Blog - Love What You Eat

Not only does the olive oil makes your veggies taste better, it makes them healthier!

on May 16, 2018

So we all know vegetables are nutritious and I’m pretty sure we all know extra virgin olive oil (evoo) has health benefits…

But did you know that cooking your vegetables in extra virgin olive oil increase the health properties of the olive oil?

Cooking in evoo conserves and increases the phenolic compounds of vegetables. Cooking veggies in fat also increases absorption of some of other compounds important to health.

If you’re anything like me and find steamed veggies a bit boring, then this is a win win win!

Not only does the olive oil makes your veggies taste better, it makes them healthier!

My tips for cooking your veg in extra virgin olive oil…

Oven baking – chop up veggies into bite size pieces, add generous amount of evoo (at least 4 tbls for 2 people, but you can use more), some spices (cinnamon, paprika, cayenne pepper work well), a little salt and if you have them, fresh herbs such as oregano, rosemary and thyme.

These veggies work well in the oven: Cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, potato, corn, beetroot, asparagus, whole cloves of garlic, onion.

Pan frying – chop up veggies into bite size pieces, add generous amount of evoo (at least 4 tbls for 2 people, you can use more), a little salt and any herbs or spices to your liking.

These veggies work well in the frying pan: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, asparagus, corn, onion, spinach, capsicum, mushrooms, snow peas, zucchini, eggplant, tomato and just about any other veg (maybe not cucumber…)

Fried broccoli and oven baked cauliflower are my favs, what will yours be?

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It’s ok to choose not to include certain food in your diet

on May 1, 2018

As a non-diet dietitian, I don’t often post about the choice not to eat certain food, or to follow particular style of eating.

When it comes to nutrition and how we eat, nothing is black and white. There is no one right way of eating and no one wrong way of eating.

Unless you have a food allergy or intolerance, no one food type will cause you ill health and no one food type will give you health.

Just as it’s ok to eat whatever you feel like, it’s also ok to choose not to eat a certain food or type of food if that’s what feels right for you.

Having a highly nutritious diet does not make you immune from health issues and having a less nutritious diet doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll suffer from a diet related disease.

Because we can’t be black and white, we can’t say that following a particular style of eating is wrong, even if we don’t agree with it.

However you choose to eat and whatever label you might put on it, such as low carb, paleo, vegan, sugar free, as long as you are making this choice because it’s what feels right for you, and it doesn’t cause any distress, then this is not going against non-diet or intuitive eating.

Recently I had dinner with a friend who has chosen a low carb way of eating. We were able to share a delicious meal and she simply chose not to eat a couple of things. This caused her no distress and she didn’t feel she was missing out in any way. However, the difference between my friend’s experience with eating and most of my clients, is my clients have often had a life-time of struggling with their eating and body image, without the dietary changes yielding the results they had hoped for.

As nutrition professionals, we need to respect other people’s decision with how to eat, if that’s what they’re comfortable with and especially if they haven’t asked for our opinion. As nutrition professionals, if people look to us for guidance, then we have the right to advise as we see fit and in a fashion that holds up to our clinical experience and to current evidence. As individuals, we all need to consider that what works for us, may not be what’s best for someone else, and we also need to respect other people’s decision with how to eat, if that’s what they’re comfortable with and if they haven’t asked for our opinion. Discussing nutrition with people you know well and perhaps giving some tips is most likely fine – however – unless you are a nutrition professional, you probably shouldn’t be giving specific nutrition advice to the general population, or people you don’t know well.

As a non-diet dietitian, I encourage my clients to lift any food restrictions or food rules and to start enjoying all foods. For people who have experienced distress with their eating and body weight/size for many years, this is an important first step. It is important because the restrictions or food rules have not brought about the desired changes, at least not long-term, and very often the person is trapped in a cycle of disordered eating and damaged psychological health. Breaking this cycle, requires healing one’s relationship with food and body and this requires lifting restrictions around food. However, once a person has healed their relationship with food and body, they may then find themselves in a place where they can manipulate their diet in a way that feels right for them.

dietitian melbourne

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Want to learn how to nourish your body without dieting or restricting food?
Learn about intuitive eating with our ebook Nourish.

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Chocolate is not unhealthy.

on March 30, 2018

This is something I often say to my clients. It’s very common for people to feel they “have a problem” with chocolate (insert other sweet food). When I ask my clients what they feel the problem is, the answer is often along the lines of “it’s bad for you” or “I eat too much of it” or “I need to lose weight”.

