From Portion Distortion to Mindful Eating

By Michelle May, M.D.

Portion sizes have increased dramatically over the last few decades, requiring us to be proactive in our effort to eat moderately. Traditional approaches to “portion control” such as weighing and measuring food are often ineffective for the long term because they are require too much time and energy and they are disconnected from our body’s needs.

A simpler and more practical approach to eating moderate portions is to use your innate hunger and fullness signals as your guide. Despite the super-sized servings we often encounter, we can create a habit of eating to the point of “just right” rather than “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” When the focus is on feeling good rather than being good, common sense will prevail.

Try these basic strategies to manage your intake based on awareness of your body’s natural cues, rather than using external rules:

How much food do I need?

Before you start eating, think about how you want to feel afterward. Do you want to feel content and comfortable, or stuffed and miserable?

• Imagining that your stomach is like a balloon inside your abdominal cavity. Gauge your hunger and fullness levels by picturing your balloon before, during, and after eating.
• Decide how full you want to feel when you are done eating; in other words, how full do you want your balloon to be?
• Estimate how much food it will take to get you to that level of fullness.
• Prepare, serve, or order that amount of food.
• If you serve or receive too much, move or remove the excess.
• Physically divide your food in half to create a “speed bump” – a reminder to re-assess your hunger and fullness level.

Check in during eating

• Calm yourself with a few deep breaths before eating. Remind yourself that it is just food.
• Remind yourself to stay focused on your food and how you are feeling.
• Pause for a couple of minutes when you reach your “speed bump” to notice how full you feel.
• Keep in mind that the feeling of fullness is often delayed and estimate how much more food, if any, it will take you to get to your desired fullness level.
• Re-center and calm yourself with a few deep breaths.
• Notice when your taste buds become less sensitive and food doesn’t hold your full attention.
• Pay attention to how full your balloon feels inside your belly.

Signal that you’re done

When you think you have had enough, let yourself (and others) know that you’re done eating:

• Put your napkin and fork over your plate on top of the food.
• Announce to someone at the table that you are done.
• Clear your plate and the table right away.
• Get up from the table.
• Chew a piece of gum or a mint or brush your teeth.
• Plan to take a walk or do something else you’ll look forward to.
• Remind yourself how you wanted to feel when you were done eating.
• Remember that you will feel even fuller in just a short while.

I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!

• If you’ve overeaten, don’t miss the lesson. What can you learn from this experience?
• Sit for a few moments to notice how you feel when you overeat—without judging or shaming yourself.
• Focus on the sensations so you’ll remember them the next time you’re tempted to overeat.
• Ask yourself, “Why did it happen?” For example: Was I too hungry? Did I tell myself it was a special occasion? Did I eat too fast? Was I distracted? Was I eating for emotional reasons? Was there too much food on my plate? Do I hate to waste food?
• Ask yourself, “What could I do differently next time?” For example, serve or order less food; pay attention while eating; ask for a to-go container before I start eating.
• Then, wait and see how long it takes for you to get hungry again. What you are hungry for now?

With practice, you’ll learn to trust your body to let you know how much to eat.

Michelle May, M.D. is a recovered yoyo dieter and the award-winning author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat. Download a copy of 101 Things to Do Besides Eat at www.AmIHungry.com

Copyright 2011, Michelle May, M.D. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, email enews@AmIHungry.com

Added Flexibility Improves Heart Health?

By: Suzanne Andrew

We’re all used to thinking of improved flexibility as something that primarily benefits the muscular and skeletal systems in the body.  We start practicing yoga to relieve back pain, or are prescribed stretches to help with sciatica.  We add stretching to our workout routines in hopes of improving sports performance or intuitively stretch to counteract the pain and stiffness of working at a computer all day.

However, just as important as these benefits of stretching out the muscles and improving joint flexibility are the really exciting results of stretching the arteries and veins of the cardiovascular system, the nerves of the nervous system and the lymph ducts of the lymph system.  As detailed in this article, science is now supporting stretching for improved flexibility as having a whole host of health benefits.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-soram-khalsa/yoga-health-the-flexibili_b_570848.html

So improved flexibility seems to equate to improved heart health, not just in more flexible arteries and veins; but also there seems to be a direct correlation between improved flexibility and lower blood pressure.

