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High Fructose Corn Syrup, Is it Safe?

February 7, 2010 by intuitivenutrition

It seems lately the media has become obsessed with HFCS, we know it’s found in everything from ketchup to microwave meals to cookies and juice, but is it safe?

The corn manufacturers would like us to believe that it is natural because it comes from corn. They claim it is equal to sugar, but as parents we seem to feel a little uneasy about the whole thing. Many parents can’t seem to put their finger on exactly what it is that makes them suspicious. So, who is right? It turns out there really are no clear cut answers.

First of all, although sugar and HFCS are both equal in calories, are both made from glucose and fructose and are metabolized in virtually the same way once consumed, to say HFCS is natural is a bit of a stretch. Natural is a term that describes food in an unprocessed state, like an ear of corn. HFCS is highly processed and would not be available without the aide of humans, of course neither would table sugar. The difference is table sugar has been around for thousands of years and HFCS has only been found in food since the 1970’s, so it may just be too soon to tell what the long term effects are.

While it would be unfair to completely blame HFCS on America’s rise in obesity and diabetes, some experts make an indirect case. Since HFCS is cheaper than sugar, it cut the cost of sweet, calorie- dense foods, which fueled our sweet tooth, causing weight gain in the process.

Finally, the FDA has ruled twice that HFCS is safe to consume, so it must be. You may want to keep in mind that the FDA considers a double bacon cheeseburger safe to consume as well, but you wouldn’t want to eat one of those at each meal.

The bottom line is that while HFCS may have the same number of calories as sugar, is made from natural ingredients and is considered safe to consume by the FDA, the responsible message should be to consume less of all sweeteners as this will likely help control your weight which we know is important for disease prevention.

Posted in child nutrition, families, health, nutrition | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

The Vicious Diet Cycle

February 3, 2010 by intuitivenutrition

The following is an article I wrote that is soon to be published in Golfer’s Digest:

By Heather Rudalavage RD LDN

America’s alarming rate of obesity has been well-documented in the popular press. Here in Pennsylvania, more than 25% of the adult population is considered obese, which is defined as having a BMI >30. Simultaneously, Americans spent over $40 billion on diet books and programs last year. How can a nation that is obsessed with dieting continue to have increased obesity levels? It seems the more we spend on dieting the larger our waistlines grow. But, are diets really the answer? Increasingly we are seeing research studies that show not only is dieting not an answer, it may actually be contributing to our weight gain.

For example, a team of UCLA scientists reviewed 31 long-term studies on dieting and concluded that: 1) dieting is a consistent predictor of weight gain; 2) up to two-thirds of the people regained more weight than they lost; and 3) diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people. [1]

Most, if not all, diets are deprivation diets, forcing us to give up a certain type of food or even an entire food group. Through the years, fat, protein and carbohydrates have all been on the “bad” list. There are three main reasons why deprivation diets tend to fail. First, our brain fights against them. If we consciously deny ourselves something again and again, we are likely to end up craving it more and more. Secondly, our body fights against them. Millions of years of evolution have made our bodies smart. If we drastically cut back our calories, our metabolism slows down and our body becomes more efficient. Thirdly, our environment fights against diets. We are a society built upon instant gratification. There’s a Starbucks on every corner. Remember the “Hot Light” at Krispy Kreme donut shops? Fast food restaurants continually tell us that we can have it “our way” without the wait. Not to mention the constant advertisements on every television, magazine and billboard showing us the warm connection between food and feeling.

What to do? If diets are not the answer, than what does work? In recent years, a non-diet approach to weight control has slowly been gaining popularity. Research shows that allowing ourselves to eat what we want, while tuning into our hunger and satiety cues, which is the basis of a non-diet approach, can lead to success. I know what you are thinking, but keep reading. Most people believe that if they were “allowed” to eat whatever they wanted they would never be able to stop eating; if they take one bite of chocolate they won’t be able to stop. This may be true, in the beginning, but more often than not, just permitting yourself to have a forbidden food (unconditionally), can cause it to lose some of its appeal. In addition, while no food is forbidden (unless it causes you bodily discomfort) you have to be hungry to eat it. This means tuning in to your body and determining if you are hungry before you start eating, and throughout the meal, asking yourself, “Am I still hungry? Does the food still taste good?” You may be surprised, the more you practice this, the better you become at tuning in.

