Author: Libby

by Libby

Everyday Eats {November 2023}

Happy Wednesday!

I feel like the week is already flying by!

I am definitely happy that daylight savings time is now over and that the mornings are lighter earlier on. I find that having brighter daylight earlier in the morning makes such a difference to my day!!

In other news…our Book Club is starting next week on Tuesday! We will be going through Soul-Deep Beauty. It’s not too late to join us! Reading/commitment level is meant to be rather minimal. You can contact me if you are interested or if you would like more information. This is open to anyone!

Read on for some November culinary inspiration!

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by Libby

10 Common Thought Patterns Perpetuating Your Disordered Eating

Our thought patterns have a tremendous impact on our behaviors and our ability to grow and make changes.

Thinking about a non-food example — let’s say I am trying to have a productive work day (intended behavior). BUT, as life would have it, I slept miserably and have a terrible headache. I got out of bed later than I wanted and have barely crossed anything off my to-do list by the time early afternoon rolls around. Some common thought patterns here might be for me to start catastrophizing the day (Now my entire day is ruined! My whole week is going to be thrown off!), viewing the day as overly black-and white (I have gotten NOTHING done that I wanted… this day is an absolute failure) and continually judging myself for struggling to get done wanted I had planned and hoped.

Mentally reacting to my day in this way would likely cause me to continue spiraling throughout the day and week, veering even further from my original intentions.

Instead, a much more helpful response would be to recognize these unhelpful thought patterns, approach my day with flexibility and adjust as needed, show myself understanding and compassion, and live in the reality that I didn’t sleep well / am not feeling well instead of fighting reality by trying to plow ahead.

Like areas of our lives such as time/task management, habit-building, and health routines, many of us may have experience reacting to food with similar unhelpful thought patterns.

How we think about food has a great impact on how we engage with food.

In today’s blog post, I’m going to identify 10 common thought patterns that may be perpetuating any disordered eating you are struggling with.

For each thought pattern, I will provide an example as well as a way to reframe/look at the situation differently. I’ll also provide some additional tips and notes to consider. I hope you find this post helpful and something you can bookmark/come back to repeatedly!

10 Common Thought Patterns Perpetuating Your Disordered Eating:

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by Libby

Guide to Debriefing & Intervening in Binge/Compulsive Eating Experiences

If you are wrestling with a compulsive-like behavior, such as binge eating or compulsive eating, it may currently feel like it is hard or next to impossible to change this frustrating pattern. When this happens, maybe you feel like you are on autopilot, somewhat akin to having an out-of-body experience, and feel like all your typical values, health goals, and intentions have gone flying out the window..

Whenever an eating episode like this occurs (whether it is once in a while, every day, or multiple times a day), you likely feel some sort of combination of discouragement, disgust, and embarrassment regarding yourself and the eating behaviors. You may vow to change your ways, possibly restricting the next day or meal, yet the pattern continues.

UGH!

Maybe you even fear feeling hungry, you avoid social situations, and you are confused about what body size might be healthy for you. I can imagine that if you are dealing with something like this it is likely affecting your work, relationships, and overall self-care. You may be feeling alone and isolated, with no one knowing about your struggle.

If so, this post is for you!

When dealing with compulsive eating behaviors, it can be helpful to have tools and strategies for debriefing (or looking back on) the behavior, in order to identify patterns, triggers, and possible avenues for intervention and (ultimately) healing.  

In today’s post, we will think about 4 areas to debrief when it comes to binge/compulsive eating experiences.

  • Overall context/situation
  • Nutritional/physical factors
  • Psychological factors
  • Emotional factors 

We will then consider a few ideas for intervention and healing. Because, if you’re like me, when it comes to frustrating, negative and unwanted dynamics, I’m guessing you are wanting this to eventually be a thing of the past! Which it can be!!

Guide to Debriefing & Intervening in Binge/Compulsive Eating Experiences:

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by Libby

Everyday Eats {October 2023}

Hello everyone! I hope your week is going well so far.