Let’s start with “It’s bad for you”…

No one food on its own is bad for your health. Eating 50g (or even 200g) of chocolate is not going to adversely affect your health, eating 10kg of chocolate in one sitting – if it were possible – would likely put you in hospital and quite possibly kill you! But so would eating 10kg of broccoli or drinking 10L of water in one sitting. The point being, it’s “the dose the that makes the poison”.

This is when my clients might tell me “but I can’t just stop at 50g of chocolate, once I start, I can’t stop”. While there may be a number of reasons for this, one of the key reasons is labelling chocolate “bad” and trying to restrain yourself from eating it. At some point, restricting your eating nearly always leads to over-eating or binging, this has been well documented and if you have ever tried to control food intake through restriction, you’ll know what I am talking about.

Emotional hunger is another reason and this can be complex and often needs to be addressed with a skilled practitioner such a dietitian or psychologist who works in a weight neutral and non-diet space.

One of the biggest paradoxes with our dieting world, is that restricting food often leads to over-eating whereas allowing yourself to eat what you want when you feel like it, actually makes it easier to decide you’ve had enough. After all, when something is available all the time, we cease to be as excited by it and after a while, we may even lose interest. There are many biological, physiological and psychological reasons for this, which are explained in the books listed here.

In addition, when something tastes good and brings pleasure, why on earth do we insist this is bad for us? I think we can blame diet culture for this.

With respect to “I eat too much of it”…

When I ask my clients “what makes you think you eat too much?” The answer is usually to do with the sugar or fat content (or calories) and the idea that you can’t possibly lose weight eating chocolate. This is where it’s important to separate health from weight loss. There is clear evidence that shows people do not need to lose weight to see improvements in their health and in fact, focusing on weight loss often leads to poorer health. Click here for research. These facts aside, it is possible to eat chocolate and be a weight that is right your body.

If you can learn to separate your eating habits from weight loss, you can learn to enjoy chocolate, really enjoy chocolate, no guilt attached and still improve your health. The Non-Diet or Intuitive Eating approaches can help you with this. Separating your eating habits from weight loss can be difficult and you may need help from a skilled practitioner.

Lastly, I would like to argue that enjoying chocolate (insert other sweet food) is actually healthy. The ability to enjoy eating without fear, guilt or anxiety is pivotal to having a healthy relationship with food and your body. Having a healthy relationship with food and your body is vital for your overall health. Research shows time and time again, that the better your feel about yourself, the more likely you are to engage in healthy behaviours be they related to eating, being active, social or your mental health.

Thanks for reading and as always, I’s love to hear your thoughts on Facebook! The Moderation Movement.

dietitian melbourne

Do you have a healthy relationship with food? – take our free quiz to find out
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Want to learn how to nourish your body without dieting or restricting food?
Learn about intuitive eating with our ebook Nourish.

Click the banner to grab your copy today!

Just eat more celery and less meat pies!

on March 23, 2018

Want to lose weight?

Just eat more celery and less meat pies!

While most people should recognise this as ridiculous advice, is it really any different to the message of just eat more veggies and less “junk”? As in, if losing weight were that simple, surely the millions of people who have tried to lose weight would have been successful by now. In addition, the current common wisdom around what is required to control body weight is mistaken (weight loss is not a simple equation of eat less and move more), which helps explain why no one is able to do it.

If we were machines and could just program our food for the day, then just doing what is suggested by this “common wisdom”, might actually be possible – but we are not machines, we are complex organisms with complex emotional and physiological needs and desires. You can’t simply instruct someone on how to eat to meaningfully* lose weight – oh wait, that’s what most weight loss programs try to do – it’s no wonder they don’t work!

*meaningfully, meaning in a way that benefits the individual mentally and physically over their life-time

So why isn’t it as simple as just eat more veggies and less “junk”?

Factors that influence food choices:

How hungry you are
Awareness of how hungry you are
How long since you last ate
The type of food you late ate
The type of food that appeals to your taste buds
The type of food available
History of dieting
Past or current food restriction
Emotional state
How tired you are
How much sleep you’re getting
How much stress you’re under
Your hormones and metabolic factors
Any medications you may be on
Where you’re next meal is coming from
A sense of when and what you’re going to be eating next
How active you’ve been
What you’ve got on for the rest of your day
What the other people you’re eating with will eat
What other people are telling you you should or should not be eating

I’m sure there’s many more, so feel free to add more in the facebook comments.

