Tag Archive for: nutrition
We Were All Born As Intuitive Eaters
Did you know the “non-dieting” approach has been around since 1995? Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD and Elyse Resch MS, RD, CEDRD, FADA were the first to develop and publish this concept in their book, Intuitive Eating: The Revolutionary Program that Works. Intuitive eating is not a diet, but an approach to improve your relationship with food, exercise, and body image. Through this, studies have shown this method can additionally help improve blood pressure, cholesterol, decrease depression, enhance self-esteem and often result in weight loss for chronic dieters. Information below is a highlight of each principle and directly from the Intuitive Eating book:
PRINCIPLE 1: |
| REJECT THE DIET MENTALITY
Throw out the diet books and magazine articles that offer you the false hope of losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently. Get angry at the lies that have led you to feel as if you were a failure every time a new diet stopped working and you gained back all the weight. If you allow even one small hope to linger that a new and better diet might be lurking around the corner, it will prevent you from being free to rediscover Intuitive Eating. |
PRINCIPLE 2: |
| HONOR YOUR HUNGER
Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Otherwise, you can trigger a primal drive to overeat. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are fleeting and irrelevant. Learning to honor this first biological signal sets the stage for rebuilding trust with yourself and food. |
PRINCIPLE 3: |
| MAKE PEACE WITH FOOD
Call a truce; stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can’t or shouldn’t have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing. When you finally “give in” to your forbidden foods, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating and overwhelming guilt. |
PRINCIPLE 4: |
| CHALLENGE THE FOOD POLICE
Scream a loud “no” to thoughts in your head that declare you’re “good” for eating under a thousand calories or “bad” because you ate a piece of chocolate cake. The food police monitor the unreasonable rules that dieting has created. The police station is housed deep in your psyche, and its loud speaker shouts negative barbs, hopeless phrases, and guilt-provoking indictments. Chasing the food police away is a critical step in returning to Intuitive Eating. |
PRINCIPLE 5: |
| FEEL YOUR FULLNESS
Listen for the body signals that tell you that you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that show that you’re comfortably full. Pause in the middle of a meal or snack and ask yourself how the food tastes, and what your current fullness level is. |
PRINCIPLE 6: |
| DISCOVER THE SATISFACTION FACTOR
The Japanese have the wisdom to keep pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our fury to be thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence – the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide you’ve had “enough.” |
PRINCIPLE 7: |
| COPE WITH YOUR EMOTIONS WITHOUT USING FOOD
Find ways to comfort, nurture, distract, and resolve your emotional issues without using food. Anxiety, loneliness, boredom, and anger are emotions we all experience throughout life. Each has its own trigger, and each has its own appeasement. Food won’t fix any of these feelings. It may provide comfort for the short term, distract from the pain, or even numb you into a food hangover. But food won’t solve the problem. If anything, eating for an emotional hunger will only make you feel worse in the long run. You’ll ultimately have to deal with the source of the emotion, as well as the discomfort of overeating. |
PRINCIPLE 8: |
| RESPECT YOUR BODY
Accept your genetic blueprint. Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not expect realistically to squeeze into a size six, it is equally futile (and uncomfortable) to have a similar expectation about body size. Respect your body, so you can feel better about who you are. It’s hard to reject the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and overly critical of your body shape. |
PRINCIPLE 9: |
| EXERCISE – FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, like being energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the booze alarm. If when you wake up, your only goal is to lose weight, it’s usually not a motivating factor in that moment of time. |
PRINCIPLE 10: |
| HONOR YOUR HEALTH – GENTLE NUTRITION
Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel good. Remember that you don’t have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency, or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters. Progress, not perfection, is what counts. |
This book is a great read! If you are wanting to implement these principles in your life, and would like guidance/one-on-one counseling, the “BN” Dietitians are in your corner. We understand the role diet culture has played on one’s mind and body. Get back to the basics and learn to listen to YOU! LN
Which Came First? Lack of Sleep or Nutritient Shortfalls?
How are you taking care of yourself? Taking care of yourself directly impacts your ability to care for others. Think – are you getting the sleep you need, managing stress in a positive way, meeting your nutritional needs, getting in physical exercise?
Which came first? Are nutrient shortfalls secondary to lack of sleep or lack of sleep secondary to nutrient shortfalls?
The answer – either one can cause an impact on the other. There are some common nutritional deficiencies that may prevent us from getting adequate sleep and/or caused by lack of sleep. Ideally, we should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night. However, less than 1% of the population falls into the “exception” category of needing less or more than this. If you are not meeting this guideline, you are likely putting yourself at risk for nutrient deficiencies and causing your sleep to be worse.
