Happy Wednesday! How is your start to December going so far?
Alec and I went to the Big Ten Championship Game in Indy this past weekend with my Dad and brother Jack which was a lot of fun!
Definitely happy about the Michigan win and looking forward to seeing what happens on NYE with the college football playoffs!
On to some tasty eats from the past couple of weeks!
I know that for me, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas always seems to go by too fast. Anyone else??? Every year it feels like there is so much to do, so much to fit in. How can we approach the holidays in a way that feels more life-giving and restful and less hurried and distracted? How can we enter the new year feeling more present and centered rather than feeling like we need a few weeks time off from our so-called “vacation”?
Gifts to buy, family plans to be had, decor to get out (and to put away…), seasonal food to make – all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is enough to make anyone’s head spin. What’s more, the holidays can be an even more challenging time if you are struggling in your relationship with food. There may be get-together after get-together featuring festive holiday food as well as family time + plans less outside of our normal control. Even if you are reading this and don’t consider yourself someone who struggles with disordered eating or an eating disorder, you may still experience some of the anxiety + guilt surrounding food that is so common in our culture, especially at the holidays.
For me, this is the first Christmas I have had in a long time where I wasn’t in school or (last year) my dietetic internship. “Christmas break” was always intermingled with finishing grad school projects, dietetic internship applications, dietetic internship work, prepping for a new semester, etc. etc. THANKFULLY I am done with all that. With the heightened pace of work in December and/or work I had to get done over the break, it was hard to feel rested over the Christmas + New Year holidays.
Even if you are in school or a place of increased busyness for whatever reason during December, how can you create (even just slightly) more rest and presence for yourself this holiday season? How can you experience more of what you truly want over the holidays (whatever that may be for you) and less of what leaves you feeling drained and discouraged heading into the new year?
I’ll share some thoughts that come to my mind heading into the holiday season, and hopefully you will feel encouraged or inspired to think creatively about rest + mindful presence for your own holiday season in whatever way that might realistically look like for you given your current circumstances, challenges, and life season.
(Note: This post was supposed to go up 11/23, and unfortunately it didn’t go live as scheduled! I thought I would post it now as a Thanksgiving week post even if it is a little late!)
Happy almost Thanksgiving! Today I wanted to share a “day in the life” post with some thoughts on how I incorporate intuitive eating into my everyday life. I know I find it interesting to see how others go about their days and hope you do too! See this post for a previous day in the life post.
To recap, intuitive eating is a way of eating that focuses on tuning into your own bodily cues, mind, emotions, and overall intuition. This is how we are born eating and it is our bodies’ natural way of eating. Intuitive eating focuses more on internal cues + rhythms versus external cues (diets/plans, calorie counting, “macros,” etc.) and other “should” voices in our heads regarding when, what, and how much to eat.
The principles of intuitive eating are as follows: reject the diet mentality, honor your hunger, make peace with food, challenge the food police, discover the satisfaction factor, respect your fullness, cope with your emotions with kindness, movement – feel the difference, respect your body, and honor your health with gentle nutrition.
A day in the life + reflecting on intuitive eating:
Happy Wednesday! How is your week going so far? We went to one of my friends from high school’s wedding on Saturday and then church + celebrating Alec’s bday with my side of the family on Sunday. It also went from 60s/70s/sunny to 20s/30s/snowy/cold rain in the past week… I suppose it is goodbye to fall!
Can you believe it is already Thanksgiving next week? We have plans to spend the week in Iowa with Alec’s side of the family. I always enjoy getting away for a few days and seeing family (+ meeting our newest nephew!).
How do you feel about Thanksgiving? I know for some of my clients and for many people in general, Thanksgiving can be a source of stress, anxiety, and discomfort. For anyone struggling in their relationship with food, the holidays can be a tough time to navigate. (On top of any usual family and/or disruption of routine stressors!)
In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I wanted to share a brief post today on some thoughts regarding FULLNESS. (Plus some fun Thanksgiving recipes!)
Hello everyone! How is your week going so far? I am feeling a bit worn out this week with two recent weekends away. Both very enjoyable and worth it, but being away from home always tends to wear me out. It seems like this fall really crept up on me with a lot of weekend plans!
