What a Feminist Looks Like

I received a link to this video today and what a great way to start my day. Enjoy.

Why Real Food, You Ask?

People often ask me if I have any rules about which foods I eat or don't eat. And the answer is no foods are off limits. What is off limits for me is fake food. This includes sugar substitute, fat substitute, and ingredients I can't pronounce. "But why shouldn't I eat fake food," people will ask me....often followed up with all the fake foods they love. "I can't live without my fat-free, sugar-free, raspberry cheesecake 100-calorie yogurt in the morning."

If you love your fat-free, sugar-free, chemical yogurt product, believe me, I'm not going to stop you from eating it. You have to eat what makes your body feel good. And what feels good to one body doesn't feel good to another one. But what I will say, and what I've always said, is that I can't guarantee that when you eat your fat-free, sugar-free foods that you'll ever be able to get quite as in tune with your fullness signals as you might if you ate real food.

And as today's story in the LA Timesproves my point. "The study in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience found that the calorie-free artificial sweetener appeared to break the physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, driving the rats to overeat."

If you're someone who needs science to prove it, please take this study as a good excuse to throw out your fake food and replace it with the real stuff! Try eating mindfully and enjoy every nook and cranny, ever luscious bite of everything you eat. And I bet that before you know it (probably before you've even finished your meal), you'll start to notice how much more in tune you've become with your hunger and fullness signals....all from switching to eating real food.

Imagine that...

Oprah Magazine Piece Got It

I am so pleased to report that Naomi Barr is spot on in her column in the February issue of Oprah Magazine. It's called "Maybe You Need To Gain 10 Pounds." Hurray! Finally some press and a reputable study showing that being a bit "overweight" is actually healthy! In all of the research and reading I've done over the years, I've read about this phenomenon many times -- that "overweight" is actually healthier than "under weight" and sometimes even healthier than "normal weight."

This particular government study shows that "carrying a few extra pounds may actually help you live longer." Yes, you read that correctly.

It goes on to say that in the study of 37,000 death records done by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, people who were "overweight" not only didn't have a greater risk of dying from cancer or heart disease than "normal weight" people, but that in fact they were less likely to die from chronic respiratory disease, infections and Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, among others.

The funny thing is that we're still using the terms normal weight, overweight and underweight, as if there is a standard that fits for everyone. Funnier still, because if "overweight" people are actually living longer than "normal weight" people, then shouldn't they also be given the much sought after label of "normal" too so they can stop feeling bad about their weight label?

Anyway, if you get Oprah magazine, check out this piece on the bottom of page 108. And paste it wherever you need the reminder to stop dieting and start living.

And by the way, happy new year!

Eat When You're Hungry E-Newsletter Coming Soon!

Are you committed to the non-dieting way of life? Do you want support in your choice to never diet again? Do you simply want a resource for healthy, supportive, non-dieting messages to balance out all of the self-defeating, diet-filled messages you're bombarded with daily? If you answered yes to any of these questions I have good news for you! I am getting ready to launch the Eat When You're Hungry E-Newsletter!

It's still in the works, but will be coming soon. If you want to sign up for this free non-dieting resource, simply go to my web site and subscribe in the pink box on the right-hand side of the screen. You'll receive an acknowledgement email after submitting your name and email address, and you can of course unsubscribe at any time.

As I'm putting this e-newsletter together, please feel free to send along any suggestions or questions you have as you release dieting from your life forever and embrace a natural, healthy relationship with food. I just may address your question or comment in the next newsletter (with your name left out for confidentiality)! To send suggestions and comments, contact me through my web site. I appreciate your feedback.

Happy Monday...

Kugel, Latkes, Brisket and Pie -- Oh My!

