By Laura E

So lately I seem to be attracting those clients I love to work with – those that don’t really have the best relationship with food or their bodies and have been on so many diets in their lives, they have forgotten how to listen to their body.

Their general thoughts and feelings about food involve guilt, control, perfection, deprivation followed by binging and “I’ll start Monday” thinking. The focus for them is really about what they can and can’t eat and what they should or shouldn’t eat. They come to me with an expectation I will tell them what they are allowed to eat. They have so little trust in themselves around food that they need lists and plans to tell them when and what to eat.

The funniest thing is that every client does the same thing. They write their food down for me for a week or so before their first appointment and bring it in saying; “this week was very different, I don’t usually eat as much chocolate or takeaway as that. (Keep in mind there is never any judgment from me; I certainly don’t go over the list with a red pen telling them how bad they have eaten. So after questioning them further, turns out they subconsciously wanted to get in what food they could before seeing me. They spend the week having a series of ‘last suppers’ in that they eat all those foods they think they wont be allowed to eat again.

This way of thinking and behaving is just one example of searching outside of ourselves for answers. Of course, there are times when this is necessary, however, when it comes to eating and nourishing our bodies, our intuition and the natural signals we were born with can be our best friend!

When you are searching for what foods can help you achieve your health goals, whether they are weight loss, more energy or simply better health, focus on what you can do in each moment, at each meal or snack, to feel good straight away. Choose those foods that will nourish your body.

Feeling good physically can have such a fantastic effect on your whole life, the way you function at work, at home, how productive you are and how you treat others.

So what choices can help you to feel good right now??

Instead of diving into that bag of chips for something to crunch on to relieve stress and getting the guilts when you get to the end of the pack…… How about giving yourself permission to have something to eat, but first taking out some time, even just 5mins to de-stress, lie down, take some deep breaths. How much better would that make you feel?

Instead of eating when you think you are hungry…… How about having a nice cool glass of water to make sure you’re not just dehydrated? Wouldn’t that feel good to give your body a chance to more clearly tell you when you are hungry?

Instead of getting so anxious to eat something at dinner time you snack before eating the main meal, then sit down to eat and the hunger is no longer there…. How about allowing yourself the full enjoyment and satisfaction of the meal by being nicely hungry to eat it. The food will taste so much better when your stomach is empty.

Instead of giving up every time you overeat or make a choice that doesn’t nourish you, then vow to ‘start again tomorrow’ and eat everything in site until then…… How about being kind to yourself and making a choice to listen to your body and eat again when your stomach tells you you’re hungry? Wouldn’t that feel great to break that cycle and make a change RIGHT NOW?!

Sometimes it can become overwhelming to think of all the things we should be doing in regards to our health. Most of the time though, making a few simple health changes can make our lives even more fulfilling and less overwhelming. We have so many opportunities to make feel good choices everyday. What feel good choices can you make?

See the stupidity here >> The Fat Bet

My history of disordered eating and messed up body image, led me to becoming a Nutritionist and Disordered Eating Specialist. Day in, day out I see the effects of this kind of crash dieting and I’m utterly appalled that Kyle & Jackie O are getting away with this childish competition!

Public humiliation? Anyone?

The competition involves listeners entering their details and a before picture of themselves as their ‘fat photo’. They nominate a weight that they want to lose within 8 weeks. If they don’t lose the weight, the radio station is going to shame them by putting up their before pictures on the 2 Day fm website!

Not only is this a ridiculous thing to encourage people to do, but it sets up so much potential damage in regards to body image issues and eating disorders.

For many women and young girls trying to lose weight, food, what size you are, how your clothes look and what people might be thinking of your weight is on your mind constantly. You go to bed obsessing over what foods you shouldn’t have eaten that day and how you will be perfect tomorrow; you go out stressing about seeing people and worrying that they are thinking you have put on weight and you spend your life trying to control what you eat and how much exercise you do in an effort to lose weight and be thin.