Adults with less than 7 hours of sleep at night have been found to have nutrient shortfalls in vitamin D, vitamin E, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, vitamin K, potassium and omega 3s.
- Did you know 96% of Americans don’t eat enough vitamin D?
- Vitamin D plays an important role in lung health, insulin secretion, bone health, brain health, heart health, inflammation, muscle health, and our immune system.
- Did you know 55% of Americans don’t eat enough magnesium?
- Magnesium plays an important role in our bones/teeth, regulation of heartbeat, muscles, nervous system, metabolism, and cellular energy.
- Did you know 95% of Americans don’t eat enough omega 3s?
- Omega 3s play an important role in eye health, maintaining healthy triglycerides, healthy blood pressure, brain health, heart health, and inflammation.
Having a balanced diet with a variety of produce and protein sources can help prevent nutritional deficiencies. Nutrient-dense food sources include:
- Vitamin D: Egg yolk, mushroom, fatty fish, cod liver oil, fortified foods/beverages (cereal/orange juice/milk)
- Vitamin E: Almonds, avocado, fatty fish, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, spinach, butternut squash, olive oil, kiwi
- Vitamin C: Kale, broccoli, green chili pepper, bell pepper, coriander, kiwi, strawberry, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, orange, papaya, tomato
- Vitamin A: Liver, cod liver oil, spinach, butternut squash, mustard greens, tomato, fatty fish, carrot, sweet potato, cantaloupe, red bell pepper, parsley
- Vitamin K: Kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cucumber, asparagus, kiwi, avocado, cheese, eggs, chicken, butter
- Magnesium: Pumpkin seeds, almonds, spinach, quinoa, beans, dark chocolate, peanuts, edamame, cashews, cacao powder, oatmeal, avocado, broccoli, banana
- Calcium: Milk, cheese, yogurt, fish, spinach, kale, collard greens, beans, lentils, walnuts, edamame, fortified drinks (almond milk/orange juice), chia seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, broccoli, tofu
- Potassium: Pistachios, beet greens, salmon, white beans, potatoes, milk, mushrooms, avocado, tomato, flaxseed, pumpkin seed, peanuts, almonds, banana, acorn squash, broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery, watermelon
- Omega 3s: Fatty fish (anchovies, sardines, herring, trout, salmon, mackerel, albacore tuna), basil, chia seeds, flax seeds, spinach, walnuts, edamame, brussels sprouts, avocado
Whether lack of sleep causes nutrient abnormalities or nutrient abnormalities causes a lack of sleep, it is important to make both a priority to help the body function properly. They both play a key role in overall health. Speak with your Dietitian about ways you can improve stress, sleep, and nutrition. LN
Fitness 101
Fitness 101:
Exercising is a great way to relieve stress, improve your health, and gain self-confidence. There are many reasons why people might not want to exercise like: “I don’t have time”, “I am too out of shape”, “I don’t know what to do when I am at the gym”, or even “I don’t want to workout alone”. All these problems can be solved with a little effort and motivation. Working out does not have to take place anywhere specific either. You can workout in your neighborhood, your living room, a local gym or park. The hardest part is getting started, once you have a routine it is easier to keep it up and make time for yourself and your health. Here are a couple ways to get yourself started:
A little goes a long way. There is no need to start off your exercise journey spending hours in the gym every single day. Add a 15-20 minute walk or run into your routine a couple times a week then go from there. Starting small will better ensure that you don’t get burnt out and you stick to your exercise goals.
Stop making excuses. If you don’t like running or lifting weights, find something that you do enjoy. There are many options like yoga, dancing, or hiking. If you don’t believe you have the time, make the time. This is your life and your health, so make it a priority for yourself to set aside even 5 minutes of exercise.
Be kind to yourself. If it has been awhile since you’ve had any physical activity there is no better time to start than right now! Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t look like a body builder after a week of hitting the gym. Your exercise journey is about YOU and YOUR health. Focus on making yourself better and reward yourself for sticking to your exercise goals.
When you do decide to get back in the gym, get a good warm up and cool down with walking and some light stretching. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after your workout. It is time to put your health at the top of the list! Happy exercising ?
KM
Tele-health/Tele-nutrition Video Conferencing
Have you been pondering an appointment with a dietitian to help you improve your diabetes management, food allergy or celiac disease issues, lipid challenges, improve your athletic performance, lose weight or once and for all heal from your eating disorder? Scheduling and keeping appointments are a hassle, sometimes inconvenient and an expense.
Beyond the actual cost of the medical nutrition therapy appointment there are additional costs. How much does it cost you to take off an hour early from work to schedule an appointment? Are you driving across town or from Clinton, Guymon, or Muskogee for an appointment? Gas is not cheap. If you are driving to the city from out of town you will likely have meal expenses involved also. Do you have to pay child care costs while you are at an appointment?
