Brittany teamed up with The American Heart Association to share some Heart Healthy Halloween treats with Jack and Megan on Your Carolina this morning.
They talked about the importance of mindfully enjoying Halloween candy tonight with your kids, and incorporating candy into their regular meals and snacks.
Jordyn Anderson, Brittany Jones Nutrition Group Intern
Brittany Jones Nutrition Group often offers internship opportunities for students completing their Bachelors or Master’s degree in dietetics, and we are excited to welcome Jordyn Anderson to our team this fall!
Jordyn’s primary project is helping with the inputting of our hundreds of recipes in the Real Life Nutrition Membership. You also may see her in our office shadowing nutrition counseling sessions as well.
Get to know Jordyn
Q: Where do you go to school and what is your major? Are you involved in any activities? A: I am a Nutrition major at Clemson University. I am the current President of the Nutrition Club and am involved in the on campus food pantry as well as a mentoring program for Nutrition students.
Q: What is your dream job?
A: My dream job is to work as a Dietitian in a clinical setting with Mother/ Baby or Pediatric Nutrition.
Q: Why did you choose the dietetics field?
A: I chose the dietetics field because I have always loved food and wanted to be in the healthcare field so I combined those two into my Nutrition major. I also shadowed a dietitian in high school and loved every minute of it- even watching her chart!
Q: What is your favorite dish?
A: My favorite dish is white chicken chili, specifically the recipe from Half Baked Harvest.
Q: What is your role as an intern with Brittany Jones Nutrition Group?
A: My role as an intern includes entering all of the recipes for the Real Life Nutrition Membership, and to shadow outpatient nutrition counseling + charting and learn more about dietetics.
Q: What are you most excited about this fall working as the Brittany Jones Nutrition intern?
A: I am most excited about getting hands-on experience and working with the dietitians at Brittany Jones Nutrition Group to build my skills as an RD to be!
Jordyn will be with us through December 2022, welcome Jordyn!
Eating disorders are complex diseases that require a multidisciplinary approach to overcome. Research shows that including physical, nutritional, psychological and psychiatric interventions, provides the best chance at a full recovery (1). A dietitian is an important part of this team and provides benefits that other disciples cannot.
Improved confidence in meeting your individual nutrition needs. We are here to help determine how much you should be eating and provide meal ideas so you aren’t constantly thinking about food and questioning yourself!
Improved relationship with food: We help to debunk common nutrition myths and food rules and aid you in challenging these thoughts when they arrive.
Medical Stability: We help to monitor your food intake, weight, vitals, and labs as well as coordinate care with your physician and therapist to ensure your safety.
Support: We are there to help you through hard times and encourage you through challenges that arise with your food or body image.
Prevention: We help to catch disordered eating before it turns into anything more serious and can help prevent needing higher levels of care.
What does eating disorder nutrition counseling look like?
Nutrition counseling for eating disorders involves:
Education on nutrients and how our body uses them
Your individual overall nutrition needs
Exercise recommendations
Supplement recommendations
Education on the harmful effects of dieting.
Personalized meal plans geared towards your individual needs in order to help those with eating disorders weight restore and/or heal their relationship with food
Dietitians help those with eating disorders navigate nutrition information – helping clients to learn what is true and what is false based on research. They help client’s to reframe their thoughts around food using therapeutic techniques and food exposures. They will monitor your weight and vitals throughout the process to ensure your safety.
Our dietitians also help with accountability and support through healthie photo + feeling food logging. Clients can log their meals and feelings by taking a picture of their meal and dietitians will respond back weekly (no calorie/macro counting). This allows our dietitians to assess overall food intake, make adjustments to meal plans, and provide support in between sessions.
Lastly, dietitians stay in close contact with your treatment team and support system in order to make sure everyone is on the same page and give you the best chance at recovery. Our dietitians communicate with therapist, psychiatrists, doctors, and caregivers regularly. We even offer joint therapy/nutrition sessions and parent/caregiver sessions!
Still aren’t sure if working with a dietitian is right for you? We offer FREE 15 minute discovery calls to discuss your goals and how we can help. Sign up for a call here!
What’s the difference between a nutritionist and a Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorders?
