A Holiday Eating Guide: Revised... Again

Recently, an article on eating well during the holidays appeared in The Boston Magazine. The writer shared her spin on eating tips that "you can actually use" during the holidays. No surprise. It's that time of the year and everyone is dishing up advice on how to avoid gaining weight during the holidays. I'll be honest, I didn't hate the article. But.... I didn't love it either. So I'll give my take on the age old tradition. Here it goes.

Old Rule #1: Bring a bag of baby carrots with you to munch on during the party. 

Marci's "Rule": Don't eat food you don't like. It's a party for crying out loud! If you LOVE baby carrots dipped in Ranch dressing, go for it. But let's be honest, you can have that 365 days of the year. Eat what you love. Eat what's special. Skip the rest. Do you really like those holiday colored M&Ms?

Old Rule #2: Wear tight fitting clothes to the holiday party, preferably something with a belt.

Marci's "Rule": I don't believe in self-harm. Wear an outfit you can rock! Seriously, wear something you feel dang sexy in. Confidence and self-love often leads to better self-care!

Old Rule #3: Take only three bites of everything on your plate.

Marci's "Rule": I really don't know what to say about this rule, but it's just plain silly. Don't do this. But do stay present and actually TASTE your food. Yes, truly taste it. When you start to notice that you are getting full, take a little break. Socialize. Play with the kiddos or play a game. You can always go back to eating later but give your body and brain time to catch up with one another.

Old Rule #4: Dab a napkin on top of the food, if it leaves an oil mark, leave it behind.

Marci's "Rule": This is also totally crazy. Again, don't do this. Fat isn't bad. Fat is what allows us to feel satisfied. Fat adds flavor and texture. We need to stop demonizing fat. But, too much of anything doesn't leave us feeling good physically. Again, take what you love. Leave the rest behind. Eat what tastes good. Take a pause when you are getting full.

Old Rule #5: Eat less during the day prior to the party to “save” calories for later.

Marci's "Rule": This is a disaster waiting to happen. Eat during the day! Fuel is what our brains and bodies need! You may want to think about balancing your food choices if you know what the evening menu has in store. But please don't starve yourself prior to arriving at the party.

Old Rule #6: Drink multiple glasses of water prior to the party to fill you up and prevent overeating.

Marci's "Rule": Here's a little known fact. Our bodies do NOT process water the same way they process food. You cannot trick your tummy into thinking you have fed it when you guzzled a gallon of water. Anyone who has tried that old dieting gimmick knows it doesn't work. Make sure you've had a little something an hour or two before the party. Stay hydrated. Stay tuned in to how you're food tastes and your body feels. You'll do great.

Remember, our culture thrives on a restrict/binge mentality. So learning to eat in a mindful, balanced, nourishing way takes practice! It's a skill that probably needs developing. But I am fully confident that with practice, you can get there.

Happy Holidays. Your nutritionist in Cambridge.

Marci

What are your tips for healthy eating during the holidays? Do share!

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Tips for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a wonderful yet stressful holiday for a lot of people. The entire day is centered around food. And if food is a source of stress and anxiety for you, that's a lot of pressure! I won't be providing you with a list of food do's and don'ts at your Thanksgiving meal. So if that's what you were hoping for, I do apologize. But I will provide you with some ideas to contemplate. If you are anxious about Thanksgiving, I'd encourage you to take a pen and  paper and journal about some of the questions below.

1. What gives Thanksgiving value and meaning for you?

2. What contributes to or detracts from the "specialness" of the holiday?

3. When it comes to food, what are you worried about specifically? Really give this some thought. What concerns you?

4. How would you like THIS Thanksgiving to be different from past Thanksgivings?

5. How would you like it to be the same?

6. List 3 specific factors that will make it hard for you to have a different experience?

7. How can you plan for those challenges? Can you do it on your own? Do you need support? Do you need a new/creative strategy?

