Shifting the Focus from Weight to Health

Brittany Jones Nutrition Group is a weight inclusive practice – but what does that mean?

Simply put it means that we believe that health is not defined by your weight.

A person in a small body is not always healthier than a person in a larger body – and a larger person is not always unhealthier than a person in a smaller body. In fact evidence shows that taking a weight-focused approach in which someone puts a focus on weight loss and dieting can be harmful to ones health, often times resulting in disordered eating and/or eating disorders among other health conditions.

We appreciate that bodies come in all shapes, sizes, and weights. We work with our clients to improve their health by focusing on behaviors regardless of their weight. We provide respectful and compassionate care of people in all body type, shapes, sizes, and weights.

Our approach to a healthy lifestyle takes the focus away from weight and instead focuses on health promoting behaviors to improve health including:

  • A healthy relationship with food without restriction
  • Eating a variety of foods that provide nutrition + enjoyment
  • Being mindful and flexible while managing your chronic disease through food
  • Trusting your body to tell you when you are hungry and satisfied
  • Giving yourself permission to eat all foods
  • Eating regular meals and snacks
  • Feeling safe around all foods (i.e. being able to keep all foods in the house without a binge)
  • Moving your body in a way to celebrate it rather than punish for something you ate or control your size
  • Learning to accept your body and take good care of it – knowing that all people are of value regardless of size, shape, or weight

We believe that the weight you are when practicing these behaviors is the healthiest weight for you.

Our body size is often influenced by many factors outside of our control including genetics, income, education, social support, where you live, work, and play. NOTE this weight cannot be told to you by a health care provider or a BMI scale.

Still not sure about this approach? Below we de-bunk some common weight focused myths:

MYTH #1 Weight is the best measure of health. “Overweight” or “obese” mean unhealthy and “normal weight” means healthy.

FACT: BMI does not tell us about individual health and it doesn’t recognize that healthy bodies come in many shapes, sizes, and weights. Health can exist in diverse bodies and BMI was created to be used in groups of white males in a research setting. You are not that.

Your risk for disease depends more on your lifestyle than your body weight. Factors like genetics, income, and stress can influence disease. For example, heart disease and diabetes affect people of ALL weights. People of all sizes benefit from activities that support their health such as eating a variety of food to support disease, moving in a joyful way, and managing stress.

MYTH #2 The best way to improve health is by losing weight

FACT: Studies (and our dietitians 35+ years of cumulative experience in this field) show that restrictive diet and exercise programs poorly affect mental and physical health. Research also shows the more you diet the more you weigh.

Dieting has been associated with:

  • An increase in weight
  • Muscle loss
  • Bone loss
  • Increase in blood pressure
  • Increased risk of eating disorders
  • Body image issues/body dysmorphia

MYTH #3: “If I’m not actively trying to control my weight, I’ll gain a lot of weight and worsen my health”

FACT: People can improve their health and manage chronic disease without a focus on weight loss. In fact, people who do not focus on weight loss tend to have better mental health, lower stress, a better body image, and a better quality of life while managing their health. When we focus on health promoting behaviors our body settles at it’s healthy weight – sometimes that’s less than you are now, sometimes it’s more, and sometimes it’s the same. We need to give our body the opportunity to figure out what is healthy for you without trying to manage it through dieting and non-joyful exercise.

MYTH #4 I’ll just diet to lose the weight quick and then focus on maintaining.

FACT: More than 95% of weight loss attempts do not lead to long-term weight loss or health improvements. In fact, most people who lose weight on a diet will gain it back +5% more within two years. Because of this trend, dieting is actually a better predictor of weight gain than weight loss.

Are you:

  • Sick of losing the weight and gaining it back?
  • Sick of hearing about weight loss drugs and surgeries?
  • Do you just want to be healthy and not focus as much on the scale?

Our Registered Dietitians can help! CLICK HERE to set up a FREE 15 minute discovery call and learn more about what it would look like to work together.

20+ Dinner Recipes done in 20 minutes or less!

We totally get it – some nights you just *need* a quick and easy week night dinner recipe.

Often times a healthy and balanced recipe that incorporates your protein/carb/veggie all in one recipe in just 20 minutes or less can be very hard to find!

That’s why we’ve rounded up some of our favorite recipes from the Real Life Nutrition Membership that can be made in 20 minutes or less. Click the links below and save these recipes to your recipe box!

Not a member? Sign up here for only $29/month!

