Don't expect it to come naturally

When you are working on making a change, it is called "work" because that is what it is. I believe that if you expect good eating habits suddenly to come naturally to you, you are doomed to fail.

What this pretty much means is that you must train yourself to be extremely aware of everything going on around you. You must notice every time you are about to put something on your plate, or in your mouth. You must consciously think of that food and decide if it is a good decision, or not.

And boy is this hard work! Sometimes you will succeed in sticking to what you know to be right, and sometimes you won't. But at the end of the day, when you look back and see you "succeeded" at lunch but "failed" at dinner, realize what a big success the success was!

Here is an example of what could go through your head at a given meal:
"Ooh, I love this food! And boy am I starving!"
"But why am I eating? What do I want for myself? Big picture please!"
"I really, really, really want to be happy. I want to feel good physically, emotionally and spiritually. And that would mean that it isn't worth it for me to eat too much right now because I will not feel good on any of those levels."
"But I really want lots of that food. Anyway, I need it because I'm starving and I don't know when the next time is I'll have time to eat."
"Just because I'm starving, that doesn't mean I should leave the meal stuffed. I should just try from now on not to get to my meals starving. And as for the next time I will be eating, eating too much now is very bad for me, no matter if I'll be able to eat again in 3 hours or 6 hours."

Sometimes you will absolutely not have strength to have that conversation in your head. But when you do, just do it! :)

Why do we eat?

You've probably heard this one before. We don't live to eat. We eat to live... But at some point, most of us have gotten into the habit of eating for the taste, the texture, the eating experience. Imagine if instead, you were eating with full kavana (intent?) of nourishing and healing your body?! What an amazing experience that would be!

I was telling someone, today, that I wish I could be at the level where I was eating to live. She said I must be sure not to try to take the enjoyment away from eating.

But imagine... If you could eat that delicious meal, just the amount that your body needs, no more, no less. How much more enjoyable would the eating experience be? You would no longer have all the negative connotations that go along with eating the wrong foods and/or the wrong amounts.

It would be such a healthy level of eating because you would be eating what you need, the amount you need, and without the stress of feeling bad in any way.

Do not fear! I realize this is something most of us will not be achieving tomorrow but I do think it's important to know what the ideal is.

Does this sound like a positive goal to be striving towards?

Don't tell cabbies you're a nutritionist!

I have learned very quickly that it is not a good idea to tell the cab driver that I'm a nutritionist. Think about it, they have you stuck in a closed space with them for a good few minutes. It's the perfect opportunity for them to tell mooch you for all you're worth.

So, one day last week, I guess I was bored, because when my cab driver asked me what I do, I told him! So he wanted me to tell him how he could lose weight. I asked him, jokingly, if we were going to barter - my advice in exchange for the cab ride. Of course not, he said!

He started pouring his heart out to me. He told me that it was impossible to diet in his job. And then he told me his biggest sin: He couldn't stay away from bread.

Innocently, I asked him, "What is wrong with bread?"

"Ze Mashmin!" He answered. It is fattening?

"There is no such thing as a fattening food. It just depends how much of it you eat," I said. "Why don't you eat whole wheat bread?"

"What is the difference between white and whole wheat?"

"Whole wheat has a whole bunch of very important things like vitamins, minerals and fiber which are taken out when they make the whole wheat into white."

Talk about society offering us a lousy nutrition education. He "knows" bread is bad but he doesn't know the difference between white and whole wheat bread.

I also told him he should make sandwiches at home instead of having to buy things while out.

At the end, the bill came out to 20.50NIS. He said, "For you, 20NIS!" "My profession is only worth half a shekel?!" I asked, as if in shock. So he said that the next time I got a ride with him, if my advice had "worked" then he would give me three free cab rides.

Yes, next time I must remember not to tell my cab driver what I do for a living!

A Watched Pot Doesn't Boil

Have you ever heard that saying? And how ridiculous yet true it is. When we want something really badly, we have a hard time focusing on anything else but that one thing. But the more we focus on that thing, the longer it takes for it to happen.