Education!! Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Our licensed dietitians Allison Pritchett, RD, LD and Anna Jensen, RD, LD have done extensive training in the field of dietetics and eating disorders. Their training is listed below:
Allison Pritchett, RD LD
Registered Dietitian with 5+ years of experience working with eating disorders, including higher levels of care
Licensed Dietitian in SC, NC, FL, LA, and OH
Clemson University – B.S. Food Science with Nutrition and Dietetics Concentration and Minor in Chemistry, Magna Cum Laude – Clemson University
Augusta University – ACEND accredited 1500 hour+ dietetic internship
Allison and Anna were super excited to support Traci Martin, local artist and one Allison’s clients, at the opening night of her newest art series “Screen Doors”. The theme of this series is the pursuit of self-love and acceptance, told through portraits of women from many walks of life.
“The primary focus in all of my artwork is representation. I want others to feel seen and to relate to the content in my paintings and drawings” said Martin.
In the series, “Screen Doors”, the theme is the pursuit of self-love and acceptance, told through portraits of women from many walks of life.
“Like so many people in our culture, I have struggled deeply with body image and acceptance. I am making work in this series that highlights the journey many of us share in order to provide a point of connection. It is my hope that every viewer will feel a sense of encouragement through this exhibit and perhaps the confidence to take another step forward on their own road to self-love.”
– Traci Martin
Traci’s studio is at The Bank Building Studios in The Village of West Greenville and her exhibit goes through June 3, 2022. You can see more on her website https://www.tracimartinstudios.com/about
Have you ever gone to the bathroom before heading out on a road trip, even though you didn’t really have to go? You preemptively use the bathroom just in case there isn’t one available when you need it, which would leave you feeling very dire and uncomfortable.
Most people will answer yes to this question – because this is a practical thing to do.
Guess what? The same thing applies to hunger! It is OK to eat when you aren’t feeling physical hunger signals (i.e. stomach growling, low energy, etc) if you anticipate you won’t be able to eat for a longer than normal period of time.
This is called practicing practical hunger and it prevents us from getting to a point when we are overly hungry, thus creating a dire and uncomfortable situation – just like having to use the bathroom and not having one available.
Intrigued? Keep reading.
It is incredibly valuable and important to learn our hunger and fullness cues, but we often see diet culture creep in when it comes to eating outside of these cues.Sometimes, listening to our body means eating when we are not physically hungry.
Let’s take a look at the 4 types of hunger in intuitive eating:
Physical hunger: This is what we typically think of when we think hunger. It comes from our biological need to eat and presents itself as a growling stomach, low energy, headache, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
Taste hunger: This is simply eating something because it sounds good. It can look like finishing off a nice meal with a dark chocolate or sharing a basket of fries while watching sports with your friends because it adds to your experience. This type of hunger is often demonized but we are here to say that taste hunger is an important part of food freedom!
Emotional hunger: Emotional hunger occurs when there is an unmet emotional need that presents itself with a desire to eat food. People are often fearful of emotional eating especially if they lack other coping mechanisms. Food CAN be a comfort but it is important that we learn how to process our emotions and develop other coping tools as well.
Practical hunger: This is not necessarily a hunger we can feel or explain, but rather preparing for an anticipated need to eat. It’s very similar to using the restroom before you leave for a road trip because you don’t know when there will be another bathroom available. It’s planning ahead for a need you know will arise.
We take a deeper dive into practical hunger below.
Examples Of When You Might Use Practical Hunger
I am sure you can think back to a time when you had gone too long without eating and found yourself overly hungry, uncomfortable and irritated (aka “hangry”). While some might be in this situation because they intentionally decided not to eat, we find that many clients find themselves here unintentionally because the day just got busy!
Here are some examples of how practical hunger might come into play:
You are going into a situation where you might not have access to food for the next 1-3 hours (a meeting, appointment, class, busy work day, etc)
You find yourself stressed or emotional which has suppressed your hunger
You have a job that only allows for specific meal lunch breaks and at times when you may not be physically hungry (i.e. being a teacher and only being able to eat during planning periods)
After a strenuous workout or sport and you know your body needs fuel
When you are following a meal plan or schedule (eating disorder treatment, diabetes management, GI protocol, etc)
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or pumping and your body requires more energy
Why It Is Okay To Eat When You Are Not Physically Hungry
Diet culture likes to twist intuitive eating to mean eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full- this is FALSE and just another rule! The goal is not to live our lives revolving around food. Wecan’t always stop what we are doing when we begin to feel physical hunger. Practicing practical hunger will prevent us from getting to a point when we are overly hungry and do not have access to food. This not only affects our mood, energy and concentration, it can lead to feeling out of control or binge eating once we are able to eat.
For those that need to follow a specific meal plan for medical conditions or those that require extra energy, only listening to physical hunger might do more harm than good. For example, those with an eating disorder likely have altered hunger and fullness cues and being on a schedule can help begin to regulate those cues. Or in diabetes management, going all day without eating because you are not physically hungry will cause your blood sugar to drop and peak when you do eat.
