Beauty Ideals Influence Many Aspects of Our Lives

According to the Social Issues Research Center (SIRC), a non-profit institute specializing in global socio-cultural trends, attractive children are more popular with classmates and teachers and on average do better in school. Attractive applicants have better job opportunities and get promoted faster. One study found that in America taller men earned about $600 more per inch than their shorter peers. Attractive people are convicted of crimes less often or receive shorter prison sentences. The list goes on and on. So, it is not at all surprising that good looks play such a big role in our lives.

When you ask people what characteristics make someone attractive, most will say that a good-looking person is slender and fit. This applies to both sexes but in particular to women. Slimness and beauty are so much identified with one another that it seems almost natural to think this way. Historically speaking, it is not. In fact, today’s beauty ideals are relatively new.

Prior to the 20th century, attractive women were quite curvy. A classical Renaissance painting, titled “Three Graces” by Raffael (1505), reflects the beauty ideal of that time. By our standards, those ladies look rather overweight. The same goes for the so-called “Rubens figures,” named after the famous Dutch artist’s many paintings of nude, fleshy women.

Historians have pointed out that for our ancestors being well fed was a sign of wealth and status because only the well-off could afford an abundance of food, while the poor had little to eat and looked thin and haggard. Today, the situation is reversed: Weight problems mostly affect the lower class, while the upper crust spends millions on diets and fitness programs to stay slim and look youthful.

It is quite fascinating to see how the perception of attractiveness has changed over time. One common denominator, however, seems that beauty ideals were never attainable for most people because they were so unrealistic. Especially women have nearly always faced the impossible: Whether the fashion of the day called for a classical “hourglass” figure (equal size of hip and bust, narrow waist), an athletic look (muscular, tight pelvis, big bust) or “Barbie” type body (slim, big bust, tight pelvis, long legs), the vast majority of women was never able to measure up.

Today’s demands seem higher than ever. “Thanks to the media, we have become accustomed to extremely rigid and uniform standards of beauty,” says Kate Fox who writes for SIRC. “The current media ideal of thinness for women is achievable by less than 5 percent of the female population.” Because TV ads, billboards, magazines, etc. bombard us with images of beautiful people all the time, “they make exceptional good looks seem real, normal and attainable,” she says. But that’s an illusion and it makes people terribly insecure about their appearance.

And even attractive folks can be insecure about their looks and feel pressed to maintain or enhance what nature has given them. Studies have shown that beauty and self-esteem don’t always correlate.

Statistically, women tend to be more critical of their appearance than men. Most females don’t seem to be satisfied with what they see in the mirror, at least not without makeup. Men have a better self-image and even tend to over-estimate their attractiveness. Gay men are more concerned about how they look than straight men, but lesbians seem to be less worried than heterosexual women, according to the SIRC study.

What’s considered beautiful may differ from country to country and culture to culture, but increasingly there is a global trend to follow the Western standards. In one study that involved young women from around the world, almost all participants named celebrities from Hollywood as their role models for attractiveness. Being skinny, tall, with long hair and perfect teeth and elegantly dressed in Western-style clothing ranked highest on the list of beauty ideals. “The ideals of the ‘beauty culture’ in the industrialized world are rapidly spreading through the remotest areas, affecting the way of life and the sensibility of all, regardless of skin, religious beliefs, or cultural heritage,” says Julian Robinson, fashion designer and author of “The Quest for Human Beauty” (W. W. Norton & Co Inc., 1998).

The downside is that people who don’t live up to these standards (the vast majority) are judged – and often judge themselves – as a failure. For example, prejudices against overweight people can cause especially women to develop very low self-esteem, which can leave them socially isolated and emotionally depressed. These problems are not generated by the weight problems themselves but by the widely accepted association of beauty and thinness. Struggling with weight issues from a health perspective can be hard enough. Having a social stigma attached to it makes it much worse.

While we cannot ignore the cultural standards around us, we can decide for ourselves how we respond to them. The attraction to physical beauty will always be part of our socio-cultural landscape with implications on status, acceptance and suitability as a mate. But that doesn’t mean we have to surrender to it like an oppressive force that prevents us from accepting ourselves as we are in every shape or form.

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Most of us have been taught to believe that good nutrition is simply a function of eating the right food and taking the right supplements. Of course, this is true, but there’s more to the equation. What we eat is only half the story of good nutrition. The other half of the story is who we are as eaters. That is, what we think, feel, believe our levels of stress, relaxation, pleasure, awareness, and the inner stories that we live out all have a real, powerful, and scientific effect on nutritional metabolism.

Recent advances in the mind-body sciences have been proving what ancient wisdom traditions have been saying for eons – that the mind and body exist on an exquisite continuum, and profoundly impact one another.

