The other day someone asked me about Citric Acid and if it is harmful. She is trying to eliminate harmful foods from her and her family’s diet. In just a few short paragraphs, I will answer that for her and you.
Citric acid is weak tricarboxylic acid found in citrus
fruits. The highest food sources are
lemons and limes. Although you won’t
find citric acid listed in any database or calorie counting app, citrus fruits
have been tested in labs to determine amounts.
You can find citric acid added to foods as a preservative. It has a sour and acidic taste. It is commonly used when canning tomatoes and in products that you add to fresh fruit to prevent it from turning brown. I have some in my cupboard for science experiments and home-made bath bombs!
Citric acid is perfectly safe. Your body breaks it down and excretes it
through your urine. In fact, it may even
be helpful in preventing calcium oxalate kidney stones. Studies show that citric acid can prevent the
stones from forming. Studies are mixed
on whether drinking lemon or lime juice can treat current kidney stones. But if stones are a concern for you, it
certainly won’t hurt.
Bottom-line, there is no need to worry about citric acid in
your food. There are more important
things to think about…like what’s for dinner?
Please share: are
there any food additives that you are concerned about and you want me write a
blog post about?
One of the quotes I love to share with my clients is:
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
No matter what kind of goal you have: financial, health, dream vacation, etc., it begins with a single step. A baby step, as I like to call it. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when we look at the big picture: pay off the car, lose 100 lbs, or go on a cruise. I’ve noticed for some people it seems so daunting that they don’t even try. That’s when it’s time to break it down into manageable steps.
First, take out a big sheet of clean, white paper (or your favorite color) and jot down all the steps you need to take to reach your goal. Second, choose the very first step that must be done. Third, do it! The first step doesn’t have to be big. The best part of taking a step is that you are moving towards your goal, which helps build your confidence. Then the next day, take another step, and the next day another one, and another one until you’ve done it!
You’ll find as you take baby steps day after day, your
confidence will improve, your overwhelm will decrease, and you will feel
better.
Please share: what baby step are you going to take today? Comment below or on my Facebook page.
One of my frequently asked questions is, “How many times a day should I eat?” I’ve got the answer for you! Research shows it’s ideal to eat at least 3 times per day and then the rest is up for you to decide. Eating at least 3 meals a day is ideal for managing appetite hormones, metabolism, and hunger. There is no research to support whether snacks are necessary for weight control. For some people, eating snacks causes them to overeat because they snack on cookies, chips, and soda. For others, snacking is necessary because they don’t like to eat big meals. That’s where personalization comes in.
How many times a day should you eat? It’s up to you!
My suggestion is to keep a food journal and track your
mood and energy level based on your meals and snacks. See if you do better with 3 snacks and 3
meals or just 3 meals (or anywhere in between).
To take it a step further, pay attention to how the
snacks and meals make you feel. Do some snacks weigh you down and others
energize you? Does eating big meals make
you feel sleepy or satisfied? Pay
attention to trends and use that to guide you in how many snacks and meals are
ideal for you.
And if you need help with your meal plan after that, check out my services to see which is the best fit for you.
Please share: do
you prefer to snack or not to snack?
A client asked me the other day, “what is the healthiest food to eat?” What do YOU think the answer is? I said, “Beans.” Beans are one of the most nutritious foods for a few reasons:
They are a good source of complex carbohydrates. That means they are digested slowly and will give you a nice steady stream of energy.
They are a good source of protein. Protein is essential for strong muscles, a healthy immune system, and hormone balance. It also keeps you fuller longer.
They are a good source of fiber. Fiber also keeps you fuller longer and keeps your bowel movements regular.
Beans are inexpensive and versatile. They can be added to salads and soups, main dishes, side dishes, and even desserts!
Please share: what
are your favorite ways to eat beans?
What would you say is the most nutritious food?
I know you’ve felt it before…you dread getting up in the
morning and dragging through one more day.
Burn out is real. And it can take
a toll on your health: it is associated with heart disease, insomnia, obesity,
and anxiety. Can you relate? If so, check out this infographic from
Happify.
If you recognize any of the symptoms of burnout listed on the graphic, I encourage you to download the Happify app. It’s a great tool to improving your mental health—which then trickles down to physical health. And then, talk to me. Let’s figure out how we can change your diet and exercise routine to alleviate any symptoms you are experiencing.
Please share, what are the signals and signs when you are feeling burnout?
Do you have a go-to food or activity that numbs you out after a long day or an emotional event? C’mon, be honest: is it scrolling through Facebook, playing a game on your phone, or grabbing a bag of chips? If you’re an emotional eater, then you can relate. What are those foods you gravitate towards when you want to feel better? Chocolate? Ice cream? Bread? If you know what I’m talking about, chances are you also feel guilty about eating these foods. Well, I want to take that guilt away and instead teach you what these foods are telling you.
Your body has an amazing and insightful secret to share
with you:
When you reach for food and you are not physically hungry, it’s telling you “Something’s wrong!” It’s shouting at you to stop and listen.
It’s so common to plow through your day without ever
stopping to listen to your body and see what it needs. So, when you are craving food, think of it as
a red flag. Your body is saying, “Did
you forget about me? Something is wrong
and I want you to fix it.”
Next time you find yourself reaching for your go-to food,
notice is for what it is (a cry for help) and take these steps:
Do a head to toe scan to find any areas of pain or discomfort. Do you have a headache? Are your feet hurting? If so, do what you can to alleviate the pain or discomfort.
If you find no obvious pain or discomfort, examine your feelings. What are you feeling? What triggered those feelings? Did you have an upsetting interaction with a co-worker? Are your kids stressing you out? Are you mad at your best friend? Once you find the source, do what you can to fix it (that doesn’t involve food).