Putting It Into Practice
In these situations, we are typically looking for something functional that will keep you full, balance your blood sugar, and keep you concentrated.
If you anticipate it will be 1-3 hours before you will have access to food, it is a good idea to have a snack containing a combination of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Such as:
Cheese and crackers
Apple and peanut butter
Trail mix with nuts and raisins and/or chocolate chips
A nutrition bar (examples: kind bar, Rx bar, lara bar)
Yogurt with cereal/granola
Beef jerky and fruit/ crackers
If you anticipate it being 3+ hours before eating, depending on when you had your last meal, it is probably a good idea to have a meal. Again, we are looking for something that has carbohydrates, protein and fat but in a larger quantity.
Lastly, meal planning is incredibly helpful in determining times that practical hunger might be used. When we talk through meal planning with clients, the first step is “What events or things do we have going on this week that might affect our meals or snacks?”. An “event” can look like a long lab, a specific lunch break pre-determined, or simply knowing that Mondays are insane! Our goal is for you to learn your hunger and fullness cues and use them as a guideline, but realize they are not a rule and sometimes we need to eat when we are not hungry!
Want to learn more about the different kinds of hunger, and how they apply to having a healthy relationship with food?
Click here to set up a free 15 minute call with one of our registered dietitians today.
It can be hard to understand what is considered a healthy relationship with food and body when we’re living in a culture that celebrates diets. It becomes so engrained in us, and sometimes we don’t realize that our relationship has become an unhealthy one.
That’s why the dietitians at Brittany Jones Nutrition Group came up with this quiz! It by no means should be used as a diagnostic tool – it is simply a quick 2 minute check in that you can do yourself.
If you answer “yes” to 5 out of the 15 questions or more – it might be time to explore your relationship with food/body in a little bit more.
Take our quick 2 minute quiz to check in with yourself and your attitudes about food, nutrition, and body image here: https://forms.gle/gNguNw1p2cGPKmxZ8
I’m excited to share another EASY weeknight meal for you to try! This recipe has only 4 main ingredients and makes for great leftovers. Be sure to share your photos on social media and tag @brittanyjonesRD and @greenvilledietitians!
Sheet Pan Red Potatoes, Veggies, and Sausage
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
2 pounds baby red potatoes, cut in half
1/4 Cup Olive oil
16oz bag broccoli florets
2 Red Bell Peppers, chopped
2 Tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
2 Cloves garlic, pressed
Black pepper, to taste
8 Precooked chicken sausage links of your choice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with half of the olive oil, Italian seasoning, 1 clove garlic, and black pepper to taste.
Roast the potatoes for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the bag of broccoli florets and chopped red bell peppers to the mixing bowl bowl and toss with the remaining olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic clove, and black pepper t taste.
Add the vegetables to the sheet pan with the potatoes, and roast for 20 more minutes.
While the veggies are cooking, reheat the precooked chicken sausage links according to the package
Serve 1/4 of the potatoes and veggies with 2 sausages, and enjoy!
It may surprise you to know that I spend the majority of my sessions with clients telling them to eat MORE and not less. When I say recommend eating more a very typical response is “but if I eat more, I will gain weight, right?” This is not always true.
Diet culture praises hunger, and shames fullness (read more here). It tells you the key is “calories in calories out” – that’s all there is to it, right? Wrong.
Our bodies are not robots. They are not a static machine that requires the same number of calories each day. Energy requirements vary based on activity level, gender, stress and sleep, illness, phase of life, and so much more. That is why listening to our bodies hunger and fullness cues is always the best indicator of our needs.
Unfortunately, diet culture takes you away from these natural cues, praising undereating and making consumers believe that being hungry all the time is a good thing. This puts us at risk for going into starvation mode which ultimately takes us AWAY from our goals. Undereating can also have serious health consequences.
risks of chronic undereating:
Breakdown of muscle (including your heart!)
Gastroparesis (slowed digestion causing symptoms such as stomach pain and bloating, nausea and vomiting, blocked intestines, and constipation)
Development of eating disorders such as binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa
Obsessive food thoughts and difficulty concentrating (your brain consumes 1/5 of the body’s calories – without enough intake it cannot function properly!)