In this state, if you attempt an unrealistic, impractical and idealistic weight loss program or competition and fail, it is highly likely that your obsessions with food, weight and how you look intensify and potentially turn into an eating disorder.

The idea is that contestants enter because they are then forced to lose the weight they want to.

How can Jackie O support this competition?

Worst of all, this is being promoted by the female in the radio duo –  knowing what women and young girls are exposed to everyday in the media, it’s completely baffling that Jackie O would be promoting this?

I would like to ask her, if she had the guts to face some opposition, what would she say if she had a daughter and her daughter entered a competition like this, failed to lose the weight, and her picture was displayed on a website to make her feel guilty, fat and ashamed that she is now stuck being who she is, left to feel disgraced at the sight of her own body!

Loving your body and the way you look

What about feeling grateful for the body you have? How about promoting acceptance of the gorgeous and unique body that is yours? I know what self-acceptance does for you and I see the results of people nourishing rather than abusing their bodies because they are grateful to be them.

As far as feeling shameful, this radio duo should be ashamed of themselves for not having the brains to think of something that would actually help rather than harm people.

Laura E is the founder of Nutrizione

A note from LA @ Gorgeous Things

I’m encouraging women everywhere to Enter the Competition just to tell Kyle & Jackie O how much this competition stinks!

Today we welcome our very dear girlfriend, Laura E as a new contributor to Gorgeous Things. Laura E is a Nutritionist, a Personal Trainer and a gorgeous girl who has had her fair share of battles with food and her weight. She’ll tell you about her journey and give you the skills you need to overcome emotional eating and repair your relationship with food forever. LA is currently working with Laura E on a few of her own ‘issues’ – and getting fabulous results! (Yep, I’m beach running now! – Ed)

Laura E
Nutritionist and Intuitive Eating Guide

Intuitive Eating: a guide to overcoming and preventing emotional eating

As someone who was an emotional eater I know what it’s like to use food to cope with difficult emotions. I also know the feelings of being out of control and thinking there must be a healthier way to cope. The after effect of using food to cope comes with unwanted weight gain and poor health, mentally and physically.

Bottling up your feelings, pushing them down with food is like leaving a sink full of dishes for days and days. Eventually there will be a mess you will have to deal with. Experiencing emotions is inevitable, emotional eating however is a choice.

Which of these symptoms do you have of emotional eating?

1. Sharp cravings
2. Demand food immediately
3. Sudden and urgent cravings
4. Eating when not hungry
5. Eating really fast
6. Eating immediately after getting home
7. Eating until uncomfortably full
8. Feelings of guilt, disgust and depression afterwards
9. Mindless eating
10. Sneaking food when no-ones around

Healthy Ways to Cope with your Emotions

Everyone is different and for that reason there are many different healthy coping mechanisms.

