Making Peace with Food: Book Review

Here it is. My first book review, and I've not written one before, so this is going to follow no particular format. I'm most excited to tell you about this book because it was the first book I ever read on the topic of non-dieting. I discovered it deep in the stacks of my college library and sat down on the library floor to start reading the book. I couldn't put it down at the time because I was in such desperate need for help. So without further adieu, my first book recommendation:

Making Peace with Food by Susan Kano

This book feels like a textbook and workbook all in one, and from the illustrations sprinkled through every chapter, you'll see right away that it was published in the 80s. But don't let that scare you. This book marked a turning point in my life, and I imagine in the lives of many other women and men struggling with eating disorders.

The cover of the book tells you exactly what you're getting. "OVERCOME YO-YO DIETING, BINGE EATING, FOOD ANXIETY, BODY ANXIETY, AND SELF-DEFEATING GUILT." Does the book accomplish this? Yes. Well, as much as a book can. The rest is up to the reader to dig deep and implement in his/her life.

Each chapter of Making Peace with Food includes a "Personal Questions" section at the end that asks the reader to answer questions that will usually illuminate themes from that chapter as they appear in his/her life. Many sections also include goals for the reader to strive towards on the journey of overcoming food anxiety.

One of the biggest takeaways for me in this entire book -- that I still talk about with clients today -- is the "setpoint theory."

Basically, the notion of setpoint theory is that our bodies each have a weight they are happiest at. This is the weight where we feel most energized, alive and frankly, comfortable. Our bodies want to be at this weight, so if we eat a little less than usual one day because we're in back-to-back meetings, our bodies aren't going to drop weight. They're going to fight to stay at their ideal setpoint weight. Likewise, if we eat a little more than usual one night, we're not going to bust out of our pants immediately. Our bodies will fight to stay at their ideal setpoint weight. Setpoint theory is very complex, and different things affect our bodies' setpoint weights throughout our lives including age, activity and genetics. The whole idea of setpoint theory spoke to me when I was going through my own process of recovery and I think the theory makes a lot of sense.

In general, I think Kano does an excellent job of relating her personal experience to readers and also imparting a hefty amount of information to the reader to convince them (if you've been dieting all your life, you need to be convinced that it doesn't work) that they can achieve freedom from food anxiety.

Great quote from the book, page 18:

"Some of us are meant to be very thin; some of us are meant to be very fat; and most of us are meant to be somewhere in between. We all deserve to be at peace with our bodies instead of in a constant state of tension and dissatisfaction. We all deserve to be proud of ourselves and our bodies no matter how fat or thin we are."

Making Peace with Food will help you understand that belief and so many more. It will also help you, especially if you're just starting out on this journey, to make peace with food and with yourself. Let me know if you've read this one and what you think.

If It's Thursday, It Must Be....

Chicken Noodle Casserole Night!

I like testing new recipes. Sometimes they're good and sometimes they're not. And sometimes they are tasty enough and easy enough to prepare that they make their way into our repertoire of weeknight family meals.

That's what happened with this Chicken Noodle Casserole, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

How this recipe came to be

I'd always wanted to make a tuna noodle casserole because, well, hasn't everyone eaten one at some point? Not me -- in 30+ years, I'd never eaten a tuna noodle casserole! So I finally looked up a recipe and made it. The dish was pretty good, but by night two (leftovers) I was sick of the fishy taste, so the next time around we used chicken instead and made some other adjustments to the recipe. Our version follows. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Chicken Noodle Casserole
INGREDIENTS
1 (8-ounce) package wide egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 can of chicken (we use the bigger, 12-ounce can), drained
1/2 bag of frozen peas
A few handfuls Planko or breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine flour, butter and salt. Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined evenly. Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens (no more than a few minutes). Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is well-blended. Stir in tuna, peas and noodles. Spread evenly in prepared dish. Top with Planko or breadcrumbs.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Book Reviews Coming Soon

Nearly every client I've worked with has asked me for book recommendations. Usually they have read Eat When You're Hungry, and many times they've read Intuitive Eating as well. But at a certain point in the coaching process, they want a new perspective on eating and body image. I totally get that.

