Tag Archives: healthy

Vitruvian Man Logo

coach, coaching, Dietitian, goals, health, health coach, health goals, health professional, Healthy Diet, weight, wellness, , , , , , , ,

You may have noticed that N.E.W. Motivation Coaching has an updated logo. We kept the Vitruvian man – because reasons below –  but made the graphic simpler and more visually friendly.

Logo-Medium_FINAL

Why Choose this Image?

You may know that the Vitruvian Man is a sketch done by Leonardo Da Vinci which represents the “perfect proportions” for man. The circle and square which surround the Vitruvian Man provide the touch-points for the length of the arms and legs as they move from one position to another.

It’s an art and a science: A multi-faceted approach. Leonardo’s new twist – to place the circle and square on top of each other – combine science and art. This is similar to our approach.

(1) We are firmly grounded in science, research, and evidence-based practice. We know the research and we keep up with new findings. We understand that the plural of anecdote is not data… yet we realize there are always outliers in research studies who may not fit the data trends. In other words, even if the research does NOT support something for a group on the whole, we are open to pursuing alternative paths to health as long as it does not bring you any harm!

(2) Making lifestyle changes that “stick” for the long-term is an art. We won’t throw information at you and tell you to make it work. Information is everywhere and if all it took was having legit info, then everyone would be exactly where they wished they were with health and weight. We do not believe our role is to tell you what you should do, what you should want for your health (or weight), or how to go about it. We instead focus on discovering your uniqueness (including your personal and environmental strengths and challenges) and then tweak, adjust, and experiment to create individualized goals to baby-step you to success. We use coaching and behavior change techniques to challenge you to think in new ways, but you will always make your own decisions.

Many body types can fit. Weight does not determine one’s overall health and yet many continue to focus on this one narrow view to judge their own health and the health of others. We like that a body with little fat and a body with lots of fat can both fit into the circle and square. The image is not body-shaming and embraces that all sizes belong.

What N.E.W. Stands For

Nutrition. The founder is a Licensed Nutritionist which means we can provide you with nutrition coaching and medical nutrition therapy. (More information on the differences here.)

Exercise. As an American Council on Exercise Certified Health Coach, we can get you started with activity and exercise safely.

Wellness. Health is more than food, exercise, and body weight. We work with you on finding health-life balance, improving sleep habits, managing stress, and figuring out all your Plan B’s for when life and situations throw you off course.

If you want more details, check out N.E.W. Motivation Coaching for upcoming workshops, group challenge classes, and individual coaching/counseling.

What do you think of the new logo and what it represents?

HelloFresh Meal Review: Sweet and Savory Plum Flatbreads with Ricotta, Charred Onion, and Arugula

cooking, Dietitian, Food, Grains, health, health goals, Healthy Diet, Heart Healthy, HelloFresh, home cooked meal, meal delivery, meal planning, Recipe, Vegetarian, , , , , , , , , ,

I love every single word in the name of this dish! Color me excited to make this one!

If you want a deal, I can offer you this:  Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off!

HelloFresh categorizes this meal as a breakfast according to the recipe card. I think this would make a divine breakfast but it is just a little too much work for me to do while on my first cup of coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I love a hot breakfast. In fact, I have a hot breakfast pretty much every day! I can cook a veggie omelet with one eye closed and one hand on that coffee mug; but this recipe was just a bit too involved for that level of attention (or rather that lack of attention…).

As the video shows, there are not that many steps but there is some multi-tasking. Once again, I turned to my non-stick pan so my plums did not get any delicious carmelization action… and my onions did not get charred. I think I was a wee bit heavy-handed with the oil (which you may notice in the video!).

What would I change? Well, per the recipe card, this recipe calls for 5 teaspoons of olive oil for 2 servings. I love me some healthy oils but this was too much for me. Reducing the oil could easily be done by omitting from arugula and not coating the flatbreads and I think the recipe would be just as good without this much oil. I also found this dish to be flavorful enough without the honey drizzle – which was fun to do – but omitting honey would reduce the sugar which comes in at 21 grams. For my taste buds, the extra sweetness is not needed and doesn’t add any extra nutrition.