If you have the goal of losing weight in the New Year, don’t just fall into another fad diet trap, and let a book or a program tell you what and when to eat. Start tuning into your own inner wisdom and discover the no willpower way to lose weight. Just like Dorothy from Oz, you had it in you the whole time, you just didn’t realize it.

[1] Mann, T. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. Am. Psychologist, 2007; 62(3): 220-233.

Posted in body image, dieting, intuitive eating, mindful eating | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

Halloween Survival Tips

October 30, 2009 by intuitivenutrition

Here is a great article on how to survive all the Halloween treats without feeling guilty. I love her books and site, very helpful to those who are trying to control their weight without dieting.

www.amihungry.com

This was the first year that I actually waited until this week to buy candy for the Trick or Treaters. In the past, I would be in Sam’s club in September and get swayed into buying a jumbo bag of candy for the Trick or Treaters and the kids and I would eat half the bag before Halloween night. Also, this year I bought candy that other people in the family like but I don’t. This wasn’t hard because I am a candy snob and really only like Twix and Milky Way bars. I don’t like chocolate and peanuts together so I bought Peanut Butter cups to hand out on Halloween. I like to hand out non-candy items too- individual lip gloss pots leftover from my sister’s baby shower, Fast food kids meal toys, bags of chedder Sun Chips, and leftover party favors.

Happy Halloween Everyone- save the Milky Ways for me ; )

Posted in Halloween candy, dieting, mindful eating, non diet approach | Leave a Comment »

Americans found to be deficient in Vitamin P

October 2, 2009 by intuitivenutrition

What , you say- you never heard of Vitamin P?? Okay, so it’s not a real vitamin, but most of us are deficient in it. It’s called Pleasure. I heard this play on terms somewhere and it got me to thinking. Especially when a good friend of mine started to talk about how “the kids” were killing her marriage. “Honey, the Kids are Killing Us”- The Prequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. We both agreed that our marriages were in need of some romance, joy, fun, (you know, like in high school) maybe this lack of pleasure has something to do with the extra weight I am still trying to shed. Could it be that if I went out dancing or if Chuck and I ran around the high school track and then collapsed in a fit of giggles and started making out under the stars, these last few pounds would budge?

It’s ironic isn’t it, that we Americans have more choices, more income, more food, more house, more car and more STUFF than any other nation on the planet and yet we are not the happiest or the healthiest. Could it be that we have begun to look towards food in an attempt to find pleasure? But, in a sad twist, have effectively taken pleasure out of our food and reduced it to numbers- how many calories does it have, how many fat grams, how many carbs, is it healthy, is it good or bad, should I or shouldn’t I. And now, we keep eating more food and still not getting any pleasure from it. Take for instance, wine. When we realized that the French have less heart disease, but eat more “rich” foods and drink more wine than we Americans do, we figured it must be the phyto -chemicals in the wine, if we could just bottle up the those chemicals in the form of a pill, we would have less heart disease too. Right?? Here’s the vital piece that may be missing. Maybe it’s not the chemicals in the wine, maybe it’s the fact that the French linger over their meals, sipping wine, chatting and laughing with friends. Over here, on this side of the pond, we are far too busy to linger over dinner. We rather shovel it in as fast as we can and then take a pill to make up for the rest. We have to take the kids to baseball, soccer, dance, spanish, piano…

What if we began to find more ways to add pleasure to our life, not in the form of accumulating more stuff, but working less and spending more time with our selves, our spouses our families our friends? What if we worked less and had less money to spend on after school lessons, but had more time to play a game of tag in the yard or go for a bike ride. What if we made a date night with our significant other at least once a month? What if we began to say grace and offer gratitude for our abundance? I wonder if these acts of attempting to add more pleasure to our lives would have an affect on our waistlines? I think it would, but even if it didn’t effect our waistlines we would still be better off.

Recently, I read about two different families who didn’t spend any money (other than necessities, groceries and entertainment) for a year. Both families saved about $10,000. As much as I would like to not see that credit card bill every month, I just don’t think I could do it. What about birthdays and Christmas how would I explain to my kids that Santa had to cut them off the list this year due to the recession? But, maybe it doesn’t need to be this extreme. Maybe I could find small ways to spend less and add more joy. Remember that friend of mine who said the kids were killing her, I mean, her marriage? She and I decided to swap babysitting services for an overnight. That way, we can each spend a night alone with our hubby’s and we don’t need to spend a dime, unless we wanted to go to dinner or something. Let the pleasure begin :)

Anyone have any thoughts they want to add? Anyone have any ideas on how to get off the hamster wheel?

