Noticing and Acknowledging Your Emotions Empowers Change

After eating naturally for 20 years I now know that I used to use food to control my emotions. I was completely unable to cope with a lot of things that had happened in my life. So instead of acknowledging them and allowing myself to feel loss, sadness, and grief I ate instead.

This meant I didn’t have to feel because that was too hard and completely overwhelming. I was able to control my feelings by using food. To be honest I probably lived for 20 years of my life in a fog, doing what I needed to get through the day, but not actually living or feeling.

When I was diagnosed with depression and bulimia in 1996 I was completely blown away. I’d more or less worked out that I was suffering from depression as most days I didn’t want to get out of bed. But the fact that I had Bulimia was a real eye opener. That’s because I never made myself sick, what I did was exercise excessively instead. Eventually I learnt that this was simply another form of purging. It was also another form of control. I would eat very little and only “healthy” food, exercise at least once if not twice every day and then binge in the evenings. It was a very negative cycle of dieting, exercising and bingeing. Continue reading “Noticing and Acknowledging Your Emotions Empowers Change”

Easy to Prepare Deliciously Healthy Snacks for Children!

As mothers, you are always struggling to give healthy food to your child, who is lured by all the junk food advertised on the TV, or in the form of pamphlets. The ultimate challenge is marrying the health and taste together to give a union that spells a win-win situation for both moms and kids.

Did I touch a raw nerve there?

I guess I did!

But worry not moms, as I have some good news for you!

Did that get your attention? Yes, well, then read on!

Moms all over the world face one dilemma – what to feed their growing child? And every day in the kitchen becomes a battle for her where she has to bring both taste and nutrition together in one dish. Continue reading “Easy to Prepare Deliciously Healthy Snacks for Children!”

If Broccoli Is So Good for Me, Why Does It Make Me Sick After Weight Loss Surgery?

People in pursuit of healthy weight management know to stick close to the veggie tray at parties and buffets. After all, vegetables are good healthy food full of beneficial vitamins, nutrients and fiber. But some vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables like the ubiquitous broccoli and cauliflower, can cause severe gastric upset when eaten raw by patients of gastric weight loss surgery. In fact, there are many examples of weight loss surgery patients who have experienced gastric distress so severe after eating raw broccoli or cauliflower that a trip to the emergency room was needed.

The reason weight loss surgery patients of all procedures (gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, adjustable gastric banding or lap-band) are prone to discomfort after eating raw cruciferous vegetables is a matter of balance. The vegetables are rich in enzymes which are believed to aid digestion. However, due to the shortened gastric tract and loss of stomach acid the vegetables cannot be fully digested in their short trip through the intestinal tract. The problem is compounded by the presence of cellulose, the dietary fiber in the vegetables that requires intestinal bacteria to process. Even without gastric weight loss surgery many humans lack enough intestinal bacteria to break down the cellulose enough to avoid symptoms of gas, bloating, and cramping. Continue reading “If Broccoli Is So Good for Me, Why Does It Make Me Sick After Weight Loss Surgery?”

There Is No Such Thing As A Healthy Snack

“According to data from the Continuing Surveys of Food Intake by Individuals, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 90% of Americans’ increased calorie consumption since 1977 has come from increased between-meal eating. Calories consumed at meals have stayed about the same.” – Reinhard Engels

If you were to look for one single factor that has lead to the explosion of fatness around the world, you may have to look no further than the statistic from above. According to this source, 90% of increased calorie consumption over the past 30 years (around the same time span of the dramatic increase in obesity) has come from increased between-meal eating. In other words, the single most significant behavior that seems to have caused the fatness is, snacking.

Snacking is a very new phenomenon and boy is it making people fat. People often say that the cause of obesity is an over-abundance of food, or an over abundance of sugar in those foods. But generations before us had the same or very similar conditions – and they didn’t get fat. The big difference between the generations however, is snacking. Continue reading “There Is No Such Thing As A Healthy Snack”

3 Healthiest Foods for a Long Life, Strong Heart and Healthy Joints

In the quest for greater health and the prevention of disease, people are looking more and more to the quality of the foods they eat. Fast food, fried food, sweets, and foods made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are being replaced by healthier options. Research studies are showing that food is more than mere nutrition to fill the stomach – it can ward off specific illnesses and lengthen one’s life.

The first of the three healthiest foods is almonds. A recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that eating 1.5 ounces of lightly salted, dry-roasted almonds each day (about 35 almonds) reduces overall hunger, does not affect body weight, and helps people to meet their ideal daily intake of Vitamin E.

Another study that was published on consuming nuts appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. It showed that people who eat nuts live longer than those who don’t. The study included 76,464 women and 42,498 men and found that the more times per week nuts were eaten, the greater the reduction in risk of death. Those who ate more nuts had 29% less deaths from heart disease. Continue reading “3 Healthiest Foods for a Long Life, Strong Heart and Healthy Joints”

How Goals Nurture and Balance Our Energy

I was recently asked why I found having goals so important. My response was, “working towards a goal helps me monitor my self care”.