1. Forget dieting – Whenever you eliminate certain foods from your diet, it’s like giving a toy to a 3 year old and telling them they cant play with it. Biologically, dieting goes against everything our bodies are designed to do. When you are emotional, those foods on your forbidden list become so much more appealing. What you tell yourself you can’t have suddenly becomes a simple and instant solution to you needing to feel better.
2. It’s not just about your mouth – While enjoying everything you eat is important, so is what will best satisfy your whole body. Think about what type of food your stomach wants, how much will satisfy it to leave it feeling just right.
3. Aim to finish feeling good – Before you eat, ask yourself “How do i want to feel when I’m done, mentally and physically, now and later?” The ideal type of meal or snack to have is one that leaves you feeling good for a few hours.
4. Recognise your triggers – It’s so much easier to change a negative behaviour when you are aware of what triggers it. What situations are you more vulnerable to using food to cope with your emotions? When watching TV, on weekends, after work, after a fight, after dinner or after having a few drinks?
5. Be aware of the times of day you are more likely to overeat or eat when you are not hungry. Make sure you have something to do that will make you feel fulfilled and nourished so you are less likely to fill the void with food.
6. Countermanding action for risky situations (“if this happens I will do this”) – Create healthier alternatives that are do-able for you. Can you go for a walk or to the gym when you are feeling stressed? Could you go on the way home from work so you can deal with work stress in a good way? Could you call a friend when you are feeling lonely and need to speak to someone? Will music help you to lift you up when you are feeling low? Only you know what will work best for you.
7. Question your actions – What’s bothering me? What do i really want to chew on? What’s irritating, stressing or frustrating me? Will eating change this issue? Giving yourself a chance to be aware of what’s going on is a great step in making a healthier choice.
8. Practice not reacting – As an emotional eater, you tend to reach for food instantly as a solution. It really is as if you are sleep walking into eating. Giving yourself a few minutes to just sit in the feeling can be an extremely powerful way of creating healthier habits. Practicing non-reactive eating means allowing yourself to feel the feeling and not eating instantly, telling yourself you are free to eat whatever it is you want to eat but first, commit to 5-10mins of just sitting still.
9. Eating awareness and connecting with your food – When you eat while doing other things such as working or watching TV, you are putting yourself in a state of disconnection from your body. In this state it is easy to not listen to the natural signals your body is sending you. Try being fully aware when you’re eating. The more present and aware you are when you eat, the less likely you are to eat something mindlessly later on.

When you eat, try and think about these things…

a) Chewing slowly

b) Sitting down, no matter what you are eating

c) Eating in the same place

d) Activity – not doing anything but eating

e) Enjoyment – stopping to make sure you are actually enjoying what you are eating

Making the choice to try something different when you are emotional can be hard at first. However, when you start listening to your body more and stop being driven to food by your emotions, you begin to deal with things in such a healthier way and feel the great effect that has on your mental and physical health!

You can visit Laura E’s NUTRIZIONE website to learn more about Intuitive Eating and healthy nutritious food.

I’ve been experimenting since then, trying to make a less than Sinful Banana Bread. The first step is to change the name from ‘Bread’ to ‘Cake’, this automatically reduces the calorie content as you no longer feel inclinded to spread it with butter. Funny how the thought of spreading cake with butter just seems far too decadant but the exact same recipe with ‘Bread’ in the title can be toasted and covered in fat with minimal fuss.

So, here’s my Gluten Free Banana Bread/Cake Recipe for all those of you who get a funny tummyfrom all that Wheat Flour.

• 125g Melted “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter” or Real Butter
• 125g Raw Sugar
• 2  Free Range Eggs
• 225g Simple Baking Mix (or gluten-free flour)
• 4 Very Ripe Bananas
• Tsp Cinnamon
• Tsp Baking Powder
• Tsp Bi Carb Soda

Preheat Oven to 180c
Grease Loaf Tin

Squish Bananas in a Small Bowl
Add Sugar to Butter in another larger bowl and mix until combined
Add Bananas to Sugarey Buttery mixture and combine
Add Cinnamon to Baking Mix
Add Baking Mix, 1/3 at a time to wet ingredients and stir until combined

Pour mixture into Loaf Tin and Bake for 50-60 minutes

Allow to cool and then remove from Loaf Tin

If you’ve made Banana Cake, make a cup of Tea and enjoy a slice.

If you’ve decided to call it Banana Bread then whack it in the toaster and smother it with butter. Yum!

by Angela Stewart

When LA and I decided to review these products I was waiting eagerly to see if they would live up to their enticing descriptions.

My package arrived at the end of a very busy week, so it was great timing. The packaging is simple, eye catching and very easy to read.

I was lucky enough to receive the five cologne sample pack and was impressed by the cute little spritzer bottlers and the ingenious card like packaging.

