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Episode #: 83.  Principle 8, Respect Your Body.

“Accept your genetic blueprint. Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not expect realistically squeeze into a size six, it is equally as futile (and uncomfortable) to have the same expectations with body size.”

This episode has more to do with accepting your blueprint, while wanting to improve on what you have to work with, than accepting a health condition (weight or otherwise) that you don't have to live with. 

No good can come from hate. Let me say that again, “No Good Can Come From Hate.” I know the reason you are seeking out help or have the desire to lose weight is because you want to change your body but come to it from a different angle. If you have a “I-hate-my-body” mindset you will not want to do good things for yourself. You put off treating yourself better such as getting pretty clothing that fits NOW, eating foods that you enjoy, spending money on things that will help you sleep better and move better. If you take weight loss out of the picture, and decide to do nice things for yourself, you will be respecting not only your physical health but your mental health.

This episode is a great way to change your outlook for the new year.

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Episode #: 82.  Principle 9, Exercise: Feel the Difference.

What we have to watch out for is not to make exercise part of the dieting mentality. It will become drudgery and just another thing on the list that we have to do because we have to do it. What would be ideal is to look at it as movement that – although it might wear us out – actually invigorates us and gives us energy. Finding the right movement might take a lot of stops and starts. Or, maybe in a case such as mine, a lot of trial and error – including not being able to go back to what I used to enjoy.

 It is also important not to discount any activity. There is something called Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). This is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise. It ranges from the energy expended walking to work, even typing, gardening and, believe it or not, fidgeting. NEAT even includes spontaneous muscle contraction and maintaining proper posture.

This episode on "Exercise: Feel the Difference" will explore all this and more, to hopefully open the doors to you, if you have not been making movement part of your life.

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Episode #: 81.  Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition

Intuitive Eating states that you must “make food choices that honor your health and tastebuds while making you feel well. Remember you don’t have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters.” 

“Taste is important, but health is still honored, without guilt.” Remember, we have worked a bit in this podcast to understand that there is no food that should labeled “good” or “bad”. Certain foods will get us to our goals or move us further away from them. Your goal can be weight loss, and that is perfectly fine. But, in this episode I want to talk about when your goal is to feel well and feel your best. If you did the homework in the episode prior to this one, Food Facts, you might already be discovering, tuning in to, and choosing the foods and quantities that make you feel your best.

This episode continues with  the concepts of authentic health and food wisdom. This week's actionable coaching advice is to have you explore what motivates your food choices.

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Episode #: 80.  Food Facts

It’s important to learn what food does in your body

 There are two types of hunger. True physical hunger is one of them. The other hunger is driven by what is in your head. There are definitely mechanics that trigger this head hunger. These could be habits or feelings such as anxiety, loneliness and anger. I have covered head and heart hunger just recently in Episode 77.

In this episode I will be covering  the mechanics of physical hunger and what food has to do with the hormones that make you hungry.

This week pay attention – even just one day – to what you are eating. My goal is to help you ultimately not need to do tracking. No need to track quantities but just take a moment to jot down what you eat in a day and then pay attention to what is going on in your body. You can mark down time and quantity if you want, but a skeleton list will be just as good. I want you to think about these questions – better yet, write your answers:

§  Do you want more immediately?

§  Do you start thinking about that food or other food soon after eating even though you are not hungry?

§  Are you sleepy after eating?

§  All of a sudden do you have cravings to eat a certain food?

§  Do you have an urge to eat – anything – just to eat?

§  Are you hungry for your next meal sooner than you normally would be?

This episode will enlighten you if you answered YES to any of these questions.

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Episode #: 79.  Managing Emotions and Feelings Without Food 

Whatever eating style or plan you choose, and no matter what work you do with the other principles of Intuitive Eating, Principle 7 is perhaps the most important one that is going to make it or break it for you.

How often are you on plan all day or even all week, and then at night, you are tired and feeling overwhelmed from the day’s or week’s events? How often are you on plan all day or again, even all week, and you have an out-of-the blue disappointment or let-down? How often do you deal with your exhaustion, boredom, disappointment, or anger with food? Does the food soothe you or entertain you? Do you think – erroneously – that eating something will perk you up and give you energy?

 It is hard to keep all your balls in the air. 

This episode will help you juggle them or decide which ones to drop.

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Episode #78 - Cravings and Urges

I promised you my PEEPS story, and here it is. Indulge me if you have already heard it because it sets the stage to explain the difference between urges and cravings.

Let me start by introducing myself. "Hello, I am Miriam Hatoum, and I am probably the most food suggestible person you will ever meet." So here's my story. Was it a food craving or an urge?

This episode is a deep dive into cravings, urges, and triggers and what to do about them whether they are physical or emotional. It also explores what to do about them, hhow to pull them apart, circumvent them, or  just learn to sit with them and put in a pause.

You will always have cravings, urges, and triggers. What you can change is your reaction to them!

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Episode 77 - Head and Heart Hunger

We all have triggers, habits and emotional connections with food. When we are "hungry" but not really physically hungry we know it as head hunger, heart hunger or, which covers both, emotional hunger.

In this episode I talk about disassembling triggers and habits and give you examples of my own efforts that I have shared with you in past episodes. I have found that they speak to many of you so share them again here.

 It is important to understand Triggers, Habits and Emotional Connections so that you can work on disassembling them all. It starts with understanding what they are.

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Episode 76: Discover the Satisfaction Factor

In this episode learn that it's not just lists of food, calories or macros. Feeling full and content with what you eat has a lot to do with the satisfaction factor in what you are eating. 

To sum it up: “The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our fury to be thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence – the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting and conducive, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide if you’ve had enough.”

Learn what you can do to increase the satisfaction factor of your food!

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Episode 75 - Feeling Your Fullness - Part 2

This episode will take some of the mystery out of feeling your fullness and why the feeling fullness increases after you have eaten.  But before I get to that, I explore concepts such as feelings about food waste, your habit of finishing food, and how to get out of this habit using various methods, including "2 bites left behind," "the speed-bump method," and learning to notice THE SIGH.

In the discussion about the physical mechanics of why you feel so full 20 minutes after you have eating, I give you ways to slow yourself down so that your brain catches up with your stomach.

Returning to the workbook, Resch and Tribole give you seven factors that influence fullness, discussing things such as air foods and food that have staying power.

This weeks actionable coaching advice is taken directly from the workbook and is called, "The Last-Bite Threshold Experiment."

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Episode #74: Discover Your Fullness

I think for a lot of us, it’s not the hunger end of the scale that stymies us, it’s the fullness end. There are so many reasons why this happens, especially if you are eating in response to external cues, and you might be saying to yourself:

·       It’s time to eat

·       I always clean my plate.

·       I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

·       I always snack or graze.

·       I eat for the distraction because I’m angry, bored, lonely or upset.

·       I eat because the food looks so good.

·       I eat because the food smells and tastes so good.

·       I eat because it’s a special occasion.

·       I eat because it’s a gift.

·       I eat because I don’t want to waste food.

·       I never eat because I am actually hungry.

Can you think of more? Do any of them have to do with hunger? How will you know you are full if you are not eating because you are hungry? 

This episode will help you unravel finding your fullness cues.

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