The Importance of Mindfulness in Nutrition
January 26, 2010
1/25/2010
Mindfulness is a key element in successfully maintaining weight loss, determining which foods work best for your body, and for staying healthy and balanced in all areas of life. With countless external cues creating an environment suited to overindulgence, vigorous attention to our body’s cues is perhaps the most effective tool for health available — and it costs nothing!
We can all agree that what we eat has a huge impact on our health and energy, but what is less commonly known is how what we eat affects our appetite, our moods, and our thoughts. With hectic, busy lifestyles, we are no longer aware of the impact that our food choices have on our level of functioning, and many have lost sight of what high level functioning feels like.
When we begin to pay attention, our entire world becomes possibility for change.
By noticing how the foods we eat affect our body …
… we empower ourselves to make different choices. One of the key things clients who work with VIBRANCE experience is a greater connection between food and body wellness, and a greater understanding of the language their unique body uses to communicate with them.
When we begin to make different choices based on how our body feels, we capitalize on the body’s ability to restore and heal itself and experience a greater sense of wellness and vitality.
In the arena of weight loss, mindfulness is mandatory for sustained success.
When I first started setting everything aside to enjoy my meal, I found it boring. Painfully so! I wanted to rush through my meal so I could get back to whatever seemed more pressing at the time.
Then I slowed down even more, focusing instead on the food that was in front of me — the gloss of the dressing on my spinach leaf, the sensation of biting into a crisp bite of apple or celery, the feel of different textures and tastes in my mouth as I chewed. I became aware I only chewed about 6 – 10 times before swallowing, so I tried to quadruple that and I found I needed to take smaller bites. Then I noticed I was full long before my plate was empty.
So I started putting less food on my plate… You can see where this is going.
Multi-tasking is registered in the brain as stress; inducing a fight or flight response because the brain is divided between important duties. The adrenaline kicks in to increase our attentiveness, but ultimately this has negative impact on our short term memory as well as our overall health and well-being.
When we multi-task while eating, we do not pick up on the very food cues that initiate digestion. The smell of food, even the thought of food starts our systems preparing for digestion and assimilation. Chewing begins the process of tearing down a meal and key enzymes located in saliva are responsible for digesting carbohydrate. The sight of our meal cues the hormonal cascade that lets us know we are full 20 minutes after we begin eating.
When stressed or distracted, our digestive system takes a backseat. The body isn’t interested in extracting vitamins from an orange when it’s white-knuckling it through a stack of emails or preparation for a board meeting. Consequently, digestion is impaired and stomach troubles, fat storage, and blood lipids increase while the ability to detoxify, extract vitamins and minerals, feel full and be satisfied decreases.
Simply sitting down, looking at your food, and paying attention to how it feels will make you feel more satisfied. Make it a habit and you’ll likely drop some weight, improve your digestion, and you may even find out you don’t actually like the convenience foods you’ve been eating all this time. (it’s happened before!)
Give it a try for one meal a day for the next 10 days and let me know what the effects are. I’d love to hear back from you.
More information:
Aimee Gallo is founder and director of VIBRANCE Nutrition and Fitness, serving the nutrition and fitness needs of women nationwide. It is her mission to help others utilize the right foods, exercise, and the art of radical self-care to help them live the best life they can imagine for themselves. To learn more, visit www.vibrancenutrition.com.Affordable Trendy Jewelry
January 22, 2010
Pam Whalen is a wife and mother of two small boys, James (3) and Derrick (8mos). She is an Independent Consultant for Cookie Lee jewelry, which she has been doing for almost 2 years and loves it!
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Kerry Tepedino – health and wealth
January 22, 2010
Kerry Tepedino is a Holistic Health Practitioner who has had her own private practice for seven years in Encinitas, California. She specializes in Craniosacral Therapy, Ayurveda, and Massage. Kerry is also a top distributor of USAloe, a company putting natural supplements into the community for core nutrition, rest, energy, and weight. Based on her personal experience with the products and those of her clients, she is excited to offer Natural Aloe Mocktails and a product special at our events!
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Anna Allen – Natural Living Source
January 22, 2010
All TT members get their 1st Natural Living class for FREE!
http://naturallivingsource.com/
At Natural Living Source, we educate and coach how to live as pure & natural as possible with a guided plan to Detox & Cleanse, Fortify & Rebuild, then Maintain your optimum health – naturally!
Complete Natural-Lifestyle coaching offers guidance with dietary issues, stress-relief, weight management, anti-aging, personal care, environmental allergies, emergency preparedness.
Your entire life can and should be toxin free ~ for you, your children, and pets! There are alternatives to what the masses have been used to for way too long. Learn how to live pure – exchange household chemicals for natural alternatives; this includes, detergents, fabric softener, shampoo, shaving cream, body lotion, make-up, light bulbs, perfumes, disinfectants, and many more daily environmental toxins with cancer causing agents and worse.
Every BODY is different – each client receives specific training for individual needs: travel-yoga, breathing techniques, meditation, supplementation, organic gardening, cooking classes, edible beauty care and more.