How We Feel About the Food We Eat
Is Part of the Nutritional Benefits We Receive

So the good news is simply this: you can powerfully change your health and your nutritional status without changing anything you eat, but by changing you the eater. In my 30 years as a nutritional psychologist, I’ve seen so many profound breakthroughs in clients and students around weight, overeating, and a long list of health conditions when they began to practice some of the simple principles of eating psychology. Consider some of these key “secrets” that I think everyone should know:

1. Stress can put weight on – relaxation can take it off.
It’s fascinating how stress, fear, anxiety, anger, judgment and even negative self-talk can literally create a physiologic stress response in the body. This means that we generate more cortisol and insulin, two hormones that have the unwanted effect of signaling the body to store weight, store fat, and stop building muscle. Strange as it may sound, we quite literally change our calorie burning capacity when we’re stressed. What’s more incredible though, is that as we learn to smile more, ease into life and breathe more deeply, the body enters a physiologic relaxation response. In this state, we actually create our optimal day-in, day-out calorie-burning metabolism. So, you could be following the best weight loss diet in the world, but if you’re an anxious mess, the power of your mind is limiting the weight loss of your body. Far too many people adopt stressful weight loss strategies – impossible to follow diets, overly intense exercise programs, tasteless food, extremely low calorie meal plans – all of which can create the kind of stress chemistry that ensures our weight will stay put. It’s time to relax into weight loss.

2. Happiness is the best digestive aid.
Can you recall what happens when you eat during anxiety or stress? Many people report such symptoms as heartburn, cramping, gas, and digestive upset. During stress, the body automatically shifts into the classic fight-or-flight response. This feature of the nervous system evolved over millions of years as a brilliant safety mechanism to support us during life-threatening events. In the moment the stress response is activated, something very interesting happens – the digestive system shuts down. It makes perfect sense that when you’re fending off an angry gorilla, you don’t need to waste energy digesting your breakfast. All the body’s metabolic energy is directed towards survival. So, you could be eating the healthiest food in the universe, but if you aren’t eating under the optimum state of digestion and assimilation – which happens to be relaxation – you literally and metabolically are not receiving the full nutritional value of your meal.

3. Overeating – it’s simpler than you think.
Most people think they overeat because they have a willpower problem. “If only I could control my appetite, then I would stop being such a willpower weakling and start losing weight.” Well, here’s the good news – you don’t have a willpower problem. The problem for a majority of overeaters is that they don’t actually “eat” when they eat. What I’m suggesting is that we aren’t always fully present to the meal, aware of its taste, eating it slowly, or simply feeling nourished by the food. When this happens, the brain, which requires taste and satisfaction, misses out on a key phase of the nutritional experience. The brain literally thinks it didn’t eat, or didn’t eat enough. And it simply screams back at us – “Hungry!” So, you can dramatically decrease your overeating by increasing your awareness and presence at every meal.

4. Slower eating means faster metabolism.
One of my favorite nutritional questions to ask a client or student is “Are you a fast eater, moderate eater, or slow eater?” If the answer is “fast”, then it’s time for an overhaul. That’s because the act of eating fast is considered a stressor by the body. Humans are simply not biologically wired for high speed eating. So when we do eat fast, the body once again enters the physiologic stress response, which results in decreased digestion, decreased nutrient assimilation, increased nutrient excretion, lowered calorie burning rate, and a bigger appetite. The bottom line is that you can literally empower your nutritional metabolism simply by slowing down. What’s fascinating is that for many fast eaters, slowing down is quite a challenge. But try this – don’t just eat slow – eat sensuously, feel nourished by your food, and take in all the sensations of your meal.

5. Make sure you have enough Vitamin P – Pleasure!
Far too many people are taught to believe that pleasure is something frivolous. Well, it’s actually required by our biology. All organisms on planet earth, be they lion, lizard, amoeba, or human are programmed at the most primitive level of the nervous system to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Well, if you’re eating and not paying attention, the brain will drive you to seek more pleasure via overeating. What’s worse, if you’re stressed while eating, the excess cortisol in your system actually de-sensitizes us to pleasure – so you’ll need to eat more food in order to get the pleasure we are seeking. The bottom line is this: If you want more pleasure from food, you don’t need to eat more of the ice cream. Simply breathe, relax, de-stress, enjoy, pay attention, and the body will naturally experience the pleasure it seeks. And the great news is, since pleasure catalyzes a relaxation response, it actually fuels digestion and assimilation

6. Emotional eating – it’s not the enemy.
At our core, we are emotional beings – rich, complex, juicy, unpredictable feeling-filled creatures. We love, we celebrate, we laugh, cry, we break down, we rise up… So how could we NOT be emotional eaters? We love food. We love our favorite restaurant. We love how food makes us feel good. Some of us love cooking for others. Some of us are passionate about nutrition. It’s time to get over it – if you’re human, you will bring emotionality to the table. Once we embrace the reality that we’re genetically hard-wired for emotional expression, we can relax a little more. Underneath the quest to eradicate emotional eating from one’s life is often found a hidden desire to eliminate uncomfortable feelings. We strive for an impossible to attain goal that constantly leaves us frustrated and in failure. Yes, this thing called emotional eating can be very painful. But it’s not the actual problem – it’s a symptom that’s pointing to something deeper. It’s an alert mechanism from body wisdom that’s calling us to check in, and follow the flow of emotions within us to see where our soul is calling for more awareness and insight.