If you read my book you know that my mother-in-law knows how to cook.  Her meals are truly exquisite down to the china they're served on.  And last night was no exception.  We had an early Hannukah dinner which meant we had a feast of delicious food spread before us on beautiful platters and serving pieces that my mother-in-law has collected from around the world.  On the menu last night was brisket stewed in an apple cider, wild mushroom kugel, potato latkes, spinach and pomegranate salad, asparagus, challah and an English apple-blackberry pie.  Everything of course, was handmade.  And everything of course (since it was cooked my my mother-in-law), was delicious.
 
When it came time to fill our plates with food and dig in, I knew to take a smaller than usual portion of everything because there were so many different foods to taste.  There was also a hot apple-blackberry pie and freshly whipped cream waiting for us after dinner, and I wasn't about to miss out on that due to getting full too quickly.
 
When I took only one potatoe latke, my mother-in-law said, "Oh, come on, you can have more than that -- we have so much food!"  I cringed at the thought of appearing ungrateful for such a beautiful meal by only taking one latke, but the truth was that EVERYTHING looked so magnificent that I wanted to have all of it.....which meant one latke would be enough if I was also going to have a piece of challah, some of the kugel, brisket, salad, asparagus and .... the apple-blackberry pie with whipped cream.  "I need to save room for everything," I said.  "I can only eat so much."
 
After lighting the Hannukah candles and saying a prayer (we did it early this year because some of the family would be out of town on Hannukah), we lifted our forks and knives to begin experiencing the wonderful journey of flavors set before us.  Needless to say, absolutely everything was, as my grandmother would say, "Divine!"  "Maaaarvelous!"  I told my mother-in-law that of all the delicious meals she's made this one ranked as one of my favorites.  My husband's cousin agreed. 
 
When we got in the car, Jeremy said to me, "I don't feel stuffed at all."  "Neither do I," I said, "Tell me more."  So he continued, "Normally I would go back for seconds and I almost went back for another few latkes because they were so good, but I decided to wait and save room for dessert.  And by the time we were done with dinner and dessert I realized that my fullness caught up with me, so now I'm full but not stuffed.  I'm so glad I didn't go back for seconds because I am completely satisfied right now.  That really was a good meal!"
 
Today as I was walking from the kitchen to my office with leftovers from last night's dinner, two colleagues stopped and stared in awe at my food.  "This is one of the many gifts my mother-in-law has," I said proudly.  "She is an amazing cook."
 
And the best part about eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full is.....you get to have the meal all over again the next day when you're hungry at lunch time -- and you don't even have to cook!
 

A Common Question

Someone recently asked me what she should do when she finds herself eating past the point of fullness into the place of being uncomfortably stuffed.  This is a question that comes up frequently, so I thought I'd put my fingers to the keyboard and share the advice I tend to offer on this topic.
 
Generally what I ask is for you to consider a few questions....
 
Do you recognize when you are full, and yet you continue eating anyway? And if so, the deeper question is why? (And believe me, that's a hard question for everyone!) But take moment to think about it. What does the eating past fullness bring you? Perhaps it brings you comfort, perhaps distraction, perhaps you simply eat past fullness because the food you were eating didn't have the "satisfaction factor" you needed. Once you can answer these questions, you can begin to consider ways to address your concern. For example, what else is comforting to you, what else provides distraction, or what other foods can you choose that WILL feel satisfying to you?

And most importantly, don't beat yourself up about it. Each day is an opportunity for learning. And little by little you'll get to the place you want to be.

Hard Copies of Book Now Available!

This news is for all of you who have been asking for hard copies of Eat When You're Hungry.....they are now available! To purchase a hard copy of the book, go to https://www.cafepress.com/eatwhenhungry. You'll find the book under "Books and CDs" as well as lots of other goodies dedicated to helping you stop dieting and start living!

Want other Eat When You're Hungry updates? If so, please email me at maggie@eatwhenyourehungry.com with the subject "Update Me," and I'll add you to the list. I won't share your email address with anyone, and you can always email me to say you no longer want my messages. And don't worry....I won't email you every day -- only when I have new Eat When You're Hungry news!