What did I love? Once again – this is a meal of delicious flavors that I would never have thought to put together. I love that HelloFresh is introducing me to new flavor combinations! I got excited a while back mixing blackberries and blue cheese (uh, yeah, so good!) but plums and red onion? No way! Totally works. I also love the small amounts of leftover ingredients. This time I had some pomegranate balsamic vinegar and almonds that got tossed onto the next days lunch salad… and there was leftover arugula which hubs and I ate on the side with the flatbreads.

Things I learned:

Non-stick pans – once again – are not always the best option

There is a world of flatbreads outside of my stand-by FlatOut wraps

I really have to double-check that my video shots are centered before I film!

Here’s that info again if you want to take advantage of the discount I can offer you to try out HelloFresh! Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off!

4-Plum-Flatbreads-Pic

HelloFresh provided a Meal Delivery Box containing three meals to me free of charge. This is #sponsored and I was so impressed that I have joined their #affiliate program. As always, all opinions in my reviews are mine and I if love it or hate it, I’ll let you know.

An Open Letter to my Dietitian Colleagues

Dietitian, health, health coach, health professional, Healthy Diet, research, wellness, , , , , , ,

What good is an RD’s opinion?

Our opinions – they do not matter. Hear me out.

What we personally think about alternative sweeteners, grains, and organic foods– this does not matter. We are not the “body of evidence” or the final authority on how people “should” eat. Our opinions may be based on years of research (hopefully) or they may be based on the latest nutrition trend (unfortunately). So, our opinions: they may stink.

Our opinions, however, carry a LOT of credibility.

Our profession touts us as “THE food and nutrition expert” and holds us aside, seemingly on a pedestal when compared to other health professionals and educational tracks. We have years of schooling and internships to teach us to interpret, and sometimes perform, research studies. This training does set us apart and people seek out our opinions; but it does not make our opinion valuable to anyone other than ourselves.

There is a need for education about food and nutrition – many people are misinformed, lack an deep understanding of science and physiology, and have been led to the dark side of junk science and the business of selling health. We cannot be a part of this problem RDs! Please stop telling people what they should eat to be: good, pure, healthy, clean, and angelic. Please stop telling people about how we personally eat and which foods are bad, toxic (really??) and the devil personified.

It’s just food. And our opinions have no place in someone else’s dietary choices (except maybe our partners or children… and boy-hardy don’t they feel lucky to live with RDs #sarcasm).

IMHO-Doesnt-Matter

Our job, our role, what we have been trained and educated to do, is to evaluate the research, separate the invalid bull from the valid conclusions, and share what we, as a field of study, currently know about food and nutrition. Yes, you may have to actually read a bunch of peer-reviewed research studies. #sorrynotsorry.

I learned a valuable lesson during my internship: the opinion of the person asking for your opinion is what really matters. People ask for an RD’s opinion to have their beliefs confirmed or to receive praise for “correct” choices. The trouble is that getting asked for our opinion gives us a launching pad to talk about our ideas – and don’t we all love doing that? Sure we do! But next time, take a beat and say, “That’s an interesting question and I can certainly give you some information; but let me first ask what you think about that?”

I’d wager that the conversation doesn’t come back around to our opinions at all.

Our actions should be in service to our clients.

Let’s try to stop focusing on being right, stop talking so much, and start listening more. Let’s focus on helping people be real with their food choices instead of making them feel “bad” for not eating “right.” Let’s use our expertise to give people evidence-based information instead of our opinions.

Let’s help people in the way that RDs really excel – by knowing and keeping up with the ever-changing body of evidence and by helping people figure out how to apply the information relevant to them to their unique lives in a way that supports a physically and emotionally healthy long-term relationship with food and nutrition.

Now, go forth and be awesome!

Go-Forth-Be-Awesome

Cheese and Strangulation by Bedsheets

anti-diet, Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, health coach, health goals, health professional, No body shame, non-diet, wellness, , , , ,

I say when your press release gets no press, make your own! We will get to the cheese; but first:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dieting is Making You Bigger

Say Hello to Jacksonville’s Only Health at Every Size® Nutritionist

Jacksonville, Florida – July 2017 – There is a movement growing among health professionals called Health at Every Size® which, among other things, rejects the use of weight as an indicator of health and believes that weight is largely unchangeable by individuals. There is only one registered HAES® practitioner in the Jacksonville area. Search the listings here.