7. Get rid of toxic nutritional beliefs.
Finally, many of us have absorbed toxic nutritional beliefs that are as harmful and debilitating as any of the toxins in our food. Here’s what I mean: it’s surprisingly common for people to believe that “food is the enemy”, or “food makes me fat”, or “fat in food will become fat on my body” or “my appetite is the enemy” or “as soon as I have the perfect body, then I’ll finally be happy.” Such beliefs may seem harmless, yet they can create a relationship with food and self that’s filled with tremendous suffering and pain. Think about it – if “food is the enemy”, then we are constantly in a fight or flight stress response whenever we eat, or even think about food. Such a powerful stressor can cause all the problems of stress-induced digestive shutdown, decreased calorie burning capacity, and an inner life that’s seldom at peace. The question is: Is your relationship with food nourishing, or punishing?

Hopefully, you’ve noticed that there’s way more to good nutrition than simply the food itself. We bring all of ourselves to the table – our hopes, fears, thoughts, feelings, dramas, and dreams. And the more we include a well rounded nutritional profile – Vitamin R – relaxation, Vitamin P – pleasure, Vitamin S – slow, and Vitamin L – Love – the more we can literally nourish ourselves on every level.

Marc David, MA is the founder and director of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. He is a leading visionary, teacher and consultant in nutritional psychology and author of best-selling books, including “Nourishing Wisdom,” “The Slow Down Diet” and “Mind Body Nutrition.” Learn more about his work at psychologyofeating.com

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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“Earlier research had found that certain diets – in particular those with very little carbohydrate – work better than others. Diet books also often guide consumers to adopt a particular type of meal plan. But there hasn’t been a consensus among scientists,” Dr. Bray said in an interview with Reuters Health (1/30/2012).

Study Finds It Makes Little Difference
Where Calories Come From

For the study, several hundred overweight and obese people were assigned in equal groups to four different diets: (1) Average protein, low fat and higher carbs; (2) high protein, low fat and higher carbs; (3) average protein, high fat and lower carbs; (4) and high protein, high fat and lower carbs. All diet styles were designed to allow for an energy deficit of about 750 calories per day.

The participants were weighed after six months and again after two years. The researchers found that, although most lost weight and managed to keep at least a few pounds off for two years, “there were no differences in weight loss or fat reductions between the diets.”

The study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also determined that stick-to-itiveness was a crucial factor for the success of any of the diet regimens – but also one of the hardest to achieve. “The major predictor for weight loss was adherence,” said Dr. Bray. “Those participants who adhered better, lost more weight than those who did not.”

While these study results should not come as a major surprise, they are not necessarily welcome news for the diet- and weight loss industry. After all, Americans spend billions of dollars annually in a highly competitive market of weight loss programs and dieting ideas. Could the ultimate solution be as simple as eating less and burning off more calories for the rest of your life?

Not quite, according to Dr. Scott Olson, a practitioner of alternative medicine and author of “Runner’s Soul.” “Using calories as a way to measure what you should be eating can only take you so far,” he says. The reason is that you are not a calorimeter, you are a living being and not some laboratory tool. Something happens when you consume carbohydrates that is different from what happens when you eat protein or fats – regardless of calories.”

Dr. Olson sees focusing exclusively on calories regardless of their source as a misguided approach because it misses out on other important issues. “Calories don’t matter as much as blood sugar, especially when you are talking about weight loss. To lose weight, yes, you need to burn more calories than you are consuming, but you also have to keep your blood sugar from spiking too high and causing your body to store that extra energy as fat,” he said.

Dr. Bray and his fellow-researchers would agree that not all diets offer the same health benefits, even if they are comparatively effective in terms of weight loss. For that matter, Dr. Bray favors the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which is endorsed by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

In my own practice as a dietitian and health counselor, I have always preached that calorie restriction for weight loss must go hand in hand with high quality nutrition. That may require cutting back on portion sizes but also loading up on important nutrients. In the end, I want my clients not just to be thinner but all around healthier. And that’s why I also want to know where their calories come from.

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Most Resolutions Are Short-Lived
But Don’t Throw in the Towel Too Soon

“Some people’s New Year’s resolutions are so broad that they’re often unattainable,” says Leslie Fink, a Registered Dietitian and contributing writer for Weight Watchers. “When expectations are set too high, it doesn’t take much to throw a person off.” Instead of aiming for a perfect score, she advises, people should be content with 80 percent of their initial objectives. That by itself would qualify as a great success.

How we manage our aspirations in pursuit of our goals is critical either way. In fact, there are physiological reasons why we feel gratified or disappointed when we succeed or fall short of our expectations. A release of a neurotransmitter, called dopamine, is triggered in our brain when our intentions are fulfilled, causing a pleasant sensation of satisfaction and well-being, according to Dr. David Rock, Director of the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of “Your Brain at Work.”

Unfortunately, this mechanism works also in the other direction, and even more so: “When our expectations are not met, […] our negative feelings are much stronger than the good feelings we get when expectations are exceeded,” says Dr. Rock. “When we don’t hit our expectations, our brain doesn’t just get slightly unhappy, it sends out a message of danger and threat.”

