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Aileen Birkitt, RD: Posted on Friday, December 05, 2014 2:35 PM
Do you tend to think of
something as “good” or “bad” when you are eating it? Who assigns these labels? You!
Think of where you may have
learned these labels and why they have stuck with you. Remember, a piece of toast is only a piece of
toast until you label it as something else.
Try this for today: notice how often one of these labels comes up
when you are eating. Try and remind
yourself that the food item is just the food item, nothing else. It is
when we use these labels that guilt and shame may enter the equation.
So try and ditch the labels,
see what happens.
Enjoy!
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Aileen Birkitt, RD: Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2014 1:17 PM
Are you prone to snacking shortly after dinner when you are not even that hungry but you don't know why?
Here's a tip:
STOP for a moment when you go to that pantry or kitchen shelve to grab the item.
THINK and CHECK IN: "Am I really hungry?" "Am I bored?" "Am I eating because something stressful that happened today at home or at work?"
If it has been a couple hours since dinner, then you might really be hungry. Notice how your stomach feels. Is it empty and in need of food or are you just feeding a feeling you have?
It can be helpful to have a notebook nearby to track some of these thoughts.
Try going into another room, away from the kitchen. Start getting ready for bed, practice an instrument, listen to music, read, brush your teeth, etc. If you are still thinking about hunger in about 20 minutes, you are probably hungry. If you are so engaged in what you are doing that you forgot, you probably didn't need it anyway!
If you are truly hungry and decide to have a snack, portion it out into a small bowl. Then sit down, eat slow, and really taste it. Usually with mindless eating we are barely even aware that we have just eaten something, it can happen so fast. Sitting down and being mindful can help you to taste the food, and send messages to your brain that you are eating and you are enjoying it, and to stop when nearly full.
Enjoy!
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Aileen Birkitt, RD: Posted on Tuesday, March 04, 2014 12:17 PM
Hi everyone! Thanks for reading! This is week 8 of 12 steps to a healthier lifestyle!
I still want to continue with the subject of emotional eating. For
this week, try and work on not making food comments to anyone – including your family and
friends.
What do I mean? How?
Let’s start with the Division of
Responsibility, created by dietitian, social worker, and author, Ellyn Satter. You are responsible for what you put on the
table, a meal for your family. All
family members are responsible for WHAT
they eat and HOW MUCH.
Please remember this : children are still learning to get in touch
with their hunger and fullness signals.
This starts as soon as they are a baby.
The more you try and intervene (and I know, best intentions) the less
the children will learn to trust themselves and their body.
For instance, if your child
takes too much food and cannot finish it, you will need to accept the losses
(wrap it and save it) and know that when they say they are done, their body is
telling them they are done. If a parent
intervenes and states, “Can’t you eat a little more” or “you took all that
food, now finish it” fullness signals
get ignored.
Ways to resolve this? (I
know, not easy to not make these comments- but it is all a work in progress- do
your best!). Serve everyone
family-style. Let children learn to
trust how much they may eat (gentle reminders are ok- “don’t take more than you
think you can eat”…etc. ) That way they
can get used to how much they will eat.
It won’t be perfect every time.
From time to time, everyone takes too much! At least there is such thing as leftovers!
Remember no one is perfect. As a parent, we are all tired after a busy day and can say things about eating that we may regret. The important thing is that you develop an awareness to these comments. You can work to improve. Not every meal will go smoothy but some of my tips should certainly help!
On the same note, try and not
make food comments to other family members and friends. It is not your job or responsibility to
monitor what they put in their bodies (i.e., “You’re really going to eat all
that?” Or “why don’t you eat more food-
you are so tiny! “ “I can’t believe how much you can eat”. All these comments do is upset the other
person so please try your best to refrain from making inappropriate food
comments . This can give you an
opportunity to be mindful with your own eating and trust your own
hunger/fullness signals.
The takeaway for today?
Remember food is meant to be
enjoyed by everyone! The best
conversation you can have is about everyone’s day at school, at work, at home,
etc.
Enjoy!!!
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Aileen Birkitt, RD: Posted on Tuesday, February 25, 2014 6:18 PM
Hi everyone! Week 7 here! If you have been following
this program every week, great! If not, you can start now!
This week I am going to talk
about something called Mindfulness and Mindful Eating.
What does this mean? It means being present in what you are
doing. If you are eating and watching tv
or doing work and eating you are not practicing mindfulness. In fact, you might even eat more because you
are not paying attention to the fact that you are eating!
“How do I eat mindfully”, you
ask? Here is my advice. In order to eat mindfully, you must first always ask yourself before
eating, “Am I hungry right now?” Pay
attention to how your body feels. Are you emotionally hungry, or hungry for a
meal?
If you are truly hungry, sit
down and eat your meal. Portion your
meal out on a plate. Enjoy every bite of
what you are eating. Try and eat
slowly. Stop halfway through your meal and check in
with yourself, "do I feel satisfied now"?
Stop eating before you are stuffed.
It will still take your stomach about 20 minutes to feel full.
Notice how you feel after
your meal.
I advise you to check in with
yourself every time before you eat. Ask
yourself if you are truly experiencing regular hunger or emotional hunger. If you just ate a big meal and go into the
pantry to snack shortly after the meal you are probably emotionally
hungry.
Tip: Start journaling and recording
your feelings.
Remember to eat slow, portion out your foods,
notice what you are eating, and stop before you are stuffed. You can use the
hunger scale to determine your level of fullness. 1 is extreme hunger, 7 is eating to
satisfaction, 10 is overstuffed (can’t keep pants buttoned- you don’t want to
go there!) Try and stop at a 7. Journal any thoughts and feelings that come up
related to food.
And most importantly, ENJOY
your food! |
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Aileen Birkitt, RD: Posted on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 9:22 AM
 J
Just a little 2 cents here. I would sometimes like to hear more about the enjoyment of food and less about obesity and avoiding this food and that food. Food is meant to be eaten slow and ENJOYED. Once we can learn to master that hopefully food won't be used to feed other emotions. I am not saying this is easy at all. It takes work. But it can be done.
Try and put different food groups on your plate. Try and make it colorful, and look appealing. Try and eat at the table, not anywhere else when possible. If you are eating with others, listen and enjoy the conversation also.
My thought for today is think about what you are eating, where you are eating, why you are eating. Are you fully enjoying what is being eaten?
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Aileen Birkitt, RD: Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 12:30 PM
Hi Everyone! My quick tip for the day is to try and practice Mindful Eating today. What is this, you ask? Pay attention to everything you eat. Focus on what you are eating. This means not reading while eating, not walking around, no multitasking. Just notice what you are eating, and enjoy what you are eating.
Ever notice how you sometimes think, wow, how did I just eat that whole bag? With mindful eating, you sit down, eat slow and notice every bite. Then you won't have those questions!
Enjoy!
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