That means today a yoga practice, begin a regular stretching routine or come see me regularly for Thai Yoga Massage; and help not just your muscles and joints feel better, but help improve your heart health!

Suzanne Andrew is a Thai Yoga Massage Therapist and Wellness Coach in St. Petersburg, FL.  Contact her directly to schedule a customized session.  Suzanne@TryThaiYogaMassage.com, www.TryThaiYogaMassage.com or 727-641-6941

Eat Real Food Recipe: Hearty Chicken and Vegetable Soup

We just had our first crisp day of “fall-ish” weather here in Florida last weekend and all I could think about is soup! I came up with this recipe for a nourishing, hearty soup that definitely stands alone as a meal. Use free-range organic chicken and organic veggies for optimal health benefit.

Ingredients:

2 bone-in chicken breast halves

2 stalks of celery (sliced)

2 medium carrots (sliced)

1 small onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

2 medium red potatoes (cubed)

1 yellow squash (cubed)

1 zucchini (cubed)

1 cup of spinach (chopped)

1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 32 oz. box of chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Add all of the above ingredients into a large pot. Bring to boil, then turn heat down to medium for about 30 minutes. Simmer for at least an hour or until chicken is cooked and vegetable are the desired softness. Once chicken is done, remove it from the pot and pull the meat off the bone and chop it into bite sized pieces. If you want your  veggies softer, turn up the heat to high while you are prepping the chicken. Put the chicken meat back in the pot and simmer for just a bit longer. You can also make this recipe in a crock pot.

Makes 4-6 servings

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This October, Enliven Wellness Works is proud to sponsor National Breast Cancer Awareness Month—a time to promote regular mammograms and increase early detection of breast cancer. About 1 in 8 women in the United States will get breast cancer. Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer in women. Mammograms can help find breast cancer early when there is the best chance for treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.

• If you are a woman between ages 50 and 74, you need a mammogram every 2 years.
• If you are younger than 50 or older than 74, talk with your doctor about whether you need a mammogram.

These are general guidelines. Talk to a doctor about your risk for breast cancer, especially if breast or ovarian cancer runs in your family. Your doctor can help you decide when and how often to get a mammogram.

Enliven Wellness Works helps raise awareness for prevention of disease with our on-site workplace wellness programs.  Want to get a wellness program started at your work site? For more information, visit www.enlivenwellnessworks.com.

5 Simple Tricks to Add Stretching and Strengthening to Your Day

By: Suzanne Andrew

No time for a regular workout today?  Try these  5 simple tricks to add more strengthening, stretching, balance and breath into your day-to-day living. While working out daily is great, it can be just as important to build a daily routine of adding little bits of exercise into routine activities.

1.  Stand while working on your computer.  If you’re not lucky enough to have an adjusting desk, work at a bar-height table, or make your own work platform by using books, overturned trash cans or milk crates to create the height needed for your computer. Standing while working on the computer helps strengthen the legs, back and torso, increase blood flow thruout the body and create a better posture for deeper breathing.

2. Balance on one foot while folding laundry.  Laundry folding has to be one of the most boring chores in the world; use it as a great opportunity to work on building balance and strength in the lower legs.  Switch from leg to leg every few minutes, and make this boring chore at least useful for your physical body conditioning.

3.   Go backless while driving.  Spend a short drive with the seat back reclined so far that you have to use your core muscles for strength to sit up instead of leaning on the structure of the seat back.

4.  Sweep and shovel instead of leaf-blowing or snow-blowing.  Sweeping and shoveling are excellent aerobic exercises that also strengthen the arms and upper torso muscles.   Sweeping and shoveling just might give you a great opportunity to focus on some deep breathing techniques, too.