Regardless of what the celebrities and infomercials who promote a Diet Culture say, the fact is that the majority of dieters only temporarily lose weight. In the long-term, they regain the lost weight plus more. Many of them will then go back on a diet – and this weight cycling is detrimental to health. Following restrictive diets and intense work-out plans provides temporary weight loss results at the expense of mental health and self-esteem with the result often being an out-of-whack metabolism and eating binges. Social relationships can also suffer as food rules, good food/bad food beliefs, and guilt or shame about food choices become more consuming.

Many people think if someone is overweight, they are not healthy. The truth is that not everyone who has a large body is sick/unhealthy – and not everyone who has a small body is well/healthy. One cannot make judgements about someone’s health based on their body size. Many larger bodied people are healthy in terms of lab values, freedom from chronic conditions, and ability to exercise and live independently. All the diseases and conditions that obesity supposedly causes are nothing more than associations and correlations – things that happen together – not necessarily one thing causing the other.

For some fun correlations to illustrate this point, see Spurious Correlations and you can “prove” that eating cheese leads to death by strangulation by bedsheets… or that eating margarine leads to happier marriages (or at least less divorce filings)…

Beware-the-cheese

You see my point?

(And if you don’t, I’ve got a heckuva deal on some swampland I can sell you down here in Florida… hit me up!)

As a HAES® practitioner, registered dietitian, and certified health coach, I can offer a welcome change of pace for people who choose to reject the diet culture and prefer to work on improving health through mindful eating, enjoyable exercise, self-acceptance, and realistic, flexible lifestyle habits.

Get more information or see our upcoming events.

HelloFresh Meal Review: Emeril Lagasse’s Herby Dijon Chicken Breasts with Zucchini and Red Potatoes

chicken, chicken recipe, cooking, Dietitian, Food, health goals, Healthy Diet, HelloFresh, home cooked meal, meal delivery, meal planning, , , , , , , , ,

HelloFresh provided a Meal Delivery Box containing three meals to me free of charge. I was so impressed that I have joined their #affiliate program. As always, all opinions in my reviews are mine and I if love it or hate it, I’ll let you know.

Take advantage of this discount – Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off!

I was so excited to make this meal! The pictures on the recipe card look amazing and I (like many others) am more comfortable cooking chicken than I am with cooking fish, which was my first HelloFresh meal.

This recipe was prepared on a work-night and did not take much time from start to finish. All that was needed from my kitchen was olive oil, pans, a strainer, and a small bowl – oh and a cutting board and knife of course! Prep time didn’t take long as there was very little chopping involved, just half a shallot, a few potatoes, home herbs, and a zucchini. Although, I must chop faster than the average person (thank you Food Lab in undergrad nutrition program!) as I found myself waiting on the chicken to cook. I admit to starting Step 3 (cook chicken) before Step 2 (prep/chopping) and the chicken took a little longer to get to temp than expected.

Now, I do not typically cook chicken on the stove-top. So, I will warn those of you who also typically bake or grill you chicken: beware the oil splatter! I have a mesh screen to prevent the splatter but by the time I realized I needed it, the splatter had happened so I let it go. You could easily bake the chicken instead and end up with less cleaning (splatter and one less pan) and this also would be nutritionally less fat and calories if that’s important to you. But you would lose the searing which gives the meat some flavor as well as leaves those tasty little brown bits in the pan to get incorporated into sauce – and the sauce makes this meal!

I’m also kind of a food safety and sanitation freak so be sure to sanitize anything that contacts the raw chicken. I cut all that out of the video but make sure to do that at home! Oh, I also cut out a lot of wine sipping. Oh my gosh, so many edits to take out the wine sipping!

Another random tip is don’t use a non-stick pan for potatoes like I did or they won’t get crusty-crispy. I was smart enough to use a regular pan for the chicken because I knew I wanted those brown bits for the sauce; but I did not bring that logic over to the vegetables pan.

This recipe is definitely more cost effective from #HelloFresh than if you had purchased ingredients from the store! All that was leftover was half a lemon, half a shallot, and some tarragon– bonus. My pictures do not do this dish justice… that’s what happens when drinking wine with dinner – I got too excited about the food and didn’t take good pictures!

