Tag: nutrition coach

man and woman eating healthy food
June 1, 2022
Blog

What does anti-diet mean?

Folks frequently ask me: “what does ‘anti-diet’ mean?” What does it mean to say that I take a non-diet approach to nutrition coaching?

Myths and misinformation about the anti-diet movement abound on the Internet and social media. I can’t speak for all anti-diet nutrition professionals, but I can attest to what many of us believe as well as what my approach is.

What “Anti-Diet” Does Not Mean

One of the biggest misconceptions circulating about the anti-diet movement is that it espouses eating anything and everything without regard for nutrition. This is patently false.

While anti-diet practitioners don’t believe that there are “good” foods or “bad” foods, they do still promote balance. Food has no moral value. And there is room for all foods in a healthy diet. The key is making sure you eat a variety of foods, both nutrient-dense and fun foods. Meeting your nutritional needs is still important, but you don’t need to calorie count, fill color-coded containers, or weigh and measure your foods to do that.

Many critics of the anti-diet movement like to claim that anti-diet practitioners “promote obesity.” First off, just using the word “obesity” gives away the anti-fat bias of these critics. Rather, anti-diet practitioners recognize that weight does not reliably indicate health status. Furthermore, we recognize that bodies are supposed to come in different shapes and sizes. Larger bodies are not failed thin bodies.

Finally, and most desperately, many critics throw around claims that anti-diet means anti-health. This assertion rests on the false notion that weight is a good indicator of health (it’s not). Furthermore, this flies in the face of mountains of scientific evidence disproving a solid link between body weight and health.

What does it mean for your approach to nutrition?

When I work with a client, I don’t focus on calorie counting, stepping on the scale, or any of the typical diet tactics. The statistics make it clear that diets don’t work. In fact, diets can actually cause significant harm, from perpetuating weight cycling and all of its adverse health impacts to contributing to eating disorders.

Instead, I focus on building healthy habits in simple, practical ways using small steps to make it maintainable. We focus on sleep, stress management, hunger cues, and intentional movement as well as food because it’s all interconnected. We work on finding the balance that works best for each individual client and finding ways to make it simpler and easier to eat nutrient-dense foods. It’s not about counting calories; it’s about tuning in to your needs.

If you were wondering what does anti-diet mean, I hope this helped you better understand.

clean clear cold drink
April 18, 2022
Blog

Does the alkaline diet work?

Does the alkaline diet work? Is it safe? How does it work? Here is what you need to know.

What is the alkaline diet?

The alkaline diet is based on the debunked theory that the foods we eat can alter our body’s pH. Essentially, eating acidic foods decreases your body’s pH (making it more acidic) and that makes it a more amenable environment for cancer and other health conditions. Additionally, alkaline diet proponents claim that acidic foods leave behind “acid ash” in your body which promotes conditions like osteoporosis.

In order to promote better health, the alkaline dieter severely restricts or eliminates “acidic” foods like meat, fish, dairy, eggs, grains, and alcohol. Neutral foods like ‘natural” fats, starches, and sugars, and basic or alkaline foods like fruits, nuts, legumes, and veggies are OK.

The alkaline diet emerged in the 90s as the creation of a man named Robert Young who claimed the diet could treat cancer. He was later sued and arrested for practicing medicine without a license. So…that says something about his diet creation.

Is it safe?

The alkaline diet comes with its share of risks, as does any diet that requires you to eliminate large numbers of foods from your diet. The most obvious risk is nutrient deficiency, such as iron, B12, B6, and protein. In addition to the issues that deficiencies in those nutrients can cause, there is also a risk of muscle loss with this diet as well.

Does the alkaline diet work?

The short answer is no. You simply cannot change your body’s pH with the foods you eat and that’s a good thing! The pH of our blood falls between 7.35-7.45 and the pH of our cells falls between 7.0-7.4. So our body’s pH is actually already slightly alkaline! That pH MUST stay within that range or else our cells cannot function properly. You can’t alter your body’s pH with food. If it were that easy, we would all die.

There is 0 scientific evidence to back up the alkaline diet. In fact, the WHO actually advises against the consumption of alkaline water.

Proponents often claim the alkaline diet promotes weight loss. However, any weight lost during the alkaline diet does not result from a change in body pH but rather an increase in produce consumption, which is less caloric. You can eat more produce without eliminating large swathes of foods from your diet and risking nutrient deficiency.

