Love your body, Love your Spirit!
What is Eating Psychology?
Eating Psychology Coaching is an exciting and cutting edge approach developed by the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. It effectively addresses weight concerns, binge eating, overeating, body image challenges, and various nutrition related health concerns. As an Eating Psychology Coach, my approach is positive and empowering. I don’t see your eating challenges merely as a sign that “something is wrong with you” – but as a place where we can more fully explore some of the personal dimensions in life that impact food, weight and health. Oftentimes, our eating challenges are connected to work, money, relationship, family, intimacy, life stress and so much more. By working on the places that are most relevant for you, success is more easily achieved. As an Eating Psychology Coach, I look to support you with coaching strategies and nutrition principles that are nourishing, doable, sustainable, and that yield results.
What is Mind-Body Nutrition?
Mind-Body Nutrition is an exciting and timely new field that advances the practice of clinical nutrition by exploring the psychophysiology of how thoughts, feelings and beliefs impact nutritional metabolism and health. Originated by Marc David, Founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, it goes far beyond classical nutrition by focusing on the fascinating connections between brain, body, and behavior. Simply put, what we eat is only half of the story of good nutrition. The other half is who we are as eaters. Mind Body Nutrition reveals how stress physiology, the relaxation response, breathing, awareness, pleasure, meal timing and much more profoundly influence digestion and calorie burning. And it offers practical and results-oriented strategies for the most commonly seen eating challenges and health issues of our times.
My approach
For far too long, we’ve been inundated by negative messages about food, weight and diet. We’ve been told that we’re willpower weaklings or that we need more control. The majority of nutrition experts promote conflicting advice. The result is people are confused about what to eat, and how to have a happy relationship with food and a healthy metabolism. In my professional practice, I combine many of the best strategies from nutrition science and eating psychology. By eliminating all the “shoulds and shouldn’ts”, I focus on what’s right for your body and your personal style. As we work together in this way, eating and health issues become a place of exploration. Instead of seeing such challenges as the enemy, they become opportunities for growth and self-improvement. In my training at the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, I’ve learned to help clients reach their highest goals not by strategies that punish, but through strategies that nourish.
10 Tips to increase your success when following an eating program
By Kimberly Sammaritano
Willpower is an interesting concept in the weight loss industry. Our bodies are chemically driven, controlled by a delicate balance of hormones that, if out of balance, have us naturally looking for easy, high energy foods and quick fixes. Stress is a huge contributing factor to our internal chemistry going awry. Stress chemistry is commonplace in the fast-paced lives we all live. The chemicals produced in a stressed system, such as cortisol, have a major influence on the food choices we make. These chemicals are “willpower saboteurs”, in that, they cause food cravings that are seemingly beyond our control. Try these 10 strategies when committing to a lifestyle program.
Willpower is an interesting concept in the weight loss industry. Our bodies are chemically driven, controlled by a delicate balance of hormones that, if out of balance, have us naturally looking for easy, high energy foods and quick fixes. Stress is a huge contributing factor to our internal chemistry going awry. Stress chemistry is commonplace in the fast-paced lives we all live. The chemicals produced in a stressed system, such as cortisol, have a major influence on the food choices we make. These chemicals are “willpower saboteurs”, in that, they cause food cravings that are seemingly beyond our control. Try these 10 strategies when committing to a lifestyle program.
- Relaxation chemistry is essential for weight loss. Happy hormones make for a happy body. Make an effort to engage in activities that relax you. Go for a walk, talk to a good friend, take a yoga or gym class, listen to an audio book or read. All of these activities reduce stress, and thus reduce stress chemicals. Try taking 8 slow deep breaths before you eat, this will encourage relaxation, and a relaxed system digests and assimilates food much more effectively than a stressed system. Stress hormones like cortisol can cause weight gain, especially around the abdomen in chronically stressed individuals. Relaxation brings these hormone levels down.
- Identify your trigger foods. We all have them. Its that one food, that once you have a bite, you literally cant stop yourself from having more. Those foods should be eliminated from your house immediately.
- Open communication between you and your family and friends. Include those closest to you in your journey. Share with them what you want to achieve, and tell them what your trigger foods and no-go zones are. Honest communication about your needs will help those close to you honour your journey. Ask them not to bring your trigger foods to your house, or not to offer them to you at theirs.
- Avoid body shame triggers. If this means that you need to avoid that aunt that has a nasty habit of reminding you that your butt looks big, do it. If that means not going clothes shopping for a month, until you’re on track and seeing and feeling results, do that. Stay away from people and things that make you feel shame about your body, your journey or who you are, until you’re strong enough to face them without being derailed in your efforts. Shame is a huge trigger for emotional eating and binging.
- Let go of perfectionism. No one is perfect. And I am willing to bet, you are your own biggest critic. I have to ask… has criticizing yourself and beating yourself up about every mistake you have made helped you achieve your goals? Perfectionism is a dangerous space to be in. It leads to black and white thinking, which doesn’t allow for real authenticity and can derail your weight loss efforts. Perfectionism is a common cause of binge eating, because of the shame experienced from deviating from the program. It often leads to a spiral of uncontrolled eating because its all-or-nothing black and white perspective. There is a huge difference between a “cheat” meal and a binge. The body can recover from a small deviation, but a binge is much more for the body to cope with.
- Find fun and reward in activities other than eating. Most of us have childhood experiences of getting a sweet, ice-cream or some sort of edible treat as a reward for good behavior. This becomes ingrained in our psyche. We use food as reward, and often as a punishment too. Finding activities that are fun and feel like a reward make for soul food. That is far more satisfying and the joy lasts longer.
- Identify your emotions in the moment. Standing, staring blankly into the depths of your fridge, looking for “something”, but you know what you’re looking for isn’t in the fridge… Take a couple of deep breaths, and feel into yourself. What are you feeling? Try label it to the best of your ability. Are you sad, lonely, angry, tired, overwhelmed? All of those feelings can send us scavenging for snacks and off-the-plan foods. Once you identify what you’re actually feeling, you can address that feeling directly, instead of mindlessly eating and then feeling guilty afterwards.
- Become your own best friend. Be your own biggest cheerleader. Have a picture of your desired outcome in a place where you can be reminded of your goal frequently… Like on your fridge, and then choose the foods that you would choose for your best friend in support of them, and stock the fridge with that! Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself with compassion.
- Celebrate your successes daily. Keep track of your achievements. Keep a food diary, or any other tracking tool you enjoy. Tracking helps us identify the triggers we have for going off the program, but it also helps us keep track of what we are doing right! Stick with what works for you, and celebrate the successes.
- If you try these strategies, without success, I strongly urge you to see a nutritionist or eating coach to ensure that the eating plan you have chosen is suitable for you, and providing you with the nutrients you require. Nutritional deficiencies cause food cravings. It is essential that the program you are following provides you with the full spectrum of nutrients required for healthy functioning.