I remember when I was going through my own process of recovery I felt exactly the same way. I wanted to read as many books as I could that reinforced the same messages: Love your body. You never have to diet ever again. Diets don't work. All bodies are beautiful. Learning how to eat mindfully is a journey and you will figure it out.

I think when we're taking on a new perspective we want to read as many books and articles about it as we can -- just to know that it "works," and to hear it from different people.

In support of you and your journey toward freedom in the food arena I am going to do my best to post book reviews of some of my favorite books on the topic, including the first one I ever read and the one that is sitting on my nightstand right now.

Some of my newest book recommendations didn't make it into the photo you see with this post, because they are loaned out from my personal library, so there will be more reviews than you see books in that pile. And yes, I had to include my own book, though I won't write a review of it. Those are on Amazon, and if I'm feeling it, maybe I'll ask someone to write a guest blog post that reviews it for me right here on my blog.

Have a great week everyone. Time for me to start writing book reviews!

Wholly Guacamole

I made a discovery in the produce aisle at the supermarket two weeks ago and I have to share it with you here.

The product is one you may already know about. It’s called Wholly Guacamole, and I think it’s getting a fair amount of buzz. I first discovered it at my friend Shelly’s house during book club a few months ago. As someone who regularly orders restaurant meals because they come with a dollop of guacamole, I can tell you I love the stuff, but it’s got to be good. I don’t like fancy spices or unexpected flavors in my guac, and as you know by now, I like mine homemade. Just about everything is better when you make it yourself.

However, when I first ate Wholly Guacamole at Shelly’s house, I a) assumed it was homemade, and b) wondered why on earth I’d ever make my own guac again (after discovering it was store-bought and not full of chemicals). This product was so perfect that it almost didn’t seem worth it to make my own anymore. And then I did. During Labor Day weekend, I made a batch for us to have one afternoon. It was pretty good, but honestly, not my best showing in the guac department.

A day later while we were grocery shopping, I had a full-on MOMENT in the middle of the produce section at the grocery store. I spotted what I thought was Wholly Guacamole single-serve packs, and froze immediately, as if zeroing in on a target. I did a double-take from afar and approached my target slowly. I then cautiously picked up what I thought couldn’t possibly be staring at me from the refrigerated supermarket shelf.

But it was!

“Oh my gosh!” I hollered. “Jeremy, come here!! You’ve got to see this,” I exclaimed. “Wholly Guacamole has single serve pouches now,” I told him. “Remember the guacamole I told you about from Shelly’s house!? It comes in single serve pouches,” I gloated. “I can take it to work for lunch and not worry about it getting brown.”

“Cool,” he said, happy to see me so excited about one of my favorite foods on the planet, now in a brilliant new (to me) package.

The next day I brought a sandwich to work for lunch (a rarity, as deli sandwiches don’t usually sound good to me), made on an English muffin. I proudly packed my Wholly Guacamole on the side with some chips in case I had extra guac that didn’t fit in my sandwich (which I did).

I felt like the skies opened up above my desk and gave me a big kiss when I ate that sandwich. All because of the guac.

And let me tell you – this is a bit of a confession, as I haven’t spoken about it on this site before – I don’t like lunch food all that much. My sister and I have a running joke that we hate lunch. For some reason, nothing sounds good to me at lunch, particularly if I’ve brought it from home. This has been going on for years, and of course I’ve found work-arounds so that I can enjoy my lunch.

But, oh my gosh, these single serve pouches of Wholly Guacamole may have just completely transformed my relationship with lunch. I’m excited to see my guac every time I open my lunch, and the options are endless. It will dress up just about any sandwich, and actually make it worth eating. I've even started buying extra vegetables just to dip into the guac that doesn't fit in my sandwich. I’ve always said that avocado is like a little bit of luxury in my mouth. Well, guacamole is a full-on party in my mouth.

Now, I get to enjoy it every day for lunch, thanks to the folks at Wholly Guacamole, who invented the single serve pouch.