Some quick meal staple items: salad kits, frozen cooked grains like brown rice and quinoa, pre-cooked frozen chicken/shrimp/burgers, cooked chicken sausage and meatballs, and organic canned low sodium beans.

Clothing Rental Services We Love

When you’re working on improving your relationship with food, body, and movement it’s important to wear clothes that you are comfortable in and fit your body now.

This enables you to focus on behaviors like fueling your body regularly, meal planning, moving in a joyful way etc and stop obsessing about the scale or losing weight. Remember – it’s the behaviors that impact your health not the number on the scale.

We recommend making a “capsule” in your closet to make the morning getting dressed process easier. Simply put the clothes that fit your body now in the front of your closet and move your other clothes to the back. This will make getting dressed less stressful and more of a positive experience! No need to throw anything out (unless you want to) just move it to the back of the closet so you’re not sifting through things that you do not feel good in right now.

If you want to expand your wardrobe with clothes that fit your body during this process – but don’t want to go out and buy a bunch of new pieces we *highly* recommend trying a clothing rental service!

Here are some of our favorites below:

Armoire

  • How it works: Rent 4 – 7 items at a time for 1 month. Choose from brands like Boden, Lily Pulitizer, and BB Dakota. Option to buy at a discounted rate.
  • Cost: $69/month+
  • Size ranges: 0 – 3X + Maternity option
  • https://www.armoire.style/ (referral link for 50% off your first month)

Gwynnie Bee

  • How it works: Rent 3 at a time for 1 month. Choose from brands like Asos Curve, Jessica Simpson, and Torrid. Option to buy at a discounted rate.
  • Cost: $49 – $199/month
  • Size ranges: 00-32
  • https://closet.gwynniebee.com/

NY & Company Closet

  • How it works: Rent 3 items at a time for 1 month all clothes are NY & Company brand. Option to buy at a discounted rate.
  • Cost: $49/month
  • Size ranges: 0-20
  • https://www.nyandcompanycloset.com/

FTF Closet

nuuly

  • How it works: Rent 6 items at a time for 1 month. Choose from brands like Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and Levi’s. Option to buy at a discounted rate.
  • Cost: $88/month
  • Size ranges: 00-5X
  • https://www.nuuly.com/rent

LeTote

  • How it works: Rent 4 items at a time for 1 month. Choose from brands like BCBG and French Connection. Option to buy at a discounted rate.
  • Cost: $59/month
  • Size ranges: 00-18 + Maternity option
  • https://www.letote.com/

Want to learn more about improving your relationship with food and body? Click here to set up a FREE 15 minute discovery call with one of our Registered Dietitians.

Giving Back to Our Community: Volunteering at Jasmine Road

Jasmine Road is South Carolina’s first two-year residential program for adult women survivors of human trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.

Their mission is to offer women who are trapped in a cycle of sexual exploitation and addiction a path to freedom, a haven for healing, and the opportunity to flourish, leading to generational change and the betterment of our Greenville community.

Brittany Jones Nutrition Group is thrilled to be donating our time and expertise through a 4 week series on “Gentle Nutrition” for the residents at Jasmine Road beginning in April 2022.

This series will be led by Registered Dietitian Anna Jensen, RD, LD and will cover the following topics:

  • A weight neutral approach to nutrition care
  • Rejecting the all-or-nothing mindset
  • Nutrition myth busting
  • Meal planning

As a volunteer, Anna will work alongside the Jasmine Road Staff to support the residents on their unique journey of healing, and to further their growth, and development. Our goal is to work with the residents as they move out of the cycles of addiction and sexual exploitation and to empower them to fuel, move, and accept their bodies along their journey.

We are very excited to be partnering with such an incredible organization and to give back to our Greenville community that we love so much!

Learn more about Jasmine Road and their social enterprise lunch café Jasmine Kitchen.

How To Eat Vegetables Without Feeling Like You’re On A Diet

What do you think of when you think of vegetables?

Does “eating diet food” come to mind, or is it one of your favorite foods?

Does it sound like something you “have to” or “should” eat, or just another part of your meals?

There is nothing inherently diet-y about vegetables, but diet culture has really taken advantage of them! 

It might feel a bit simple to write a whole blog post about vegetables, but we have found many clients associate them so closely to diets that their relationship with them can be disordered – so we thought it was worth talking about a little further.

You can enjoy vegetables how YOU like them, not how diet culture says you are supposed to eat them (i.e. with dressing on the side, or raw without dipping in ranch)!