So the short answer to the question “does the alkaline diet work” is a resounding no.

pasta with sauce in the plate
February 10, 2022
Blog

How often should you have carbs?

I was recently speaking with someone who reminded me of a diet myth about how often we should have carbs: you can only have carbs at one meal per day. I think many of us subconsciously follow this rule. In fact, I actually recently caught myself thinking, “I had a bagel for breakfast so we shouldn’t have pasta for dinner.” I caught myself – WHY NOT? Who said we can only have carbs one meal per day? Is there any legitimacy to this?

This diet rule arose out of the low-carb and keto diet craze. And it stems from this belief that carbs are bad for you and cause weight gain. Surprise, surprise, like most diet rules, there is no science to back this one up.

You can have carbs for every meal of the day if you want.

  1. Carbs don’t cause weight gain. There is no single food that causes weight gain. Weight gain is a product of calorie excess and other complicating factors such as hormonal status.
  2. Carbs are not bad for you. Our bodies need carbohydrates and are designed to run on them. It’s our body’s preferred fuel source. In fact, our brain is extremely dependent on carbs for its fuel. Our bodies are not designed to burn fat as our primary fuel source – ketosis is a survival mechanism.
  3. Carbs are nutritious. Different carbohydrates contain important nutrients and, if we’re restricting our carb intake dramatically, we could be missing out on that nutrition. Take fiber as a prime example.
  4. Eating for enjoyment is important. We, as humans, eat for many reasons. Enjoyment being among them and just as legitimate as every other reason to eat. If you’re not enjoying what you eat, you’re not going to be satisfied by it. And when that happens, you’re probably going to continue to eat more as you seek out that satisfaction. This can lead us to feel frustrated and out of control around food.

For more information about low carb diets, check out this blog post.

bowl with yummy colorful gummies on table
October 22, 2021
Blog

Losing Control around Halloween Candy

There is currently a video going around on social media showing a woman creating a cute Halloween candy display in a large glass bowl. But that’s not the part that has been raising eyebrows. At the end of the video, she nonchalantly sprays hair spray all over the candy and the caption reads “so you don’t eat all the candy.”

Responses have been mixed, with some commenting that it’s funny or even a good idea. Others have been commenting that there is something wrong if you are spraying toxic inedible chemicals on food to avoid eating it. Here is my take.

When I first saw this video, it immediately harkened back to a practice that some individuals with eating disorders resort to: they in some way “ruin” their food so they can’t continue to eat it. Indeed, when I was in the peak of my disordered eating habits in college, I would routinely dump a shaker of pepper onto what was left on my dinner plate so I wouldn’t eat it while waiting for my friends to finish up. This is a very problematic and disordered practice and the woman in this video is promoting it like it’s the next greatest idea. So that is issue #1.

This video also prompts the question: why are you feeling that out of control around Halloween candy? As an anti-diet nutrition coach, I can answer this one. Deprivation and restriction are the top causes of binging and overeating. In other words, the foods that you feel the least in control around are the foods you allow yourself to consume the least. You may also have thoughts about those foods along the lines of: “I can’t trust myself around that food,” “it’s my weakness,” “it’s my guilty pleasure,” or “I’m being bad when I eat that.” And if you believe these things, of course you’re going to avoid certain foods!

The urge to binge or overeat when we are around foods we seldom allow ourselves to consume is a normal human response to deprivation. It’s not always conscious, but it is both a mental and physical response. When we do engage in these behaviors, it’s referred to as “last supper eating” because we tend to consume a food as though it’s the last time we will have it. And, indeed, it can feel that way because we truly don’t know when we will allow ourselves to have it again.

So what is the antidote for this?

In order to break this cycle of restriction and overeating, we must put those “trigger foods” on the same level as every other food we eat. Take the novelty out of them. Take the guilt and shame out of them. We do this by giving ourselves unconditional permission to eat them.

This unconditional permission does a few things:

  1. It removes the novelty from them and with that novelty goes the allure.
  2. It provides the reassurance to us that we can have those foods whenever we want, so we don’t need to overindulge as though we won’t have them again.
  3. Even if you at first overindulge in these foods once you give yourself permission to eat them, it will eventually level out and they will just become “normal” foods once that initial excitement wears off.

