Eat When You're Hungry -- at Thanksgiving Too!

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is already upon us, and my apologies for not posting sooner. I've been very busy to say the least. I've also noticed a recent increase in form submissions on my Web site and book sales. I don't have a magic crystal ball to tell me if this will continue through the holiday season, but I suspect it will. And, to be honest, it doesn't surprise me in the least. While the holiday season has reason to be depicted as warm and fuzzy in commercials – it is a wonderful time to spend with family and friends – it also brings with it loads of anxiety or even depression for some people.

Why? Well, let's count the reasons. Loss of loved ones, recent breakups, having a life that doesn't seem to "measure up" to what it's "supposed to be" at this time of year, and….food. For those of you currently in the midst of trying to make peace with food once and for all, the holidays bring with them, food. Lots of it, and lots of feelings about it.

I remember when I was in the throes of my very restrictive behavior around food, I used to do any number (and sometimes a combination) of the following:

- Worry if there'd be anything "for me to eat" at Thanksgiving dinner
- Feel guilty (or weird) that I wasn't starving myself all day for the big meal
- Worry about what people would think of me if I only ate the leanest of the turkey and the least "offending" of the vegetables and skipped dessert altogether
- Tried to figure out how I could pull off the above without anyone thinking I was doing anything differently than anyone else

As I write (and re-read) this now, it seems absolutely ludicrous to me that my mind used to operate this way. I say that not from a place of judgment, but actually from a place of gratitude that I really, truly, have overcome all of the issues I used to have with food. When I was in the throes of this mindset (and once I finally wanted to be free from it), I thought I would never FULLY recover from it. You read all over the place that, "once and eating disorder, always an eating disorder." And I guess what I've been astonished by is how untrue that has been for me. Yes, I still have times when I wish I could rely on food to create a sense of control in my life or to give me a feeling of a "fresh start," but after about 30 seconds of going down that route, I realize I couldn't make myself go there even if I tried. It's just not me anymore.

I've probably gotten off track with this post, but I've been struggling with blog content lately because I actually feel so far removed from my previous dieting mindset. I am still 100 percent committed to helping as many people as I possibly can to stop dieting and start living, though. So plan to come back to my site often. We'll see how it transforms in the new year.

In the meantime, I wish you a happy, healthy and delicious Thanksgiving filled with all of the things you want. And remember, it's okay to be a picky eater, even at Thanksgiving. I can't wait for my mom's chocolate walnut pie (which tastes like a giant chocolate chip cookie) and you can bet that I'll be skipping the sweet potato brulé (I don't like sweet potatoes or brulé, but particularly not together) to save room for my favorite part of the whole meal.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Fat Talk Free Week

These are the kinds of videos I've dreamt about making, but I'm just not skilled enough in technology to pull it off. Watch this. It's powerful, poignant, well-executed and oh-so-important. If you were caught up in your head when you arrived at my blog today, watch this. It'll bring you back down to earth. Turn on your volume, hit play and enjoy. Then pass it on.

20/20 Tackles Orthorexia

I am both thrilled and crushed all at the same time tonight. Thrilled to see that 20/20 aired an extensive story on orthorexia, and crushed because I missed it. I'd actually talked to one of the producers of this episode to share my personal story of orthorexia and recovery. And frankly, I thought the story was dropped. It wasn't. And I'm so glad it wasn't. I guess 20/20 stories just take a lot of hard work, research and time to get produced.

I'm so glad these producers found the resources they needed to complete the story, and I certainly hope I'll be able to get my hands on a copy of it. In the meantime, if you missed it too, you can at least read the online version of the story here.

I want to give a big shout-out tonight to Miguel Sancho, John Stossel and 20/20 for diving into orthorexia, a disease that's often quite perplexing to those outside of it.

If you're not familiar with orthorexia, it's basically an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. People with orthorexia become obsessively fixated on the purity and health of every morsel of food that goes into their bodies. And thanks to the saturation of our airwaves with dieting messages and dieting gurus and diet, diet, diet, it's no wonder that orthorexia has become our nation's next eating disorder.

As you know if you've read my book, orthorexia was my eating disorder of "choice." I am living proof that you can recover -- FULLY -- from it, and it's my mission to help you do exactly that. Food doesn't have to be an obsession. And if we all commit to seeking out supportive, rather than diminishing, resources, we can end our nation's unhealthy obsession with dieting. Statistics show that 80 percent of eating disorders start out as diets. Don't be part of that statistic. Easiest way to achieve that -- don't diet.

Instead, learn to eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full and love your self. And...send a message to 20/20 to say, "Thumbs Up" for giving a voice to a previously silent eating disorder.

