More of My Thoughts on Food and Stuff

Since working in dialysis I have been fortunate enough to work with some phenomenal dietitians.  For someone who has weight issues it can be daunting to start working with a dietitian.  Initially, I would wonder “are they watching what I eat?” and wonder if they are judging me for my weight.  Turns out those are my own issues and not my coworker dietitians.

When I became friends with the nutritionists I worked with I saw that they were also just people with a specialty and passion for food and nutrition.  Sometimes they struggle with their weight and eating too.  I’ve become a person who completely encourages individuals to work with nutritionists if possible.  They can be so much a resource.  (They are not the eating police.)

“I know what to do, I just don’t do it.”  I am sure I’ve said it before.  Many of my family and even clients have said it too.  The thing is I think that is just an excuse not to move forward and live healthier.  Nutritionists can help in so many ways.  The Nutritionist, Christine, with my practice is a busy mom.  I bet she can help you plan easy and healthy meals both you and your kids can eat.  She has a passion whe can share with people. In my quest to give up (or at least greatly reduce) my intake of diet coke, Christine, was the first person to help me figure out an alternative.  (It turns out it isn’t the taste of diet coke that was keeping me drinking it.  Water, flavored or otherwise wouldn’t work as a substitution because it was the carbonation I was craving.  Who knew?)  I have been maintaining a greatly decreased intake of diet coke because she asked me the right questions.

Taking the time to join weight watchers and talk about is helpful because I am not just living in denial, I am paying attention to what I eat.  I know sometimes that I put food in my mouth without thought and I bet I’m not the only one. This is one way for me to take responsibility.  I don't know how far I'll go but this time is wasted because it is a time when I am present and in the moment with food.

Ok.  Probably more than you ever wanted to know about my thoughts on Nutrionists and food but what the heck.  Today’s parting advice:  Don’t let past perceived failures get in the way of living the way you’d like today.

Tell Everyone

I am someone who hasn’t known a day of my life where my weight wasn’t a struggle.  Although I believe in the connection between our mind and body I haven’t made a concerted effort to live a healthier lifestyle recently.  Now I am taking that step.  I’m trying to mesh my values and my actions.  (This pretty much always leads to a more content soul.)

First I cut my intake of caffeine (particularly diet coke) by 95%.   I’ve seemed to work this into my daily life so I have started the next step – losing weight and healthier eating. 

I want to lose weight but my overall goal is to physically feel better and live well.  I joined Weight Watchers online in an effort to really focus on my eating.

My instinct is to keep it a secret.   If I don’t tell people I’m trying to lose weight then it won’t matter if I can’t do it.  Wait.  I realize this means I’ve already decided to fail.  Not good.  I would benefit from following my own advice.  1) Don’t decide the outcome before I’ve lived the journey.  2)  It is not a pass/fail situation.  Every change I make, every time I take a moment to be aware of my food, every healthier choice I make is progress.  It isn’t about the finish line but about changing the way I live and enjoying the journey.

This I will remind myself.

This time I’m telling everyone what I’m trying to do.  (Day 2 of working on healthier choices.) This is a subject I have a lot to say on so I’m sure you’ll be hearing about this again.  Live the journey before you decide you are going to fail.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

Did you know this is national eating disorders awareness week.  It may be beneficial to check out some links or stories regarding eating disorders and events.  Here are a couple to get you started.

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/programs-events/nedawareness-week.php

http://www.ourbodiesourblog.org/blog/2012/02/national-eating-disorders-awareness-week

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20120228/NEWS01/120228016/HEALTH-Breaking-free-when-food-takes-control

Hope your week is full of promise and possibility!

Article Share

A way to look at the tips for eating well during the holiday (and really any) season.  The tips listed that
the author questions - how many times have we heard the exact same ones.  I know I've heard them a million times.

http://partnershipinwellness.com/blog/?p=605

The author gives some helpful insight into health eating!

Adding A Nutritionist to My Practice

Even as a therapist, I have doubts and fears.  It is true.  So, I have been a bit up in the air about sharing adding a Nutritionist to my private practice.

An opportunity came up recently that would allow me to add a nutritionist/dietitian to my practice.  I’m excited about it.  I am actually a bit disappointed because I’ve been getting a lot of confused reactions.  I try to explain that it is just another  option. If someone wants to talk to a nutritionist about food in addition to therapy or even as a whole separate thing, I can provide that for them.   I don’t plan on it being my niche or even brining it up unless it fits the situation.  However, my experience has shown me that eating, food, and body image come up more than not during therapy. I just think it is awesome to have the choice if the desire presents itself. (And I’m hoping to add a few more little options as time progresses.  Fingers crossed.)

I have several (maybe a bit rambling) thoughts on why I am excited to add a Nutritionist to my practice.

1)      I believe that we are more than our mind.  I believe our mind and body work together so many people might want some added insight to nutrition or that support when trying to eat the best for them.

2)      Messages about thin and fat and appearance are thrown at each of us all day long.  Everyone has an opinion about our appearance.  It doesn’t even matter if you are thin or fat or have an ugly nose or the most attractive person on this earth, someone will find something negative about our physicality and too often a part of us will wholeheartedly buy into the critique.  Also, sometimes, in our culture an individual is given the message that no matter what they do to their appearance it will never be enough.

3)      Most women I see and most women I know (and even a few of the men) have so much of their self-esteem and identity tied into their physical appearance.   . This makes me so sad because each of us is so much more than our appearance.  I have had people tell me that if someone is fat that they can’t imagine they could be happy.  Well, you know what, someone who is fat can be happy.  I’m happy. 

4)      Sometimes it is like there is no happy medium.  Either a person eats too much or not enough or not the right foods or has to think about food all the time.  My wish is that each of us could incorporate the nutrition that is best for us into our lives and not make food our identity

5)       I have spent my life struggling with weight; never in my recent memory even being close to what most would say is a ‘normal’ size. I will probably continue to struggle throughout my life with eating and food.  Although as many of you know, it can feel like a failure on my part but it really isn’t.  It is part of who I am and one of the struggles that I get to engage in and learn from in my life.  I may not be able or willing to do everything that would be helpful for me but I am certainly going to benefit from knowledge and learning more if I choose to.  I feel like as the therapist I work with people on acceptance of self and that it is not about our size (small or large) but on who we are and how we feel.  This was one of my doubts about adding a nutritionist to my practice.  The fear that people would be like "really- you?"  Then of course I realized it doesn't matter so much what people say but that I am true to myself and what I want to offer my clients.

6)      Many of us have distorted views of what we eat and how we look.  Our family and friends often even feed into this.  I often say having a neutral person to talk about our goals, life and fears with is essential.  Maybe it is just as essential to get a check up with a neutral person about our food habits and what we eat.

You might look at a couple of the bullet points and think “isn’t that an argument against having a nutritionist?”  I’d give a resounding “no”.  I believe that pretending food, eating and appearance issues don’t exist won’t make them go away.  I think balance is the key and we should have all the tools possible to live the best life we can live for us.

(More on the amazing nutritionist and such later!)