So, if you thought spraying hair spray onto your Halloween candy to prevent yourself from eating it was an appealing strategy, it’s probably because you rarely allow yourself candy or sweets to begin with. You may want to consider making candy a more run-of-the-mill presence in your life and see how that changes your relationship with it. And, from a nutritional perspective, this coach can assure you that having some candy from time to time or even a small piece of candy every day is perfectly fine. There is room in every healthy diet for some fun foods. And, having those fun foods regularly, makes your healthy eating habits more sustainable in the long-term.

photo of people having dinner together
June 7, 2021
Blog, Uncategorized

What to do when you overdo it

Feeling like you overate can be a really crummy feeling, but the tactics we tend to turn to in those instances typically aren’t helpful options. Skipping meals to compensate, overexercising, only eating certain foods – these tactics don’t work and promote unhealthy habits. Fact: you can’t “compensate” for overeating. So what should you do when this happens?

First, let go of trying to compensate for overeating. This simply is not how our bodies work. Your body has already digested and dealt with that food accordingly. It is not sitting in a reserve tank to be emptied and you can’t create a void in your body for that food to take up by creating a calorie deficit the next day. Furthermore, even if you do successfully undereat or overexercise the next day, your body will adjust for that accordingly. You may or may not notice it, but 2-3 days later you will be much hungrier than usual and eat more. Remember, our bodies evolved to keep us alive through periods of starvation. Finally, we don’t get to pick and choose what gets burned and what doesn’t.

Second, be realistic and take it easy on yourself. One day of overdoing it isn’t going to make a difference. One weekend of overdoing also probably won’t make a significant difference. You won’t gain 10 pounds overnight and you won’t “undo” any progress you’ve made. Something else to note, when I work with clients who feel like they went way overboard with their eating, very often when we actually map out what they ate, it’s not as much as they thought.

Third, still practice those healthy habits you’ve been working on. Remember, there is no proverbial wagon to fall off of, no proverbial train to derail. Every day is a new opportunity to pursue your goals and those 4 margaritas didn’t “ruin” that opportunity. So carry right on with eating in balance. Move your body. Drink plenty of water. Listen to your body.

If you want to avoid overdoing it the future, keep in mind the main reason why we engage in overeating is deprivation. When we don’t allow ourselves to eat certain things, when we dub certain foods “bad,” we give those foods all of our power. It’s human nature to respond to deprivation this way. The best way to make sure these overindulgence episodes happen rarely, is to give yourself permission to the eat the foods you want to eat when you want to eat them. Yes, absolutely, practice balance and make sure you’re also eating lots of veggies. But, chocolate cake doesn’t only have to happen on your birthday. Mashed potatoes and gravy don’t only have to happen on Thanksgiving. When we only let ourselves enjoy these foods once a year, that’s when we get into issues with last supper eating.

photo of people having dinner together
Trying to compensate for overeating is not the answer. Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

flat lay photography of vegetable salad on plate
April 22, 2021
Blog

You don’t need a meal plan. Here’s Why

It may seem like it’s the solution you need, but a meal plan probably won’t be very helpful…not in the long-term anyway.

Here’s the thing about a meal plan: it tells you what to eat and when but what happens when you’re not longer on it? What if you can’t afford to continue having someone write them for you? Or your nutritionist moves on? Or whatever program you’re doing ends?

You will probably resume the same eating habits you were accustomed to previously. And that is not your fault.

You see, a meal plan is really no different than a diet in that it forces you to overhaul all of your eating habits at once without teaching you any skills or helping you gain insight into your eating habits. The result? It’s not sustainable.

So if you are hoping to change your eating habits in the long-term, a meal plan is not the answer. In fact, unless you’re just looking for someone to plan your menu for you because you’re tapped out in terms of energy, creativity, and brain power, I don’t recommend them.

So what is more effective? Work with someone who can:

  • teach you how to compose a balanced meal and how to snack to keep you energized throughout the day
  • coach you in setting reasonable meal planning and prep goals
  • help you develop the skills you need to meal plan effectively
  • coach you in working through obstacles that may disrupt your meal plan

The difference is that skills continue on. They’re translatable. Meal plans are a one-time fix. So you’ll get way more “bang for your buck,” so to speak, focusing on picking up skills and strategy rather than having it done for you.

So before you seek out meal planning services from someone, ask yourself what your goals are and what you are hoping to get out of it. If your goals are more focused on long-term eating habits, that meal plan probably isn’t the best solution.

If you’re interested in learning how to make healthy eating work in your busy life, give me a shout.