Two weekends ago we were able to make it up to Tahquamenon Falls to enjoy some fall colors and time outside. I was feeling a little unsure about the trip with the colder weather and rain that was forecasted all weekend (of course just a few days prior to our trip it was 70s and sunny there!). However, I’m really glad we ended up going!

The bulk of the rain was overnight, so wasn’t too bad. As my dad likes to say, “There is no such thing as bad weather… only bad clothing decisions!!” So I was sure to pack ALL the cold weather gear, perfect for staying warm while camping outside in the 40-degree rainy/drizzly weather.

It was a quick trip! Saturday we went on a long hike (between the upper and lower falls). We also went up to Whitefish Point, went to an absolutely delicious restaurant for dinner (more details later in post), and watched the Michigan game from our car/tent.

Time continues to fly by (at least from my perspective!)… we are already over halfway into October and it feels like the holidays are fast approaching! I am trying to slow down and focus on each day/week at a time… enjoying the things to be grateful for each day instead of constantly looking ahead OR overly looking at the negatives!

Delicious eats from the past few weeks… October edition!

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by Libby

Different Factors to Consider in Eating Decisions (Beyond Hunger/Fullness)

Sometimes intuitive eating can get overly simplified to “eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full.”

I think it’s super important to listen to your hunger/fullness signals. At the same time, I also think there are other key factors to take into consideration when deciding what/when/how much to eat.

If feeling biological signals of hunger –> a clear sign to eat!!

BUT there are other “signs” or things to think about that may also indicate a need to eat.

We may think we are doing something “wrong” if we are eating when we aren’t technically feeling hungry, yet this may be just what our bodies need! If you *only* eat when you are feeling physically hungry, I’d bet you most likely aren’t eating enough.

In this post we will explore…

  • A few personal examples of me taking into account “other factors beyond hunger/fullness” when it comes to eating
  • Different factors to consider when making food decisions, including:
    • Tuning into your bodily signals
    • Thinking about your daily life situation / overall life circumstances
    • Trusting your overall intuition
  • Some closing thoughts and questions

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by Libby

Quinoa & Veggie Bowl with Pumpkin Sage Hummus

This hearty quinoa & veggie bowl with pumpkin sage hummus features everything you love about fall! Warm spices, fresh sage, and plenty of in-season veggies come together for a nourishing, easily customizable dinner or lunch. Top with freshly grated parmesan for the finishing touch!

Today I have the best fall dinner recipe for you!

This creation was dreamed up out of a desire to have a fall/winter version of the summer quinoa/veggie bowl with sun-dried tomato hummus that I love so much. Thankfully what I have come up with has met my high expectations!

One of the best parts about this recipe is that everything can be made in advance, making it perfect for meal prep or for busy evenings when you may have more time to cook earlier in the day. It also makes plenty of leftovers to enjoy all week long.

Read on for full recipe details!

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by Libby

Intuitive Eating Day in the Life {Saturday in September}

Happy Wednesday! How is your week going so far?

I have been loving the sunny days lately, fall cooking/baking, and crisper (but not too cold) temps.

Today I’m posting a day-in-the-life recap post full of delicious eats from an intuitive eating perspective!

To review, intuitive eating is a framework of eating designed to guide you in re-learning how to tune into your natural intuition when it comes to nourishing yourself. It is a combination of head knowledge (nutrition wisdom), listening to one’s body, tuning into what simply sounds good, and trusting one’s overall intuition when it comes to eating decisions.

The 10 principles are:

  1. Reject the diet mentality
  2. Honor your hunger
  3. Make peace w/ food
  4. Challenge the food police
  5. Discover the satisfaction factor
  6. Respect your fullness
  7. Cope with your emotions w/ kindness
  8. Movement – feel the difference
  9. Respect your body
  10. Honor your health w/ gentle nutrition

I don’t necessarily think about these principles formally in my head when I go about the day eating, but they do represent a lot of my natural/intuitive ways for navigating my own food decisions. I find the principles to be help to introduce to clients who are working through a disordered relationship with food and all the conflicting messages society tells us about what/when/how to eat.