Keep reading to see how your view of vegetables might be altered due to your dieting history, and how you can eat more vegetables without dieting. 

Dieting and Diet Culture Can Distort Your View of Certain Foods

Diet culture has created us to believe that some foods are “good” while others are “bad” – pitting the two against each other. Brittany Jones Nutrition Group dietitians teach food freedom, which allows unconditional permission to eat all foods, and can help us be more attuned with our body. 

Remember that “Force-feeding” yourself vegetables will move you in the opposite direction of trusting your body. 

As we learn to trust our body and its choices, we begin to strike a balance between functional and fun foods and it becomes a much more natural process. 

We have also seen how all-or-nothing thinking with vegetables can sneak in. If you have heard in a past diet that you can only have steamed, bland vegetables, low fat/low sugar dressing (or even worse- no dressing!), it is understandable how that would not satisfy you! If you have used vegetables to cover up a craving because they have little “points” (etc), you probably have realized this does not work and will only make your craving more intense. These experiences are common, and know that vegetables don’t have to be consumed in this way.

It is important to also note that your view toward vegetables might be altered from your experiences as a child. If you were forced to eat certain vegetables or if you were rarely exposed to them, this will also have an impact. Have compassion on yourself if it feels like you are “picky” when it comes to vegetables. It is never too late to just start trying and experimenting. 

Shift To An Abundance Mindset

Another reason people might avoid eating vegetables is that it is often used as a replacement for things when dieting. You can eat a lot of vegetables without having to make it a replacement for something else in the meal! By all means if you like cauliflower rice – go for it – but we would still love to see you add some carbs to your meal such as corn/peas/beans or some bread/crackers. If you love rice, eat the rice and have some vegetables on your plate as well.

It can be helpful to think how we can ADD to a meal or snack, not replace it. As you begin to try to incorporate vegetables in new ways, know that there might be some vegetables that you like and some you don’t, and that is okay! 

How To Make Vegetables Tasty 

Here are some ideas to incorporate more vegetables from a place of abundance, not restriction: 

  1. Start with a list. Think of the vegetables you like and the ones you have not tried or want to try making differently. Sometimes it can be helpful to think of something you have had before at a restaurant (like those crispy brussels sprouts or interesting salads) and want to try to recreate it! 
  2. Branch out in the kitchen. If you like steaming, go for it! But sautéing, roasting, and grilling can bring out amazing textures and flavors. If you have an air fryer (or convection oven), this can make vegetables really crisp. 
  3. Experiment with seasonings and marinades. Just like you marinate your meat for the grill, try marinating your vegetables! Think beyond salt and pepper- we love all the spice blends at Trader Joes! For those that find vegetables bitter, try using maple syrup or honey in a marinade or when roasting to cut the bitterness. 
  4. Don’t be afraid of oil. Not only does the oil help with satiety and in enhancing taste, it helps you absorb all the fat-soluble vitamins in vegetables. Also, you will thank yourself when cleaning the pan!
  5. Think beyond a side. Sides are great, but you can also enhance whatever you’re making by throwing some extra vegetables in the mix. Making a breakfast casserole or omelet? Maybe add some peppers and onions. Your favorite pasta dish or soup? Think about some throwing in frozen spinach or fresh mushrooms.
  6. Sauce it up. There are so many different things you can do in this area. Maybe it looks like a balsamic glaze, hummus, chimichurri drizzle, or some other dipping sauce. 
  7. You don’t have to order salad dressing on the side! You would be surprised how much more satisfying a salad is when it’s tossed nicely WITH the dressing. 

Check Out Some of Our Favorite Brittany Jones Nutrition Group Vegetable Recipes

We hope this gets you started on how you can be adding vegetables to your diet coming from a place of abundance. If you would like some ideas to get you started, check out some of ours below: 

Stop Connecting Fullness with Shame

One of the most common questions we hear while working with clients is:

“What should my portion sizes be?”

Believe it or not, this is not a black and white answer. Although the portion plate is a great guide to get us started, that’s exactly what it is – a guide. The absolute BEST indicator of what portions we should be eating is from listening to your own body! 

Part of rejecting diet culture is learning to listen to what our body is telling us instead of external diet rules such as “you can only have ½ Cup of rice at a meal” or “you are not allowed to eat after 7PM.” One aspect of listening to our body is honoring our hunger and fullness cues. Our bodies are SUPER smart and know what they need. Therefore, if we honor our hunger and fullness cues, our portions will be exactly what our bodies need that day. 