The first weekend was up north to Charlevoix/Petoskey area for camping with Alec.
I was thinking a few weeks out that we should cancel the trip and book a hotel or Air BnB instead because I was worried it was going to be really cold and/or rainy for camping in mid-October in northern Michigan. Would not be fun! BUT we ended up having amazing weather (60s/70s and sunny!) and perfect timing for peak fall colors!
Do you ever struggle with feeling out-of-control around food? Do you find that you have patterns of days where you restrict your food intake and consciously try to eat “healthy,” followed by days of feeling chaotic around food and like you’ve “blown it” when it comes to eating and nutrition? If so, you are not alone. Experiences of binge eating, overeating, and/or feeling out-of-control around food in general can lead to feelings of guilt and shame that are difficult to manage and can lead to a spiral of even more chaotic eating in the future.
First things first, let’s define binge eating. Binge eating is characterized by the following: (1) eating an amount of food in a given period of time (for example, within an hour) that is objectively and considerably more than most people would eat during a similar timeframe and under similar circumstances; AND (2) a sense that you are out-of-control in regards to the eating episode. Binge eating episodes often involve eating much more quickly than usual, eating past a comfortable level of fullness, eating large quantities of food even though you aren’t physically hungry, eating alone due to shame/embarrassment regarding what and how much you are eating, and feeling guilty/disgusted with oneself afterwards.
Maybe you do struggle with actual clinical-level binge eating as described above. OR if not, maybe you struggle from time to time with feeling out-of-control around food, or chaotic and mindless in your eating. Either way, feeling this way is tough and worthy of getting help.
Whether you experience aspects of binge eating disorder or any degree of chaotic/out-of-control feelings around food, there are strategies you can begin to incorporate TODAY to help normalize feelings + thoughts around food, helping you to be more present and engaged in your everyday life. Let’s learn more!
Hello everyone! How is your week going? The fall colors have been amazing and I am sad we are at/past peak fall in that regard. We didn’t have the best spring/summer here in Michigan weather-wise which is making it hard to feel ready for the colder months ahead!! *Sigh.*
What have you been enjoying in the kitchen lately?? I have been making a lot of simple egg dishes, eating plenty of honeycrisp apples (why we bother we other apple varieties I am not sure when HC are clearly superior…), and starting to get into some warmer and cozier meals.
More details on what has been happening in the kitchen!
Today I thought I’d do a blog post discussing a bit about IRON. Iron is a common micronutrient deficiency in the populations I work with and it can take a little intentionality to be consuming adequate amounts of iron in your diet on a regular basis (and in ways that promote optimal absorption – more on that later).
In this post we will be thinking about:
Hello everyone! How is your week going so far? I have been loving the fall colors starting to pop and the recent stretches of sunny days we have had. If only things could continue this way!!
Some recent fall eats! (Loving all the apples and pears lately…)
Hello everyone! Today we are talking about SATISFACTION in eating. A lot of what I think about when it comes to having a healthy relationship with food connects back to satisfaction. Satisfaction can be thought of on a physical level (are you adequately nourished and responding to your hunger/fullness cues?) and also a more psychological/emotional level (are you regularly eating foods you enjoy and not feeling deprived?).
So often it seems that satisfaction gets left out when thinking about nutrition and eating. YES food is fuel for our bodies. YES it is important to eat plenty of fruits and veggies. HOWEVER, are you also seeking to pursue enjoyment in your daily eating experience, feeling appropriately satiated throughout the day, and regularly eating foods you find pleasurable?
As I have written about before, the array of health benefits we can get from food have to do with much more than their physical/nutritional benefits. For optimal health, it is important take into account not only the nutritional content of what we are eating, but also our emotional and mental well-being – aka our relationship with food.
When we seek satisfaction, listening to our bodies, and a healthy relationship with food as the foundation for our eating, meeting our nutritional needs tends to fall into place without our constant micromanaging. You may be wondering: how can I grow in experiencing greater satisfaction in eating? (*and thus improve my physical, nutritional, mental, and emotional health??*) Let’s explore this idea with the following ideas!