Final review: This meal is flavorful yet subtle and is made with familiar foods – I will be making this meal again!

Things I learned

A mesh splatter screen is a useful kitchen gadget

Non-stick pans are not always the best choice

Emeril may have some more recipes out there that I need to try!

Here’s that info again if you want to take advantage of the discount I can offer you to try out HelloFresh! Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off!

HelloFresh Meal Review: Zesty Crusted Catfish over Cilantro Jasmine Rice and Roasted Broccoli

cooking, Dietitian, Fish, Food, health, health goals, Healthy Diet, HelloFresh, home cooked meal, meal delivery, Recipe, , , , , ,

HelloFresh provided a Meal Delivery Box containing three meals. This is #sponsored and I was so impressed that I have joined their #affiliate program. As always, all opinions in my reviews are mine and I if love it or hate it, I’ll let you know.

If you want to check it out yourself, I can offer you a great deal as an affiliate! Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off!

I have to start out by saying I had never had catfish before this meal. I never had it because I didn’t think I liked it… so when I got my HelloFresh box with a catfish meal in it, well, I wasn’t too jazzed – but I was opened minded and hopeful that I would like it. I chose this meal as the first one to make since it is fish and being ever-mindful of food safety, I knew it would spoil the fastest. In fact, the nutrition information card states that this dish is best if made within 2 days after receiving box or the fish should be frozen.

As I mentioned in the first post (opening the box), this was perfect timing. Hubs and I had gotten home late from a quick vacation the day before and both had to go right into a full day of work. No time to even think about dinner – let alone shop or prep – before it was 6:30 p.m. and we found each other in the kitchen with ravenous tummies! I think this is a great set-up for making a HelloFresh meal! Meal delivery is designed to make it easy to get healthy meals on the table quickly and we were putting that to the test for-reals, hungry after a long work day.

The ingredients for each meal are packaged into their own box and are already measured out. There are some ingredients where you end up with leftovers and this will be stated in the instructions so you don’t use too much. For example, the recipe called for 2 teaspoons of the seasoning spice but the packet held more – bonus, leftover spices! I don’t know if you’ve noticed but spices ain’t cheap! And did you see the fish in the video??? Those were gorgeous pieces of fish! Oh my gosh! Thick, beautifully fileted, and a nice bright, light color! The only thing needed out of my pantry was olive oil.

The instructions were easy to follow and the pictures helped to keep me on track. I think if I hadn’t been making a video, the timing would have been spot-on as well. However, with the video process, I ended up having to let the rice sit for a little while so the fish could cook to temp. One thing that really impressed me, since some of my clients are newbies in the kitchen and want to work on improving their cooking skills, is that even a novice cook could make this meal beautifully. HelloFresh is a great way to gain experience in the kitchen and build confidence as there was nothing complex or confusing and the result is a beautiful and delicious – and fast – meal!

Nutritionally, this meal comes in at a hunger-satisfying 650 calories with only 5 grams of saturated fat and 150 mg of sodium! For those who are interested, there are 85 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, and 34 grams protein. The ingredients list is one that clean-eaters would be happy to see and there is information on where the ingredients were produced with most of them coming from the USA.

What would I change?

The only thing that would have improved the meal for me would be more vegetables. (I can hear the collective groan already – yes the dietitian wants us all to eat our veggies…). I realize I probably eat a lot more veggies than the average person so, while this was a nice sized serving of vegetables and would most likely be perfect for many, I tend to have more of them on my plate. Quick fix if you are a veggie-lover like me would be to add a steamer bag to the meal.

What did I love?

While fish, rice, and veg is a common dinner plate in my household, I love that HelloFresh showed me a new way to prepare fish and rice. I don’t typically put oil-based seasonings onto fish before panko – turns out it keeps it moist and adds more flavor. I also would not have thought to flavor rice in this way. I don’t typically zest and making rice exciting for me is adding some salsa – this rice was a-whole-nother level! I love that it was easy and quick to prepare. I love how little food waste there is and, did I mention, I love the bonus spices.

