The Perfect Diet

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Gina Ryan

What is “The Perfect Diet” for me?…

served

A question asked more times than I can count. The answer is less important than the question. Our quest for perfection and our need to be right have taken over the food supply. While externalizing the body’s needs and deferring to the “experts” be they nutritionists, doctors, diet books or trainers has become a new epidemic. I think we lost more than nutritional values when we stopped passing down our dietary know how from generation to generation, we lost our way as ever evolving human beings. We became perfectionists.

This drive to be perfect with food choices and meals has driven many to total distraction. The over thinking and under feeling what and when to eat is epidemic. Dietary Perfection has become fashionable, the problem is perfection is not attainable. When confronted with this most will say yes of course I “know” that yet they continue to strive for the very thing they can never reach. The punishment is violent yet the prison door is wide open.

Today I read a wonderful post at TaraBrach.com titled

Imperfection Is Not Our Personal Problem

In the post she quotes Chogyam Trungpa:

“The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use, even spirituality.”

The ego loves to convert the basic everyday act of eating, fueling the physical body for surviving and thriving into a war-zone of good vs evil. This is not only for the purists of veganism, vegetarianism, paleo, or the current diet guru but also the junk foodie who swears to start the perfect diet on Monday. The ego and it’s over thinking and desire for control has us believing it is our duty to pursue the perfect diet.

What if we could come to accept the imperfection of life? Imagine the rest, relaxation and deep breath you could have if you could feel the ease of not having to change yourself to belong to your world. Imagine being at peace with yourself right here, right now. How much more life force and energy would you have available to yourself, your family and community?

How much better could you actually digest, sleep, play, love and work without the relentless voice calling for “faster”, “better”, “more” in your head?

Zen master Seng-tsan taught that true freedom is being

“without anxiety about imperfection.”

Eating is a constant reminder of where we are emotionally. Perhaps you will try a meal without anxiety over the perfect macro or micro-nutrient value. Or accept yourself for having more weight on your frame this year than last. Maybe you can let your body be your guide…eating when hungry, stopping when full and getting to know your self and your needs a little more intimately. All with curiosity and a dash of humor.

Letting go of the savior of the perfect diet (that may or may not be started in the Monday) puts more value on the here and now the plate right in front of us. When given this space of now, over time your body can and will let you know what is needed.

Bon Appetit!

 

 

 

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Hungry For Change

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Gina Ryan

The sneak preview (for a few more days) free online.

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A FABULOUS movie and a must see.

Enjoy!

http://www.hungryforchange.tv/online-premiere  OR http://vimeo.com/38632012

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Important New Movie: Hungry For Change

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Gina Ryan

Want to catch the Free World Online Premier? Click the link below and sign up!

http://www.hungryforchange.tv/

While I may or may not agree with everything this movie may say I can totally agree with the sugar over-consumption and the advertising issues. More discussion after it airs.

Big soggy Aloha! Gina

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Disordered or Unbalanced Eating

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Gina Ryan

 

Apple Planet

Disordered Eating or Unbalanced eating and does it matter? Yes and no. If you are just sliding onto the slippery slope of disordered eating you may be able to get back yourself but spend too much time there and you may be on your way to a downward slide that could last for years or even decades. Getting help and the sooner the better can save you a lifetime of emotional and physical disease.

If you would consider your eating simply unbalanced you may find yourself able to use self learning and self reflection to get back to eating in a more satisfying and healthful manner. If you try doing this on your own and still feel stuck don’t hesitate to reach out for help. More and more people today reach out before they get to the state of being diagnosed with a full blown eating disorder.

In either case early intervention is life saving. Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental diseases.

Signs that you may have a difficult relationship with food and/or that your body image is to the point of being disordered:

  1. You are excessively concerned with being fat
  2. You are obsessed with or avoid the scale
  3. You are obsessed with diets and or calories
  4. You avoid activities because of weight and shape concerns
  5. Your menstrual periods have stopped
  6. You regularly over exercise
  7. You try to purge your foods by vomiting, use of laxatives or diuretics
  8. You restrict your foods even when hungry
  9. You binge eat regularly (with or with out purging)
  10. You compulsively think about food to the point of hording, hiding or stealing it

 

Unbalanced eating could include:

  1. Those who do not get their basic nutritional needs met
  2. Diabetics who need more education
  3. Those with low self care attention
  4. Compulsive over-eaters
  5. Those needing help with weight management
  6. Those in recovery from eating disorder

It’s not about the food and it’s not-not about the food

It’s enough to twist their mind into a knot when I first mention this idea to a new client because to them it’s ALL about the food…they think. The underlying issues that send people to food for relief are many:

  1. Anxiety
  2. Panic attacks
  3. Depression
  4. OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)
  5. Lack of self awareness and insight
  6. Lack of understanding of self harm
  7. Lack of basic health education
  8. Lack of understanding triggers
  9. Lack of healthy stress reduction skills
  10. Lack of understanding mindfulness

Whew! That’s a lot! So if you are looking to find your way out of either disordered eating or unbalanced eating come along… you are not alone believe me! The rewards are incredible and well worth the effort. Changes you can make:

  1. Decrease fear of food
  2. Uncover and eliminate your triggers
  3. Decrease the focus on your body weight and size
  4. Learn awareness of appetite and hunger cues
  5. Learn to eat with joy and moderation
  6. Enjoy a full spectrum of healthy food choices
  7. Lose the judgment around food
  8. Understand the difference between emotional and physical hunger
  9. Discover your own personal portion control
  10. Enjoy socializing while eating

In short becoming an active participant in your relationship with food and life!

Until next time, Be Well!

intro/12

 

 

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Homeostasis and Health (Yours!)

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Gina Ryan
I (heart) balancing rocks

By http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesjordan/2738582688/

Homeostasis; that fine balancing act the body does to keep us harmonious and on keel can really benefit from a little extra help. A little love if you will. So with the turning of another year I am bringing a little attention to this somewhat forgotten bodily function.

When I left the world of Health and Wellness in its retail form (closing my 2 health food stores) seven years ago, one of the things I was burned out from was the growing desire of the customers to have or find the “natural pill” to replace their drug or the “magic bullet” for their ill health or weight loss. Whatever the form, what they were demanding was a quick fix. Over the 12 years I was in business I watched attitude changes in the same way the health food stores changed from being co-ops or mom and pop centers of natural, organic, wholesome foods, herbs, supplements and information to more corporate centers of commerce. The trend toward the natural quick fix seemed to coincide with the trend to make quick money from natural health. Who’s idea was this?

While I rode this wave and enjoyed the increasing numbers of new and interested customers I dismayed at lack of willingness of many newer customers to take the time to “do their homework” and see time as one of the elements to health and healing.

This same trend is seen in the 60 billion dollar a year diet industry. The demand is for the one diet, food, herb, supplement, work out or book (or magical combination) to make the fat disappear (even from people who have nothing extra to spare none-less lose). Obviously there is no one size fits all here no matter what the product sales pitch says.

I hope you will hear me when I say there is no one size fits all in health and wellness either.

To help our body stay on keel (homeostasis) we need to be aware of its reactions. It can do soooo much on its own but just as you will don a sweater on a chilly evening vs letting the body shiver to stay warm, why not ease some of the other systems by paying attention and responding with care?

As an example let’s say you take sleep medication to get the rest you so desperately need the truth is the sleep medication itself is keeping you off kilter and therefore dependent on the drug. Yes drugs have their place and are lifesaving when truly needed yet ignoring the bodies own urge and ability to maintain internal stability is simply another cause of dis-ease. Another approach might be to eliminate any light in the room, caffeine during the day, nagging thoughts (write them down and tell yourself you will give them full attention in the morning), try cooling the room down or taking a hot bath, keeping your feet out from under the covers, exercising earlier in the day, not eat for a few hours prior to retiring and so on. Maybe you have to all of the above or add warm calcium and magnesium. Its worth the time and effort to research and implement as the snooze pill only makes the gap wider and a longer journey to find the way to sleep well and let you body do its nocturnal recovery work.

Some diseases which result from a homeostatic imbalance include:

  • diabetes,
  • dehydration,
  • hypoglycemia,
  • hyperglycemia

Just to name a few. Being aware of the correction the body is trying to make and responding to that need can relieve a lot of stress. Even thirst cues can be missed if we are unaware so imagine some of the more subtle (although not always subtle) cues of blood sugar swings for an example. Giving the body what will support its efforts for correction will go a long way to a life of health and wellness.

Taking  time to feel how your body reacts to what you ingest and how you live can be a real wake up call. Pay more attention to your body and it’s own reaction rather than to the experts, the numbers or the label of the package. How do you FEEL after eating sweets? A light meal? Grains? Alcohol? Fats? Legumes or animal protein? How about after a soda? We are each different and have particular needs at various times. Fine tuning and adjusting to our own needs can bring the body great relief!

I believe much of what we need to do to be free of so much disease is more about subtracting rather than adding. What do you think?

What can you subtract to help your body find homeostasis and feel better?

Aloha!

 

 

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The Great Bell Chant -a mindful meditation

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Gina Ryan

Happy Winter Solstice! What an interesting time of year. I invite you to take the seven minutes to watch and be with this Great Bell mindful meditation.