In other words, as humans we generally tend to be optimistic (and oftentimes overoptimistic) about our prospects but are more afflicted when they end up in failure. The trick is not to get stuck in the negative emotions, even if they initially dominate.

Being able to build on the successes you already had is crucial for staying motivated. Take your cues from what worked and what didn’t and find out what made the difference. Then, if you fail or are about to fail, put a plan into action you may call “resolution revival,” suggests Dawn Jackson Blatner, a Registered Dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute. “Evaluate where you’ve been and where you want to go,” she says, “and make sure your initial goal was realistic.”

If you expected too much of yourself, “chop up your resolution into little pieces,” as Blatner puts it. Small steps are much more manageable and they eventually add up to greater achievements. If you are continuously able to meet your (somewhat scaled back) expectations, you will gain more confidence over time and can set the bar higher as you go.

Being realistic about your abilities and limitations also includes to learn from your past mistakes. Don’t make the same resolutions year after year, says Blatner. Rather, ask yourself what you can do differently from hereon in. Also, keep your eye on the larger picture: You are not trying to perform a quick fix (at least, you shouldn’t) but to make lasting lifestyle changes.

Last but not least, do not expect that losing weight, getting back in shape and looking more attractive is going to solve every other issue you may be dealing with in your life. Being thinner does not necessarily turn you into the person you idealize in your fantasies. Don’t listen to all the “testimonials” from people on TV claiming their entire lives have been turned around after they lost weight.

“People expect a lot from weight loss, things that weight loss alone can’t deliver,” warns Dr. Lee Kern, Clinical Director of Structure House, a residential weight management facility in Durham, North Carolina. “And then they learn the hard way that success and happiness aren’t linked to a number on a scale,” he says.

Identifying your real goals and pursuing them in realistic ways will make it much more likely for you to stay on track. If your motives are misguided, the messages you give your body will be equally confusing.

“The first thing I always ask people is why is this the right time for you to lose weight,” says Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom, Professor of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and author of “The Real You Diet.” If they say they’re happy with their lives but have hypertension – great. If they’re losing weight just to be happier, then we’ve got to talk. Happiness isn’t a size 2.”

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A Getaway May Just Be the Ticket to Get Back in Shape

Of course, fitness resorts have been around for a long time, especially in California, but today’s versions are much more intense and physically demanding. Gone are the days where “women padded around in slippers and pink robes, eating low-calorie meals from vegetables grown in the backyard and engaging in calisthenics and leg lifts,” writes Jennifer Conlin, a frequent contributor to the New York Times “Travel” section (1/1/2012), as she reports about her own experiences at one of the “Biggest Loser” resorts.

Retreats specializing in weight loss and fitness now call their programs “university,” “camp” or even “boot camp.” Nobody should expect a relaxing time when signing up for daily three-hour exercise classes, six-hour hikes and evening lectures on wholesome nutrition, lean cooking styles and lifelong weight management.

While this may not sound like a dream vacation, business is booming. In fact, demand is growing fast across all age groups despite of the sweat, pain, hunger, exhaustion and also the oftentimes extremely high costs involved. A week-long stay can set you back between two and eight thousand dollars. In return you get unlimited use of workout facilities, personal coaching, counseling sessions, three small but healthy meals, lots of education and, best of all, unconditional support from everyone around you.

The latter may be what makes these retreats most attractive – and most useful. Absence of a supportive environment ranks among the most common reasons for relapsing after weight loss. Team spirit, being in it together and sharing goals can do wonders for people who struggle with weight issues. By contrast, feeling isolated, ashamed, misunderstood or pitied can quickly sabotage their best efforts.

Having a well-functioning support system of family and friends can give your weight-loss efforts a big boost, says Jennifer R. Scott, who writes as a weight loss guide for About.com. “When you become truly committed to your weight loss journey, it’s perfectly reasonable – and necessary – to ask your loved ones to become committed with you.” This, of course, is not always easy. In truth, she says, the people closest to you can be your greatest “weight-loss saboteurs.” They may even add more roadblocks to your struggles. Your spouses or friends who have weight problems themselves may feel “left behind” if you succeed at losing weight and they don’t. Feelings of insecurity, jealousy and envy may arise. Or, they may feel imposed upon when asked to go along with certain changes. That’s why it can be helpful to choose a different venue as you try out new lifestyle choices, at least in the beginning.

If a “boot camp” is not your style, or you just can’t get away for long, or the expenditures are prohibitively high, you may want to consider more feasible alternatives.

You can find some face-to-face contact with like-minded “losers” who help you stay focused on your goals right in your backyard, says Scott. For instance, your local hospital may have a wellness- or lifestyle center where you can join classes and support groups for free. Or you can sign up for a “wellness plan” that gives you access to therapy facilities and other health care packages. Commercial weight loss programs often include meetings with fellow-participants in your community. And then there is still the good old YMCA/YWCA, offering classes, seminars and memberships in a vast variety of interest groups.

If all else fails, you can start your own “health club” by inviting friends, neighbors and colleagues who have similar intentions. What matters most is that you get the support you need to succeed, and that can come from many places.