On to an eats-focused day in the life post! As always, the heart behind these posts is to show an example of what it might look like to navigate food throughout the day from a more natural, intuitive, non-disordered perspective. What/when/how much to eat is always individualized and your eating choices and patterns probably look a lot different from mine!

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by Libby

Trade-Offs in the Pursuit of “Perfect” Food Choices

Lately I have been thinking about this idea of “trade-offs” in making food choices.

I think a lot of us find making trade-offs or compromises to be a natural/intuitive way to navigate health/wellness decisions in a number of areas of our lives.

A common example might be sleep. If you’re like me, maybe you value getting good-quality sleep, but from time to time you sacrifice your sleep in order to have a fun/later night hanging out with friends because you also see this as important for your emotional health and overall experience of fun/joy in life. Or maybe at other times you sacrifice sleep to travel, to provide emotional support to a friend or family member, or to get some sort of urgent/important task done.

Part of one of my key health values (good sleep) is sacrificed to some extent to support my some of my other health values (good relationships, fun, spontaneity from time to time, travel, etc.).

Another example that comes to mind is with toxic exposures. I do my best to limit my exposure to certain toxins and take a number of actions to do so. In my life this looks like using a water filter, running an air purifier in our home, buying products without certain chemicals or fragrances in them, avoiding moldy/musty buildings whenever possible, and buying mostly organic food. At the same time, I know I could go crazy trying to avoid toxic exposures at all costs, so I accept that I will do my best within my limitations/reality of the world we live in and not overly stress about it. I sacrifice some of my desire to  totally avoid toxins in order to exist/function in the world!

What is interesting to me about this idea is how many of us struggle with this idea of trade-offs or compromises when it comes to food and nutrition.

You may feel like…

  • You have to eat the “healthiest” food at every opportunity
  • You are harming your health whenever each food choice isn’t “perfect”
  • You feel anxious eating foods from a restaurant or that a friend made when you don’t know exactly what’s in it
  • The only or “best” way to make a food decision should always be based purely on nutrition factors

What I’ve found in working with clients and in my own personal experience is that whenever we so overly fixate on “nutrition in the name of health,” our overall health (physical health included) suffers.

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by Libby

Understanding Anorexia: Set-Shifting

Today I wanted to return to an ongoing series I am doing regarding different facets of “understanding anorexia.” This series will focus on various factors related to anorexia, including biological predispositions, genetic/epigenetic factors, personality traits, micronutrient deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, environmental factors, and more. Anorexia is certainly a complex illness with many “pieces to the puzzle” (many of which are still not well understood). My hope is that these posts will continue to shine more and more light on aspects of what might be going on for each person suffering. (Or, bring more clarity to anyone who has recovered).

You can read my first post in this series on zinc deficiency and anorexia here.

Today I wanted to focus on the concept of “set-shifting” as it relates to anorexia.

This post will discuss:

  • What is set-shifting?
  • How might set-shifting relate to anorexia?
  • What are some practical tips and strategies to consider?

What is set-shifting? 

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by Libby

Everyday Eats {September 2023}

Hello everyone!

Welcome to September! I am somewhat relieved to be in the almost-fall season, with the slightly cooler temps and the more energizing-to-me activities this time of year (more opportunities for hiking in better weather/without bugs, college football, various fall plans, etc.). We also just got back from our yearly end-of-summer trip, this time heading to Holland for a night and then three nights of backcountry camping in the Nordhouse Dunes on Lake Michigan.

The weather, for the most part, could not have been better! Highlights of the trip included extended time outside, three beautiful sunsets, stunning beach views throughout the day, extended time without technology, and a wonderful stay at a bed and breakfast that we would definitely go back to in the future!

How was your Labor Day weekend? Thankfully Michigan football is also off to a good start!

As we round out summer and head into fall, I have a wide variety of delicious eats to share today. Hopefully you feel inspired to try some new and/or return to some favorite flavor & food combinations in the week or two ahead!

Some favorite eats from the past few weeks!

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