Things I learned:

Catfish is still not my favorite fish (it was good, just not my fav, the seasoned panko was amazing)

Adding some oomph (lemon and cilantro) to rice makes it ridiculously delicious

I need a new zester

If you want to check it out yourself, I can offer you a great deal as an affiliate! Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off!

ZestyCatfish-HelloFresh

If Diets Don’t Work, How Can a Health Coach Help Me?

anti-diet, Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, health coach, health goals, non-diet, weight, weight loss, wellness, , , , , ,

Have you heard that diets don’t work?

Actually, all diets work. Any way you can dream up to cut calories will usually result in weight loss (assuming no underlying health conditions, sleep and stress are in check, you have a healthy gut microbiome, have not screwed up your metabolism from a history of chronic dieting, etc. etc. etc.). So go for it – paleo, atkins, intermittent fasting, no white foods, whatever – they all work until you stop following them.

Ah, there’s the catch. Who could follow any of them for a lifetime? So, diets only work short term. Health is not a short term proposition. Diets don’t work.

The ugly truth is that an overwhelming majority of dieters regain the lost weight (plus more!). Many others have knocked their metabolism and hormones out of whack (making it easier to gain weight) and may have jeopardized their health physically and emotionally by going on a diet. What’s worse is that weight cycling (the on/off diet lose-and-regain weight cycle) is not at all good for your health.

It’s all doom and gloom for dieting when you look past the initial honeymoon phase when your weight is dropping. Need to have that gall bladder taken out after a low-fat diet? Obsessing about food all the time after calorie counting? Feeling like a failure, unworthy, unlovable after losing and regaining weight again? These are the promises diets should make. #truthinadvertising. You must be crazy if you want to go on a diet. Who wants results like that?

dietsdontwork

Well, a lot of people do. We are all bombarded by diet culture and fitspo and it is natural to want to lose weight, to model what you see, to want to fit in with current societal norms. We live in a shake-pushing weight-shaming world and large-bodied people face discrimination every day. Our beliefs about dieting and weight are so very skewed from media outlets and celebrities and fitness bloggers.  Many blame themselves for not being able to lose weight on a diet (wrong answer) instead of blaming the multi-million dollar industry that is banking on the fact that you will blame yourself instead of the diet plan and spend your money in the diet industry again and again and again.

But, check it. If the majority of diets fail, then at least some dieters are successful, right? I hear the optimist in you. I get it. That next diet, well, it’s so alluring and promising and well, maybe you are in that Miracle Minority who can diet and keep weight off for life! Maybe.  Maybe not.  I’m not a fortune teller. Even though I know the research about diet outcomes, it is not my job to force that on you. So, go ahead if you want to try just one (or three or five) more diets. I’ll still be here when you are ready to try out something different.

How Can I Help You?

If you want to work on your health and wellness, then I want to work with you. This is where the education part of my job is. Let’s talk about why you believe that the next diet is “the one” and let’s work through how you are thinking about dieting – the process and results and struggles – and see where you end up. It is better to for you to explore your options and for me to give you a safe place to unload and investigate some new ideas.

My hope is that you will move towards the anti-diet/non-diet approach. In fact, many people I work do relax their food rules and find a happy place with food and exercise. If you partner with me then you get a coach to educate, explore, discuss, trouble-shoot, brainstorm, encourage, motivate, and challenge you. You get someone on your side working right there next to you until we find what works for you to reach your health goals.

When you are ready to break the diet cycle and focus on your health, I will still be here.

Yours in Good Health,

-Alexia Lewis RD

This article is Part 1 of 4 in “Health versus Weight as a Focus for Wellness” which will be published during the month of June 2017.

Part 1: The Continuum of Approaches to Health: Thoughts from a Curvy & Healthy Dietitian Health Coach

Part 2: Who Is The Best Health Professional to Help with Creating New Lifestyle Habits?

Part 4: What Is This No-Diet / Anti-Diet Thing Anyway?

References

T.L.Tylka, R.A. Annunziato, D. Burgard, et al, “The weight-inclusive versus weight-normative approach to health: Evaluating the evidence for prioritizing well-being over weight loss,” Journal of Obesity, vol 2014, article ID 983495, 2014. View at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/.