September 22, 2020
Blog

The Trouble with Fitness Trackers

These days it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t have some type of wearable fitness tracker. You probably have one yourself. I have one – it’s on the floor between my bed and nightstand where it’s been gathering dust for months. Oops. From the Apple Watch to the Fitbit, these things are everywhere, but are these fitness trackers as beneficial as they seem?

Accuracy and Arbitrariness

The first issue with these trackers is that many of the goals they set for you are completely arbitrary. The goal of 10,000 steps, for example, is not some magic number that was arrived at after decades of scientific studies. It actually came from an ad campaign for a Japanese pedometer in the 1960s. And, while there are some studies that show it is beneficial to walk 10,000 steps a day, those studies also show that ANY amount of exercise is beneficial. So you need not beat yourself up if you come up short of your 10,000 step goal. Also, because any exercise is beneficial, you don’t need to worry about 10,000 steps PLUS your fitness class. You can do one or the other and still reap benefits.

Looking at the other possible goals a fitness tracker may set for you, keep in mind that these are not tailored to you, even if you enter your biometrics into their app. These are numbers based on general populations data. So those goals may not be right for you specifically.

When it comes to tracking those arbitrary goals, these devices vary widely in how accurate they are. For those of us who have a tendency towards obsessiveness or perfectionism, this could lead us to push ourselves too much for the sake of reaching that goal. Then there is the feeling of disappointment or defeat if you fail to reach your tracker goal as well. So it’s very important not to place too much stock in those numbers.

Tracking of Other Metrics

The newest fitness trackers can also track metrics like sleep and blood pressure, which may be very appealing to those who struggle in those areas. However, some evidence shows that these trackers could actually create or exacerbate issues in those areas just by tracking them because the tracking creates an anxiety there. Think about it, it’s hard to sleep if you’re worrying about getting enough sleep. Likewise, stressing about your blood pressure could impact your blood pressure.

The Slippery Slope

My major concern with wearables is how easy it can be for an otherwise healthy habit to turn into something destructive. Just as dieting can turn into eating disorders, fitness tracking can become disordered as well, leading to injury and health issues. We live in a culture where how little you ate, how much you exercised, and how much weight you lost are worn as badges of honor without regard to the toxic impacts that paradigm can have.

Fitness trackers can be a good source of motivation and can help show you (some of) the progress you’ve made. But they have significant limitations and drawbacks. If you’re wondering if fitness trackers are beneficial, make sure you consider these points.

Disclaimer: Please note that I am not a medical doctor and that none of the above information is to be construed as medical advice.

August 26, 2020
Blog

Dieting is the problem

Why do 90% of dieters regain the weight yet we keep turning to diets over and over again? The answer doesn’t lie in willpower or in sugar addiction or in the irresistibility of food additives. It lies in the nature of diets themselves.

First off, the diet industry thrives off promoting unrealistic (and often unhealthy) physical ideals. It makes a whole lot of promises about those ideals it knows it can’t keep. Regardless of whether they involve calorie counting, carb cutting, or fasting, essentially all diets drastically reduce the amount of calories that you eat so that you are consuming fewer calories than you burn. This is the weight loss equation: calories in < calories out.

The thing is that diets cut your calories to an unsustainable low to make sure you lose weight faster. However, you cannot sustain at those levels long-term. The adult body is not made to run off of 1200 calories – in fact, that amount is more suitable for a toddler. What happens in response to such low calorie intake over time? Cravings, obsessing over food, binging. Plus, your body slows down your metabolism in response to those reduced calories so that you must eat less and less in order to maintain (check out this great breakdown of your body’s adaptation to calorie restriction by Precision Nutrition).

When you deprive your body of energy (calories), nutrients, and the foods you enjoy, it’s not a matter of willpower. It’s basic human biology that makes you gain that weight back. It’s not a personal failing. Diets are made for weight loss, not maintenance, not keeping it off.

So, why do dieters regain the weight they lost? Because that’s what diets are designed for. So, please, keep that in mind before you sign up for your next weight loss challenge or before you start to beat yourself up for “falling off” your diet.

Want to learn more: check out my post on the difference between dieting and healthy eating.

August 14, 2020
Blog

It’s Not You; It’s Your Workout

Have you ever found it really hard to stay motivated to work out? If you find you have to drag yourself to the gym and you’re miserable the whole time, checking the clock constantly, it might not be an issue with motivation.

Our bodies need movement, yes, but our minds do, too. And our workouts shouldn’t be something that elicit dread or misery. Often, when this is the case, we blame ourselves, thinking we struggle to stay motivated to work out because we are lazy or out of shape or need more willpower. Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to blame ourselves like this because we’ve grown up surrounded by toxic diet culture. None of these self-critical things we think are true.

