Archive for October, 2007
October 30th, 2007, 8:10 am by Michelle May, M.D.
I love watching kids at Halloween – and any time of the year for that matter. They can teach us so much about instinctive eating and effortless weight management. During Halloween they’re just as excited about the costumes, the trick-or-treating, the sorting, and the trading as they are about the eating. Don’t get me wrong; they love the candy but food is only part of the experience. And for weeks afterward they get to enjoy a couple of pieces of candy each day—but most kids lose interest when their favorites are gone.
Though parents sometimes worry about sugar and junk food, “fun” foods are part of a healthy diet. In fact, overly restrictive food rules usually lead to rebellious eating anyway – just think about the last time you weren’t “allowed” to eat something on a diet. Children and adults both eat healthier when they enjoy these less nutritious foods in moderation when they want them.
To enjoy the treats without over doing it, plan to include a couple of snack size candy bars each day when you really want them - but skip the candy you don’t absolutely love. Don’t feel guilty or make yourself pay penance with exercise since those negative thoughts often backfire and result in overeating.
For more lessons children can teach us about eating, see the full article at http://www.amihungry.com/pdf/newsletter-10-07.pdf.
Posted in: Healthy Families • Nutrition for Non-Dieters • Uncategorized • Handling Halloween candy cravings • handling Halloween temptations | Post a Comment »
October 22nd, 2007, 9:03 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
Do you sometimes feel like nutrition is a moving target? Do you remember when fat was the enemy and pasta was good for you? How about when we were supposed to eat margarine instead of butter - and none of us had even heard of transfat?
This “good food-bad food” thinking is not only confusing, it makes certain foods special. When foods are forbidden, you may begin to feel deprived and think about them even more than you did before. Worse yet, healthy foods become a four-letter word: DIET.
The truth is all foods fit into a healthy diet. Instead of restricting an entire food group, simply use the principles of balance, variety and moderation to guide you. No guilt, no compensetory overeating. You’ll always be right on target.
Send me your weight management questions: info@AmIHungry.com or visit visit http://www.amihungry.com/.
Posted in: Nutrition for Non-Dieters • Uncategorized • diet myths • forbidden foods | 7 Comments »
October 17th, 2007, 10:04 am by Michelle May, M.D.
Does it make sense that you would need exactly the same amount of fuel every day? Aren’t there just days when you are hungrier than others, maybe because of your activity levels or hormonal cycles?
Rather than setting yourself up to “cheat” on those hungry days and forcing yourself to eat more food than you want on your less hungry days, allow yourself the flexibility to adjust your intake based on your actual needs rather than an arbitrary number.
Important: for this to work long term, you also need to learn to tell the difference between physical hunger and head hunger. See my previous blog posts on this topic and visit http://www.amihungry.com/.
Posted in: Uncategorized • calorie counting • cheating on your diet • diet myths | Post a Comment »
October 10th, 2007, 10:16 am by Michelle May, M.D.
This common diet myth is based on the belief that overweight people are incapable of controlling themselves when they’re hungry. In my experience with hundreds of workshop participants, once people learn to tell the difference between physical hunger and head hunger, the opposite is true.
Think about it. When you’re hungry, food tastes better and is more satisfying. My grandmother used to say, “Hunger is the best seasoning.” Besides, if you aren’t hungry when you start eating, what’s going to tell you to stop?
Of course, you also need to learn to recognize hunger and make time to eat before you are too hungry since it’s harder to make great choices when you are starving!
Watch this 5 minute clip about other diet myths on “In the Loop with iVillage”: http://video.intheloop.ivillage.com/player/?id=164053&ice=lv|hp|vid_tout|2#videoid=164053�
Posted in: Uncategorized • diet myths • eating when you're hungry • frequent small meals | Post a Comment »
October 5th, 2007, 4:37 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
This is absurd! What if you were a harsh, overly strict parent six days a week then completely ignored your kids every Saturday? And how would this approach work for your marriage or managing your employees?It just doesn’t make sense to try to be perfect (whatever that is) Sunday through Friday all the while obsessing about everything you’re going to eat on your day off. Then on Saturday you overeat just because you’re allowed to so you end up feeling miserable all day. Huh? Personally, I’d rather enjoy eating the foods I love every day–mindfully and in moderation. When all foods fit, there is no cheating and food loses its power. I think of this as being “in charge” - which is far better than swinging back and forth between being in control and out of control. Catch me on live from Chicago at 10/5/07 12-1pm Eastern on “In the Loop with iVillage” http://intheloop.ivillage.com/?ivNPA=1&sky=ggl|ivillage|lv|. You can watch clips after the show too.
Posted in: Uncategorized • cheat days • diet myths • fad diets | Post a Comment »
October 3rd, 2007, 4:11 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
Because of this common diet rule, millions of people to equate physical activity with punishment for eating. No wonder so many people either hate to exercise or use exercise to earn the right to eat. While it’s true that your weight is determined by your overall calories in versus your calories out, exercise is beneficial whether you’re trying to lose weight or not. So burn those calorie burning charts and ignore the display on the treadmill! Instead of using exercise to pay penance, focus on how great you feel, how much more energy you have, how much better you sleep and how much healthier you”re becoming. In the long run, you’re more likely to stay physically active because it feels good than because you’re forced to.On Friday, Oct. 5th I’ll be on “In the Loop with iVillage” live from Chicago at 12-1pm Eastern. You can watch online at http://intheloop.ivillage.com/?ivNPA=1&sky=ggl|ivillage|lv|.
Posted in: Uncategorized • diet myths • exercise for weight loss | Post a Comment »
October 1st, 2007, 3:56 pm by Michelle May, M.D.
Your metabolism doesn’t shut off at 7:01 pm so why is this rule so common? Diets are filled with dogma about when, what and how much to eat. Certainly “the rules” are usually based on observations that make sense, but unless you understand why you do certain things, you’ll break the rules as soon as the temptation is greater than your motivation. My next several posts will examine some of these myths, where they come from and how to make long term changes that will work for you.The rule “Don’t eat after 7″ is based on the observation that a lot of people who struggle with their weight overeat in the evening. Most have already eaten dinner so they aren�t snacking because they’re hungry. They’re snacking because they’re bored, lonely, watching television or a responding to other triggers (click to read one of my previous posts about triggers).Rather than creating a rule to address those habits, ask yourself “Am I hungry?” whenever you feel like eating after dinner. If you truly are, eat, keeping in mind that your day is winding down so you won’t need a huge meal. If you aren’t, consider why you feel like eating and come up with a better way to meet your need. Ken, a man in one of my workshops, realized he was just bored so he started doing stained glass in the evenings to entertain himself.Do you need something to do after 7pm? Download our list of “101 Things to Do Besides Eat” available at http://amihungry.com/enews.shtml.
Posted in: Uncategorized • Night time eating • overeating in the evening | Post a Comment »
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