A. Bombak, “Obesity, Health at Every Size, and Public Health Policy,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no.2, pp. e60-e67, 2014. View at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935663/

P. Sumithran and J. Proietto, “The defence of body weight: A physiological basis for weigh regain after loss,” Clinical Science, vol. 124, no. 4, pp. 231-241, 2013. View at: http://www.clinsci.org/content/124/4/231.

S. Wolport, “Dieting does not work, UCLA researchers report,” UCLA Newsroom, 2007. View at: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Dieting-Does-Not-Work-UCLA-Researchers-7832 or the study that was the basis for the article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17469900.

R.R. Wing and S. Phelan, “Long-term weight loss maintenance,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 222S-225S, 2005. View at: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/222S.short.

R. Chastain, “Do 95% of dieters really fail?” Dances with Fat, 2011. View at: https://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/do-95-of-dieters-really-fail/ (a nice summation with links to more information).

The Continuum of Approaches to Health: Thoughts from a Curvy & Healthy Dietitian Health Coach

anti-diet, Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, health coach, No body shame, non-diet, reverse dieting, weight, , , , ,

Health is a field overwhelmed with experts and more who claim to be experts.

On one end of the spectrum are those offering quick, easy ways to get skinny and ripped for no effort and a few bucks. And boy, do those “experts” ever look the part – slim, muscular, portraying a “healthy” body – and they want you to know that they have the 30-day challenge, the magic shake, the recipe book, the 15-minute a day work-out, and the supplements that – this time – they promise – can make you be look just like them! Wooo! Hold on a minute though. They are also genetically blessed to fit the current “ideal body” type, they are most likely malnourished and dehydrated from the pre-photo-shoot dieting phase, they are contoured with make-up magic and lighting, and then, finally, because all that is still not “good enough,” they are photo-shopped into “perfection.” You’ve seen all the “before and after” pictures. This can make the even most self-confident people reconsider themselves and hold their bodies up for comparison. Welcome to the Diet Culture.

Then there’s me. I choose not to belong in the diet culture. I do not look the part. I do not promise you fast results or sell you weight-loss, muscle-burning, metabolism-boosting products because no matter how many times you buy the plan, the shake, the pills – in the end, the diet will fail you.

At the other end of the spectrum are the weight-neutral, anti-diet, non-diet, Health at Every Size®, body-positive, and No Body Shame approaches. I embrace these values and know that health can have nothing to do with weight. Yes, I know it is difficult to believe but it is supported by research and my personal clinical experience. Not only have I worked with many clients who have great health by all measures regardless of their body size (larger, smaller, and in between); I also have pretty good health (see blog) regardless of my body size. Weight does not cause poor health; weight is associated with some health conditions. This is not at all the same thing. And – these associations disappear when confounding factors are controlled. And as far as obesity leading to increased mortality (earlier death), that also goes away when metabolic health (good labs) and physical fitness come into the picture. No one has any obligation to (attempt to) control their body size; all bodies are worthy and you are, in fact, “good enough” and deserving of all you want in the body you have right now. Assuming you are not a jerk, in which case I take that back.

Then there’s me. As I started this article series, I was admiring these principles yet clinging to weight loss because (1) that is what people want, and (2) it is difficult to let go of weight-focus after living in diet culture. The more I researched weight loss sustainability and weight’s actual influence on health, the easier the shift to a weight-neutral focus became. I walked into this blog believing there was still some value in including weight as one of many – not the only or the most important – parameters to measure change.  The research flies in the face of that belief so I have changed my professional opinion.

And – oh happy day! Through this process, I have realized that I am not alone. There is a community of health professionals who also believe this. There is an alternative to the diet culture – a safe, evidence-based, real-life, flexible, option to focus on health over weight through a weight-neutral approach.

So, where does this leave me?

When I started writing – confused. Now that I am on the end of the research and writing – angry. I am angry that there is so much pressure, misunderstanding, and stigma surrounding something that we should celebrate – our bodies. I am angry that this was not more of a factor in my education, training, and continuing education. I am angry that such a lie (weight loss is easy and sustainable and oh so important for your health) has been perpetuated and ingrained into every aspect of our American culture.