Caring for oneself should be easy, innate and a priority when we are pursuing an ambition. However, this isn’t always the case. We can find ourselves burned out or exhausted in various ways not always recognizing how it happened.

To live in congruence with our own life force energy it’s important we see the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual capacities as actual sources of energy that we apply to achieving our life goals. We can then begin to see ways we can nurture and care for our energy and recognize when we cause exhaustion. Finding balance is much easier when we understand our own energy and begin monitoring where and how we use it.

I have broken down the capacities of energy and provided an example of how each capacity is used to implement self care when working towards a goal. I have chosen to use a goal in sport and my personal experience as an athlete. Continue reading “How Goals Nurture and Balance Our Energy”

How to Fight Overweight And Help Teens Lose Weight

Fighting overweight in teenagers can sometimes be difficult. Usually, children in their teens especially between the ages of 16-19 have some measure of liberty from their parents, and so can go to anywhere they feel like with friends and other acquaintances. Most times they like to visit fast food restaurants when they are hungry and go to exciting spots for fun. The temptations of fast food delicacies can be overwhelming for hungry teenagers.

One of the major implications of constantly patronizing fast food restaurants can be seen in the weight of teens that constantly visit these restaurants. There is no denying it, obesity and overweight are becoming problems of great concern to both parents and governments alike. Health professionals in the US believe that by the year 2030 1 in every 4 teenagers in the US will either be obese or overweight. Solution to teens overweight does not only lie on parents but also the teenagers have major roles to play.

We all know that teens can sometime be rebellious and outright stubborn to parents. A teenage child may resent the parents controlling guide lines and feel that he or she is unfairly treated or marginalized because of being overweight, this can be more frustrating especially for busy parents who do not have the time to monitor their teens. One way to discourage your teen from patronizing fast foods, is to always have an alternative healthy food at home. The best alternative in this case should be delicious and tasty home prepared foods. Besides, a completely new family lifestyle and eating habit have to be introduced, if the family has not been having breakfasts and dinners at home, this has to change. Continue reading “How to Fight Overweight And Help Teens Lose Weight”

How To Make Colored French Fries

Everyone loves French fries. However, it is the kids, who are thrilled to eat French fries all day long. However, the fries that are available in fast food outlets are not very healthy, as they contain a lot of unsaturated fat and sodium. So, it is best to make fries as home. However, then you may face another problem with your kids complaining that these fries are not as delicious as the ones available at the local fast food outlet. You can get your kids to eat the healthy fries by being a little creative.

Making colored French fries is not that difficult, as most people have all the necessary ingredients at home. Also, this dish is great for a kid’s party when all kids want to do is gorge themselves on junk food.

Wash six russet potatoes and dry them well using kitchen towel. Peel the potatoes and then cut them into 1/2-inch sticks. This width ensures that the fries cook faster.

Squeeze fresh lemons to get about half a cup of fresh lemon juice. Add the food coloring of your choice into the lemon juice. About 2 tablespoons of the coloring should suffice. Mix the lemon juice well to ensure that the coloring dissolves completely. Continue reading “How To Make Colored French Fries”

Orthorexia – Are You Obsessed With Healthy Eating?

Body Trust

A few months ago I took an online course at Be Nourished, about Body Trust. It hugely impacted my thinking about my body, weight, diet, exercise. I had put on quite a bit of weight in my early 40s and no matter what I did, nothing would budge it. But in the process I learned a lot about nutrition and exercise.

I had a lot of shame about my weight and the way I looked, and it really impacted my ability to be in the world and being seen. My thoughts in the day were taken up with exercise, and walking as many steps as I could. I had a fitbit and the fit bit scales, and I was constantly thinking about food, exercise and how to reduce my weight. I hated looking in the mirror, and I felt as if I wasn’t doing enough to get my weight down.

I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2016, and I had to go for 6 week blood tests for my thyroid and liver. Two of the tests for my liver showed my enzymes were elevated. Continue reading “Orthorexia – Are You Obsessed With Healthy Eating?”

Quick and Easy School Snacks to Pack For Your Kids:

Kids who participate in the whole process of planning, shopping ( if any) and preparing their lunchboxes to develop the ability to choose and enjoy healthy food.
Me and Little Ms.K usually plan our week together. This academic year, we decided to plan the menu for the lunch box as well. So, here are some of the easy school snacks to pack for kids where you can involve kids as well. Note: I have tried to avoid biscuits and cheese here because it doesn’t suit Little Ms.K, you can add your preferences.
Chapati Rolls
These are simple ones, you just have to make chapati and roll it with a filling of your choice. When we want it to be on the heavier side our filling has paneer in it otherwise there is Jam ( Homemade) or Ghee and Sugar.

• Coin Dosa
Coin Dosa is my go-to option for a no-fuss snack. All you need to have is the dosa batter. These are coin shaped dosas which can have a topping of cheese. Continue reading “Quick and Easy School Snacks to Pack For Your Kids:”