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Skip Your New Year’s Resolutions
And Make a Lasting Commitment Instead

If this scenario sounds familiar to you, you are not alone. Just one week into the new year, a quarter of resolutionists will have given up, according to Tom Connellan, author or the “1 Percent Solution – How to Make Your Next 30 Days the Best Ever.” In his estimation, about 90 percent of all the promises people make to themselves are forgotten as time moves on.

So, let’s be honest: New Year’s resolutions may be a time-honored tradition, but you shouldn’t take them too seriously. Old habits don’t break easily. Stop beating yourself up and face reality. It’s not going to be different this time – or will it?

One of the main reasons why our best intentions often fail is that we rely too much on our own resolve, says Connellan. People falsely believe that they can make big changes if they are sufficiently motivated. But nothing could be further from the truth. “People only think in large terms that are often unrealistic – like losing lots of weight or making a major life change. [They] don’t realize that even positive change is uncomfortable,” he says.

The trick is not to overestimate your abilities but to accept your limitations and to begin by taking small steps in the right directions. That doesn’t mean you’re giving up on your ambitions or lose sight of your larger goals. It just means you have to find better ways to go about them.

Be aware that there is no such thing as a clean slate or a brand new start when it comes to lifestyle changes. You are who you are. Everyone brings baggage. What matters most is not to let negative experiences of the past get in your way as you move forward.

People should not expect to become a “better person” by doing this, that or the other differently, say Judith Matz and Ellen Frankel, both clinical therapists, real-life sisters and bestselling coauthors of the “Diet Surviver’s Handbook” and “Beyond a Shadow of a Diet.” “Instead of making resolutions, a better way to go is, every day, cultivate healthy practices in your life that enhance your overall being physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

In other words, don’t compartmentalize. If your goal is to lose some weight, you should also look at the larger picture. You don’t just want to get rid of a few pounds, you want to be more healthy, fit and energetic. Healthy eating and exercise will get you there, but you also need a mindset that is conducive to an all-around healthy lifestyle.

So instead of going on another dreaded diet regimen, come up with realistic resolutions this year. Forget your futile attempts and failures of the past. They only make you apprehensive and fearful of more failures. “Visualize success,” advises Shirley Archer, a fitness and wellness instructor. “How would you look and feel and what would you be able to do if you enjoyed your ideal fitness?” “Don’t be too vague or too large,” she advises, when you set out your goals. While anyone can start a diet or fitness program at any time, in her experience, it takes approximately two months for a person to change his or her mindset and make new habits stick. A few weeks of dieting and exercising may let you lose some weight, but you need a larger scope to become a healthy person, she says.

This year could be different if you take the right approach. You can choose to become the person you envision as your ideal and make the necessary changes. Or you can try once again to patch up things the way you did before, hoping for a different outcome. This is as good a time as any to decide which way you want to go. Happy New Year!

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Chronically Elevated Stress Hormones
Can Contribute to Weight Gain

Excessive snacking and overeating are common responses to stress. When feelings of anxiety and discomfort persist, food can offer much needed relief – especially the kind we call ‘comfort food.’ Scientists believe, however, that there is more to the stress-food connection than a simple inability to stay away from the munchies.

Stress itself is not necessarily the problem. In fact, experiencing stress is a natural response without which we would not have survived as a species for long. Stress is our body’s way to protect us from danger. In emergency situations, the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol allow us to focus better, react faster and work harder than we normally would be able to. In extreme cases, stress hormones can enable us to react almost without thinking as if on autopilot, a process also known as “fight-or-flight” response, which can be a lifesaver.

But these mechanisms are only designed to deal effectively with short-term events. If the perception of danger continues unabatedly, our own natural defenses can eventually turn against us. Especially in situations where neither fight nor flight responses are possible, enduring continuously high levels of stress can cause serious damage to our physical and mental well-being in multiple ways. Over time, this can lead to a dangerous form of chronic stress, a condition so widespread and so severe, it has become one of the greatest health threats of our time.

“Stress can mean facing each day ravenously hungry, adding weight gain to [people’s] list of worries,” says Dr. Elissa Epel, a professor of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. “While the immediate response to acute stress can be a temporary loss of appetite, […] for some people, chronic stress can be tied to an increase in appetite and stress-induced weight gain. The problem,” she says, “lies within our neuroendocrine system, a brain-to-body connection that harkens to evolutionary times and which helped our distant ancestors to survive. This system still activates a series of hormones whenever we feel threatened.”

For instance, the stress hormone, cortisol, is responsible for replenishing the body with nutrients even after the stress-inducing causes have passed. As cortisol levels rise, our appetite for food increases. While the hormone itself does not make fat, chronically elevated cortisol levels can have a variety of negative health effects, including a decrease in insulin sensitivity, growing insulin resistance, reduced kidney function, hypertension and weakening of the immune system.

“The fuel our muscles need during fight or flight is sugar – one reason we crave carbohydrates when we are stressed,” says Dr. Riccardo Perfetti, an endocrinologist and director of the outpatient diabetes program at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “To move the sugar from our blood to our muscles requires insulin, the hormone that opens the gates to the cells and lets the sugar in. And high levels of sugar and insulin set the stage for the body to store fat,” he explains.