Posted in dieting, families, nutritition, weight loss | Leave a Comment »

Exercise resistance

September 21, 2009 by intuitivenutrition

I am just coming up to catch my breath now as the beginning of the school year is always so crazy for me! Just finished writing my Fall Newsletter. The focus of this newsletter is exercise resistance and I know for most of us we either have it now or had it at some point in our lives. Since I am always most interested in why people do what they do, I decided to focus on ways to overcome your resistance as opposed to stating all of the well known reasons to exercise.

For me, my resistance was in the, “I don’t have time and it would be too selfish of me to make the time” category. I was able to finally overcome this attitude by forcing myself to just start exercising. Once I actually started to exercise, I found out that my old perception was outdated and wrong. I found that I had more energy, so getting all the items on my “to do” list wasn’t harder, but easier. I had to update my perception and since your body follows your mind- it goes to say that changing how you think will change what your body does.

For some of my clients, pain is what holds them back. The “my doctor says I can’t exercise because of my knee pain” is a quote that I have heard a few times. It became so common that I actually discussed this with a physical therapist, do you want to know what he said? He said that working with a physical therapist can be the answer. Physical therapists not only help clients recover from injury, but they can also show clients flexibility and strength moves to prevent injury and pain- Duh!!

Other clients allow bad childhood memories to hold them back, and for these clients the act of forgiveness can be the answer. Forgiving the coach who said you were fat, forgiving your parents who forced you to run laps, forgiving the gym teacher who always picked you last for the teams. Forgive them and move on- literally.

Once you begin exercising not to lose weight, but because it makes you feel good and you are having fun doing it, you will have little to no resistance anymore. Try it out for yourself! By the way, if you are already exercising and it isn’t any fun, then it’s time to find a new routine.

Happy exercising!

Posted in intuitive eating, mindful eating, non diet approach | Leave a Comment »

Portion size

August 12, 2009 by intuitivenutrition

Portion size tool by Web MD

So, above is a very cool site from Web MD. I found it on another RD’s blog and thought it was a great way to help consumers. It gives you a visual of how big or small your portion size should be if you are eating anything from a hamburger to a bagel to an apple. Many of my clients don’t realize that a bagel from a bakery, can count as 4-5 servings of grains. That is almost half of the RDA for the day. Since the site has such great visuals, I think you’ll have a good chance of remembering what your portion should look like the next time you grab a bite to eat. Since we have become accustomed to huge portions, this is a great tool to use to keep portion sizes in check.

Posted in body image, dieting, goals, portion sizes | 1 Comment »

Why I always recommend Yoga to my clients…

August 5, 2009 by intuitivenutrition

Yoga and mindful eating

The above link is why I love to incorporate Yoga into my practice. Yoga is not about how many calories you burn or how much you sweat (although both will happen) it’s all about centering yourself and getting into tune with you body. It’s also a great way to nourish yourself and do something that is a real treat for your soul. We get so bogged down in our daily routine of taking care of the house and the kids and the spouses, we begin to tune out completely. This is also why I can’t stress enough the importance of clients taking “me” time. Even though you love your kids and spouse and house, it’s impossible to begin to tune into your inner wisdom until you can take time, quiet your mind and Lord knows you can’t quiet your mind with kids running around, or at least, I can’t.

Creating a dream board is another great tool to begin to quiet your mind and let your intentions for your life begin to flow. My dream board contains some material things- like that new kitchen I want, but also some other important items like balance in my life, and more time with my spouse.

If you have never tried Yoga, meditation, or setting an intention (as with a dream board), I recommend you pick one and try it, although the 3 together is extremely powerful! I am on my 3rd dream board already because everything I had listed on number 1 and 2 have already manifested- except that darn kitchen…

Posted in Yoga, health, manifesting, weight loss | Leave a Comment »

An answer to "What should I eat"

July 31, 2009 by intuitivenutrition

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/07/healthiest-foods-nutrition-lifestyle-health-healthiest-foods.html?partner=relatedstoriesbox
Above is a link to the healthiest foods, this is in response to so many of clients who ask me, ” what should I eat”. Surprisingly, or maybe not to some of you, meat and tea are both mentioned. I thought the above article was a good overview, and worth a look.

Posted in child nutrition, healthy food | Leave a Comment »

I could get used to this self care stuff!

