Happy Hump Day!

The Buffalo Bills had their first loss last night, and while that is sad, Bernadette still has high hopes! We have a great show in store today with Virginia Sole-Smith on at the half, but first up, we have Tom Blas, so let's get started!

Virginia Sole-Smith

Virginia Sole-Smith is the author of the book we are talking about today; The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America. As a journalist, she has reported from kitchen tables and grocery stores, graduated from beauty school and gone swimming in a mermaid’s tail. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, Elle and many other publications. She's a frequent contributor to the New York Times' parenting section, where she writes a monthly column on kids, food and body image.

The Eating Instinct; Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America

When Virginia was pregnant with her first daughter, she did what most first moms do, and became very focused on everything she could do for her daughter before her daughter was here. She began to try to eat perfectly. When her daughter was born, Violet was diagnosed with a rare congenital heath condition. Violet survived, but she stopped eating and began eating solely though an eating tube. Virginia had to find a way to have her baby girl connect with food again! All of that led her on a new path than led her to the way she eats today. Virginia doesn't live by societal food rules! Everyone eats differently, but we all must start with trusting ourselves and our bodies with hunger.

When we are born, we know when we are hungry and full. We derive comfort from eating! As we get older, we become socialized with meal schedules, and our eating instill becomes mixed with social pressure and trust within our own bodies. We don't need to stop ourselves from feeling our instincts. Virginia says to trust ourselves on our eating habits. Don't stop yourself at one handful of pretzels, but rather listen to your body and what it is needing and what nutrients it is craving. You can protect your eating instinct! Trust your hunger. Trust your fullness, that your food will still be there later. Understand that there are no bad foods! Stop demonizing certain foods and equating cookies with "bad." Honor yourself and your body!

Tom Blas

Tom is an United States Army veteran, certified trainer and Krav Maga instructor. He was one of the first Krav Maga instructors in San Antonio, helping to establish what are now the largest Krav Maga World- wide training facilities in the U.S. In 2005, he moved to Dallas to oversee training and education for all DFW 24-Hour Fitness locations. Currently, Tom is one of the top trainers in the Metroplex with over 60 client sessions per week.

Krav Maga

Bernadette has never heard of Krav Maga! Krav Maga is an Israeli self defense mechanism! It can be taught to all ages, from ages four to seventy! Krav Maga is a military self-defense and fighting system developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli security forces derived from a combination of techniques sourced from aikido, boxing, wrestling, judo, and karate. It can be a workout and a self defense mechanism combined, so it raises your heart rate and allows you to burn fat. Tom teaches Krav Maga, and can include knife tactics, gun tactics, and be a full body workout at the same time!

Tom has an incredible story from being a Veteran. He was engulfed in flames for a whole 20 seconds because he was trying to save three of his fellow soldiers. Tom was left with PTSD after his horrible injury, but he found Krav Maga and it changed his life! Krav Maga is based on instinctive movements.