Nice to see you again!

Hi friends.
My goodness, life has been busy!  I've been swept up in Missoni for Target madness (more like borderline obsessed with making sure I get every last piece via eBay and checking my Target online order status to make it sure it hasn't been canceled), family events, and a recent trip to San Diego for the American Dietetic Association's annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo.  I visited fellow CSULB internship survivors friends in Orange County and had a wonderful time catching up with them.  Newlyweds, babies, and careers, oh my :)
Continuing the theme, I reconnected with classmates and professors from my undergraduate years, my former boss and co-workers from my first dietitian job, and grad school classmates.  It was fun to reminisce on our evolution from uncertain students to full fledged professionals and everything in between.
I was so happy to see the Health at Every Size-themed debate "The War on Obesity: is It a Battle Worth Fighting?" and had no idea of ADA's history with rejecting a practice group for like-minded dietitians and for previous conference sessions.  So shady!  The pro-weight loss researcher was not only a rotund hypocrite but said absurd things like "Everyone wants to be skinny" and "Intuitive eating is responsible for the obesity epidemic."  Oh man.  I had to laugh at his stupidity.  Go HAES!
On a sour note, I was disappointed by the corporate presence at the expo and one-sided presentation topics. I gave the stink eye to Monsanto, Cargill, Corn Refiner's Association and "big food" reps with apartment-sized booths like Coca Cola, McDonalds, and Mars.  Sessions like "Hot Topic: A Fresh Look at Processed Foods" and "How Risky is Our Food? Clarifying the Controversies of Chemical Risks" may as well have been re-titled "Industry Sponsors Downplay Their Role in Making Cheap Junk Food" or "Look!  We Have A Few Healthy Foods to Choose From."  Please.  It's so blatant and ugly though it's nice to I know I'm not alone in my feelings.
I was introduced to the work of the Hunger & Environmental Nutrition dietetic practice group and am pleased they also share my disgust for corporate sponsorships, among other passions.  I guess I'm among the black sheep of RDs who see the networking and educational value of ADA but feel dirty for the affiliation.
All in all, I must say it was a nice break from the work grind.  I'm happy to he home and settling into my routine again, including blogging!  
P.S. Sorry for the white background as it is different from my usual template but I can't figure out how to undo the background text color.  

Return to innocence

Part of the Health at Every Size(SM) philosophy includes eating according to individual hunger and satiety (the feeling of being full) cues.  Forget the sexy TV commercials or billboards or our initial panic response to stress, feeling sad or excited, or any other reason to gravitate towards food.  A healthy relationship with eating involves paying attention to our stomach and listening to rumblings as a signal to eat.  Or a comfortable filling that it's time to stop.  Return to the trust that babies exhibit when they make it known they are HUNGRY NOW and when they've HAD ENOUGH.
Easier said then done, right?! 
I think one reason why alot of people eat in a distracted environment is that the honest pleasure of food is too enjoyable for them to admit.  It's almost shameful to have a 30 minute date with just you and your food.  Thirty minutes could be spent checking emails, catching up on TV shows, doing laundry, you name it. 
It's also a little sad to be alone with food.  Many society and cultural traditions emphasize celebrating using food; in a quiet home or at a table for one in a restaurant, it's just not the same experience.
Given the increased processing and chemical manipulation to our "food" supply, getting the task of eating over with as quickly as possible makes it somewhat more palatable and easier to forget that we subjected ourselves to dissatisfying stuff.  Would slowly savoring a slice of frozen pizza really do it for you the way a homemade slice out of a wood burning oven might?  I doubt it.  But noticing that the frozen pizza is too chewy or bland is beginning to trust your instinct that you are not satisfied.  Ultimately we would be ok with not eating that particular pizza at all and search for something more satisfying to please us.
With this in mind, I am constantly reminding myself of the principles of intuitive eating(TM).  At some point in my early years of life, these feelings were inherent and worked for me.  Somewhere along the way, cleaning my plate, Sally Struthers and the starving children in Africa, and boredom beckoned food in a different way.  So I am a work in progress and wholeheartedly believe it's never too late to return to a place of  trusting your instincts. 
 After the fact I relaized this was too much for me to eat at once but I sure enjoyed the meal itself!

15 minutes (and I'm not talking car insurance)

Bodies were meant to move.  Period.  The stigma of exercising 'til exhaustion and "no pain, no gain" have robbed joyous movement of it's best intention: to make our bodies strong, healthy, and functioning at its best.
I occasionally suffer from "all or nothing" syndrome where if my rush to leave work and head to the gym isn't timed just right, if my hair is too nice to get sweaty or mussed up, if I miss my dogs and want to play with them first, etc. I skip an opportunity to show my body what it can do. 
This study has reframed my thought process about exercising "perfectly."  Simply doing something moderately-paced (which my natural walking stride accomplishes) for 15 minutes a day will lengthen one's life by 3 years.  We definitely have 15 minutes to spare everyday to commit to this and if you think you don't, we need to re-evaluate your priorities.
Even better, a new iPhone app rewards its users when they log 15 minutes or more of continuous exercise.  After each exercise, you have a chance for a discount based on your geographic location.  Then you are entered into a monthly grand prize, and a smaller daily prize drawing.  I can't wait to see what spoils this brings!

Little do they know our daily jaunts are also motivated by mommy's desire to win prizes!  Muah ha ha ha ha!

Health not determined by a scale

Part of the goal of writing this blog to explain why being "healthy" doesn't mean thin/skinny/BMI 19-25/vegan, etc.  Through the dedicated work of professionals like Linda Bacon and the Association for Size Diversity and Health I, as a reformed, free-thinking dietitian, am beginning to see the light (pun intended): FAT DOES NOT KILL!
Bullocks, you might shout!  Revoke her license, they might say.  But if you honestly spend a little bit of time reviewing the data you'd understand.
This review paper explains it all.  Just because a health condition (diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, etc.) is associated with being overweight doesn't mean the weight caused the disease.  This is so important to keep in mind: association is not as powerful as causation.  Since the 1950s atmospheric carbon dioxide and obesity have increased.  Does this mean carbon dioxide caused obesity?  Of course not; but more cars on the road meant less people walking or biking and more car emissions.
In an effort to stop wasting a substantial amount of our lives trying to fight our internal war against the weight and passing judgement onto strangers, let's focus our time and resources on embodying healthy behaviors.  Some people lose weight as they improve the quality of the foods they eat and become inspired to move their bodies but this is clearly not the primary goal.
So where does that leave us?
Basic Principles of Health At Every Size^®
1. Accepting and respecting the diversity of body shapes and sizes.

2. Recognizing that health and well-being are multi-dimensional and that they include
    physical, social, spiritual, occupational, emotional, and intellectual aspects.

3. Promoting all aspects of health and well-being for people of all sizes.

4. Promoting eating in a manner which balances individual nutritional needs, hunger,
    satiety, appetite, and pleasure.

5. Promoting individually appropriate, enjoyable, life-enhancing physical activity, rather
    than exercise that is focused on a goal of weight loss.


Join me on this side of the fence.  It's so much nicer and friendlier!  

 As a teenager I wanted to be skinny and felt so self-conscious in my dance costumes.  Looking back at myself all these years later I can't help but smile because I looked GREAT!  (And again, with age comes wisdom in the personal care department: roots like those are but a distant memory.)