Plus, the ingredients are simple: avocados, jalapeño puree, dehydrated onion, salt and granulated garlic.

Never a dull lunch again for this mamma. If you’re a fan of guac, I encourage you to find this stuff. Your lunchbox will thank you – and so will your taste buds!!

This is surely one of my most favorite products that I've reviewed to date. I only hope I’ve done justice to my newest discovery.

Reader Question: What if I Want to Eat When I'm No Longer Hungry?

I have heard from many Eat When You’re Hungry readers, “Maggie, I’ve done such a great job of eating mindfully. I tasted every delicious morsel of food at dinner and I even stopped when I was full. But then I got anxious (or sad, or bored, or tired, or excited...or fill in the emotion that applies to you), and though I wasn’t hungry, all I wanted to do was eat. HELP! What do I do? I only know how to soothe myself with food.”

Excellent question! This is probably one of the most common questions that comes up among people who are on the journey toward a non-dieting way of life. Particularly among those of us who have come to rely on such a wonderful companion -- food -- for so long.

The first step toward learning how to soothe yourself without using food (when you’re not hungry) is to stop, pat yourself on that back and say, “Wow, at least I got to where I am today even if it took a hundred sleeves of Oreos to get here." That’s right, I want you to acknowledge where you are today.

We need to accept and celebrate where we are today and where we’ve come from in order to get to where we want to be -- free from food restrictions and enjoying a non-dieting way of life!

The first thing I suggest to those wishing to release their reliance on food to soothe their emotions is the following: make a list of your top 10 favorite things to do. Some examples are getting a manicure and pedicure, pouring a cup of tea and curling up on the couch with your favorite book, going to the movies, calling your friends, playing with your kids, getting a massage, having a dance party for one in your bedroom, cleaning your closet, going for a walk, playing Tetris or jumping on your trampoline.

Now that you have this list you’re going to use it. I know just as well as you do that at some point soon you will find yourself standing in front of the refrigerator listening to an inner monologue that goes something like this. “I’m not hungry, but I want to eat. I’m bored, and this brownie will perk me up, or maybe I’ll have ice cream, or there’s that leftover pizza. Shoot, but I’m not hungry! What do I do? ” Ah - ha! This is what you do. You close the fridge, get out your list of self-soothing activities and choose one to engage yourself in for the next half-hour. This may feel funny at first, and you may feel sad to give up the ice cream sundae that you weren’t hungry for -- at first. But just remember, that ice cream sundae and that pizza will be waiting for you in the fridge/freezer just as soon as you’re hungry for them. And they’ll be so much more enjoyable when you’re eating them with an appetite in your belly.

Do you want to know a secret? You might always feel a little sad to turn down food that you want when you’re not hungry. Just the other night after finishing a tasty dinner of meatloaf and veggies, I wanted to eat a bowl of ice cream. But I knew I wasn’t hungry for it. The meatloaf I made was quite filling, and I just didn’t have room for ice cream at that particular moment. I was thinking about the ice cream for a good 10 minutes while we started catching up on The Daily Show from the week prior, but by the end of the first show, I’d forgotten entirely about the ice cream. And that’s what you’ll find happens with you. You won’t necessarily not think about eating when you’re not hungry, but you’ll learn how to self-soothe without food. And in the process, you’ll tap into an inner strength you never knew you had.

I hope this has helped shed some light on the common question about eating when you’re not hungry. Write to me and let me know what your experience has been with this. And remember, eat exactly what you want, when you’re hungry, and stop when you’re full.

How I Feel About Exercise

How do I feel about exercise? It’s the title of a chapter in my book and a question I get asked frequently. I will say that I feel very differently about exercise today than I did a year ago, when I was about a month away from giving birth to my daughter.

Before becoming pregnant I was a walker. Ever since college when I began walking with my roommate in the beautiful Gambier, Ohio, walking was my chosen form of exercise. I loved it. I would wake up early in the morning and walk outside before work for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. That was "My Time." My sacred time to myself before the day began. Over the years, I have also enjoyed tennis and dance, swimming, skiing and an occasional jog on days I had a particularly large amount of energy to burn off.

