Smart Bytes™
Feeling nutrition info overload? I will help you sort through to find what’s important to you. Read more. . .
Video Interview with Dan Buettner: Is community vital to a Blue Zones lifestyle?
What makes a lifestyle that supports a long, healthy life? In the first part of my interview with Dan Buettner, he discussed the components of a healthy lifestyle that he discovered in the Blue Zones of the world, where people live long and healthfully. Now the big questions: what does it take to live this lifestyle? Can we do it on our own? What kind of support matters? Can we create communities that make healthy choices easier than unhealthy ones? That certainly does not describe life in most U.S. communities today. Here’s what Dan Buettner says in the second half of our interview. Please check it out and then join in for discussion.
Nutrition Distraction Disorder: Fight it with Sloppy Success
Nutrition Distraction Disorder: If it were a real diagnosable condition, a lot of people would have it. Do you? Whether I’m at a speaking engagement or simply watching the headlines, I’ve noticed lately how many people are dipping a toe in the pool of a healthier lifestyle, and then jumping out and running to something else. They never stick with a change long enough to feel the benefits, and are frazzled from trying to keep up with the latest “sure-fire” nutrition strategy.
On a conference call recently, my valued colleague Bridget Swinney, MS, RD shared one of the take-home messages from a writers’ conference she recently attended: “Sloppy Success is better than Perfect Procrastination.” That may have been said regarding writing, but I think it’s relevant to much more. Let’s look at how some imperfect changes to your eating habits and lifestyle might be the answer to replace “Nutrition Distraction Disorder”. Continue reading
Drainers & Fillers
How often do you get to the end of a day and feel totally spent….as if your inner “well” has run completely dry?
Drainers & Fillers out of balance make it hard to live a healthy lifestyle
Many kind and wonderful clients over the years have described feeling that way often. They came to me seeking help in addressing a weight or health problem. Yet as we talked, it didn’t take long to see that they were involved in a chicken-or-the-egg scenario: They weren’t eating well or exercising because they were burned out, lacking the time and physical or mental energy to do so. And because they pushed so hard in life without taking care of themselves, they became more and more zapped of energy.
What I learned in working with these clients is that we probably all benefit from stopping now and then to look at the balance in our lives of Drainers and Fillers.
Secrets for Eating More Vegetables – And loving it!
Can eating more vegetables fit realistically in your life and actually be fun? It’s one of the most common goals among audiences to whom I speak, clients, and friends. Despite over 20 years of messages that we need to eat mor
e, average U.S. consumption remains essentially unchanged, with only a quarter of adults consuming even the minimum target of 5 servings/day, much less the larger amounts linked with optimal health.
To get some ideas on how we can boost vegetables and fruits AND enjoy it, I’m turning to Mary Lynn Farivari, RD, author of one of my favorite sources of inspiration as I cook for family and friends: Healthy Palate, Delicious and Simple Recipes to Enhance Meals with Fruits and Vegetables. Continue reading
Soup: How to make it a smart strategy for nutrition & weight control
For many people, soup brings an image of a cozy comfort food that just has to be good for you. Here, an update on what studies say about soup and some tips on how it can be both quick and healthy.
Soup can be a delicious way to enjoy vegetables & beans
Buffets: 3 steps to beat a weight control challenge
Scientists have discovered something about mice that may help people trying to avoid weight gain over the holiday season. Turns out that you can’t make a normal mouse overweight on regular lab chow – they automatically eat only the amount needed to maintain a healthy weight. So how do researchers studying obesity get usually normal-weight mice to become overweight? The Cafeteria Diet. When mice get access to many different high-calorie foods, they can’t seem to help but overeat.
Buffets can pose a challenge for healthy eating
This behavior is similar to what happens to many people faced with buffets. Fortunately, humans don’t need to resort to lab chow – we can realize the problem and learn to deal with it.
Nuances in weight control: Are you flexible or rigid (in mindset)?
Our mindset plays a huge role in eating behavior and weight. If we don’t tune in to body hunger signals and make what we eat a conscious choice, today’s 24/7 availability of large portions of high-calorie food makes weight control very challenging for most of us. Yet when we impose on ourselves rigid rules about what and how much we can eat, benefits are often short-lived. Studies show that women, especially, tend to rebound, overeating on the “forbidden fruit” and gaining back more weight than they lost. For some, this can begin a pattern that leads down a disastrous road.
Everyday eating impulses, not special occasions, as biggest culprit
Two studies of weight gain and loss in middle-aged women provide examples of conclusions reached by a growing body of research on eating behavior and psychology. In both studies, unplanned overeating in response to various circumstances and the way in which people tried to control it were strongly linked to weight changes.