The Joys (and Tastes) of a 3-Day Weekend

I don't know about you, but I'm eating up this three-day weekend. My husband and I decided to stay at home for this holiday and we haven't regretted our decision once. Particularly since we re-discovered the beauty of our favorite appliance ever: the bread machine. When we were deciding what to make for dinner last night, I said, "What about homemade pizza?" and his eyes lit up about as bright as my were shining when I thought of the idea.

We'd never made pizza dough before, so the whole process was new and therefore fun and oh-so-yummy. I got the ball rolling on this one, but as soon as the dough was ready to come out of the bread machine Jeremy couldn't take his hands off it. There's something about digging your hands into real homemade dough without the emulsifiers and pectins and guar and xanthum gums...and whatever else comes in the pre-packaged stuff.

And I have to say -- this pizza was the best pizza I remember eating in a long time. As you'll see above, this wasn't a picture-perfect pie because we had to break the dough into two oblong pieces to fit in the cookie sheets we had. But it made it even more fun to eat.

If you're wondering what was in Maggie & Jeremy's best pizza ever, here are the ingredients, which I'm proud to say are fully pronounceable and amount to only 8 ingredients! Dough: warm water, olive oil, all purpose flour, salt, sugar, dry yeast; and then cheese and pepperoni, which came from Whole Foods. DELISH!

We were planning to go to our favorite gelato store in the city after dinner, but both of us were so satisfied with this meal (with also entailed broccoli cooked with garlic and olive oil) that we didn't want dessert -- and that's practically unheard of for us.

I'm telling you -- Eat When You're Hungry (make it good-quality stuff), and stop when you're full. It's the only thing you ever need to know when it comes to food and feeling good.

Happy Labor Day!

America The Beautiful

I just found out about America The Beautiful, a documentary exploring our nation's obsession with beauty. I am turning my schedule upside down so I can see it this weekend, and I encourage you to do the same. Check out the trailer below. I'm so excited about this film. I think it's going to be an important one. Come out and support it with me!

Way To Go, Margaret Cho!

Despite being a person who rarely uses a bad word -- it just doesn't come naturally to me -- last year I shared a piece written by Margaret Cho that, aside from being filled with f-bombs, was brilliant. Today I'm happy to follow that up with this "news." Cho's weight loss is making headlines this month and for once in my life I'm happy to share the news of someone's weight loss on this blog.

Why? Because Margaret Cho reminds us all that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Because Margaret Cho reminds us that she eats ice cream and pizza and chips. Because Margaret Cho reminds us that diets don't work, and that listening to our bodies -- even when they want cheeseburgers -- does work. It works by helping us tune into our own hunger and fullness signals. It helps us learn to appreciate our curves, our strengths, and yes, even our weaknesses.

Back to watching the Olympics. Just wanted to share this with you before the "news" is forgotten.

And so you're not surprised, I plan to re-post Margaret Cho's original piece as long as the link is live. It just doesn't go stale.

Dieting Doesn't Work. Intuitive Eating Does

We all have reason to celebrate today. And to thank Ken Carlson for writing a great piece in The Modesto Bee about intuitive eating. I hope to see more of these soon.

Only thing I must caution you about when reading this piece is the last part of the article where a source from WW says that WW is not a diet. HA! Though believe me, I understand the requirements of journalism and balanced reporting, so this was probably necessary.

If you ignore that last bit about the WW DIET, this is a great article on intuitive eating.

This is all very funny timing for me. For some reason, I've encountered a lot of people recently who are on diets. Friends, colleagues and acquaintances who are skipping out on things they enjoy (wine, salad dressing, you name it) because it isn't allowed on their particular diet.

This saddens me. Immensely. Because study after study after study after study has shown that diets don't work. As Traci Mann, UCLA associate professor of physchology and lead author of a study on dieting, said, "Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people."

And....intuitive eating does. So take a deep, appreciative breath of life. Close your eyes for a moment. And remember that if you listen to it, your body will tell you exactly what it wants -- and needs -- to eat. Honor that.

And have a great weekend while you're at it.

Take a Stand!

My number one mission in launching Eat When You're Hungry was to help as many people as I possibly could to stop dieting and start living. I'm proud to say that I think I'm doing that, reaching one person at a time. At the heart of my efforts is and always has been health.

Health of body
Health of mind
Health of spirit

Given my commitment to health, I was awe-struck when I learned about a new movement called Stand Up To Cancer. It's mission is simple yet poignant -- to Stand Up To Cancer. The site beautifully states that "this is where the end of cancer begins: when we unite in one unstoppable movement and Stand Up To Cancer."

So check out what is shaping up to be a pretty massive movement. All inspired by people's personal experiences with cancer. You can share your story, take a stand, launch a star, or befriend the movement on Facebook.