This is a learning process. It’s important to be patient
and compassionate with yourself as you learn to work through difficult emotions
and events. But you can do it! I’ve seen others learn how and I know you can
too.
If you need help applying these steps, check out my programs to see which one might be a good fit for you.
In the meantime,
please share: what are your go-to foods and why?
I
know this is a personal question, but how do you feel about your body? What do you think when you look in the
mirror? Are your thoughts positive or
negative? What do you think when you see
models and celebrities? Do you envy
their slender bodies or do you think that you would not want to work as hard as they do to maintain that shape? How do
you feel about your relationship with food? Is food the enemy? Take a few minutes to think about these
questions, or better yet, discuss with a friend or write them in your journal.
Thinking
about these questions can be eye-opening for some or painful for others. I bring this up because my goal for all my
patients is to accept their bodies where they are. Next time you are in a crowd of people,
notice the vast difference in our bodies.
No one person is the same and that’s what makes us unique. Life would be
boring if we were all the same height, weight, and shape.
Do
you think that everything you see in magazines and TV is real? You would be surprised how some of what we
see is not real. Illusions are created
by the power of technology in the hands of the beauty industry who wants us to
believe that we are not good enough as we are (so we will spend money on their
beauty products). This illusion of
beauty and “perfect” bodies are all around us. So much that we don’t know what
reality is anymore. Want to know what reality is? Go to the mall or other public place and
people-watch. Reality is every day
people in all shapes, sizes, and colors; real people with real struggles and
real lives. In my Stop the Food Fight
class I’ll be showing you a few pictures of air brushed celebrities that will
surprise you. I know we can’t change the
media and beauty industry, but we can change ourselves. We can remind ourselves and teach our
daughters and sons that what we see in the media is not always real. Beauty has nothing to do with your weight or
body fat percent. It’s all about what
kind of person you are.
My
hope is that you can get to the point where food is not the enemy and your body
is not the enemy. You can do that by
what I call, “Stopping the Food Fight.”
That means you learn to accept the diversity of our body shapes, just as
you accept the diversity of nature. And
second you learn to nourish your bodies by honoring your hunger and fullness.
How do you do that, you may wonder?
1.
Keep a food log of when you eat and WHY you eat. Notice how the foods make you feel.
2.
Consciously observe the people around you and say positive things about their
bodies (not out loud!) and your body (you can say them out loud!). This is a gradual process that I love to take
my clients through.
If you need more help with this and want to discuss this with like-minded individuals, join me for my June Master’s Group where we are learning to “Stop the Food Fight.”
In the meantime, please share: how do you feel about your body?
I love to dream big. How about you? It’s fun to day dream about all the wonderful things to accomplish or places to go. Most of us don’t have any problem dreaming big. It’s the execution that gets us! Life gets busy, we plug along another day without getting closer to our dreams.
What are your
dreams? If you are like most of the
people I meet with, your dreams include feeling great and living a long, full
life; being around to see your grandchildren grow up; traveling; and enjoying
life. So I want to know, what are you
doing today to make that happen? If we
don’t take at least one step towards our dreams every day, life might pass us
by.
I love helping my
clients get closer to their dreams! But
it doesn’t happen without having a “plan and a deadline.” It’s so fun to take those dreams and turn
them into realistic and personalized plans.
I’m a big planner and have been since as long as I can remember. I started at a young age with goal setting and
planning. At first they were far-fetched
goals like “don’t fight with my sister” or “practice the piano every day.” But as I learned about effective realistic goal
setting and making specific plans, I started achieving my goals. For example, when I learned to plan exercise
into my day, make a weekly menu, and have strategies for overcoming emotional
eating, I became successful in managing my health. And that’s what I want for you too.
How do you start, you
may wonder?
Step 1: First write down one dream you have in relation to your health.
Step 2: Brainstorm the steps that you need to get there.
Step 3: Choose one step to start with.
Step 4: Set a deadline and a plan for that step.
If you need help with making your plan, watch this video and then contact me so we can talk about how my programs might help you.
I love this quote about simplicity. It can be applied to health and nutrition. Let me explain: So many people come to me with confusion about what to eat, when to eat, what diet to follow, how to exercise, etc. I totally get it! Everyone is telling you to do something different. How are we supposed to know whose diet is the best? The good thing is your body will tell you. Your body is amazing and was created to help you be the best person you can be. Listen to your body and how you feel when you eat certain foods. Eat the foods that make you feel your best. Don’t eat the foods that make you feel bad. Simple as that. It’s going to be different for everyone, and that’s OK. We all have different genes, food preferences, and health conditions. Armed with some nutrition knowledge and curiosity, you can find the foods that work best for your unique body. If you need help finding the right foods for you, call our office @ 409-767-8100 or email us @ assistant@intentionaleating.net.
Question: What foods make you feel your best and what foods don’t work well for you? Share in the comments below.
The Dole Nutrition Institute’s (DNI) mission is to “cultivate the seeds of knowledge and provide the public with definitive, easily accessible, scientifically-validated information on nutrition and health.” They are accomplishing that through their website. The DNI website is full of information about fruits and vegetables. After reading the articles on the benefits of specific fruits and vegetables, browsing the recipes, and watching the videos, your mouth will be watering for some fruit and you’ll be craving vegetables. We all know we need to eat more fruits and vegetables. This website proves why and helps us to accomplish the goal.
They have a free newsletter you can receive via e-mail. It is one of my favorites. And, they feature the “Dole Spa” that teaches us fruits and vegetables aren’t just for the inside, they are for the outside too.
Bottom-line: If you’re looking for some produce inspiration, check out their website.
Please share: What’s your favorite fruit or vegetable?
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