Is that true or is it just a figment of our imagination?

I think there is a real side to this and a psychological side. Lets use as an example, weight-loss, of course.

People are often very caught up in their strong will to lose weight. If only they could lose those extra pounds (or kgs), then they would be so much happier.

But if, when making lifestyle changes, one focuses too much on the weight-loss aspect of their changes, there are extremely serious and negative drawbacks to this.

Weight-loss happens slowly. When you focus on something intensely, when it is something that happens slowly, it is extremely, extremely aggravating! So, the second hand on the clock looks like it is ticking so slowly, it almost looks as if it's going backwards!

Now, if the only reason the person is changing their lifestyle is in order to lose weight, and they don't see quick changes, then they lose the motivation to continue with the changes and then, the second hand will, in fact, start moving backwards. Because the person is no longer sticking with the changes.

Now that Deena has written a whole megilla, what is she trying to say?

Stop watching the pot.

1. Make a list of reasons you want to be eating better and exercising. Weight loss should only be 1 of many reasons.

2. Also, try to make those two changes as enjoyable as possible.

3. Keep living and work on loving yourself as you are because you are still going to be the same person once you lose the excess inches, please G-d!

Changing your perspective is a tough thing to do but if you look at weight loss as a nice extra that will happen from living a healthy life, then you have a chance of succeeding and keeping the weight off.

Food will be wasted. Better it than you.

The title of this blog is pretty much the point. Much food, these days, is wasted. It's hard to see so much food going into the garbage. Especially when we know that there is so much hunger in the world.

But, as harsh as this sounds, our dinner leftovers are not going to Africa nor, it seems, even to needy families within our close vicinity.

If world hunger is an issue that bothers you, it definitely seems a worthy cause about which to become active.

But meanwhile, this is the situation. And many people eat too much because of it. They feel bad to "waste" the food. But eating it when you don't need it will not change it into "useful". If anything, it may be considered even more detrimental than if you were to just throw it out.

Things you don't need go into the garbage (if you have no way to get them to someone who does need them). And you are not a garbage can.

In order to practice leaving food over on your plate and others' plates, try to purposely leave some food over at every meal. Practice never leaving a plate totally clean.

And if you feel up to it, find out how you can contribute to lessening the level of starvation in the world.

But these are two different issues. And if anything, you need to keep yourself healthy and strong in order to be able to help make the world a better place.

How long will it take till I see a difference?

What is this difference that you are waiting to see? Is it 1, 2, 3 sizes less than you are today? Would you like to be eating perfectly?

People often have a hard time with the time aspect of change. They really want to see results right away. It's so aggrivating that it takes a while - sometimes even a "long time" - to "see" a difference.

But in order to succeed you must be realistic. It is so hard to change (have I mentioned that yet?!), especially, I think, when it comes to food. So if you want to see a difference right away, you have to change what you are focusing on.

Here is a list of some things you can look at and consider a "step-in-the-right-direction" difference:

1. I am becoming more aware of what I put in my mouth.
2. I ate a little less cake than I would have last week.
3. One day, when I was bored, I was conscous of the fact that my eating was not a result of hunger and I was conscious of everything that went into my mouth.
4. I didn't bring home as much junk food from the supermarket than I did last week.
5. I made sure to drink enough water.
6. I am trying to figure out what excercise I would enjoy and might even be able to stick to.
7. I am becoming more aware of my hunger/satiety feelings.

When you think about how deep and complex this whole issue is, you realize that you must focus on the kinds of things mentioned above in order to be able to continue in the right, healthy direction, with a positive outlook on yourself and your possibilities.

What do you want to read about?

Please let me know what you would like me to write about. You can either tell me a specific subject or maybe you'd like to ask a question. I will try to accommodate you as much as possible.

Thanks!

White versus whole grains

I have a table that I made up comparing whole wheat flour to white flour. I can't actually post it here. Feel free to write me and I'll send it to you. But you should just know that it's amazing to see really, what a big difference there is between the two. White flour has almost no vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc. and whole wheat flour is an extremely rich source of all of those, and more! I hope that one day whole wheat bread will be the subsidized one and not white bread. I think that will help save the health of our country.