  • Set aside seven minutes
  • Get comfortable
  • Allow your self to immerse in the sounds and sights
  • Welcome the Peace that is already within you

The Great Bell Chant (The End of Suffering) from R Smittenaar on Vimeo.

Aloha!

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Video on Restrained Eating and Obesity

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Gina Ryan

Today I saw an interesting video on Intuitive Eating (the book is available on the right hand side under suggest reading) and wanted to share it with you…its short, simple and to the point!

So much of our quest to eat the right thing and cut out the wrong thing has led us to the black and white world of disordered eating. We have left our selves, our bodies and our intuition out of the equation in favor of the dogma of the experts all of which is highly subjective. We simply want to believe!

While many health conditions require foods to be used medicinally or in a corrective manner most of us do not need such restriction in the variety of foods, we have become a nation of restrictive eaters! And all this restriction is what is paving the path for the diet industry…we just need to restrict the “right” way. They continue to churn out one “right” way after another and none of them will help you be your true harmonious weight. Only tuning in to your body, your needs and your hunger (physical and emotional) will you find what you need to eat and when. You need to be present.

When hungry EAT, when physically satisfied STOP. Repeat as necessary…Do NOT ignore your physical hunger, your body will do everything it needs to survive including storing and rationing for the perceived famine your restricting is causing.

What you eat is important, how and when you eat is very important.

Take a few minutes and listen as Matt explains the Milkshake and Ice-cream study from Intuitive Eating. Then think about your daily eating habits, maybe there is room for some loosening up!

Matt’s Video on Restrained Eating and Obesity

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Top 10 Tips For Making Peace With Food

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Gina Ryan


Peace Milchmäuse

Top 10 Tips For Making Peace With Food

  1. Develop self acceptance through practicing compassion toward self.
  2. Develop a positive and self nurturing internal dialogue.
  3. Treat co-occurring disorders such as anxiety and depression.
  4. Practice mindfulness and living in the moment.
  5. Listen to and honor your feelings.
  6. Eat well, enjoy and listen to your body’s hunger and fullness signs.
  7. Accept your particular genetic makeup and appreciate your body.
  8. Seek Harmony, have a friend or group to call for support, remember how far you have already traveled.
  9. Develop faith and trust in God -your Higher Power- and let go of what you cannot control.
  10. If you have an Eating Disorder work with a treatment team if possible, if not, seek out self help programs available to assist you in recovery.

Aloha!

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Heart Opening

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Gina Ryan

Gratitude A visual feast and reminder of living each day with mindfulness! Enjoy!

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What Is Mindfulness?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Gina Ryan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mindfulness…we hear this mentioned all the time these days. I often speak of mindfulness to clients in reference to eating and while mindful eating as a practice can be very helpful with health and wellness it can also change your entire life!

What we are really talking about is being but not at the expense of doing but learning how to inhabit being to such a degree that the doing flows out of being.

~Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness Is

moment to moment non-judgmental awareness

and is Cultivated by

Paying Attention

To begin with we get in touch with the present moment (paying attention). We are only alive in this moment so it’s really the only place we can do anything. When we start to pay attention we begin to notice where the mind is -and often, very often it’s not here and it’s not now… it is off:

  • in the future obsessing about what will happen (worry or planning)
  • in the past trying to explain the past (ruminating)

 

both of these behaviors can become a habit because we usually feel we must be doing something, ANYTHING! We are simply terrified of doing nothing so doing anything (worrying, ruminating, etc) is better to us than non-doing. One mistake we often make is believing that non-doing is not doing anything. Non-doing is actually opening to the state of being which is an opening to everything (fullness of life itself).

How do we cultivate this mindfulness, this state of being? By paying attention, on purpose in the present moment, non-judgmentally and “as if your life depended on it” in the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn “and it does, in more ways than you think and more ways than you can possibly think because it doesn’t have to do with thought”

 

The reason we practice in a favorable milieu is so when we are out in the busyness of the world we have the skill level to deal more consciously and find our inner place of calm and equanimity and the more we practice the more skillful we are. We practice mindfulness just as we would with any new skill we wanted to learn, so have patience with yourself (and your endless stream of thoughts which will continue to do what thoughts do….come to mind! Just pay attention and notice them) and give yourself the time and space to be where it is easier to:

  • pay attention
  • in the present moment
  • non-judgmentally
  • and as if your life depended on it

In the next few posts we’ll explore mindful eating, how it can be useful in health and wellness and how it can also be a genuine meditation practice. How beautiful is that- with the act of eating daily we have the practice right at our fingertips.

How do you practice mindfulness in your life?

 

 

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