Here’s the thing, there is no one workout that is best for everyone. You and I could do the exact same workouts every single day and we would still look and feel completely different. You don’t have to do HIIT or pilates or run 5 miles.

The best type of exercise is the one you’ll do.

Let me say that again: the best type of exercise is the one you’ll do. Some maybe the problem isn’t motivated; maybe it’s that your workout just isn’t right for you.

Our bodies need movement but they don’t need Zumba specifically or step aerobics specifically. If you are struggling with your motivation to work out, tune in to your body and your mind. How do you feel physically and emotionally while you’re doing your workout? After your workout? Is there anything you enjoy about it (other than when it’s over)? What do you dislike most about it? What would your ideal workout look and feel like?

Use your answers to these questions to try new ways to exercise. What kind of movement you’re doing isn’t as important as whether or not you’re moving. If you’re skipping more workouts than you’re doing or you’re stressing out about them, then they’re not really very helpful. Just getting yourself moving will help improve your mood, relieve stress, improve your confidence, increase your energy levels, and have a number of physical benefits.

“But if I give up my current workout, isn’t that quitting?” No, it’s not. You’re making a proactive decision to seek out something that’s a better fit for you. “But if I keep pushing, won’t my workout get easier?” Technically yes, but you must be consistent for that to happen and easier does not necessarily mean less miserable.

There is no shame in trading in a workout routine that isn’t working for you.

There is no point in sabotaging yourself with something that doesn’t work. You owe it to yourself to find a workout routine that suits you. So search for online classes, try out a new studio, pick up some weights – whatever works for you!

Click here to learn about the different types of exercise to start your exploration.

August 7, 2020
Blog

Should You Use a Protein Powder?

Protein supplements are pretty much all the rage right now, but should you be using protein powder? Great question! I’m so glad you asked.

Do You *NEED* a Protein Powder?

Before you decide to add a protein supplement to your routine, there are a number of things to consider, the first one being, do you even need it?

In the strictest sense, supplements fill in your nutritional need gaps as a supplement your regular diet. Protein deficiency is extremely rare here in the US, even amongst plant-based eaters. So, chances are, if you’re an average person who is able to consume a balanced diet, you probably don’t *need* a protein powder.

That being said, some circumstances can increase your protein needs. For example, if you are not able to get adequate protein from your diet, whether due to lack of access to protein rich foods, lack of time, or issues with digesting protein. Another reason could be that you need more protein to support physical activity. Our bodies use protein to repair and rebuild, so if you engage in a lot of very strenuous exercise, then you will have greater protein needs than your next door neighbor with a desk job who walks his dog twice a day. And on that note about protein being used to rebuild and repair, if you are recovering from illness or injury, that could also increase your protein needs. Finally, we must consider the convenience factor. It’s definitely easier to toss a protein shake into your gym bag than a steak. So occasionally adding in a protein shake can help on those on-the-go days.

If you’re in doubt about your protein needs, speak with your physician, trainer, or dietician. (Note: I do not work with athletes)

Protein Quality

It’s important to note that the supplement industry in the US is notorious unregulated. This means that there could be issues with quality, ingredients, formulations or health claims and we, as consumers, may never know. So you need to be very cautious and informed when choosing your protein powder. Fortunately, third party resources, such as Labdoor.com and Consumerlab.com, independently test supplements for purity. You won’t find every protein powder available on there, but you will find many.

One thing to watch out for are supplements (almost always in the MLM category) that loudly brag about large numbers of scientific studies that back up their purity or efficacy. Those studies very often are either conducted by or funded by the company that makes the supplements and, therefore, cannot be assumed reliable. If you cannot obtain the actual study documentation and findings or cannot determine who conducted the study, it’s a red flag.

What Type of Protein?

So you’ve read this far. You’ve decided that you would like to use a protein powder. Now what?

Protein powders come in all sorts of varieties – whey protein, pea protein, soy protein, rice protein, even cranberry protein (WTF, right?)! Which one you choose is really up to you – your dietary preferences or allergies, price point, etc. In terms of athletic performance, studies really haven’t found any huge difference between protein types, but you will still see a preference for whey among many body builders.

Whether or not you were already a protein user, I hope this was informative. If you have questions about adding a dietary supplement to your routine, you should consult a qualified professional.

- Theme by Grace Themes

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