Lowered sex drive
Loss of menstrual cycle
Reduced resting metabolic rate
Dry skin, brittle nails, and hair loss
Decreased bone density (osteopenia and osteoporosis)
Anemia
We find that undereating is particularly common with our clients that are athletes or people with a regular exercise routine such as HIIT workouts, group exercise classes, cycling, or running. This comes back to the calories in calories out philosophy of diet culture. Diet culture teaches us to burn as many calories as we can while taking in as little calories as possible.
Exercising while under fueling has additional risks including:
Reduced muscle mass
A slower metabolism and an increase in body fat
Increased cortisol hormone (stress) – this can lead to insulin resistance and leptin resistance (leptin is the hormone that indicates you are full)
Increased risk of stress fractures and decreased bone density
Loss/decrease of performance
Reduced T3 (active thyroid hormone)
In addition, under fueling for workouts can hinder your progress towards your strength and endurance goals. When calories are too low, the body prioritizes keeping you alive – meaning its focus is on essential functions such as breathing and regulating body temperature. It is not focused on rebuilding muscle tissue.
Working out without proper nutrition makes it nearly impossible to increase muscle strength or size.
Under fueling also makes recovery from workouts more difficult. During a workout, your muscle tissues break down. Without adequate calories, carbs, and protein, your muscles will not have the materials they need to rebuild. Instead, that muscle will just be burned for energy. Under eating also disrupts your sleep cycle which is an important part of the recovery process as well.
How do you know if you are undereating?
Signs that you are not eating enough:
Low energy
Loss of performance in workouts
Insomnia
Mood swings
Brain fog/poor concentration
Depression or anxiety
Hair loss and brittle nails
Feeling cold
Loss of menstrual cycle
Infertility
Constipation
Low sex drive
Increased cravings (particularly for quick energy sources such as sugar and refined carbohydrates)
If you resonate with these symptoms, it’s likely you need to EAT MORE! Focus on eating regularly, every 3 -4 hours, using the balanced plate at meals and including balanced snacks of carbohydrate and protein between meals.
Before you work out, have a quick source of carbohydrates for energy such as a handful of cereal, piece of fruit, or slice of bread. After working out, we recommend eating a snack with a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein such as an 8oz glass of chocolate milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or fruit with nut butter.
If you are having a hard time increasing intake or reaching your performance goals, we would love to help!
The CDC released recommendations today to reduce the spread of COVID19 to friends and family this holiday season. The full recommendations can be seen here, and they include:
Celebrating virtually
Celebrating with members of your own household (who are consistently taking measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19)
Celebrating with family members or friends from a limited number of households with socially distanced place settings (2-3 households who are consistently taking measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19)
Hosting an outdoor event (if possible), or opening windows to increase ventilation indoors
Washing your hands before eating!!
For a lot of us, these new guidelines mean a significantly smaller Thanksgiving Dinner – which is hard when you’re used to cooking for a big crowd! But how much should you actually make? I’ve put together some tips to help you plan out your more intimate Thanksgiving Dinner below!
Note: if cooking a small dinner doesn’t sound appealing to you – please support our local restaurants and community! Click here to check out GVLtoday’s list of restaurants offering dine-in or carry out Thanksgiving Dinners.It’s a great way to support our local restaurants who have been hard hit by the economic impact of COVID19!
Thanksgiving Dinner for 2
Appetizers/Salad: 1
Pounds of Turkey: 3 pound bone in turkey breast
Carb Sides (bread/rice/potatoes/mac and cheese/stuffing): 1-2 side dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
Veggie Sides (green beans, carrots, brussels sprouts etc): 1 side dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
Desserts: 1 (will have leftovers)
Thanksgiving Dinner for 4
Appetizers/Salad: 1
Pounds of Turkey: 6 pound bone in turkey breast
Carb Sides (bread/rice/potatoes/mac and cheese/stuffing): 1-2 side dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
Veggie Sides (green beans, carrots, etc): 1-2 dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
Desserts: 1-2 dishes
Thanksgiving Dinner for 6
Appetizers/Salad: 2
Pounds of Turkey: 9-10 pound turkey (defrost for 2-3 days prior)
Carb Sides (bread/rice/potatoes/mac and cheese/stuffing): 2-3 side dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
Veggie Sides (green beans, carrots, etc): 2 dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
Desserts: 2 dishes
Thanksgiving Dinner for 8
Appetizers/Salad: 2
Pounds of Turkey: 12 pound turkey (defrost for 2-3 days prior)
Carb Sides (bread/rice/potatoes/mac and cheese/stuffing): 3 side dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
Veggie Sides (green beans, carrots, etc): 3 dishes made for 4 servings (will have leftovers)