Keep in mind these portions may vary day to day. Our bodies are not robots and our needs change daily. For example, if you did an intense HIIT workout, it is likely you will need more energy, and therefore be hungrier, the next day to help you replenish your energy stores lost during the workout. Same goes for when you are on your period! Our bodies expend a LOT of energy during that time shedding our uterine lining so it makes sense that we would need more food during this week.

Understanding Hunger and Fullness

The first step to learning to honor your hunger and fullness cues is to understand what hunger and fullness are. Let’s dive into some science!

Our bodies have two main hormones that regulate our appetite: Leptin and Ghrelin. Leptin signals the feeling of being full and ghrelin signals hunger. If we are honoring our hunger and fullness cues, these two hormones work in complete homeostasis. When you need more energy, ghrelin increases. When you have replenished your energy stores and no longer need fuel, leptin increases. Unfortunately, constant dietiting often throw off this homeostasis by ignoring biological hunger. 

Diet culture teaches us that being hungry all the time is “good” and feeling full is “shameful.” We do things like chug water or chew gum to distract ourselves and suppress our hunger. Overtime, this can throw leptin and ghrelin out of sync. After years of dieting, we can lose our ability to feel hunger and fullness entirely. Additionally, the more we ignore our hunger, the more our hunger hormone (ghrelin) increases. This makes your body think it is in starvation mode, stressing it out and causing it to hold on to fat stores to compensate. In our practice, we talk primarily work with clients on eating MORE to reach their goals – not less!

In order to reach our goals, it is key to build back our trust with your body’s natural cues.

Keep in mind that there are many different ways to feel hunger and fullness. Everyone is different and there are not right or wrong ways to experience it. Here are some common signs of hunger and fullness:

Common Signs of Hunger

  • Stomach growling
  • Feeling panicked/stressed
  • Dull ache in throat
  • Cloudy thinking, unable to concentrate, headache, thoughts about food and eating
  • Irritability/”Hangry”
  • Sleepiness/lack of energy

Common Signs of Fullness

  • Heaviness/bloating
  • Fewer thoughts about food and eating
  • Decreased desire to eat
  • Pleasant and relaxed mood
  • Energy changes: Either re-energized or for some, drowsy for others

As we are learning to look for and honor these sensations, keep in mind that there are a lot of aspects that can get in the way of feeling and responding to hunger and fullness cues. These are called attunement disrupters. Attunement disrupters may include distractions, thoughts, rules, beliefs, and a lack of self-care.

Attunement Disrupter Examples:

  • Eating while multitasking (watching TV, on phone, reading, driving)
  • Food rules (“I can’t eat after 7pm”)
  • Working through lunch break
  • Skipping breakfast
  • Not controlling stress levels properly
  • Not getting proper amount of sleep

If you are struggling to recognize hunger and fullness cues, reflect on these disrupters. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you overly stressed? Are you skipping meals? In order to re-regulate hunger and fullness hormones, we recommend eating every 3-4 hours and engaging in daily self-care activities.

Using Hunger and Fullness Cues as a Guide

In order to use hunger and fullness as a guide to portion sizes and meal timing, we recommend clients practice ranking their hunger and fullness levels after each meal and snack using the hunger and fullness scale below.

When you are getting ready to eat a meal or snack, ask yourself, “Where am I on the hunger and fullness scale?” Ideally, you’ll be between a 3 and a 4. When we drop below this, we tend to overeat as a natural body response to extreme hunger.

Halfway through your meal, pause for 10 seconds and check in with your body. Ask again “Where am I on the scale now?” You may choose to stop eating or continue based on what your body is telling you. Eat until you are comfortably satisfied at a 6 or 7.

“What if I fall below a 3 or eat to the point I am above a 7?” 

It happens to everyone and this is very normal! The hunger/fullness scale is NOT a rule – so start with showing yourself compassion. Shame is not a helpful emotion and does not promote progress. Avoid beating yourself up. It’s about progress not perfection!

Take this time to reflect with curiosity instead of judgement. Did dropping below a 3 impact your food choices and your hunger and fullness the rest of the day? Could you have done anything differently to avoid getting overly hungry such as packing a snack or prepping lunch that morning? If you overate, why do you think that happened? Could you practice being more mindful at meals and slowing down in the future?

Instead of dwelling on the fact you got too hungry or overate, acknowledge it, reflect with curiosity, and then move on to your normal routine.

*You deserve to have dinner even if you overate at lunch!* There is no need to “compensate” or “make up” for overeating.