Oil. Oy! Such language on a family-oriented website!

I don't understand how so many of you are eating your salad without dressing. I understand this is a leftover from the low-fat diet craze in America. But wouldn't it be so much tastier with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar and salt?

Olive oil is so healthy and research is showing that such low-fat diets are not necessarily the way to go. That doesn't mean you have to start drinking the stuff but come on! If you want to put some on a salad, by all means, go for it! And enjoy!

A conducive environment to change

Please don't expect humanly impossible things from yourself! As I wrote in my last posting, you need to make decisions for small changes, not big ones (and, as I said, small changes are big ones!).

Another unbelievably important factor for change is a supportive environment. Each person has to figure out what that is for him/her. I see it happening in a few facades:

1. At home. It's not fair to set yourself up for failure. You would do that by having junky, unhealthy foods in your home. You have them there either because you like them, because another family member likes them or because you like to have them for guests. Is this worth your health? Well, I suppose shalom bayit (peace in the home) is worth it... You must figure out a way to make your home into a protective place for you. You may not get all the junk food out of the house in 1 day but you and your fellow family members can start working on this change. Maybe you will only have it in your house on Shabbat and then you will throw out any leftovers. Each family has to figure out what is good for them.

As I say over and over again, change is not easy, especially when other people are involved, so you have to figure out a sensible way to start the change.

2. Supportive friend(s). You may want to find a friend who will be your "Healthy Eating Partner". You call each other, maybe daily, to discuss your ups and downs. You can give each other chizuk (strengthening) and ideas about how to overcome hurdles. When you really want that piece of cake, you can call her and talk to her about it.

I see that one of the things that helps people, is to be doing something for someone else, as opposed to for themselves. With your supportive friend, when you stay on track, you are doing it as much for her as for yourself because through your actions, you are giving her strength and the feeling that she can succeed too.

3. Professional support. So many people feel they need someone who is beyond a personal relationship in order to help them succeed. One of my clients says she feels her "motivation wave" slowing down before she comes to me, and then our meeting give a big push and get her back on track. A professional person is objective and so will be able to see things you, your family and your friends may not be able to see. A professional will also be able to make sure you are making healthy decisions and not, G-d forbid, decisions based on the latest nutrition idea traveling through the grapevine.

Remember: You are human and nothing more. You must help yourself succeed. You must be realistic. And in my opinion, this will include starting, hopefully today, to build yourself a conducive environment for the change!

In nutrition (and maybe life in general), a small change is a big one

People are very overwhelmed by nutrition. The path between the way we are eating and the way we should be eating seems very, very long.

The truth is, we do have a long way to go. But even small steps in your eating habits, are big steps.

For example, if you were to make one, single decision: to eat only sitting down. That means that you are not going to focus on anything else. You will probably eat the cookie. But you won't just take the cookie out of its box and eat it, standing in the middle of the kitchen. You will take that cookie, sit down next to the table, and then you will eat it.

Many people feel this is a realistic expectation of themselves - to eat only sitting down - and it will have so many positive repercussions for you. You will be more aware of what you eat. You will probably eat less. You will have more of an idea of what you eat, especially since you won't really be able to eat straight out of pots on the stove.

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your perfect eating habits. You are fighting against society and deeply engrained habits. But if you are realistic, and take it one step at a time, you can succeed!

What is food to you?

We have all heard the saying "Eat to live, don't live to eat." So the answer to the question asked above should theoretically be, "Food is what I use to nourish me and give me energy in order to live a productive life."

I don't know about that. If that is true, why did G-d make food so enjoyable? Why is food one of the most enjoyable things we experience?

I do believe that the bottom line of food is to "eat to live". I also think that he who "lives to eat" should reconsider the meaning in his life. But it seems to me, just like most things in life, that there is the "shvil hazahav" (the golden path). The middle path. That means, in my opinion, that you should be eating in order to nourish yourself but by all means, enjoy!

