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COVID-19 can be compared to freshmen year of college – it’s stressful, you feel overwhelmed, and it’s way too easy to pack on an extra 15 pounds! Many of us, having been stuck at home and dealing with stress for the past 4-5 months, have found our eating habits have taken a nosedive. So how […]
COVID-19 can be compared to freshmen year of college – it’s stressful, you feel overwhelmed, and it’s way too easy to pack on an extra 15 pounds! Many of us, having been stuck at home and dealing with stress for the past 4-5 months, have found our eating habits have taken a nosedive.
So how do we remedy this?
Many of us are still in lockdown mode and still dealing with the fear and stress of the pandemic. Are we supposed to try and put ourselves on a strict diet so we can lose weight and get healthy? Strict diets almost never work for most people, particularly when they are dealing with a stressful situation.
A far better solution is to turn to intuitive eating.
Intuitive Eating is an evidenced-based, mind-body nutritional approach that helps people honor their body and their health. By listening to the body and giving it what it needs nutritionally, you are able to meet your physical and psychological needs.
Now let’s talk about what intuitive eating is NOT.
It is NOT a diet or a specific food plan. It is not something where you restrict certain foods or count calories, carbs, or macros. Dieting and food restriction has never worked long-term. It is not sustainable.
But intuitive eating IS sustainable. This is not a diet but a new way to become self-aware and practice self-love and self-care.
Most diets put foods into one of two categories: Spinach goes into the “good” category and cake goes into the “bad” category. Intuitive eating gives a person permission to view all food as good and to eat whatever you like because you are trusting your body to tell you what it wants and needs. Anytime we can tune out the exterior world and tune into ourselves, we are far more apt to find balance and optimal health.
There are a few steps I always recommend clients take to get started with intuitive eating.
1. Start Listening
From a young age, we’re taught to listen to others. But rarely is a young person taught how to tune into themselves. It’s time you start. Check-in with yourself throughout the day to see how you are feeling and what you are thinking. Just begin to listen to your own inner voice more over the coming days and weeks.
2. Drop Those Judgements
What foods have you been told are an absolute no-no? Red meat? Butter? Sugar? It’s time to start reevaluating what you have been told by others and let your body tell you what is “good” and “bad” for YOU.
3. Eat More
If you are someone who comes from a diet mentality that has had you eat less, try and eat more and see how your body responds. Remember, you want to really LISTEN to what your body tells you. Eat 3 meals a day and 2-3 snacks. Do you find you’re still hungry? Do you find you get full easily?
Intuitive eating works and it can help you if you’re dealing with stress eating from COVID. If you need any help or guidance with this new lifestyle, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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Starting about five years ago, gluten-free diets became all the rage. People who weren’t even sure what gluten was were cutting it out of their diet, most likely to be trendy or fashionable. But maybe these people were onto something? Is it possible that we should all be giving up gluten, even if we don’t […]
Starting about five years ago, gluten-free diets became all the rage. People who weren’t even sure what gluten was were cutting it out of their diet, most likely to be trendy or fashionable.
But maybe these people were onto something? Is it possible that we should all be giving up gluten, even if we don’t suffer from celiac disease?
Go with Your Gut
A study done by researchers at Columbia University and published in the medical journal Gut, found that even if you don’t have celiac disease, gluten protein from wheat, rye, and barley can trigger an immune system response that causes similar symptoms to the disease.
This is why so many of us complain of bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, anxiety, and/or “brain fog” when we eat wheat products. The researchers determined that while only a certain percentage of the population has celiac disease, many of us have gluten sensitivity. This means when we eat gluten, damage occurs to the epithelial cells that form the tissue lining the gastrointestinal (GI) tract as well as activation of the immune system in response to microbes that originate in the GI tract. (Did you know that 80% of the immune system is in the GI tract?)
The Link Between Gluten and Depression
Beyond gut health, it seems that gluten may also impede our mental health.
In a study, patients diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity were put on a gluten-free diet for a few days. Then they were asked to eat a food item containing wheat gluten.
The results?
While the subjects did not complain of any GI upsets, a whopping 90% of participants reported feeling more depressed after incorporating the gluten into their diet.
While the researchers aren’t exactly sure why gluten effects the mood to this extent, some are suggesting the protein somehow depletes the brain’s stores of serotonin.
Certainly more studies are needed, but for now it would appear that gluten can have a significantly negative impact on gut and mental health even for people who have not been diagnosed with celiac disease.
Are you or a loved one suffering with depression that is not related to gluten sensitivity? If you’d like to explore treatment, please be in touch so we can discuss how we may be able to help.