Wendy

Do You Really Need to Count Calories?

April 6, 2022 by Wendy Leave a Comment

Why it’s important to listen to your body instead of obsessing over calorie counts, according to a dietitian.

The practice of tracking food and nutrients throughout the day can create obsessive habits that take away from the pleasurable experience of eating. Years ago as a nutrition student, I remember using a calorie counting app and the recommended ranges provided were way below what I felt I needed. I was left feeling hungry and let’s just say my membership didn’t last very long. In retrospect, I can see how calorie counting apps (and counting calories, in general) put people at a higher risk for disordered eating if there’s a disconnect between what your body needs and what the app is telling you to eat. As a dietitian who helps people eat more intuitively, I try to encourage the use of internal cues paired with nutrition education as an alternative to calorie counting or food tracking. Here’s why.

How Calorie Counting Apps Work

Calorie counting apps are marketed as a helpful way to meet nutritional needs and/or weight goals by tracking food intake, exercise, and other daily activities. Many of these apps calculate calorie and nutrient goals for users based on inputs like age, height and weight. These apps don’t account for factors that can impact energy needs like medication, pregnancy, medical conditions, mental health conditions, and more. As a dietitian, I explore the variety of factors that can impact someone’s food intake in order to offer the best nutrition advice possible — something calorie counting apps just don’t do.

Head on over to FOOD NETWORK to read the full article! Do You Really Need to Count Calories?

Help! My Doctor Keeps Telling Me to Lose Weight w/ Ragen Chastain

April 6, 2022 by Wendy Leave a Comment

Fatphobia is rampant in the medical community. Doctors and providers are notorious for prescribing weight loss for everything from acid reflux to joint pain. The problem is, this weight loss advice is not only misguided… it’s outright harmful.

Today on the podcast, we are joined by Ragen Chastain, a speaker, Certified Health Coach, and thought leader in Weight Science, Weight Stigma, and the Health at Every Size paradigm. Ragen sheds light on her experience in fat activism and gives us pointers on how to go into a doctor’s office prepared with a litany of clap backs to help decenter weight from your treatment plan.

In This Episode We’ll Cover:

How to find a medical provider that is aligned with your weight inclusive values
What to do when you feel like your doctor is discriminating based on your weight
Harm Reduction Techniques in the doctor’s office
Ragen’s super helpful HAES Health Sheets
& MORE!

Resources:

Ragen’s Instagram
Ragen’s Blog
Ragen’s HAES Health Sheets
Ragen’s Substack

Others Mentioned:

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Our podcast is released every Wednesday and each week we take a deep dive into topics like health at every size, food & culture, intuitive eating, mental health, and body acceptance. If you’re looking for a sustainable and inclusive path to wellness, come hang out with us to learn how to take care of yourself from the inside out.

The Best Leafy Greens That Aren’t Kale

April 5, 2022 by Wendy Leave a Comment

In recent years, kale has gotten so much hype for being the “it” vegetable. People throw it into everything from smoothies, salads, soups and stews. I happen to be one of those people who love kale and use it often in my cooking. However as a dietitian, I’m also aware of the variety of other leafy greens that often get overlooked and are just as great when it comes to flavor and nutrition. On your next trip to the market, look out for these seven tasty leafy greens!

Chard

Incredibly flexible in the kitchen, chard is a leafy green that can be enjoyed raw in salads, or cooked in everything from omelets, soups and stews. Younger versus large leaves are better raw since they’re not as bitter. You may recognize chard for its colorful stems, which can vary from white, yellow and red. Stems can be finely chopped and cooked as well for added crunch and nutrition in recipes! This leafy green is high in vitamins A, C and K and is a good source of magnesium, copper and manganese. You can store unwashed leaves in plastic bags in the crisper of your refrigerator for up to three days for optimal quality.

Head on over to FOOD NETWORK to read the full article! The Best Leafy Greens That Aren’t Kale

The Benefits of Intuitive Eating with a Chronic Condition

April 5, 2022 by Wendy Leave a Comment

Intuitive eating concepts like food freedom and ditching diet rules often don’t match up with the strict food guidelines for many chronic conditions. You may be thinking, is it possible to eat intuitively and manage a chronic condition? The short answer is absolutely. Let me elaborate.