This perfect way of experiencing your food, would mean eating only what you need, how much you need, and enjoying that food.

My experience has been that if any of us ever had that shvil hazahav (we probably did when we were young children), we lost it.

Think about it. If at one meal you eat too much because you are enjoying the food so much, you have the bad feeling afterwards (psychologically and physically). But if you didn't eat too much, how much more enjoyable is the experience?!

And, of course, how much more holy an experience is that?

Bete'avon!

Feeding your kid 17 tsp. sugar a day

Here is a quote from www.mercola.com about a study regarding children's intake of added sugar:

"To find out the effects added sugars had on kids' diets the researchers analyzed the data of over 5,000 children ranging in age from 2 to 5. They focused on the amount of added sugars the children consumed in relation to their important nutrient intake. The results of the study confirmed that the more added sugars kids ate, the less they benefited from key nutrients such as fiber, protein, calcium, iron and folate.

"The most disconcerting results were the breakdown of added sugar intake. The study revealed that in the 2- to 3-year-old group, average consumption of added sugar was around 14 teaspoons a day. This number jumped to 17 daily teaspoons a day among 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds."

The study can be found at: Journal of Pediatrics January 2005;146(1):105-11

Dr. Mercola gives a few very good recommendations for your children:
1. Increase physical activity
2. Eliminate soda
3. Decrease or eliminate TV time

He then says:
"TV is one of the most pernicious influences on health and I couldn't recommend stopping it more strongly. Not only will it decrease your child's activity level, but also it will expose them to commercials promoting worthless foods. Parents need to step in and set guidelines as to how much TV their children should watch and also encourage them to participate in sports or other physical activities instead of watching TV.

"Interestingly, cutting out the TV will also decrease their risk of going into debt."

Getting back to food. I am well aware of the fact that many parents have tried to give their kids healthy food but the kids prefer the less healthy alternatives. This is not easy but it is not an impossible situation, most of the time. I will write more about this later but in short, keep trying. That is pretty much the key to success. Try the same food a few times. Try different foods. If the kid didn't like a food a few months ago, that doesn't mean that now he still won't like it.

Keep trying!

Margarine - Is it a food?

Please be careful! Margarine-like products are terribly, terribly unhealthy. It is so bad for you that in Denmark, it has become illegal to sell as a food, any product with over a certain percentage of these hydrogenated fats. Please G-d, that will come here because right now the consumption is high, considering the fact that it is in a very large percentage of baked goods, crackers, certain ice creams, etc.

Their artificial molecular structure seem to not get along with our bodies at all. They contribute to artery-clogging and other diseases as well.

Yes, you can make cookies with oil. And on Shabbat, I had a cake made with only olive oil! So, experiment. It's a good investment in your health.

Healthy foods are expensive

Whoever has bought "healthy" foods knows that they are often expensive compared to the "unhealthy" versions. For example, a loaf of whole wheat bread could be 2-4 times more expensive than white bread.

First of all, I hope that will change. The price is obviously not based on the amount of work that has to go into these products since, as we know, whole wheat flour goes through less processing, not more, than white flour. The difference in price must be connected to the supply and demand factor. Because of this, hopefully, the more people buy it, the more will be made and the more the prices will go down (you economists, please let me know if I'm totally off!).

But meanwhile, what should you do? Look at what you are spending money on, as objectively as possible. There may be things you could cut out in order to have the extra money for the whole foods.

At the gym that I work at, a woman told me something that really blew me away. She had just signed up and she said she cancelled her TV cable and used that exact money to sign up to the gym. How beautiful is that?! You take the money that is being used for something that is mostly distructive and start using it for something so productive!

So, are you buying junk food? How about soda/pop? How much processed foods do you buy? How about ready made frozen (tivol is a fortune!), ready made cereals... How often do you leave the house without food in your bag so that you are forced to buy something to eat while out?

Think about it. The price for a piece of pizza is almost equal to the price for a loaf of whole wheat bread!