The additional costs and inconvenience can be eliminated with “tele-nutrition video conferencing” appointments. Banister Nutrition now provides the option for you to schedule an appointment with one of our dietitians and you can be in your kitchen, office or favorite coffee shop, where ever you please. We have a HIPPA compliant software program that allows us to easily connect with you via an e-mail address you provide. We offer packages of 3-4 appointments at a reduced cost, payable at the time of purchase with credit card.
“If” you want your insurance to cover your medical nutrition therapy appointments, insurance companies have placed limitations on what they will cover. These restrictions include:
- Your referring physician must be located in a medically deprived area of the state which of course means rural Oklahoma.
- At the time of your video conference you must be sitting in your physicians’ actual brick and mortar office space.
- Medicare will cover 3 appointments per year for diabetes and renal disease only.
To assist patients with insurance coverage, if you have a rural physician you would like for us to approach regarding making this service available to you please provide us with your physicians name, office address and phone number . We will contact your physician to try make these arrangements for you.
Our experience has been that both physicians and patients living in rural Oklahoma have been very pleased with having medical nutrition therapy available via video conferencing. Initially we all (physicians, patients and dietitians) thought video conferencing would be a little awkward, relationships would not be easily built, and nutrition therapy via this platform would not be effective. We are pleased to say this has not been the case. Everyone involved has found this new, convenient resource to improve your health care has been very appreciated and helpful.
CB
Easy Vegetable Lasagna Recipe
Makes 8 Servings
YOU WILL NEED
14 lasagna noodles (2 extra for filling in holes)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup (140 grams) chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic, (3 cloves)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
One (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, 1 heaping cup
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Generous handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
One (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
2 large eggs
2 ounces (60 grams) Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1 cup
8 ounces (230 grams) low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
COOK NOODLES
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil then cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. (We add a couple teaspoons of olive oil to the water so the noodles do not stick together). Drain then lay flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.
MAKE VEGETABLE SAUCE
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet with sides over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, zucchini, squash, and a pinch of salt then cook, stirring occasionally until softened but still with some crunch, another 5 to 8 minutes.
Stir in the roasted red peppers and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a low simmer and cook until the liquid has thickened and reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the basil and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
MAKE CHEESE FILLING
While the sauce cooks, stir the ricotta cheese, eggs, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl until blended.
ASSEMBLE LASAGNA
Spoon just enough vegetable mixture into the baking dish to lightly cover the bottom (about 1 cup). Arrange four noodles lengthwise and side by side to cover the bottom. (If the noodles are short on one end, you may need to cut an extra noodle and place into dish to cover where the other noodles have not).
Spread about half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with a third of the Parmesan cheese and a third of the mozzarella cheese. Top with a third of the vegetable mixture.
Add another layer of four noodles then repeat with remaining cheese and vegetables. Finish with a final layer of noodles, vegetables, Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes, uncover then bake 15 minutes until cheese is crusty around the edges. To make the cheese golden brown on top, slide under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
KM
*Thank you for the recipe and picture https://www.inspiredtaste.net/22401/fresh-vegetable-lasagna-recipe/*
What are You Thinking?
Does your thinking align with your goals and aspirations? Does your thinking support the positive direction of change which you desire? Do you realize your thinking tends to continually bring to mind the negative experiences of past efforts to lose weight, better manage your blood sugar, recover from your eating disorder, or improve your athletic performance because you are not eating to fuel your body properly? Do any of the following thoughts sound familiar to you?
“I can never lose weight.”
“Regardless of what I do my blood sugar is still all over the board.”
“I am so tired from my chemo/radiation, I will never be able to eat to get my strength back.”
“Trying to follow a gluten free diet is exasperating, I can’t do it.”
“I hate to exercise; I was never athletic even when I was younger.”
If some rendition of the above comments is frequently circulating in your head and you are really frustrated because you are not achieving your health and fitness goals, please do not be surprised. Negative thoughts/self-talk will never translate into positive action or positive change.
Check your thoughts more frequently than you check calories, grams of carbohydrates or fats, your blood glucose meter or nutrition labels. Your thoughts precede every decision you make. What are you thinking?
Some ways to turn around that negative self-talk:
- Change your (inner) tone of voice – Be attentive to the way you talk to yourself and change judgmental and harsh tones into empathetic and gentle ones.
- Write down your thoughts – When you hear the negative voice in your head, write it down to get a clear understanding of what you are saying to yourself and how you’re feeling.
- Smile more – Faking it until you make it can really pay off. Smiling can help change your mood about the day or a certain situation. Take a minute to think about a couple things you are grateful for to help you feel like smiling.