Conclusion

Diet culture praises hunger and shames fullness – leading us to ignore our natural body cues and eat according to external rules. This not only leads us away from our health goals but also can damage our relationship with food. The truth is our bodies are super smart and tell us what they need through mechanisms like hunger and fullness hormones. Practice using the hunger and fullness scale and keep a log to help you see if you are getting too hungry or too full throughout day. 

If you are interested in ditching diets for good and understanding your hunger and fullness signals more in depth, we would love to help! Click here to schedule your FREE 15 minute phone call session today to learn more.

-Written by Allison Walters, RD, LD

Trying to figure out if you have a healthy relationship with food? Take our quiz! (Note: This is not to be used as a diagnostic tool, it is simply a 2 minute survey you can use to check in with yourself. )

Mac and Cheese with Greens (Gluten Free & Vegetarian)

mac and cheese with greens

Y’all know I’m a huge fan of easy dinners that encompass everything you need to feel satisfied in one pot. This one pot family friend meal is just that – the pasta has both carb and protein, the Palmetto Gardens kale is your veggie, and then you of course have cheese for more protein and taste!

It’s a great spin on a classic dish! You can make this mac and cheese two ways: eat it right off the stove top or bake it for a more crispy crust.

You will have half a bag of Palmetto Gardens Kale leftover to make another batch of mac and cheese – or you can check out my Southwestern Kale Power Bowl here. Happy cooking!

Mac and Cheese with Greens (Gluten Free)

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

  • 12oz Chickpea or Red Lentil Pasta
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Bag of @Palmetto Garden’s Kale (~5.5 Cups)
  • 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
  • Black Pepper, to taste
  • 2 Cups 2% Milk
  • 1 Tablespoon Organic Unsalted Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika
  • Cayenne Pepper, to taste
  • 8oz Gruyere Cheese, shredded
  • 8oz Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
  • 1 Cup Gluten Free Panko Breadcrumbs (optional)

Directions:

  1. Optional: If you would like to bake your Mac and Cheese, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until it is al dente, about 7-9 minutes. Strain the pasta and set aside.
  3. Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat. Add half of the kale, garlic and black pepper. Cover and cook until it starts to wilt. Stir and add the remaining kale. Cover and cook another 3 minutes until it is all wilted (avoid over cooking as the kale can get bitter). Remove the cooked kale and place it in a large bowl, and set aside.
  4. Whisk the milk and cornstarch together in a bowl until smooth. Add to the Dutch oven over medium heat along with the butter, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens about 5 minutes. Add the Grueyere and Cheddar and continue to stir until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
  5. Add the pasta to the saucepan and stir to combine. Gentle fold in the kale and serve!
  6. Baked Option: Pour into a 13×9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the mac and cheese and baked on 425 degrees F until the cheese is bubbly and the bread crumbs are lightly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Serve.

This post was sponsored by Palmetto Gardens

kale

 

5 Reasons Dieting is Hurting Your Health

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It seems like everywhere we turned in January, we were seeing information about another diet. This influx of diet spam caused everyone in our office to do a big 🤦Now, as South Carolina starts to ease COVID19 restrictions, unfortunately you can expect to see a resurgence of of diets talking about their solutions to the “COVID 15/19/30” or whatever they are calling it these days.

We pride ourselves in being anti-diet dietitians at Brittany Jones Nutrition Group. Have you ever wondered why we choose to practice this way? We speak up against trendy diets like Keto, Paleo, and Intermittent fasting because they aren’t sustainable for our clients, but also because diets are straight up harmful to our clients.

The Diet Cycle

The image above shows a typical diet cycle. Let’s walk through it using low carb diets as an example:

  • It’s Monday. You start your low carb diet, restricting delicious food items such as bread, pasta, potatoes, corn, and your personal favorite, French fries.
  • On Wednesday you start to feel really deprived. Maybe your spouse is eating French fries with their burger, but you order a salad because you are being “good.” You may also show signs of fatigue and irritability (remember, carbs are your main source of energy!)
  • On Thursday you start to really crave these foods. All you can think about is French fries.
  • On Friday the thoughts are consuming your life and eventually you give in to them. You don’t just give in a little bit. You give in A LOT. You go through the McDonalds drive through and order two supersize French fries and eat them all rapidly in one sitting.
  • Then on Friday night you feel guilty and beat yourself up for not being able to stick on your diet. You decide to start another low carb diet that is even more restrictive again next Monday. And the cycle repeats.