5.  Sit on the floor and stretch to watch TV.  As tempting as it is to just sink down into the couch to watch TV after a long day; try sitting in the middle of the floor instead.  Stretch your body in a variety of ways, work the kinks out of your neck and back, make circles with your wrists and ankles, and practice some long, slow breaths.

Feeling better in our bodies isn’t something that needs to be put on hold while we do our chores or work; we can integrate movement and breath into all our routine activities, and do them in such a way they yield maximum benefit. Ahhhh…..

Suzanne Andrew is a Thai Yoga Massage Therapist and Health Consultant based in St. Petersburg, Florida, who at this very minute is walking home with her groceries in a backpack to add a little extra exercise into the shopping chore.  Contact her to schedule your customized session today: www.TryThaiYogaMassage.com or 727-641-6941.

Pack a Lunch with Style

By: Jennifer Oppelt

Whether you are packing school lunches for the kiddos or your own to bring to work, there are many great options for keeping food fresh without causing negative impact on the environment. And while your at it, you may as well look fabulously stylish with some new pack and go containers!

To accomplish this task, here are a few guidelines to follow:

#1 -  Eliminate waste – get out of the plastic baggie mentality and invest in some high quality re-usable containers.

#2 – Get rid of plastic – or, at least go BPA free for your storage containers. Look for stainless steel, glass, silicone and even cloth as even better alternatives.

#3 – Buy something you like – you will be more likely to use you new eco-friendly meal on-the-go items if you love the way they look. Also, when it comes to eating more mindfully, pleasant feelings are created when you like the way your food looks when you eat and serve it. I know I feel happy and proud of my commitment to the environment and my health when I eat my salad out of a glass storage container as opposed to the disposable plastic-ware that I used to use.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Smart Planet – Eco Silicone Collapsible Lunch Box – Stylish and space saving! These come in smaller sizes too.

POMO 2-tier Stainless Steel Lunch Box – Cute as a button! This one would be great for salad in the bottom and a snack for later in the top tier.

Kids Konserve Caterpillar Go Wild Waste-Free Lunch Kit – Here’s a great “ready to go” kids lunch kit for you with everything you need!

Kid Konserve Food Kozy - Stop buying plastic baggies and use these for sandwiches, meat and cheese slices, fruit and veggie slices and more!

Lifefactory Glass Beverage Bottle – I love this glass water bottle! Stylish, easy to clean and ultra earth friendly.

Graze Organic Create Your Own Lunch Kit  – Super hip, that’s all I have to say!

One more resource that I’d like to mention is Weelicious. They have a great website full of recipes and packed lunch ideas for the “wee ones” in your life.

Happy, eco-friendly, stylish lunching everyone!

Real Food Recipe: Protein Pancakes

By: Hot and Healthy Mom

Pancakes and health food are not typically found in the same sentence. Most are made with refined white flour and topped with sugar-laden syrups. Delicious? Absolutely.  A healthy way to start the day? Uh, no.

Lately I have noticed when we go out to breakfast as a family my daughter’s go-to has been an order of pancakes topped heavily with syrup. It wouldn’t be my first, second or even third food choice for her but because she is such a picky-eater frankly I’m just happy she’s actually eating. After she started asking for pancakes at home, I decided to find a healthier alternative. I am rather proud to say – mission accomplished!

Here’s how to make the perfect protein pancake for your family this weekend:

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup rolled oats

- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

- 1/2 cup egg whites

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

- pinch of cinnamon

Preparation:

1.  Blend all ingredients until smooth

2.  Pour approximately 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto heated griddle or non-stick pan (check to see if its hot enough with a splash of water-if it sizzles, its hot enough)

3.  When pancake bubbles, flip and cook the other side

4.  Top with frozen, organic strawberries-warmed  and sliced and poured over the top with their juices. Or substitute fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or bananas. Warming the berries bring out the fruit’s natural juices. If that’s not sweet enough for you drizzle a bit of agave nectar on the pancake. Enjoy!

Nutrition per pancake (recipe yields 6):

260 calories, 3g fat, 25g protein, 33g carbohydrates