8. What thoughts and beliefs do you have about eating on Thanksgiving? Where do those thoughts and beliefs come from? Are they really yours? Really listen to those thoughts. Do you believe them? How do those thoughts affect your feelings and actions?

9. When it comes to eating, food, and your body- what are you truly grateful for? What makes you feel good?

Thanksgiving, just like all eating experiences is highly individual. While eating is the central event in most homes on Thanksgiving, I hope your holiday is also filled with positive relationships, peace, and gratitude.

What tips have helped you have a positive food experience on Thanksgiving?

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Serving Size vs Portion Size : What's the Difference?

Alright, I'm about to get on my RD soap box here. I have a little pet peeve. Ok, sometimes it's a big pet peeve. Have you ever noticed that popular diet books, magazines, and well-intended news reporters get confused between serving sizes and portion sizes? Probably not. But I'm writing about it because it's important! And it all comes back to the difference between a rule-bound diet mentality and eating based on internal wisdom.

Serving Size: A standardized, measured amount of a food that may be determined by "typical" portion sizes from consumption surveys, convenience in measuring, nutrient content, and sizes from previous guides. This is what you see listed on a nutrition facts panel, diet plans, and the food guide pyramid.

Portion Size: The amount of food YOU decide to eat. 

Note: these two concepts are quite different. Since nutritional content of food values dramatically, it can SOMETIMES be helpful to have a sense of how much nutrition is contained in a product. You can read here in more detail if you're curious to know how to use nutrition information (like calorie counts) in a productive way.

However. no one on this planet is a better judge of how much food you need than YOU! Sometimes dieting and eating disorders disrupt a person's ability to determine how much food they need.If you have gotten used to someone else telling you how much to eat, it makes sense that you'll have to re-learn this skill.

So the next time Shape Magazine tells you to eat 14 almonds for an afternoon snack, you can say "I'll decide what portion size is right for me, thank you very much!" Then consider the following 4 factors:

1. How hungry am I?

2. When will I be eating again?

3. What nutritional qualities does this food possess? Carbs = quick fuel, Protein = fullness, Fats = Satiety and stick around the longest

4. What type of meal or snack balance do I need for my overall health?

Hopefully you can feel a little more confident knowing that you don't have to rely on any outside measurements or randomly determined serving sizes to determine how much food you can eat. If you listen, your own wisdom won't let you down!

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Product No Case: Lundberg Rice Cakes

A few months ago, someone was telling me about Lundberg brown rice cakes and how amazing they are. Now, my level of skepticism climbs pretty darn high when someone says delicious and rice cake in the same sentence. Rice cakes speak of dieting food in my book, but I am always on the lookout for tasty whole grain snacks. So I gave them a try…

 And then I spit it out and threw them away. Ew! These rice cakes are the very reason healthy eating gets a bad rap (tasteless cardboard) and why faithful dieters can’t “stay on the bandwagon.” Ick, ick, ick.

I promise that it is possible to eat nutritiously and deliciously. Check out my last product show case, where I shared with you my favorite whole grain cracker. In the mean time, you can toss your brown rice cakes away.

*In an attempt to help you sort through the advertising hype, each month I write about products that tout themselves as healthy and delicious but I don't think fit the bill. Do you have any products that you think fit this category? Let me know!

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Product Showcase: Ak Mak Crackers

Alright, a few days ago I tore to shreds the poor brown rice cake in my product no case post. But I promised to share with you a whole grain cracker that I simply love.

It is the yummy and inexpensive Ak Mak Cracker! They have been around for ages and are available at just about every store. Yes, they are dry and crunchy (so that may be a turn off to some people). But the sesame seed flavor is super yummy.

I don’t mind snacking on them alone but find them to be a much more satisfying snack when eaten:
1. with peanut butter
2. with hummus
3. with turkey and cheese

I think you get the idea. I prefer them when eaten with some protein and fat to add flavor and balance for a more satisfying/longer lasting snack. You can even crumble on salads or soup too.

Do you love Ak Mak crackers? What’s your favorite way to eat them?