July 9, 2009 by intuitivenutrition

So it’s week 2 of my transformation and I feel fine! Better than fine actually, GREAT! Who knew this whole self care stuff could really make me happier? For those of you new to my blog, or those who don’t know me that well, here is a quick review of my life. Born the middle child to my parents who were married at 20 and had their first child 3 years later, my mom was the traditional stay-at-home mom, your basic martyr. Dad went to the office all day and spent some time with us on the weekends in between yard work, painting, etc.  I always felt that I would be single, men-who needs them- and I was never interested in having children either. But, I met my soul mate while I was in the 10th grade and we have been together ever since. Married at 24 and had my 1st child 2 years later. Somehow, I ended up in the same role as my mom. Fast forward-3 kids later and I had been home for 7 years and was starting to go a little nuts. I decided to start my own business- I thought it would be something that I would do for myself, it turns out starting your own business isn’t really that nourishing, it’s a lot of hard work. Because of the type of person I am, read, not patient, I worked like mad to get the business up and running and when I look back I feel pretty proud at how far I have come in the last 9 months, but with all that work on the business- I spent almost no time doing self care. Of course when I was home raising my kids, self care was pretty non-existent as well. Finally, since it’s been about 8 years of putting my self on the back burner, I decided it was time to balance my life. I also preach this “balance” to my clients so it was time for me to walk the talk.

Funny how once I made the decision to start taking care of my self things just fell in place. I met a wonderful woman (the sister of one of my sister’s best friends) who has horses. I have wanted to take riding lessons since I was a kid. She offered to give me lessons, and even though I offered to pay her she refused to be paid. I have had about 5 or 6 lessons so far and I am having a blast! I also met up with an old friend who is a personal trainer, and he has really been the one to help me “see the light”. With his expert guidance, I did a write and burn session about my resistance to exercise (I would be seen as selfish, bad mom, etc) and then he showed me an awesome routine that I can do at home with no equipment. 
Getting back to the original point of my blog, I thought I would feel exhausted and sore and selfish from working out, it turns out I am really beginning to love it because I feel strong and powerful and proud for finally doing something for my self. The fact that I feel more balanced is making me feel happier and feeling happier makes me a better mom. And maybe I am a slow learner, but I realize that even though I am spending time on self care, I get the same amount done for my business because I am more efficient with the time. It’s all finally coming together for me- balance with my eating, family, house, business and SELF. It’s taken me awhile to get it, but at least I finally did! 

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Random thoughts to ponder…

June 28, 2009 by intuitivenutrition


The following is a list of quotes from a book by Dr. Robert Anthony called Think Big. 

    • If you don’t start, it’s certain you won’t arrive. 
    • The biggest risk in life is not risking. 
    • Excuses are your lack of faith in your own power. 
    • There are no victims, only volunteers.
    • Worry comes from the belief you are powerless.
    • Hoping and Wishing are excuses for not Doing.
    • The rewards in life go to those who are willing to give up the past.
    • If you don’t change your beliefs, your life will look like this forever. Is that good news?
    • The best way to predict your future is to create it.
    • If you want to know what your true beliefs are, take a look at your actions.
    • Wishing is a goal without energy behind it.
    • It’s impossible to be depressed when you take action.
    • Consciously or unconsciously, you always get what you expect
I just thought these were all so true and relevant in so many ways to my clients who are trying to get healthier, lose weight or achieve any personal goal. I think as human beings our brains tend to think in the extremes, and I know for myself, I have to keep bringing my brain back to the middle road. For instance, my personal trainer and friend Pete Mattis told me I have to cut out all fried food this week. And even though the goal was this week, my brain started freaking out and I started thinking that I would never be able to have another donut or taco chip or funnel cake for the rest of my life. WAIT!!!! But, on my way home from the gym I started to think about the goal rationally- I know, concept. I realized that by saying no fried foods this week, didn’t mean that the next time I am at a carnival, I couldn’t share a funnel cake with the kids. So, I am 2/3 of the way through the week and although I did have a few chips and salsa at a BBQ yesterday, that was the only fried food I have had. I began to tell myself, if I can choose a non-fried food item at that meal I will. 

We get so focused on the “how” – how will I ever lose weight, how will I ever reach my goal that we sometimes become too paralyzed to start. Hoping and wishing is like thinking that if you read the latest diet book you will finally lose weight, you have to do more than read the book. Funny how we think we can’t predict the future, but we really can by taking action today. This works both ways: If we start creating our goals today we can’t possibly be in the same spot tomorrow, and if we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep getting what we have always gotten.

Feel free to post your own ways of extreme thinking!

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