Eating celery over meat pies, or less extreme, advice to eat more veggies and less highly processed food does not take into account or address any of these factors, in fact, placing the emphasis on the food could exacerbate a number of them. Now, I am not for a second staying eating more veggies is not a worthwhile pursuit, or would not benefit health. Instead, I am wanting to highlight that very often, well meaning dietary advice falls way short of the mark and only serves to perpetuate our culture’s unhelpful and often very damaging diet and weight loss industries.

Want to learn how to nourish your body without
having to diet or restrict food?
Learn about intuitive eating with our ebook Nourish.

Click the banner to grab your copy today!

It’s not about willpower

on March 13, 2018

I have a number of clients whose significant other (in my clients words)…

“Is able to eat anything without gaining weight”

“Is 6 foot tall and race horse lean and able to eat as much as they want”

“Can just leave chocolate in the fridge for days or weeks”

“Will choose to eat fruit even when there’s cake just sitting there”

And when these significant others see my clients struggling with food and weight, they may say things like;

“Just don’t eat as much”

“Just don’t buy it”

“Are you sure you really need that?”

“Wouldn’t you be better of having…”

“Just put it somewhere you can’t see it”

“It’s not rocket science, just eat a bit less and move more”

With regard to the first round of statements, if a person happens to have a smaller or leaner body type (due to genetics), then they may never have felt the need (or pressure) to restrict food. They may never have had anyone (such as a parent or other relative) restrict their food or suggest “you shouldn’t eat that”.

The reason they can leave chocolate in the fridge or choose fruit over chocolate has less to do with willpower and much more to do with never having been truly restricted of food, or made to feel “bad” about eating food. Deprivation drives desire and it is the restriction of food (both physically and mentally) that so often leads to over-eating or feeling like you’ll never stop once you start.

The notion that these people can “eat anything they want” without gaining weight is because they have permission to eat anything they want, again, they haven’t been restricted, they (often) literally eat whatever they feel like. That said, not everyone in a smaller body allows themselves to eat freely, some will still “be careful” or restrict certain things. Some of these people are being unnecessarily careful and with some, it may be helping them stay smaller, however these people have genetically smaller bodies to begin with. The combination of not being in a state of constant food restriction (or having the belief that you should be restricting) and a genetically smaller body, means these people don’t face the same struggle with food that others may face.

With regard to the second round of statements, if someone close to you says these (or you are this person), please understand they although they are usually said with the best of intentions, they are unhelpful and misguided for the reasons explained. Unfortunately we live in a culture that continually validates this way of thinking without stopping to question why so many people struggle with food in the first place. If you want to discover a different way of thinking, you might like to learn about intuitive eating. Often these significant others are intuitive eaters.

dietitian melbourne

Do you have a healthy relationship with food? – take our free quiz to find out
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Want to learn how to nourish your body without having to diet or restrict food?
Learn about intuitive eating with our ebook Nourish.

Click the banner to grab your copy today!

If you regain weight after losing it, it’s not your fault…

on March 9, 2018

When you regain weight after losing weight, it’s common to blame yourself for shortcomings.

FACT: If you regain weight after losing it, it’s not your fault…

It’s because our bodies are carefully designed to defend against weight loss. For most people, intentional weight loss involves a self imposed famine. Meaning, if you’re not giving your body enough food energy, it goes into famine mode, just as it would were there an actual famine.

Famine mode is designed to keep us alive when food is scarce.

Famine mode results into the brain going into hyperdrive thinking about food; food looks better, smells better, tastes better and you can’t help but think about food a lot of the time. Sound familiar?

Famine mode slows down our metabolism so we don’t need to eat much food to keep out bodies functioning.

Famine mode messes with our appetite hormones where your hunger and fullness hormones respond differently to when you’re adequately fed. You may not feel very hungry until you eat, and then you feel ravenous and want to eat everything. Your fullness hormone may then be slow to kick in allowing you to eat more food then usual.

Famine mode is a key reason people regain weight and NOT because:

You stopped the diet
You ate too much or the wrong food
You didn’t have enough willpower
You didn’t exercise hard enough
Your routine changed
You went on holiday and never “got back into it”
You started a new relationship and food was a big part
You didn’t try hard enough

For an alternative to pursuing weight loss and the way to avoid famine mode, click here. For more of the research on why diets and pursuing weight loss doesn’t work long-term, click here.

Do you have a healthy relationship with food? – take our free quiz to find out
.

Want to learn how to nourish your body without having to diet or restrict food?
Learn about intuitive eating with our ebook Nourish.

Click the banner to grab your copy today!