I may be posting more about this in coming weeks, so stay tuned. But for now, consider doing something grand today -- go out there and take a stand!

Birthday Bowls (thanks Katie!)

My sister bought me these adorable bowls for my birthday this past Wednesday, and after eating out of one of them today I had to write about it. After all, when there's even an iota of an Eat When You're Hungry lesson I have to share it here first.

To finish off my lunch today, I cut up some fresh pineapple, and while I'd normally serve my fruit in a plain glass bowl, today I served it (to myself) in one of my adorable new birthday bowls. It will be no surprise to anyone that I chose the pink one to try first. After cutting up the fruit and placing it inside the bowl, it was time to sit down and eat. And let me tell you -- it was just about the cutest, birthday-ish pineapple I've ever eaten. Because the bowl was so fun to eat out of, I ended up savoring each and every bite of pineapple so I wouldn't have to put away my brand new bowl too soon.

So if you're having trouble slowing down your eating and actually tasting your food, try serving meals on/in your most favorite dishes. If you don't have anything other than boring white dishware, splurge on one pretty dish, and start with that. It'll be a whole lot cheaper for you -- and don't even get me started on how much healthier it will be -- than starting a new diet.

Below....my new birthday bowls, and some Saturday afternoon pineapple.

Summer Special

Tomorrow is the first official day of summer, and I have one message for you: beware of advertisements that are going to try to convince you to start a new diet. Airwaves around the world (as well as new stands, water cooler conversations and grocery check-out lines) are saturated with dieting messages right now. These messages can be alluring because they're fueled by a multi-billion dollar diet industry that's dependent on signing you up for a new gimmick just in time for bathing suit season.

In order to stay true to my original mission -- to help as many people as I possibly can to stop dieting and start living -- I'm dropping the price of my book to $9.99.

If you haven't bought my book yet, and are feeling tempted by the smiling faces of people dancing across the screen (or page) in dieting ads, buy it now.

Imagine a summer spent in freedom. No dieting, no restricting, and no foods off-limits.

I'm off to try a new recipe for peanut-butter and jelly bars -- kind of like peanut butter cookies meets blondies meets PB&J. I thought it would be a good snack to bring pool side on the first day of summer.

Happy swimming!

The Magic of Mindfulness

I've got to give a shout-out to The Wall Street Journal for publishing an article by Melinda Beck this week about mindful eating. Apparently Duke Integrative Medicine is studying how eating mindfully can help people heal from eating disorders. And I say, way to go!

If you need a refresher course on mindful eating, definitely read Ms. Beck's piece.

Please note, however, that just because you're eating mindfully doesn't mean you're going to feel satisfied with three bites of food. While I appreciate Ms. Beck's article (that should be clear by now), I also know that the dieting-minded among you are going to feel guilty for wanting more than three bites of food. Reality check -- I eat mindfully most of the time. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm satisfied. I enjoy every bite. And I generally eat way more than three bites of food. Enough said.

If you really want to dig deep, picture yourself not only eating mindfully, but living mindfully. Right now. Do it. Not in ten minutes. Not tomorrow. Right now. Can you feel your eyes moving across the screen reading this post, can you feel your finger on your mouse, scrolling down the page? What about your lips, are you noticing them curling into a smile yet?

Happy Wednesday evening.

What Do You Feel Like Eating Today?

I came across this article today by Donna Fish in The Huffington Post and I think it's worth sharing. She paints a very real picture of what intuitive eating looks like and shows that even when you've made peace with food and learned how to listen to your body, you're going to order wrong in a restaurant now and then. And by wrong, I mean you ordered something that didn't satisfy you.

Guess what? It happens, even to those of us who are in a healthy place with food. Even I -- who generally listen to my body by eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm full -- have meals that don't satisfy me and lead me to eat past fullness because I didn't enjoy the food I was eating and thought that by eating more I'd somehow magically feel satisfied. (Note: that never works)

So, do yourself a favor and read this article. Just another perspective that I think you'll enjoy.

What Is Image, Anyway?

People often ask me what they can do to improve their body image. It's a good question and one that is not easily answered in a nice, neat sound bite. My first reaction to that question is generally another question: "What fills you up? What makes your juices flow? What do you care about and what makes you laugh?"

By immersing ourselves in issues, pursuits and interests that will fill our lives with much more meaning than a "pretty" body ever could, we almost circumvent the need for a wonderful "body image." Not that positive body image isn't valuable -- it is. But I find it most helpful to start with a pursuit of a positive self image. If you get that down, the body image will follow.

That being said, take a look at an excerpt from a wonderful book I discovered this week. Boy do I want to get my hands on a full copy of this book! And though I've not met you, Rosanne Olson -- kudos to you for this new release. We need more work like this floating around our bookstores.

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!