I am breaking free of the diet culture personally and in my practice. This is not easy because “Hello, my name is Alexia and I am a chronic dieter” since my first week-long fast at the age of 13 who is sitting firmly in the “overweight” category by all measures you could make. I understand wanting to lose weight because I have that desire due to a lifetime of cultural pressure. I do not know what to do now with the pride that has been my friend since I have been tracking my calories (on and off) for the past 10 years. I am not sure where I put all of that right now. But that’s okay.

I am more and more firmly planted in the non-diet culture. I also understand this approach because, regardless of my weight, I am healthy, active, and happy. I have worked with my clients to help them relax their food rules and enjoy delicious food without guilt. I love the freedom and flexibility of a non-diet approach. Now I get to walk the walk – instead of just talk the talk then go home and count my calories (which I have not done since I started this blog series a few days ago so that is a start!).

All I know, and you may have noticed by now, is that I am a (beautiful, messy) work in progress just like you. I know I have passion for helping others with their goals. This is absolutely the right field for me because I am so fulfilled when I get to see people reach goals or when that “something” clicks for them. I get to be their partner in literally changing the path of their lives. It is an honor to be a part of this type of transformation for people and I am grateful for it every day.

I guess that’s bigger than any label I could put on myself.

Yours in Good Health,

-Alexia Lewis RD

This article is Part 1 of 4 in “Health versus Weight as a Focus for Wellness” which will be published during the month of June 2017.

Part 2: Who is Best Health Professional to Help you With Creating New Lifestyle Habits?

Part 3: If Diets Don’t Work, How Can a Health Coach Help Me?

Part 4: What Is This No-Diet / Anti-Diet Thing Anyway?

References:

A. Bombak, “Obesity, Health at Every Size, and Public Health Policy,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no.2, pp. e60-e67, 2014. View at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935663/

K. M. Flegal, B. K. Kit, H. Orpana, and B. I. Graubard, “Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories a systematic review and meta-analysis,” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 309, no. 1, pp. 71–82, 2013. View at http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1555137.

L. Bacon and L. Aphramor, “Weight Science: Evaluating the evidence for a paradigm shift,” Nutrition Journal, 2011. View at https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9.

Are You Healthy?

Dietitian, HAES, health, Healthy Diet, , , , ,

Is overweight the new healthy? The answer might surprise you.

Let’s start with the definition of healthy. How do you define healthy?

There are many aspects of health – there is body size (BMI, body fat) or metabolic health (lab results) or cardiovascular health (resting heart rate, ability to perform daily living tasks or purposeful exercise) or even emotional and spiritual health (do the standards you hold yourself to for your physical health damage your emotional health?). Or is it based on quality of life? Or the characteristics of those who live the longest?

(Spoiler alert: We are finding that a BMI in the “overweight” range has a lower mortality rate than those in the “normal” weight range).

So, I ask: how should we define health? The good news is that you get to define it based on what is important to you and I’d recommend you do it in collaboration with a physician.

I can tell you that people choose physical appearance over their emotional health a lot. One thing most people have in common when they walk in the door to meet with an RD is that their emotional health has taken a hit regardless of their body size. It seems very few people can find peace with their bodies – even those who appear “fit” or “healthy” to others.

This concerns me.

I used to be there too and I still some days struggle with self-acceptance and self-love (stupid #fitspo memes). It’s no secret that I carry a few extra pounds. Should you consider me proof that knowing what to do to get to a socially desirable weight and actually doing it are two different things? Or should you perhaps consider that I am happy and healthy with a few extra pounds? Could this be true?!?!

In 2007, I was “overweight” by the numbers and I fought with my body and had low body-acceptance. My hips were too big, my belly isn’t flat, my thighs are so big when I sit down… all those things we let ourselves say in our heads when we don’t love ourselves as we are. I had a heart attack. I felt my body had let me down even more… and then I realized that this body that I hated – big belly, hips, thighs, and all – had actually carried me through and I survived that heart attack. Just that simple realization led to a big mind shift and changed those thoughts in my head to appreciation and gratitude for this body that I was lucky enough to still have!

Before you go screaming that being overweight is why I had a heart attack – let me stop you. I was a smoker for decades, I worked a stressful job, and I have a strong family history. Most health conditions (and the supposed “obesity epidemic”) are not as simple as people believe. These things have multiple factors that lead to these outcomes. Being thin would not have prevented my heart attack.

