO much macaroni and cheese that I actually gained back a lovely 10 pounds.  (See my other blog post for more information about why diets don't work).

But the truth is, I got over the macaroni and cheese because of a lovely thing Tribole and Resch call, HABITUATION. In laymen's terms, habituation is the process of you eating something so many times that you eventually get sick of it - kind of like the latest Taylor Swift single.

To explain habituation, I love to tell the story I heard from Geneen Roth during my training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). 

In her lecture, she describes a transformative experience when she went from battling a very serious eating disorder to drawing a line in the sand and choosing never to diet again. She notes that for two weeks she ate nothing but cookie dough.

That's right, folks, she allowed herself to have all the cookie dough she wanted. And you know what she discovered? After those two weeks, she didn't want cookie dough anymore. Her body started to crave salad, fresh fruits and vegetables. 

And that's just it: when you stop treating a vanilla milkshake like Olivia Pope treats the President, you'll actually probably feel less inclined to secretly binge on it. 

Holiday Blues

Truthfully, this week I didn't really know what to write. I thought about Christmas, gift-giving, charity, holiday materialism. Honestly, this is a tough time of year for me which takes a lot to admit as someone named Noel.  

It's the end of the year and the beginning of winter. It's a time of year that is challenging for many people. Days grow shorter. Seasonal affective disorder looms and we prepare our New Years resolutions in between copious eating and shopping.

So, I offer to you a few tips on how to beat the holiday blues: 

**Disclaimer: Do not begin any new supplement or exercise regimen
without consulting your doctor**

1. Vitamin D. 

 If you're lucky enough to live below the Mason-Dixon line, the best source of vitamin D is sunlight. (Please wear sunscreen. It is possible to get carcinoma with your vitamin D).  However, for those of us above Virginia, vitamin D can play a really crucial role in helping to regulate mood. Personally, it's helped me a lot. 

For more information, here are links to Dr. Weil about SAD and vitamin D. There's a lot more to be said. 

2. Fish Oil

Fish oil can also manage depression for some people. In fact, the author of the Orgasmic Diet (ooo la la), Marrena Lindberg started a regimen of fish oil during a pregnancy in lieu of other pharmaceutical drugs that could have been dangerous to her unborn child. The title of her book kind of also gives away another added benefit. ; )

3. Find things to do outside your house and with friends. 

Making plans with friends, exercising, and finding ways to engage with the outside world just helps. Exercise or movement can be great for treating seasonal depression. As Elle Woods once smartly said in Legally Blonde, "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands." Exercise and getting out of your house can help prevent you from feeling like you and your subscription to Hulu+ are the only things that exist in the world. 

Find a way to make winter fun and it just might be. 

4. Get clear on your  BIG why. 

My existential wanderings should likely be saved for another blog post, but it turns out focusing on what gets you out of bed in the morning can actually help you get out of bed in the morning. 

Journal. Try morning pages. Listen to music. What inspires you? 

This song from Frightened Rabbit basically sums up my life motto. 

5. Get help when you need it.

Help can come in a lot of shapes and sizes.  Maybe it means a holistic health counselor to help you eat healthy and get clear on your goals. (wink wink nudge nudge). It can also be a friend, a family member, or your local spiritual advisor. I don't really care if it's your tarot card reader.  Just get help when you need it. You don't have to suffer in silence. 

***If you're really struggling, I encourage you to reach out to a professional mental health worker who can work with you one on one with your concerns.***

Happy Holidays, everyone! 

 

Can you blame your parents for your cravings?

 The short answer to this question is YES. 

But.... sometimes it's a good thing. 

One thing I discuss a lot with my clients is cravings. I don’t think cravings are necessarily bad. It’s one way that our body communicates to us, since it doesn't really speak English (or Spanish for that matter).

My nutrition school calls one cause of cravings, "the inside coming out." In other words, our past and our memories can call us to eat certain foods. 

Here's an example from a Disney classic, Ratatouille.

*Spoiler Alert. I'm talking about the end of the movie*

One of my favorite scenes in Ratatouille is when the little mouse triumphs . The food critic gives a positive review because the mouse's traditional peasant dish reminds him of his boyhood. 

(If you want to get really nerdy, this is actually a concept we learn from Marcel Proust known as involuntary memory.)

Food can taste better because it came from home. Or maybe it was forbidden when you were growing up and so it becomes all the more alluring. 

The  holiday season is certainly a time when we call to memory our past and our rituals that we have had in previous years. It's a time of year where we eat certain foods because of the day.

So as you festivate through the Christmahanakwanzika season, pay attention to which foods call your name. Why do you want them? I know I suddenly start hankering for copious amounts of sugar cookies because of happy memories of fun-shaped cookies and frosting. 

