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By Estela - Weekly Bite, July 21, 2010 8:33 am

Happy Wednesday

How are you? I’m doing pretty good… I do have something on my mind though….

I posted on Monday about my jalapeno pickling experiment. As mentioned on Monday… this is my first time doing this, and after reading some of the comments about food poisoning, I’m a little freaked out. What if I did it wrong? What if I open it up in two months and make everyone sick? Should I stick it in the refrigerator? What do I do?

Is there anyone out there that has any pickling experience? Your advice is greatly appreciated

On another note… I’ve received a few questions for my Nutrition Q & A. As always… the reader who asked the question is left anonymous for privacy reasons.

Q: I know this is really random. You’ve mentioned that you like to run a lot. How much do you run, and do you run with music or without?

A: I love running. I’ve cut back a lot over time, but I’m happy with my current routine. In an ideal week, I like to run six miles 3-4 times per week. On the other days I like to either go to the gym or attend a Hot yoga class. As far as running with music… I HAVE to run with music. Its actually ironic that you ask this because just the other day my trusty ipod shuffle DIED! I think these things are made to only last two years, that way you have to purchase a new one. But to answer your question… I love running with music. I make sure that the volume isn’t to high because I want to be aware of my surroundings.

Q: I follow your blog all the time. I’ve read the book you recommend (intuitive eating) and try very hard to eat sensibly. My problem is that I often find myself mindlessly eating all the time – almost binge eating! I’ve had a lot going on emotionally lately and have just found out that I cannot run (medical reasons) and have gained a lot of weight. I can easily stand to lose 15-20 lbs right now, but I feel like food controls me, not the other way around. What would you suggest to turn the table and get some control over my eating habits and weight? I don’t want to try weight watchers or other diet plans, but I feel like I’m stuck on a downward slope.

A: Thank you for the email. I’m so glad to hear you enjoy my blog

I’m sorry to hear you’re going through some emotional times. I know how hard it can be. I’m an avid runner myself, and know how heartbreaking it can feel for someone to tell you to stop running.
Being in a situation where you feel food controls you is tough. Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. The most important thing to remember is that “its not about the food.” If you can recognize that, and get to the core reason of why you want to eat when your not hungry, then you will slowly get better and feel more in control. One thing that’s worked for me is forcing myself to wait until I have hunger pangs to eat. Not severe hunger pangs… but that growling of the stomach that tells you its time to eat. This can be incredibly hard to do… especially if you’re going through some emotional issues. It can almost create a little anxiety… but its important to feel that hunger because then you feel like you’re in control again. Does this make any sense?
An exercise I often have my clients do is to go 4-5 hours without eating anything. Just calorie free beverages. The purpose of this is to let them experience what true hunger feels like. This isn’t something that should be practiced on a regular basis. This is just something to do once, so you know what its like to feel hungry, and what its like to feel full. Some clients tell me they felt hungry at the four hour mark and ate then, which is fine. You don’t want to push to extreme hunger… you just want to feel hungry.
I really hope I’ve helped a little.If you need any more advice, feel free to email me.

Q: Is coconut water really as good for me as its advertised? Do you drink coconut water? Love your blog by the way!

A: I love coconut water! And yes… I do drink it What I love the most about it is the ingredient list. “Natural Coconut Water” is the only ingredient! For an 8.5 ounce serving it has 45 calories, 30 mg of sodium, 515 mg of potassium, and 11 gm of carbohydrates. I love to run and I practice hot yoga… hydrating with coconut water is vital for me. You can’t beat that amount of potassium! Coconut water has more potassium and less sugar than your average sports drink.

Q: I’m so confused when it comes to buying bread! There’s hundreds of them! Do you have any guidelines that you go by?

A: A guideline I like to use is to make sure the bread has at least 3-5 grams of fiber and no more than 120 calories per slice. I always make sure its 100% whole wheat. My favorite bread to buy is Martin’s Whole Wheat Potato Bread. It has 4 grams of fiber and 70 calories per slice.

If you have any questions I’m happy to answer them! You ca submit there here

I have a busy day ahead.

On the agenda:

• Hot yoga class
• Finish up some paperwork
• Blog
• Finish Weekly Bite Newsletter
• Conference call at 3pm
• Clean upstairs of house
• Run several errands
• Figure out what to cook for dinner…
• Oh… and take care of a 14 month old all day

Comments (21)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, March 2, 2010 11:51 am

One of my fellow RD’s, MaryAnn Tomovich Jacobsen, runs the blog Raise Healthy Eaters.  This blog is dedicated to providing credible nutrition advice to parents.  As a parent myself, I am focused on making sure I’m providing the best nutrition for my daughter.  A huge part of this is raising her to have a positive relationship with food and with herself. 