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Product Showcase: Peanut Butter & Co Cinnamon Raisin Swirl

I love peanut butter. So when a client brought me a jar of Peanut Butter & Co's Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter I was pretty excited. BUT I was not prepared for the DELICIOUSNESS awaiting me. If you like peanut butter, cinnamon, and raisins then you MUST find the nearest store that sells Peanut Butter & Co ASAP. (If you don't like all of those things, they have some other fun flavors which you should check out.)

I love peanut butter for a lot of reasons:

• The smooth, rich, creaminess is like a little heaven on my tongue
• It pairs nicely with so many things: apples, bananas, crackers, oatmeal, waffles, marinades, soups, dressings, smoothies, and cookies
• The natural blend of protein and fat makes it a stellar partner with carbs like grains, fruits and veggies giving your snack or meal staying power!

Tip: as the temperatures cool and oatmeal starts to sound appealing, try mixing your favorite PB spread in your oatmeal. It's delicious and will keep you full for much longer than the oatmeal alone. Add some fruit and your set for a balanced, energizing, and comforting meal.

Are you a peanut butter lover too? What's your favorite way to eat it?

Note: If you have a peanut allergy, I apologize. I hope I didn't make you feel left out. I'll try to pick something next month that is allergy free. :)

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Connecting to Ourselves: Tuning out the Shoulds

First off, I want to say that tuning out the shoulds and tuning into our body’s needs when it comes to fuel is a process and journey. There will be some ups and downs along the way, but the longer that you tune out what you “should” be doing and view eating in a self-care, nourishing manor, the more freedom you will start to feel in your journey with food and your body. The longer you practice paying attention to your body the more you will connect with yourself and your needs, food and otherwise.

So, what does tuning out the “shoulds” mean when it comes to healthful eating? Here are a few principles that I came up with through my journey of paying attention to my body’s needs and health.

1) Tune out what healthful foods you “should” eat and listen to YOUR body’s palate (aka what healthful foods you ENJOY eating). Healthful eating includes trying new foods but also tuning into your palate. You don’t have to eat lima beans or whatever foods you do not care for to be healthy! There are plenty of other fruits and vegetables out there. Focusing on adding healthful foods you enjoy (like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts) to your eating allows you to connect with your body and keeps healthy eating from being a dirty word. It’s not about perfection- it is about learning YOUR body’s needs.

2) Tune out the “shoulds” of anytime you are feeling deprived when it comes to eating. A lovely RD, Julie Dillion, tweeted this the other day: dieting doesn't = wellness. Nourishing without deprivation is ticket to #health. I could not have said this better if I tried. So often, we hear that we need to “eat better” or discipline ourselves or have more self control around food. We can try to force ourselves into “eating right” or choosing healthful foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains, etc.). But, this usually backfires just like dieting does. I tell people all the time that I have learned that the only “diet” I want to be on is one that I can live the rest of my life doing, and this means for me that I don’t feel deprived, focus on health and good fuel, use food to keep my energy up, and focus on nourishing my body (which does include sweets sometimes!). Through tuning into my body and not the “shoulds” or deprivation, I have learned that one of the most healthful and satisfying things is leaving a meal energized and not stuffed. Through the process of intuitive eating and no deprivation, I have gotten to this place because I have learned that I enjoy the feeling of being “satisfied” after a meal best, and my body is ok with this since it knows I will honor my hunger when it comes again.

3) Tune out how much you “should” eat (based upon what other people are eating) and listen to your body’s hunger/fullness. We all have different energy needs. Our energy needs can be very different from other people (this hopefully is not a surprise!) and our own energy needs fluctuate throughout our lives. Tuning out the shoulds means trying not to compare what you eat to what other people eat. There are always going to be people who need more food or less food than you, but ultimately your body knows best and it will tell you through hunger and fullness. For example, I am a tall, active person and my body needs a good amount of fuel throughout the day. I used to feel ashamed of the fact that I would eat more than other girls and went through a period where I was trying to eat what I felt like my body “should” need instead of listening to hunger. This deprivation period was eventually followed by a period of overeating, and I have learned that in the end my body knows best and will tell me how much food it needs.