To better control these negative effects from stress responses, experts recommend regular exercise, not only to burn calories but also to enhance the body’s production of biochemicals that can counterbalance the concentration of stress hormones.

In times of heightened stress, the worst thing people can do is “sit and stew in frustration and anger without expending any of the calories or food stores that would be used in a physical fight out of stress or danger,” says Dr. Shawn Talbott, professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Utah and author of “The Cortisol Connection.”

The best de-stressors are eating a balanced diet, getting sufficient amounts of sleep, taking breaks for relaxation and rejuvenation, avoiding stimulants like caffeine, tobacco and alcohol, and spending time with supportive family members and friends.

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The Calorie Content of Beverages
Is Often Drastically Underestimated

Especially drinking alcoholic beverages can significantly increase calorie intake with just a few shots or sips. Many liquors are as caloric as sugary sodas. Alcohol itself is high in calories – 7 calories per gram, more than carbohydrates or protein (4 calories per gram) and almost as much as fat (9 calories per gram). This applies just to straight drinks, like beer, wine and spirits. Cocktails with added ingredients can quickly multiply the calorie content.

“If you drink, even moderately, first you do need to acknowledge the calories. They count,” said Lona Sandon, a nutritionist at the University of Texas Southwestern School of Health Professions and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

Keep in mind that calories from alcohol are “empty” calories, meaning they don’t contain any nutrients. The liver processes alcohol first to get rid of toxins, while other nutrients are put on hold. While alcohol is being metabolized, fat burning is suspended. Moreover, an increased alcohol level in your blood stream can make you feel hungry because it lowers your blood sugar. All of these factors combined are the perfect set-up for weight gain.

Another well-known fact is that alcohol diminishes one’s inhibition and self-control. That’s why the holidays are often a time when caution gets thrown to the wind with regrets to follow later.

Of course, not everyone who enjoys a drink or two develops weight problems. Scientists have not been able to consistently tie alcohol consumption to weight gain. Also, a person’s individual genetic make-up can greatly affect his or her body’s ability to process alcohol.

Gender can play a role as well. Researchers found that when men drink, they also tend to eat more food, thereby increasing their overall calorie intake through both. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to compensate for their drinking by eating less.

Naturally, it matters what kind of food or snacks you’re having with your drinks. Beer with pretzels or peanuts, or wine with cheese and crackers are popular combinations, but they can be deadly in terms of weight control.

Coffee drinks and seasonal spirits are not harmless either. Many are loaded with sugar and cream and a few gulps can quickly add up to a calorie count of a full meal. Eggnog, a traditional favorite, is a real heavy weight. A one-cup serving has about 400 calories – and who can just have one?

So, what can you do to avoid these calorie traps without spoiling your holiday spirit? Quite a bit, actually. For starters, don’t get caught off guard when alcoholic beverages are being served. If you like wine or beer, stick with it. Don’t mix with other drinks. If hard liquor is your poison, have it straight up, on the rocks or with club soda but without a lot of other stuff added. Be particularly careful with super-caloric cocktails. They are desserts in disguise. If you have eggnog or fruit punch, I recommend taking them “naked,” meaning no extra toppings like chocolate or whipped cream.

As with everything, moderation is key. If you have been reading my columns regularly, you know one of my favorite mottos: “Nothing is forbidden, but everything counts.” Observing this little piece of wisdom is even more important during the holiday season. Cheers!

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One of the things I am very thankful for is that I have a great on/off switch button when it comes to eating. In the U.S., we get very much caught up in carbs, fat, protein, and every facet of what we’re eating. I am certainly not immune to this – especially as a registered dietitian. After all, what we use as food is important.

But putting aside the question of what to eat for a moment, one of the most helpful methods I have found to maintain a healthy weight is knowing when (and when not) to eat. Simply put: I eat when I’m hungry and I stop eating as soon as I feel satisfied. I don’t think much about this process at all. And in between meals and snacks I really don’t think about food.

Trusting Your Inner Voice to Eat Right and Be Healthy

Yes, I feel lucky to have such a good built-in on/off switch for eating. So often people I hear from do not have this inner mechanism of knowing when and when not to eat. But the good news is that there is now an entire specialty within the nutrition field devoted to helping people to reconnect to their hunger and satiety switches. It is called “intuitive eating.”

I’ve written about intuitive eating before, but I think it is worth talking about more often. I believe that intuitive eating really helps people gain (or often re-gain) a connection with their bodies and their food in a healthy way.

It’s hard to believe that anything could quell a late-night “Rocky Road” craving besides the cold, creamy stuff. But with enough practice, intuitive eating techniques can kill that mindless urge to eat. When the urge to eat strikes, try counting your breaths up to four (innn, one, innn, two…) and then ask yourself: Am I hungry, or am I eating for some other reason? In practicing this kind of meditation every day, eating eventually becomes a choice rather than a thoughtless habit.

The underlying premise of intuitive eating is that you learn to respond to your body cues because we are all born with the wisdom needed for eating intuitively. This may sound simplistic, but it is rather complex.