CB
Gut Microbiome and Nutrition
The large intestine contains the highest concentration of microbes in our bodies and these microbes are different for everyone. The different types depend on genes, age, gender, diet, hygiene and even climate and occupation. Studies show that gut microbes even affect pain, mood, sleep, stress, and how our bodies use the food we eat to fight infection and keep us healthy. The microbes in our gut also affect how the nutrients we eat are stored in our bodies, as well as regulate our appetites and have some control in our weight.
Diets high in fat and refined sugars can cause the good and bad bacteria in our gut to become unbalanced. This can cause inflammation and increase our risk for infections. The gut microbiota actually act to crowd out bad bacteria that can cause infection. It can also decrease inflammation throughout the body by releasing specific compounds to prevent attacks on the immune system.
Foods that are good for gut health include high FIBER foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and pre/probiotics!
Fiber Foods:
- Bran cereal, FiberOne bar
- Beans (lentils, kidney, black, lima, etc)
- Berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
- Quinoa, wild rice, brown rice, whole wheat bread
- Spinach, collard greens, peas, broccoli, squash
- Almonds, sesame seeds, pistachios
- Pears, apples, dried fig, prunes, oranges
Probiotic Foods:
- Aged cheeses, greek yogurt, kefir
- Kimchi, kombucha, olives, sauerkraut, soybeans
- Sourdough bread
Prebiotic Foods:
- Berries, bananas, tomatoes, vegetables
- Barley, flaxseed, oatmeal, wheat
- Beans, chickpeas, lentils
For more in-depth info check out this link>> http://www.nutritionnews.abbott/nutrition-as-medicine/the-role-of-the-microbiome-in-gut-health-.html?fbclid=IwAR2R1aisahO4KeNLiZNXXiszzbQoZDqtCoT-5jLopPYlI-PXhMeHVepZ464
KM
Chicken Pot Pie Made Healthy
This recipe adds more carrots and parsley, substitutes low-fat milk, and uses less butter! Easy swaps like this can really transform a classic recipe into something healthier!
Ingredients
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery in a saucepan. Cover with water. Boil until chicken is no longer pink in the middle and vegetables are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
- Cook and stir onions in butter in a saucepan over medium heat, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove from heat. Set aside.
- Place chicken mixture in bottom pie crust; pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in top to allow steam to escape.
- Bake in preheated oven until pie is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Let us know how you like this great recipe from allrecipes.com!
KM
Intuitive Eating
Are you tired of dieting and being confused by all the latest diet trends? Do you feel like you don’t know how to get on track and establish a consistent eating pattern? Are you unsure of how food connects with your mental and physical health? If you answered yes to any this, the concept and practice of intuitive eating will be great to apply to your lifestyle.
Intuitive eating in a nutshell is a mindset or philosophy that honors internal body cues that we are innately born with such as eating when we are hungry and stopping when we are satisfied, and it rejects the diet mentality that is heavily marketed. There is more that is involved in becoming an intuitive eater but here are the 10 principles that were first developed by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in their book titled intuitive eating.
- Reject the Diet Mentality – Avoid fad diets and all the rules surrounded about eating
- Honor your Hunger – Listen to the cues your body gives you to tell you to fuel up. Keep yourself fed.
- Make Peace with Food – Give yourself permission to eat and enjoy all foods. Restriction leads to overeating which creates a poor relationship with food
- Challenge the Food Police – Stop the thoughts in your head that make you believe your “good” for eating low calories or “bad” for having some ice cream.
- Respect your Fullness – Listen for the signals your body gives you to tell you that you are no longer hungry. A hunger scale can be great to use for this.
- Discover the Satisfaction Factor- Enjoy the food and meal experiences you encounter. Remember that food is to be both nourishing and satisfying.
- Honor Your Feelings without using Food – Find ways to cope with emotions you may struggle with. Practice guided mediation, talk with a friend, or dive into a great book.
- Respect your Body – Accept your genetic blueprint and be proud of the skin you’re in! Your worth is not determined by your size.
- Exercise, Feel the Difference – Get active in an activity you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be at the gym to be considered exercise. Go on a walk or get some yard work done. It all counts. Shift your focus from solely burning calories to how energized you may feel. It’s a great stress reliever too!
- Honor your Health – Avoiding diets doesn’t equate to not being aware of or caring about what you eat. Choose nutrient dense foods the majority of the time also knowing that’s its totally fine to have some indulgences
Remember that intuitive eating doesn’t happen overnight and it takes consistent practice and time. You can work with any of the dietitians at BN to help apply these principles into your way of life long-term.
UC