Plus ~ Total Home-Detoxification is complete with an educational series on household toxins and how they affect your weight, mood, immune system, sleep, relationships, and over-all energy. Learn how to create a healthy, happy environment.
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” – Thomas Edison.
Financial Advisor Passionate About Well-being
January 21, 2010
Stephanie Brown is a Financial Advisor for Global Wealth Management at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. She works one on one with private clients to coordinate and manage their financial activities to achieve short and long term financial goals.
Stephanie has a passion for wellness and works closely with Feng-Shui consultant Elly Lolly to develop Wealth and Well-Being workshops; a seminar focused on helping individuals to find balance, wealth and well-being in all aspects of life such as financial, physical, spiritual, relational, mental and emotional.
Stephanie sits on the board of the Notre Dame Alumni club, is an active member of the Boys and Girls Club of San Dieguito, and is a panel member for the Plane Dollars and Sense aviation board.
Stephanie is a former professional softball player with the Chicago Bandits and is a two time Academic All-American, All-American athlete. Stephanie received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Notre Dame with a major in Business Marketing and a minor in International Peace Studies, where she developed The 14 Steps to Team Success.
Stephanie enjoys the outdoors and being active and has a passion for health, wealth, wellness, and personal development and growth. She is passionate about leadership, forming and developing teams and working collaboratively with colleagues to find win-win solutions.
Stephanie is an advisor, a friend, a leader, a connector and passionate about serving her community.
Eat This Not That
January 10, 2010
“The soul of the world is nourished by your happiness”
–Alchemist
Eat this not that, don’t even think of eating this. Who do you believe? As a
practicing nutrition consultant, I have believed it all, followed many gurus,
and have read so many books it makes my head spin. The final outcome is
simple; trust yourself. Take all the amazing information, tools, and health
care professionals support and apply it to how your body feels.
Every day of the month your body is different, whether you are male or
female. Try not to control what you eat with your mind; however listen to
your body’s needs. On a personal level, I eat vegetarian 70% of the month,
and listen to my body’s cravings for meat. The meat my body usually craves
is lamb, duck, and dark meat chicken. If you just listen to marketing, the
latest fads, or our unhealthy healthcare system, you will most likely have been
programmed that these foods are “bad”. The minute we label a food “bad” or
“good” it is bringing more confusion to our personal health.
Becoming free from the labels and restrictions toward your optimal health can
be known as “heaven on earth”. We always want to get to “heaven”, bliss,
vacation, or whatever this means for you. When I ask my clients what their
“perfect day” looks like, it usually consists of food that is healthy and
nourishing. It includes picnicking with loved ones, activities, a nice barbecue,
etc. Rarely does it include pizza and soda. Which on some days can be the
perfect food. An example to eat pizza for me is a cold, rainy night watching
movies, not before a marathon or scheduled surgery. Those are especially
sensitive times to treat your body as a super-healing vessel. If you decide to
never eat “bad” again, I commend you on your perfect life of no change. One
thing I do know is life changes and the more we respond with ease versus
reacting with stress, the better we will support our health and the people
around us.
Does this mean you can eat whatever you want? If you experience any of
these: low energy, undesirable mental and emotional health, physical disease
symptoms, or not happy with your weight, you may want to begin your health
and nutrition journey. Most likely it is what you are eating or not eating that
is causing this unbalance in your body. The main goal is not to feel guilty and
overwhelmed while you begin this journey. Stress is definitely not going to
assist your health. Changing your nutrition gradually is the number one way
to improve your stress levels and health.
Simple Strategies to get your started:
1. Start Reading: Find a book by a reputable resource and author you can
relate too. One of my favorites is “Eat, Move & Be Healthy” by Paul
Chek
2. Start Implementing: Begin by adding healthy alternatives to your
daily routine. For example, add 10 ounces of room temperature water
within 10 minutes of waking, or breathe 5 times before every meal, or
walk up a flight of steps daily
3. Start Gathering: Journal about your health for 3 days including; food
logs, sleeping and activity schedule, bowel movements, water intake,
energy level and list of medications or supplements you are taking.
Then consult with a health care practitioner that practices prevention
not disease management.
4. Start Listening: Take note of how your body feels through out the day,
week, and month. You will begin noticing patterns, especially when
your energy level slumps. If it is every day at the same time it may be
the meal that precedes the slump. You can implement conscious
snacks an hour prior to prevent the slump. For example: fruit and nuts,
veggies and hummus, dark chocolate and herbal tea, and more water.
5. Start Being Happy: Enjoy your food. Don’t call it names. Eat food
that feeds your body and soul.
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it -
even if I have said it – unless it agrees with your own reason and your own
common sense.”
- The Buddha
Believe in your self and your health will believe in you.
by Heather Fleming
Founder of Conscious Nutrition—A movement replacing dieting and
restriction with a thriving life.
www.consciousnutrition.com
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January 9, 2010
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January 9, 2010