Despite my love for these activities, when I got pregnant I ceased practically all body movement. Why? Because I was TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For 39 weeks, I didn’t exercise at all, with the exception of a few short walks with my husband for fresh air. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend such an abrupt end to exercise, as I think more movement would have actually been good for me while I was pregnant, but my body didn’t want to move much during those 39 weeks and I listened to it.

How things change when you have a baby...after giving birth to Emily, along with practically every single thing in my life turning upside down, so did my exercise. I craved any and all forms of body movement almost as much as I craved all the food I was putting into my body. I think I craved it because my body missed the natural high it gets from exercising. Perhaps exercise also signaled that I was taking back my body after loaning it out -- happily -- to my daughter.

So when I got approval from my doctor, I started moving. Of course I took stroller walks proudly showing off my baby girl to fellow exercises who wanted a peak inside the stroller (I still do!). But because it was so hot and I was fearful of my baby overheating, I quickly took my exercise inside. While she was napping I did workout videos, strength training with free weights....heck, I must admit that I actually hoola hooped in front of the TV while Emily was sleeping one day. During this time I also took a few (very intense) treadmill classes while granny or grandma watched Emily, and it felt AMAZING!

Now that I'm back at work, my time to exercise is limited, but I'm still squeezing it in. My husband and I are actually working out together these days. We're doing a CRAZY set of workout DVDs that I never imaged would be sitting in our bookshelf. They're called Insanity. You may have heard of them. The workouts are literally INSANE. I couldn’t possibly do everything the instructor tells me to do, and I am by no means following the schedule of workouts that the instructor suggests. What I am doing is pushing myself hard, and enjoying a good sweat and stress reliever at the end of the day (at least a few times a week). I'm also feeling stronger than I’ve felt in years.

Before I go further, I must say that I hesitated writing this post because I know that for many people, a workout program such as Insanity is something that plays into the restricting, diet-focused mentality that I try to protect you from here on this site. But I’m writing this post because I am truly enjoying the workouts (and the increased energy they produce), and because I want to relay the message that you can enjoy exercise – even very intense exercise – without buying into the diets and punishment that often go along with it.

Like me, you may have to make a conscious effort to tune out messages about weight loss that are spewed forth in workout classes and on home workout DVDs. You can’t control the entire world’s messages about weight and body image. But if you enjoy moving your body and want to feel stronger, you deserve to do it. I’m engaging in more intense exercise than I’ve ever done because it feels good, and frankly, because I want to build my muscles so that as Emily grows, my body keeps up with her.

AND I DON’T FEEL GUILTY IF I MISS A NIGHT – OR A WEEK – OF EXERCISE.

Believe me, there are many nights when Jeremy wants to exercise and I don’t. Sometimes I push myself to participate, and sometimes I don’t. Because these workout DVDs are a treat for me now, and not punishment, I look forward to them in an entirely different way than I would have when I was struggling with food issues years ago.

So I ask you – are there any activities you’re denying yourself because of the associations they carry?

Happy International No Diet Day!

I almost missed International No Diet Day yet again. How did you mark the occasion? Or did you? Every day is a no diet day for me.

On that note, I hope you had a wonderful day filled with delicious food and mindful eating.

To the right is a close-up of the blueberry muffins I baked this past weekend -- and have been eating every morning for breakfast. Recipe follows:

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

(Recipe courtesy The Gourmet Cookbook)

For Batter

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups (12 ounces) blueberries (I usually use frozen)

For Topping

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.

Generously butter (I use cooking spray) muffin cups.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over moderately low heat; remove from heat.

Whisk in milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until well combined.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Add milk mixture and stir until just combined.

Gently but thoroughly fold in blueberries.

Divide batter among muffin cups and spread evenly.

Combine all topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly.

Sprinkle evenly over batter in cups.

Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around edges of muffin tops and carefully remove from cups. Serve warm or at room temperature.