There's a  subtle shift to make when we notice these cravings happening. Realize WHY you're craving sweet things. It could be something simple like because you're blood sugar is low but it could also be that you're missing home or someone or a memory.

 Do your best to attend to the REAL motivation behind your craving. If you're looking for love, get a hug from a friend or a kiss from your partner. If you're missing home, call home.

But sometimes, it can work as well to bake those cookies yourself and relive that experience.  

Just remember you don't have to eat all the cookies to experience that memory. 

*** For more information about cravings or if you need help with your holiday cravings, I'm currently taking clients now and throughout the holiday****

Summer is almost over but....

Here the sun is literally setting over the beach. 

As summer wanes and fall waxes, I always have a little September Blues. If you're reading this while spending your very last day sipping piña coladas, don't fret. I got some tips to help you keep riding the vacation wave right into the gnarly September crash. 

1. Make it a return from vacation, not a rush. 

In other words, SLOW DOWN!!

 These yankees in NYC are always in a hurry but remember how quickly your vacation went? Well, while you're running between your morning joe and the 6:05 train, time is going just as fast. People say life is what happens while we're busy making plans. Just slow down take a deep breath and LIVE it too. 

2.  Eat Slower Too.

Familly/Spouse/Friend/me Time shouldn't just be relegated to one week in August when you unplug and go to the beach. SIT DOWN and eat food you love slowly and sensuously like that Prime Rib you ordered in Argentina with a Malbec. 

3. PLAN!!!!

Planning should be a part of your life no matter what you do. Just like you wouldn't leave for vacation without at least a vague outline of an itinerary, don't start your week or the dreaded September without a plan. 

Take a little time to assess where you are (we can do an assessment together. wink wink, nudge nudge. Send an email to info@noeljane.com). 

 Think about where you want to be and make S.M.A.R.T goals. ( Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Sensitive). Look at all areas of your life: work, home, romance, friendships, etc.  How much do you want to exercise? Cook at home? Eat out? Get massages? Date nights? 

4. Be Spontaneous too. 

 Pick goals that don't just feel restrictive but things that will help you feel those ooey gooey sweet vacation vibrations all year long. 

Take a break from email 

Watch movies. Catch up on tv shows you've been meaning to watch. 

Unplug your wifi

Read a book

Take a day trip

Dress up your vacation clothes and wear them to work. 

Willpower is overrated. And so is all work and no play.  You know what they said about Jack (he's a dull boy). Try not to live life in the binge/restrict cycle. If you went "too crazy" on vacation, it's probably because you didn't allow yourself to let a little loose all year. 

Happy Labor Day!

Is there such a thing as being too perfect?

I think it's finally time that I came to grips with who I am and reveal it to the world: I am a perfectionist. 

I credit this recent discovery to this awesome book that I've been reading, "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown. Here is a link here: 

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

In it, Brown discusses perfectionism as a "vulnerability armory." In other words, by being perfect we avoid pain, shame and blame. She identifies a "shame resilience" technique that many other recovering perfectionists use.  That technique is called, "Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good."

In this post-resolution February, as we all start to find less time to stick to our resolutions, I find that this is a "perfect" time to discuss this topic. Whatever it is you resolved  to do, you likely haven't done it perfectly. And I say this with the utmost love because if you were perfect, you wouldn't be human. 

If you're looking to make some healthy changes to your lifestyle, here are some good ways to shift your thinking: 

1. Some vegetables are better than zero. 

You might think to yourself, "Caesar salad is fatty so I'm not going to order it." If instead, you just get cheese pizza, you're being ridiculous. I know, I know: technically, the government views pizza as a vegetable and you might be getting one serving of fruit in that slice of cheese you just got, but your colon will thank you a lot more for the caesar salad. And if you're anything like me...

2. Some exercise is better than none. 

I've gone through some intense exercise phases. When I was a swimmer, not going to swim practice was, according to my militant swim coaches, basically like a runner staying in bed all day. But, if a healthy lifestyle is your goal, getting outside and going for a walk is better than promising yourself all day that you'll go to Crossfit to burn 1000 calories and never going. 

3. One mistake doesn't make you a failure. Even Peyton Manning can make a mistake on the field. (TOPICAL!) 

Maybe you promised yourself that you'd give up sugar finally this year and you recently ate a cookie (or 2 or 10 or 100). One mistake does not make or break you. Health is on a continuum. It's not black or white. If you're making healthy decisions 99% of the time, the 1% of the time that you're not making the best decision doesn't undo the 99% of the time that you've done well. So just enjoy the cookie. 

So there you have it.  Don't let perfection drive your lifestyle and don't let it stop you from ordering a salad with your burger, talking a walk instead of watching TV, or quitting healthy habits just because you ate a cookie that you weren't planning on eating.