Sound familiar?!

What happens when we find ourselves following into this vicious cycle on a chronic basis?

Here are 5 reasons why being trapped in this diet cycle harms your overall health.

1 – Weight Cycling Increases Your Risk for Chronic Diseases

Usually when we fall into the diet cycle, we find ourselves losing weight during our restrictive diets only to later regain the weight back, and usually plus more. Then we do it all over again. This yo-yo weight pattern is called weight cycling. Research shows that weight cycling alone, regardless of your initial body size, increases your risk for cardiovascular events, osteoporosis, gallstones, hypertension, chronic inflammation, and eating disorders/disordered eating. The healthiest weight for you is when you ditch the diet mentality, break free of this cycle and learn to listen to your body’s needs when it comes to food and movement. 

2 – Dieting Harms Your Relationship with Food and Your Body

Research shows that dieting is strongly linked to a preoccupation with food and appearance, increased food cravings, and increased binge urges. At Brittany Jones Nutrition Group, we work on creating complete food freedom with our clients. Remember, all foods fit! We want you to be able to feel comfortable around all foods and get rid of the feeling that certain foods control your life. There are NO good and bad foods – and food has no moral value! Restricting foods will only lead to overeating them later. 

Diet rules also force you to ignore your natural hunger and fullness cues. They tell you that you can not eat after a certain time of day, that you have to fast in order to lose weight, and that it’s good to be hungry all day. These are all false claims that get you out of touch with your body. Our bodies are incredibly smart. They naturally crave a variety of nutrients and will tell you when they need fuel by showing signs of hunger. You do not question why you have to pee when you get the urge to pee, so why do we question our hunger?

3 – Dieting Harms Your Mental Health

Think back to when you did your last diet. How was your mental health during this time? Did you feel deprived? Did you cancel social events because there wouldn’t be something you were “allowed” to eat on your diet there? Research shows that dieting increases body dissatisfaction, reduces self-esteem, increases stress, and harms social life. Health is about SO much more than just what you eat and how often you exercise. If we neglect our mental health in order to improve our appearance, we often end up worse in the end. We are not just alive to lose weight and pay bills! There is so much more to life! Don’t miss out on the fun of life because you are concerned with appearance or eating “perfectly.”

4 – Dieting Can Cause You to Miss Out on Key Nutrients

Diets often restrict certain food groups such as fat and carbohydrates. When we restrict food groups, not only do we crave them more, but we also miss out on key nutrients! For example, carbohydrates are your main source of energy, provide fiber and B vitamins, and make your RNA and DNA. Fat is important for regulating our body temperatures and producing our hormones. All the food groups have a purpose! 

Another popular and risky diet is fasting. When we are only “allowed” to eat during certain times in the day, not only are we ignoring our natural body cues, but it is also incredibly difficult to get the nutrients and variety we need in that short period of time. 

5 – Dieting Increases Your Set Point

Do you remember learning about homeostasis in science class? Turns out our body is really good at regulating processes within our body to keep us alive. Just like it regulates our temperature, it also regulates our body size. Think of it as a thermostat for your weight. Many factors contribute into why we are the weight we are. Genetics, access to health care, access to nutritious food, environment, and movement all play a role. Where our body weight naturally falls when it is at homeostasis is called the set point. When we fall out of our set point, our body works tirelessly to do anything it can to bring it back to our set point. Our bodies do not know the difference between a diet and starvation. If we keep messing with this internal thermostat through dieting, your body views this as a famine and struggles to maintain control over your weight. During this period of starvation (dieting), your metabolism decreases and your brain releases less leptin, a hormone that triggers the feeling of being full. AKA your appetite physiologically INCREASES during a diet! After your diet fails, your body forces you to not only regain the weight back but it adds on extra weight to protect against future diets (periods of starvation). Therefore, your set point increases. In addition, people with a history of chronic dieting end up releasing less leptin overtime than they would have without the history of dieting. 

“Ok I Get it Now, but What’s the Alternative to Dieting?”

Instead of falling trap to the diet cycle, it is best to focus on finding balance. Strive for progress, not perfection! Instead of doing crazy diets that eliminate certain foods, remind yourself that all foods fit! Incorporate gentle nutrition by following the 80/20 balance and utilizing the portion plate.

Learn to listen to your body. Ask yourself: “What will nourish me and what will satisfy me?” before meals. Eat according to your natural hunger and fullness cues. Move your body in a way that feels joyful and good, rather than punishing it for what you ate.