Our hunger and satiety cues are often clouded by years of dieting and food myths that abound in our culture. For example, “Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full” may sound like basic common sense, but when you have a history of chronic dieting or following rigid health rules about eating, it can be quite difficult.

Below is a summary of the 10 principles from the book, “Intuitive Eating.” I think they can go a long way toward eliminating bad feelings about food and, ultimately, to helping you maintain a healthy weight. Of course exercise and making wise food choices are still essential to reach that goal, but practicing intuitive eating can play an important role as well.

10 intuitive eating principles
1. Reject the diet mentality. Throw out the diet books and magazines that offer you false hope of losing weight quickly, easily and permanently. Get angry at the lies that have led you to feel as if you were a failure every time a diet stopped working and you gained back all of the weight. If you allow even one small hope to linger that a new and better diet might be lurking around the corner, it will prevent you from being free to rediscover intuitive eating.

2. Honor your hunger. Keep your body fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Otherwise, you can trigger a primal drive to overeat. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are fleeting and irrelevant. Learning to honor this first biological signal sets the stage for re-building trust with yourself and food.

3. Make peace with food. Call a truce. Stop the food fight. Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can’t or shouldn’t have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, binge eating. When you finally give-in to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in overeating followed by overwhelming guilt.

4. Challenge the “food police.” Scream out loud “no” to thoughts in your head that declare you’re “good” because you’re eating under 1000 calories or “bad” because you ate a piece of chocolate cake. The “food police” only monitors the unreasonable rules that dieting regimens have created. It’s housed deep in your psyche and it shouts negative barbs, hopeless phrases and guilt-provoking indictments. Chasing the “food police” away is a critical step in returning to intuitive eating.

5. Respect your fullness. Listen to the body signals that tell you when you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that show you’re comfortably full. Pause in the middle of a meal or snack and ask yourself how the food tastes and what your current fullness level is.

6. Discover the “satisfaction factor.” The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living. In our pursuit of thinness and health, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence – the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. The pleasure you derive from eating can be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food than you thought to feel satisfied.

7. Honor your feelings without using food. Find ways to comfort , nurture, distract and resolve your issues without using food. Anxiety, loneliness, boredom and anger are emotions we all experience throughout life. Each has its own trigger mechanism and each has its own forms of appeasement. Food won’t satisfy any of these feelings. It may comfort you for the short term, distract from the pain or even numb you. But food won’t solve your problems. If anything, eating for emotional hunger will only make you feel worse in the long run. You’ll ultimately have to deal with the source of your emotions as well as the discomfort of overeating.

8. Respect your body. Accept your genetic blueprint. Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not want to squeeze into a size six, it is equally as futile (and uncomfortable) to have such expectations with regards to your body size. It’s hard to reject the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and overly critical about your body shape. Respect your body, so you can feel better about who you really are.

9. Exercise and feel the difference. Forget over-the-top exercising. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus on how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie burning effect. If you focus on how energized you feel after working out, it can make a big difference throughout your day.

10. Honor your health. Use gentle nutrition. Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel well. Remember that you don’t have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal or one day of eating whatever you like. It’s what and how you eat consistently over time that matters. Progress not perfection is what counts.

Katherine Brooking, MS, RD is a registered dietitian, expert contributor to numerous television programs and writer. She has appeared on The TODAY Show, Live with Regis & Kelly, The Early Show on CBS, Good Morning America Health and many others. She covers health and wellness topics in SELF Magazine, The Washington Post, The New York Times and New York Daily News. For more information go to www.AppForHealth.com.

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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Gluten-free seems to be the latest nutrition buzzword. Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye and barley that must be avoided by people with celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disorder. Symptoms of celiac vary greatly and can range from digestive problems (diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas) to serious health problems such as anemia, stress fractures, infertility in both men and women, migraine headaches, canker sores, easy bruising of the skin, swelling of the hands and feet, and bone/joint pain.

Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity Are on the Rise

Some people don’t even realize they have celiac disease. They feel fine – until they experience iron-deficiency anemia or stress fractures due to poor absorption of iron, calcium, and vitamin D.

How common is celiac disease? More than we once thought! About one percent of the population has celiac and needs to avoid even traces of gluten. Up to six percent have non-celiac gluten-sensitivity. The symptoms are similar but without the autoimmune reactions that result in cancer and osteoporosis. No one is certain why celiac disease and gluten-sensitivity are on the rise. One theory relates to changes in the composition of our gut bacteria.

How to tell whether you are gluten-sensitive
If you and others in your genetic family are plagued with niggling health issues (including those mentioned above), you should learn more about celiac disease and gluten-sensitivity. Untreated celiac disease can lead to severe complications including cancer of the gut and osteoporosis. Two websites that offer abundant information include www.celiac.org and www.glutenfreediet.ca.

If you suspect you are gluten-sensitive, don’t self-impose a gluten-free diet without first talking with a doctor who specializes in celiac. You need to get your blood tested for specific antibodies and then, to confim the diagnosis, an intestinal biopsy. Do not eliminate gluten before you get the blood tests, because absence of gluten in your diet can interfere with making the correct diagnosis. If you don’t get properly tested, you might miss an accurate diagnosis or other health problems, like Crohn’s disease, an ulcer, or colon cancer. Plus, if undiagnosed, you might be less motivated to strictly follow a gluten-free diet for life.