When being diagnosed with a chronic condition like diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol, it’s common clinical practice to create diet plans based on foods that are off limits. Often, weight loss is highly encouraged. It’s normal for patients to have health-related fears around food given the strict recommendations usually provided to them, and telling a patient to intuitively eat foods that feel right for their body within these restrictions might not resonate.

The truth is, there are no perfect diets for chronic conditions. Nutrition education and guidelines are important, and are considered with factors that impact food intake like medical history and medications by healthcare providers when designing a nutrition plan for someone with a chronic condition. Recommendations should always be individualized on a patient-by-patient basis.

In addition to your healthcare provider’s recommendations, it’s also important to assess how food choices make you feel and to let your healthcare provider know. Making informed adjustments with your healthcare provider around guidelines and weight loss goals can result in sustainable changes. Letting go of the shame around making the perfect food choices for a condition can reduce stress and may even help to improve that chronic condition.

Head on over to FOOD NETWORK to read the full article! The Benefits of Intuitive Eating with a Chronic Condition

How to Make Sure Your Salad Is a Full Healthy Meal

April 5, 2022 by Wendy Leave a Comment

Salads are touted as the ultimate healthy meal. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting enough nutrition in each bowl.

Salads are touted as the ultimate healthy meal, even though it can fall short when it comes to nutrition. Yes, vegetables are undoubtedly an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, however this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be eating a bowl of veggies your main meal. Even when paired with grilled chicken and dressing, a minimal bowl of greens does not contain enough nutrition to sustain the needs of an adult for any given meal.

It’s very common practice to pair vegetables with protein in an attempt to eat healthier. As a dietitian, I see many clients who tell me that they cut out carbohydrates and fats in an attempt to improve their health or lose weight. The problem? They would be left feeling hungry and many of them would end up bingeing on the foods they had tried to restrict after their meal was done.

The good news is that if you love salads, they can absolutely be a complete meal with proper planning! Here’s how.

Meal-Size Salads Should Have Calories and Combinations

The first thing to keep in mind is whether or not your salad has enough calories. I generally don’t recommend calorie counting, however for people with a history of dieting and restriction, having some awareness about calories can be helpful to make sure you’re not undereating. I recommend that no meal be less than 500 calories. 500 calories is the bare minimum and from there you can assess how satisfied you are with the meal you’re having. Make sure you’re incorporating carbohydrates, protein and fat into every meal. Having a variety of different foods on your plate can take the guesswork out of making sure you’re getting enough nutrition.Head on over to FOOD NETWORK to read the full article! How to Make Sure Your Salad Is a Full Healthy Meal

Spicy One-Pot Codfish & Yuca Stew

April 1, 2022 by Wendy Leave a Comment

This irresistibly hearty stew scented with cumin and oregano gets a touch of heat from Scotch bonnet chile pepper. Celebrated in Latin American and African cooking, yuca thickens the stew and makes it into a complete meal alongside the vegetables and cod.

Spicy One-Pot Codfish & Yuca Stew

15 mins

Total Time

35 mins

Keyword: Codfish, Main Dish, Spicy, Stew, Yuca

Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 4 ounce cod fillets
½ lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ medium onion, thinly sliced
¼ Scotch bonnet or habanero chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 ½ cups seafood stock
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups chopped peeled yuca root, 1-inch chunks; fibrous core removed
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into ¼-inch chunks
½ head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 sprigs fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place cod in a medium nonreactive bowl. Squeeze lemon half over the cod and set aside.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, chile, tomato paste, paprika, cumin and oregano; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add stock and tomatoes; bring to a light boil. Add yuca, carrots, cauliflower and thyme; cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Add the cod and salt to the pot; cook, stirring and breaking the fish apart halfway, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Discard the thyme. Divide among 4 bowls.

You can find more details for this recipe at eatingwell.com: Spicy One-Pot Codfish & Yuca Stew