Through rejecting diet mentality, finding food freedom, and moving joyfully, you will find the weight that is healthiest for you without sacrificing your mental health to get there.

Want to learn more? Click here to set up a FREE 15 minute discovery call with our CEO and Registered Dietitian Brittany Jones, MS, RD, LD!

-Written by Allison Walters, RD, LD

Trying to figure out if you have a healthy relationship with food? Take our quiz! (Note: This is not to be used as a diagnostic tool, it is simply a 2 minute survey you can use to check in with yourself. )

When Less Isn’t More: Avoid Starvation Mode and Meet Your Goals!

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Diet culture tells us: “if you eat less food than your body burns, you will lose weight.” However, our bodies are not computers and do not work like calculators. What most people don’t understand is that the human metabolism is actually much more complicated than calories in vs. calories out.

Your body uses energy from food to perform all the activities you do in a day and all of the functions needed to keep you alive! Energy from food is used in three different ways:

  1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)– energy used at rest to maintain basic physiological functions (i.e. breathing and pumping blood to your body from the heart)
  2. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)– this is the energy required to breakdown and digest your food
  3. Physical Activity (PA) – Fuel used for exercise and body movements

*When you don’t eating enough to sustain all of these activities, your body goes into starvation mode*

What is starvation mode, and why is it harmful?

The term “starvation mode” is used to describe how the body adapts to a caloric deficit. When calories are restricted, the body becomes more efficient by reducing the number of calories burned. Your body’s goal is to maintain energy balance and prevent actual starvation. The technical term for starvation mode is “adaptive thermogenesis” where the body slows down the metabolic processes to conserve energy. This means that when you restrict your food intake, your body reduces how many calories you are able to burn throughout the day to prevent starvation. This is why under eating and over exercising does not work!

The negative effects of under-eating:

  • Increases risk of health problems like eating disorders and heart disease
  • Increase in cortisol levels (stress hormone)
  • Loss of muscle mass
  • Brain Fog
  • Fatigue

Being in an over stressed and underfed state will NOT help you lose weight. In an over stressed and  underfed state, your body will hold onto more fat stores because it doesn’t know when the next surge of energy is coming next.  Under-fueling slows down your metabolism, breaks down muscle, and as a result prevent individuals from meeting their weight/fat loss goals.

Set Point Theory  

Chronic Dieter: “But if I don’t control my food, I will spin out of control, and my weight will go up and up and up and all my hard work will be for nothing!”

Dietitian: “Not necessarily”

Let us introduce to you the Set Point Theory. The Set Point Theory explains that our bodies naturally maintain a constant weight range to keep our bodies functioning optimally. Our bodies are designed to maintain a healthy state and keep us alive!

Your body’s set point makes it much more difficult to maintain a body that is smaller than it needs to sustain these physiological functions. When we under eat, the body secretes more ghrelin (hunger hormone) to have you eat more to restore your body’s natural set point. This is actually really cool! Your body is working to protect itself and maintain a healthy environment for all the activities going on inside your body.

As the body starts to put on more weight, it doesn’t just keep going higher and higher up into space and out of control. Eventually, the body will stop around it’s natural set point. It may overshoot the set point at first, but give your body time and grace to recover. After all, it was starving for quite some time, so it will need extra energy for repairs. 

Watch this video to learn more about the Set Point Theory

4 Tips to avoid starvation mode & meet your goals!

You might be thinking “If I shouldn’t restrict my food intake, how can I reach my goals?” Start with these tips!

1. Eat Protein with carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are an excellent source of energy and are required for daily life functions, and adding protein will help you stay satisfied until your next meal and help you build lean muscle mass!

2. Eat incrementally throughout the day

We want to focus on *fueling* for our busy day! Having consistent meals helps balance blood sugar and will help stabilize energy levels throughout the day. Aim for a meal or snack something every 3-4 hours.

3. Leave room for fun foods

The great thing about our bodies is that it uses all kinds of foods for energy including our favorite fun foods such as chocolate, cookies, or chips.  We encourage to incorporating these foods into our clients weekly meal plan! Eliminating fun foods entirely could result in a binge later on. Additionally, it can isolate us from social activities! Establish a healthy relationship with these foods by incorporating them into your routine each week.

4. Work with the nutrition expert, a Registered Dietitian

Sometimes it’s best to ask for a little extra support during your journey to meet your goals. Working with a registered dietitian for one on one nutrition counseling, meal planning, and extra accountability can help. You can learn more about how Brittany Jones Nutrition Group can help you meet your goals in a sustainable way here!