If you are “simply” gluten-sensitive, your blood tests will report none of the elevated levels of antibodies that signal celiac disease, but you will feel unwell. Hence, if you have intestinal issues, you might want to try a gluten-free diet for a month or so regardless of the blood test results. One athlete plagued with muscle pain stopped eating wheat and her pains disappeared. She reported that she simply “felt better.” Others say they recover better and have less stiffness and joint pain with a gluten-free diet. This might be due to eliminating gluten, a placebo effect, or eating better overall (no cookies, pastries, junk food). Adhering to a gluten-free diet is challenging and expensive, so there’s no need to self-impose the limitations if you notice no benefits after a month of gluten-free eating.

Going gluten-free
So what’s a hungry person to eat if his or her favorite pasta, bagels, breads, and baked goods are all off-limits? While a diet without pasta may seem like a day without sunshine, rest assured that a plethora of gluten-free carbs can fuel your muscles just as well. You can enjoy carb-rich rice in all forms (brown, white, basmati), corn in all forms (on the cob, cornmeal, grits), potato, sweet potato, lentils, kidney beans, hummus, quinoa, millet, and tapioca. Oats, if processed in a wheat-free plant, can also be safe.

Many fresh foods are naturally gluten-free. They include all plain fruits, vegetables, milk, yogurt, hard cheese, eggs, meats, fish, poultry, nuts, sunflower seeds, edamame, juice, and wine (but not beer). Just be aware that sauces, gravies, and seasoning mixes might contain gluten, as do marinades and soy sauce. Some gluten-free baked goods, pastas, and frozen meals are quite good; others might leave you wishing for something tastier. Two popular brands of gluten-free breads (commonly available at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s) are “Udi’s” and “Rudi’s.” Hint: They taste better when toasted!

Restaurant and travel tips
At home, you can easily control your diet. When you’re on the road, you need to have a plan. When traveling, carry “emergency food” that doesn’t spoil, such as dried fruit, “Lara Bars,” and nuts.

When eating in a restaurant, you’ll have to quiz the staff and carefully order your food. Omelets tend to be safe, while salads with croutons are not. Make sure the steak tips are not marinated in a gluten-containing sauce, the turkey was not injected with flavor enhancers, the gluten-free toast is not made in the same toaster used for standard breads, the sandwich is prepared on a paper towel or surface not used for other breads (to prevent cross-contamination), the rice in not cooked in broth with unknown gluten-containing seasonings, the French fries are not cooked in the same oil as the breaded chicken, the hamburger is 100 percent beef (with no fillers) and not cooked on the same surface as the toasted buns. Some people travel with their own gluten-free pasta and request it be cooked in fresh water, in a clean pot, and drained into a clean colander. This all requires a patient waiter and an understanding chef.

Everyday gluten-free food suggestions
Even the hungriest “Ironman” triathlete does not need to go hungry on a gluten-free diet! The trick is to eat less processed foods and be a good label reader. Here are just a few suggestions of foods you’d find in standard grocery stores:

Breakfast: Fruit smoothie with Greek yogurt; rice cakes with banana and peanut butter; scrambled eggs, hash browns, and fruit salad; “Rice” or “Corn Chex,” milk and berries.

Lunch: Tuna salad with baked corn chips; 100 percent corn tortilla with melted cheese and pinto beans; “Crunchmaster Multigrain” crackers and hummus.

Dinner: Baked chicken, potato and beets; salmon, sweet potato and peas; omelet, corn and tomatoes; baked potato stuffed with cottage cheese and salsa; Mexican beans and rice; shish kabob, rice, salad with oil & vinegar; frittata (potato, onion and egg ‘pancake’); meals with rice, corn, and quinoa.

Snacks: Apple and cheese; fruit and yogurt; baked potato chips; corn chips; “Blue Diamond Nut Thins;” rice crackers; trail mix (nuts and dried fruit); peanut butter and banana; baby carrots and hummus; popcorn; corn nuts; raisins; grape juice and all fruit juices; smoothies.

Commercial sports foods: Ensure, Gatorade, Powerade; Bakery On Main Granola Bar, Bonk Breaker Bar, Bumble Bar, Enjoy Life Snack Bar, Elev8Me Bar, Extend Bar, Go Raw Bar, Hammer Products (Heed, Perpetuem, Bar, Solids), KIND Bar, Lara Bar, Nonuttin’ Granola Bar, Omega Smart Bar, PB&Whey Bar, Perfect 10 Bar, Pure Bar, PureFit Bar, thinkThin Bar, Quest Bar, Gu, Jelly Belly Sports Beans, Sharkies.
Wheat-free but may not be gluten-free: Odwalla, Clif Builder’s Bar, Clif Shot Bloks.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) helps both casual and competitive athletes feel great from the inside out. Her practice is at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-795-1875). Her Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for runners, cyclists and soccer players are popular resources. They are available at www.nancyclarkrd.com. For upcoming workshops, please visit http://www.sportsnutritionworkshop.com.

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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