True health comes from appreciating our bodies and wanting to take care of them and nourish them. Tuning into our bodies is learning our body’s unique signs of hunger and fullness and feeling confident in our body’s ability to tell us what it needs. You see we can be told eat your fruits and vegetables, move more, don’t overeat, etc. But, none of these things will be lasting if they don’t stem from a desire within oneself to care for his/her body. So, are you tuning into the “shoulds” or tuning into your beautiful body and its unique needs? I hope we can all learn to cherish what our bodies allows you to do, care for them in a way that helps us live life fully, and nourish them to give us health and energy!

Note: Connecting to Ourselves is a monthly column written by Janet Zimmerman. Janet will be writing about a wide variety of topics to help you connect with the best ways to take care of YOU! Janet is a dietetic student, positive body image advocate, and intuitive eating promoter. You can find Janet on twitter @JanetZimmerman where she loves tweeting yummy recipes, positive quotes, and mindful tweets.
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Guest Post: Eating Well While Traveling

Eating well while on the road is tough for all of us! And since I'm heading out on vacation, I appreciate Janel's great guest post on nutritious eating on the run. Big thank you Janel! Be sure to check out awesome blog full of culinary tips and delicious recipes.

Whenever I travel, whether it be a road trip (hate ‘em) or a cross country flight, my eating always gets out of whack. It’s not that I have such regimented eating habits, I’m just so used to eating an abundance of whole grains, fruits and veggies, home-cooked food and snacking that when I deviate from this, my body, brain, mood, and energy totally shift – and not in a good way. Usually after a few days of traveling I readjust and can always manage to find nutritious foods on the go, but even the healthiest dining establishments will take a toll on your wallet.

A few months ago I headed to Oregon for a conference. It was a quick trip – about 48 hours in total – and one where I arrived late at night in Portland, and then left at the crack of dawn to fly home. And since I wanted to bring my A-game to speak at this conference, I didn’t want to rely on airport fast food or questionable conference food to fuel me for this trip.

For breakfast in my hotel room (there was none provided with the hotel) I packed a little oatmeal bar to go: snack bags filled with oats, currants, walnuts, brown sugar, chia seeds and hemp seeds. All I needed to do was heat up some water in the hotel room coffee maker and I had a piping hot bowl (ok paper cup) of oatmeal as I ran through my talk one more time. I also packed one of these for breakfast the next day. Instead of paying Starubcks for some perfect oatmeal in the airport, I just got a (free) cup of hot water and enjoyed my own perfect oatmeal breakfast as I waited to board. I also could have saved this for the flight and asked the flight attendant for some hot water.

I made sure to pack plenty of snacks, like Larabar minis, apples, Triscuits, walnuts, and dried plums. Granted my trip was short so I only had to pack a small amount to tide me over for 48 hours, and this of course didn’t cover my lunch or dinner in Oregon, but it was the best way to keep me on my toes for an important conference.

Also, since I was stranded in some business center hotel in the ‘burbs of Oregon without a car, I didn’t have the opportunity to check out any Portland restaurants like I did in January. Instead, I ordered room service from the hotel restaurant, which didn’t seem to have many appealing vegetarian entrees. So I scanned the menu and put together three side dishes: a vegetable plate, grilled polenta cakes, and sautéed cannellini beans. It turned out to be a delicious and well-rounded dinner. Who knew sides could be so satisfying?

 What are some ways you eat well when traveling?

Janel Ovrut Funk MS RD LDN is a Boston-based registered dietitian who helps you reach your nutrition goals, one bite at a time. Follow Janel on her Eat Well with Janel blog, Facebook fan page, and Twitter feed for more healthy tips.
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My Response: What Nutritionists Order...