Your body is incredible! It knows exactly what it needs to do with the fuel you give it. Don’t worry about controlling your food so tightly because your body will tell you what it needs at that time. You just have to learn to listen.

Here is a reminder that you deserve to eat today. You don’t need to “earn” your food, and you don’t need to punish your body for what you already ate. Choose to honor your body with love and respect today.

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT FOCUSING ON HEALTH PROMOTING HABITS RATHER THAN THE ON SCALE, CLICK HERE TO SET UP YOUR FREE 15 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL! 

Written by Gabriella Childers, Brittany Jones Nutrition Group Intern & Brittany Jones, MS, RD, LD

Trying to figure out if you have a healthy relationship with food? Take our quiz! (Note: This is not to be used as a diagnostic tool, it is simply a 2 minute survey you can use to check in with yourself. )

 

Measuring Your Progress Without The Scale

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“If I lose ‘X’ pounds, then I can wear my skinny jeans”
“I have to go to the gym today because I ate too many sweets last night”
“I’m doing all the right things, but I’m not losing weight!”

Do any of these statements above sound familiar? We get it, exchanging old habits for new health promoting habits is hard. It’s especially difficult when we feel we aren’t seeing progress!

Diet culture has taught us to tie our self-worth and validation with the number on the scale. If the number decreases, diet culture says that’s “good,”  and when the number goes up or remains the same, that’s considered “bad.” Many of us believe that when we reach a certain weight, we will be more loved/successful/a better person. Why is that? Have you ever considered the fact that maybe your weight has little or nothing to do with your success? Just because your weight isn’t changing does not mean you are progressing ton journey.

Your Worth is Not Dictated by

the Number on the Scale

We often tie our worth to factors that society deems to be “good.” Diet culture tells us that we need to eat healthfully and exercise often to achieve nearly impossible body sizes and shapes. Have you ever considered that there are more reasons to live a healthier lifestyle than to reach a certain number on the scale? In the big picture, numbers don’t tell you the great things that make you uniquely, you!

Say it with me: my self worth is not defined by a number on a scale! Focusing too much on a number on the scale can distract you from remembering the best parts about yourself. Consider your role. Are you a parent to a child? A best friend? A sister? A manager? No matter what, the number on the scale says – it has zero influence on how “good” or “bad” you are at fulfilling your role. We believe that if we weighed “X pounds less” then we will “be more loved,” “be a better person,” or “be what others want us to be” – but this is diet culture speaking here. Remember that these thoughts are not facts. They’re just thoughts.

It’s time to Starting looking at different measures of progress

To combat these toxic thoughts, start looking at different measures of progress. There are so many more ways to document progress during a health journey than tracking how much your body weighs. Body weight tells a how much our muscle/organs/skin/water/fat/etc weigh, but it tells you nothing about nutritional, social, and intellectual progress.

How to Track Progress Without the Scale

To keep track of progress (outside of the scale), start by focusing on sustainable habits. What is one habit that you can easily do every day (or every week) for a long period of time that will help you reach your goals? It should be something simple and realistic like making your own breakfast every day, getting in movement three times a week, or going to the grocery store at least once a week. Focus on habits that are sustainable, and more importantly, enjoyable! Incorporating new habits into your day can be really exciting especially when you are able to see improvements in your overall health.

Stepping away from the scale can be a hard habit to release. So many of us have attached ourselves so much to a number that we don’t know how to cope without it. The best way to detaching yourself from the scale is take it out of the house (or out of sight) and replace it with another form of measurement.

Check out these 10 ways you can measure your progress that have nothing to do with the scale below!

10 nonscale wins

Next time you find yourself discouraged by the number on the scale, try and think about other parts of your life that have made you a healthier version of yourself physically, mentally, and socially. The number on the scale is a number – that’s it. It’s your behaviors that define who you are – not the scale. Remember all the things that make you uniquely, you!

At the Brittany Jones Nutrition Group our RDs set non-scale goals with our clients, and do not weigh clients in our office. If you’re interested in learning more about focusing on health promoting habits rather than the on scale, click here to set up your FREE 15 minute discovery call! 

-Written by Gabby Childers, and Brittany Jones, MS, RD, LD

Trying to figure out if you have a healthy relationship with food? Take our quiz! (Note: This is not to be used as a diagnostic tool, it is simply a 2 minute survey you can use to check in with yourself. )