I share all this to lead you into considering your HEALTH over your APPEARANCE. I encourage you to think a little deeper than the eat-less-move-more movement. Check out HAES (Health at Every Size), read up on new studies that might indicate a coming shift in beliefs (just one of many studies here: BMI 27: The New Normal?), and start loving yourself first.

Change your body or don’t – we are all works in progress – but please start from a place of self-love and body-acceptance. Look forward to more information on this topic in the future.

Image from: https://fridayforgood.com/2015/11/20/be-rebellious/

Delicious, Easy, and Healthy Vegan CrockPot Quinoa Chili

Eat More Beans! Crockpot Quinoa Chili Recipe (Vegan)

Dietitian, Food, Grains, Healthy Diet, Heart Healthy, Quinoa, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian, , , , , , , , ,

Imagine this. You are in the grocery store and you need to buy some beans. In one hand, you hold a can of beans. In the other hand, you hold a bag of dried beans. Which one do you buy?

You probably consider a few things before you decide.

The first consideration may be convenience. The canned beans are ready to go. You can throw those in the microwave and have hot, cooked beans in just a couple of minutes. The dried beans will take much more time because you have to soak them for many hours and then cook them for another couple of hours. Do you have time for this? Do you know how to cook dried beans? Will you forget and then have to come up with a Plan B dinner?

The second consideration may be nutrition. Beans are a nutrition-packed food! If you cook dried beans, then in 1/2 cup of black beans you get 7 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 14 grams of fiber, and 10% daily value of iron with only 115 calories, 1/2 gram of fat, and no cholesterol or sodium! If you choose the canned beans, much of this stays the same; but you get more sodium. If you choose regular black beans, that 1/2 cup can have 500 milligrams of sodium and reduced sodium black beans can have 240 milligrams of sodium. Some canned products are also packaged in cans that have BPA.

Many people don’t consider cost because those other two things are more important. A 15 ounce can of beans gives you approximately 1 3/4 cups of beans for $1.00 to $3.00. A 16 ounce bag of dried beans contains 3 1/4 cups of dried beans which gives you about 9 cups of cooked beans for about  $1.00 to $2.00. If you do the work of cooking dried beans, you get about five times a much for your money!

I used dried beans most of the time and save canned beans for when I don’t want to rely on myself to remember to cook dried beans the day before I need them or I decided on having beans for dinner on the day I grocery shop. I went in search of dried bean recipes that eliminated the need to cook the beans the day before. After reviewing a few recipes for cooking times and methods and a few trial runs, here is what I ended up with.

Crockpot Quinoa Chili

Makes 9 cups cooked chili

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 6 hours 15 minutes

Skill level: low

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

1 teaspoon or 2 cloves minced garlic

2 cups frozen corn

1 package (10 ounces) spinach

2 cups low-sodium salsa

1/2 large red onion, chopped

5 cups water

1/2 teaspoon each: Hot Shot (red/black pepper blend) and red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon of each ground spice: turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, and chipotle chile pepper

Quinoa Chili Ingredients
Ingredients – Yes, those are pinto beans from Hatch, New Mexico courtesy of a great neighbor!

Directions

1. Layer all ingredients except spices in crockpot in order listed above.

2. Cook on high heat for one hour and then reduce to low heat for five hours. If home, stir occasionally making sure beans and quinoa stay covered by liquid.

3. Add spices and stir before serving.

Quinoa Chili Start
How it starts…

Nutrition Information per 1-cup serving: 138 calories, 1 gram fat (0 saturated, 0 trans), 0 milligrams cholesterol,  225 milligrams sodium, 34 grams carbohydrate, 13 grams fiber, 8 grams protein.

Serving suggestion: Stir in plain Greek yogurt (not vegan!) to cool it down or top with chopped chipotle peppers and hot sauce to kick it up a notch! I added homemade cornbread muffins on the side (also not vegan) following this recipe and sliced tomatoes.

Delicious, Easy, and Healthy Vegan CrockPot Quinoa Chili
Delicious, Easy, and Healthy Vegan CrockPot Quinoa Chili