I shall never claim change is easy but please give yourself a priority check. If there is a certain unhealthy food (chocolate, soda, candy) you feel you must have in the house but you don't have enough money for whole wheat bread, you might want to rethink your priorities. Because what your body "must" have is whole grains and other whole foods that will protect you and keep you healthy, please G-d, till 120!

Which olive oil?

It is important that the olive oil you buy says on it "extra virgin" and "cold pressed". Extra virgin means it's the oil that comes out the first time the olives are crushed. Cold pressed means they didn't use heat to extract the oil (which they do for pretty much any other oil, especially the more processed ones). Both of these are important in order to get all the healthy nutrients from your olive oil. Yes, it's more expensive. I can't tell you what to do but I can tell you, it definitely is a worth while investment.

Ups and Downs

Come on, people! Don't be so hard on yourself! If anything, a positive attitude will help you work towards the healthier lifestyle you want for yourself. Everyone has their ups and downs. It seems to be an integral part of the journey. So when you don't eat exactly as you want, look at it as a down before an up, and nothing more. Feel good that you are working on making the change. And remember, change is probably the hardest thing in life so no wonder it's not easy for you! But you must believe that if you persist, you will succeed.

Eating Out

Surprisingly enough, your stomach does not suddenly grow when you go to a restaurant. Nor does your metabolism speed up. This means... you need not eat more at a restaurant than you do at home. So, picture what your plate would look like if you were at home and figure out a way to eat only that amount at the restaurant.

The problem is that most people have a hard time eating only what they need when, in fact, they have much more than they need right in front of them. So, you might want to ask the waitor to immediately put half the dish in a container to take home, before you've even started eating!

Always try to remember what it is you really want. Is it to enjoy a certain food for a few seconds or to live and long, happy, vibrant life until 120?

Dieting without dieting

I strongly dislike the word "diet". I feel it has such negative connotations. Some people get so defensive just by the word that they immediately eat more when they even think of it.

Here is an article that talks about dieting without dieting:
http://www.aish.com/torahportion/baars/How_to_Lose_Weight_without_Dieting.asp
For someone who hates the word, I sure use it a lot!

Vitamin A and hypothyroidism

It may help to eat plenty of dark green and orange veggies. Of course it's important to be getting enough iodine (from sea salt) but in one study, vitamin A did wonders for people with hypothyroidism. So, here's one more reason to eat our dark veggie friends!

The Non Diet Approach

Do you see a theme here? : ) Here is a website that explains what the Non Diet Approach is all about: http://www.umerl.maine.edu/dining/nutritionprog/nondietapp.htm
And here is a website that goes more into depth: http://www.hugs.com/

Enjoy!

Quotes from How to Lose Weight without Dieting

Rabbi Baars is one of my favorite rabbis. He is unbelievably insightful in an extremely real way. His article is based on the quote from Parshat Ekev that says, "Man cannot live by bread alone but by all that proceeds from the mouth of G-d." (Deuteronomy 8:3)

He also quote Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra saying, "Wisdom is to the soul, as food is to the body."

Rabbi Baars says: "What this verse is telling us is that since man cannot live on bread alone, he will either fill that extra space with real meaning - a relationship with his Creator, or he will look for substitutes to that meaning, such as food."

He also says: "Notice that the more meaningful a day you're having, the less your desire for food. We have all experienced days full of excitement and fulfillment when our desire to eat just seemed to disappear... When life is fulfilling, then we look less to food for satisfaction. We have something other than bread to be nourished by."

"Next time you find yourself looking to cookies to pick you up, hesitate a little. Try to define what it is you really want to achieve. Using cookies to obtain real meaning and fulfillment will only lead you further away from that place you truly desire."

"Don't give chocolate cake to a hungry soul."

He asks: "Do you spend as much time fulfilling your spiritual needs as you do your bodily needs? When was the last time your soul felt satisfied?

Nutrition myths galore!

As a nutritionist, people are constantly telling me what they've heard. It's scary. Only eat this, never eat that... The list goes on and on. My motto is, "Don't go crazy." So learn interesting, informative things about nutrition and then work slowly on making positive changes to your diet.