This week marks the beginning of MaryAnn’s new series:  Eating Disorder Prevention: 3 Things Every Parent Must Know.  The goal is to provide parents with the information we need to raise children who have a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.  I hope you will join me in reading along with this series and gain valuable information on raising a healthy eater.

This is week 9 of the 12 Weeks No Diets Series.

This week I wanted to talk about letting go of the cheat day.

There are thousands and thousands of diets out there that have a “cheat day”.  We are supposed to follow rigid guidelines all week and then have that one-day where we can eat whatever we want.  What this can do is eventually lead to an all out binge day (trust me, I’ve been there).  We feel we have to eat everything we can’t have during the week on that one-day.  This leads to a last supper mentality where we think to ourselves “tomorrow I’ll start over again”.  The problem is that this mentality can spread to days other than our “cheat day”.  If we go off our diet, it’s so easy to “just call it a cheat day”… which leads to a full on binge, which leads us back to the thinking “tomorrow I’ll start over again”.

Letting Go of the Cheat Day

Another common way of thinking is to eat healthy all week and “splurge” on the weekends.  I definitely went through a phase of thinking this way.  Don’t get me wrong… I enjoy a good splurge every now and again… it’s the quantity of the splurge that matters.  Eating healthy during the week and allowing ourselves to eat out more on the weekend is perfectly healthy, but what we need to watch is the amount of food we splurge on.  We still need to listen to our bodies, listen to our hunger, eat food we truly love, and stop eating when we’ve had enough.  Remember… it’s all about the portion sizes.   If it tastes so good you want to keep on eating, keep in mind that you can take the rest home to enjoy the next day. 

How to Splurge the Right Way

Be realistic in terms of the calorie content of your food.  I’m not going to encourage full on calorie counting, but think of calories in a very loose and realistic way. If we order a dish of fettuccine alfredo, we know that dish has upwards of 1,600 + calories.  Realistically, we do not need to be eating that much food.  Think about the bread, side salad, and wine we’ve already consumed prior to our dish arriving.  This can put us way over a 2,000-calorie dinner.  Have a game plan and assess the menu before you order.  If you really want the fettuccine, you can pass on the bread and/or wine, or, you can order it all and have a small taste of everything, but in reality, you’re not eating much food at all.  It’s the amount of food we eat that matters the most.

Never Deprive Yourself

If we let ourselves eat the foods we love whenever, we don’t need to have a designated day to enjoy them.  Eighty percent of your diet should be healthy, and 20% is whatever else you want (healthy or not).  As long as you are honoring your body, eating when you are truly physically hungry, and being mindful of your portion sizes, you can easily reach and maintain your healthy weight all while allowing yourself you daily “cheats”.

Don’t forget your workout of the week!

Click here for Jessica’s No More Resolutions Workout!

No More Resolutions will run for 12 weeks along with No Diets in the New Year

There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts for everyone!

Comments (26)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, February 24, 2010 12:50 pm

(quoted from the clever & witty Fat Nutritionist)

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.  Eating disorders are life-threatening illnesses, not choices. Prevention is key in the fight against eating disorders.  Although I’ve never had an eating disorder, I did go through a period of being a little too concerned with what I was eating.  Here is one of my favorite handouts from NEDA.  I love this message in particular.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY:

Eat what you want, when you are truly hungry. 

Stop when you’re full. 

And eat exactly what appeals to you. 

Do this instead of any diet, and you’re likely to maintain a healthy weight, and avoid eating disorders.

This is where normal eating comes in.  Normal eating is basically eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re satisfied.  Do this and you will naturally control your weight while falling into your natural healthy weight.  For a more detailed definition we can go to Registered Dietitian Ellyn Satter:

• Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied.
• Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food.
• It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful.
• Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating.
• Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life
• In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food and your feelings.

This is a very good definition of normal eating and sounds relatively easy, but for some, it’s harder than you think.  An article in the New York Time’s Blog addressed normal eating with Ellyn Satter’s definition.  There were over 300 comments.  Everyone’s view of normal eating is different.  Someone’s view of normal eating could be eating fast food only once or twice per day.  It’s really important to clarify that it’s both quantity and quality that matters the most.  Eating healthy is very important, but how much you eat is even more important.  If you want fast food, eat fast food, just don’t order and consume the entire supersized value meal.  Normal eating as mentioned above is “going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied.”  This can be difficult for some, but it’s all about having the right attitude.  Food is fun, delicious, and satisfying.  Forget trying to lose weight… carry your head high and your attitude positive.  Let yourself eat what you want when you’re hungry and stop when you stomach isn’t hungry anymore.  Like Ellyn Satter says… “Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps it’s place as only one important area of your life.

I leave you with a question… “What is your description of Normal Eating?”  Let me know… I’d love to hear!