Several days ago, some friends on Twitter asked about my thoughts regarding this article in The Huffington Post: What Nutritionists Order When Eating Out. My knee jerk response: I hate it. Below is a more thoughtful, nuanced response. If you glance through the article, you might feel that the nutrition suggestions are reasonable. So why wouldn’t I like it? Let me explain.

1. The title. It suggests the copy-cat approach to eating. Just because a nutritionist is doing it, doesn’t mean it’s right for you! My whole approach to nutrition is helping my clients learn and tune in to their own needs first. See Intuitive Eating for more details.

2. This type of article supports “rule-based eating” rather than “skill-based eating.” If someone told me that I couldn’t have French fries with my burger, I might be a little angry! But for someone else, veggies with their burger might feel like a nice balance. If you are checked in to your mood, appetite, hunger, and fullness level you won’t go wrong. It’s when we shut down to your internal regulators that you get off kilter.

3. There’s nothing wrong with balancing out your dining out dishes with fresh whole foods and veggies. But I fear this article misses the point on balance. Because balance goes for eating out too! Sometimes we feel like a salad. Sometimes we feel like Chinese food. Balance eating out with eating in. Balance fruits, veggies, grains, protein, and fats along with “fun foods.” It really is ok to have the occasional meal, snack, or drink that you enjoy just because it tastes good!

4. I think it’s odd that the RDs in this article are giving advice on portions ie “eat one slice of pizza.” We come in all shapes, sizes, hunger levels, nutrition needs. And if I ate one slice of pizza (unless it was a big one!) for dinner I’d be hungry an hour later. In fact, I don’t know many adults that would feel well-nourished after a slice of veggie pizza.

5. I really really dislike advice that says “stay away from…” Instead, I like to think about it more thoughtfully: If I eat this, how long will it keep me full for? How will it taste? How will it make me feel physically? Is this truly what I’m in the mood for?

In summary, black and white rules make us want to rebel! They are seen as bad and forbidden and become all the more alluring. Learning how to be a skill-based eater is so much more rewarding! You don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules. Simply ask yourself those simple questions listed in #5 and see where it gets you. I bet you’ll be surprised to find you are a pretty good nutritionist all by yourself.

What do you think?

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Calories, Calories

How often have you heard someone say “Oh, that’s only 250 calories, it’s not so bad.” I’ve heard it A LOT and it really gets on my nerves. What if a calorie total wasn’t good or bad? What if we could strip all the morality out of how many calories we consume? Unfortunately, calorie talk is NOT going away any time soon. It’s posted on menus, plastered on magazine covers, and someone you know is probably counting them. But it’s not a total bummer if you can start to practice looking at them more objectively and with less judgment. I’ll show you.

Example #1- Lean Cuisine Meal = 310 calories*
Old way of thinking: 310 calories for lunch isn’t so “bad.”
New way of thinking: Wow, I notice that when I eat a 310 calorie Lean Cuisine for lunch I’m not very satisfied, I feel hungry again an hour later, and I’m still thinking about food quite a bit. If I want to stay full for longer than an hour, I either need more food or I should choose something different.

Example #2- Turkey and Avocado Sandwich from Au Bon Pain =650 calories
Old way of thinking: Oh, I was really “bad” at lunch today. That sandwich had over 600 calories. According to Shape magazine, I should eat less than 400 calories at lunch. I’m so disgusting. I have no self-control. Why couldn’t I eat just half?
New way of thinking: The sandwich tasted delicious. The balance of carbohydrate, fats, and proteins left me feeling satisfied. I feel a lot fuller than after I eat a Lean Cuisine. Plus I noticed that I have more energy and didn’t think about eating again for a few hours. If I need something to tie me over for a few hours, this is a great choice.

See the difference? We have to get out of our heads and into our bodies. How do certain choices make you feel? Energized or sluggish. Satisfied or left wanting more. Happy tummy or upset tummy. If we can let go of the idea o food being good or bad and tune in to the physical experience of eating it, we’ll be headed in the right direction!

Have any personal experiences? Please share!

*Disclaimer: I totally made those calorie numbers up.
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