January Monthly Newsletter
Learn the first principle of Intuitive Eating for a different approach to New Year’s Resolutions
Morsel of the Month
Every January, the advertisements start for New Year, New You. Many people hope that this is the year they will finally find the perfect diet that helps them achieve their ideal body, and ultimately, their ideal life. It’s a promise that is hard to resist, not only because it is everywhere you turn, but also because we have been raised in a society that celebrates diet culture. Maybe you have heard that diets do not work, or even experienced that yourself. If you are feeling fed up with dieting but at a loss about what to do instead, you may consider Intuitive Eating.
Intuitive Eating was developed by Evelyn Trioble, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, FAND, who published their first book on the topic in 1995, based on their clinical experience. Since its publication, a number of research studies have shown how effective Intuitive Eating is. Some findings include: intuitive eaters have a lower overall risk for heart disease, greater body appreciation and satisfaction, greater life satisfaction, and greater motivation to exercise, among other benefits.
This year, Athens Nutrition is going to share the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating through our newsletter. If these principles appeal to you, our dietitians can help you on your journey to becoming an intuitive eater.
The first principle of Intuitive Eating is Reject the Diet Mentality. This means internalizing the fact that dieting does not work. The diet industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars and yet we know that the vast majority of people who lose weight through dieting regain their weight. This happens for a variety of reasons, some biological and some psychological. Restricting food, whether consciously or not, sets us up for overeating in the future. Sometimes people do not even realize they are engaging in diet behaviors because it has been so normalized in our society. These pseudo-dieting behaviors include things like counting macros, only eating “safe” foods, not eating past certain times of the day no matter what, overexercising or undereating if you ate something “bad,” being rigidly healthy or doing cleanses, among others. All of these behaviors reject our body’s own wisdom about hunger, fullness, satisfaction and pleasure. Intuitive Eating allows you to tap back into that innate sense that we all had before we started absorbing the diet culture. It is important to note that diet culture teaches us that something is wrong with us if we don’t have the ideal body. We are all born to be different shapes and sizes and sometimes we have to acknowledge that thin does not always equal healthy.
If you would like to explore a new way of thinking about diet and weight, contact us to make an appointment.
Next month, we will discuss the principle of Honor your Hunger.
Want to know more? Check out our free handout “Principle 1 Intuitive Eating: Rejecting the Diet Mentality” on our website.
Recipe Highlight
There are many reasons to incorporate whole grains into your eating pattern. They contain important nutrients, such as protein, fiber, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, B vitamins and more. They can help regulate blood sugar and cholesterol, influence satiety, and they taste delicious. This winter, challenge yourself to bake with whole grains. Here are some of our favorite recipes.
No-knead whole grain beer bread
Oatmeal dinner rolls
No-knead 100% whole wheat bread
Buttermilk oatmeal drop scones
Whole grain flat bread
Athens Announcements
Announcing Athens Nutrition’s New Referral Program
We all know it can be hard to stick to your New Year’s resolutions. That’s why it’s critical to think of healthy eating as a part of your lifestyle. It’s not just a temporary diet, or a goal to lose a couple of pounds. It’s a long term commitment and one that’s much easier to start and maintain with a little bit of help.
To bring that healthy mindset to as many people as we can, we’re excited to announce our new Athens Nutrition Referral Program. It’s easy: if you refer someone to Athens Nutrition, we’ll send you a $25 gift card when they schedule their first appointment. Just make sure they mention you when they book.
You can choose your gift card from a list of healthy, nutritious products and shops that we personally love and we’ll send you the card. What a great way to get a healthy start to the new year! And remember, our nutrition services are usually covered by insurance, including telehealth.
If you or your friends and family need some guidance on eating healthier, feeling better, and meeting your New Year’s goals, let us know and we’ll set up an appointment. Working with a nutritionist is one of the best ways you can make your nutrition goals a reality.
We are here to help!
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Athens Nutrition
27 W Athens Ave
Ardmore, PA 19003-1321