Treat yourself to these gorgeous Y-yo Ethical & Safe Perfumes online from http://www.y-yo.com.au/

All of the 5 fragrance blends more than lived up to their descriptions…

Glow
definitely is the natural, ethical “happy pill”

Flow
with the invigorating mint family essential oils and floral notes of osmanthus was every bit as invigorating and reviving as it was described

Slow
was certainly the tonic to soothe, slow and take you to a tranquil place – ideal for a five minute pick me up between the end of the working day and a busy evening ahead

Mojo
well, well, well this is definitely not for the faint hearted – an exotic blend to spice things up after dark (LA’s favourite! – Ed)

Y-yo Original
is a fabulous, light and fun fragrance – it definitely doesn’t attract the mosquitoes as it claimed. People commented every time I wore them – “that is a happy, fresh perfume” – (Glow), “ your perfume is very soothing” – (Slow)….

These colognes are a fabulous range and have all aspects of life covered with the five different fragrances. I love the handy little spritzer bottles, which would easily fit into tiniest of handbags – always an important consideration!

They were a pleasure, treat and at times a lifesaver to use. My skin is quite sensitive and I often react to perfumes, but I, happily, had no adverse reactions. While I have been trialling the fragrances, at the height of hayfever season, I experienced no unpleasant sneezing or itchy eyes that are commonly (for me) a hazard when using conventional chemical-based fragrances.

Over the last few years I have read about and used a lot of essential oil products for their effects on the emotions of myself and my family, and was pleased that these products were true to their properties in this regard.

Overall I love these fragrances, the packaging, the ideals behind the products, the certified organic essential oils… there is nothing not to love. The company website was very user-friendly and easy to navigate, and all of the products were reasonably priced.

I will be certainly purchasing a lot more of them, and be including them among Chrismas gifts for my nearest and dearest – along with some Gorgeous Things tea, of course. Now I’m off to order some of those Slow soap, some Glow cologne, and some of the Mojo candles…. I love online shopping!

]]> http://www.gorgeousthings.com.au/blog/naturelle-perfumes-to-make-your-heart-sing-y-yo/feed/ 1 http://www.gorgeousthings.com.au/blog/is-yoga-really-good-for-managing-arthritis/ http://www.gorgeousthings.com.au/blog/is-yoga-really-good-for-managing-arthritis/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:05:13 +0000 Megan http://www.gorgeousthings.com.au/blog/?p=275 by Megan Faulkner

The Australian Institute of Health and Wellness (www.aihw.gov.au) has recently published (11 September 2009) health expenditure data for arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders in Australia for 2004-05.

More than 6 million Australians are effected by these conditions and direct health care expenditure was $4billion which equates to 7.5% of the total allocated health expenditure in Australia http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10699.

Osteoarthritis accounted for one third of the costs and alot of it is associated with hospital expenditure for hip and knee replacements, and medications.

As someone who suffers from mild Osteoarthritis and who is always looking for the most natural solution to the problem, I thought there must be a functional way of easing this problem.  There are many therapies and activities that are thought to help Arthritis, such as Tai Chi, aqua aerobics, osteopathy, Feldenkrais and Alexander Technique. However, as a somewhat biased yoga devotee I was interested in the benefits yoga could provide for treating Arthritis pain and stiffness.

The John Hopkins Arthritis Centre in Baltimore, Maryland ( http://www.hopkins-arthritis.org/patient-corner/disease-management/yoga.html) provides yoga classes for Arthritis sufferers based on over 75 scientific studies as a beneficial from of physical activity.  Of those studies only a few have assessed patients with Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis, but those studies found an improvement in joint health, physical functioning, and mental and emotional wellbeing http://www.hopkins-arthritis.org/patient-corner/disease-management/yoga.html#benefits.

Most of all the studies found an overall improvement in quality of life, positive feelings and stress reduction.  It is thought that many arthritis sufferers may enjoy yoga more than other forms of exercise and therefore stick with it.

‘Yoga Journal’ magazine has also published blogs and articles discussing the benefits.  One study by the Emirates Arthritis Foundation is mentioned and suggests that only 12 sessions of yoga can make a difference to sufferers of Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Other studies can be found at http://www.yogajournal.com/search?q=arthritis.  Yoga may also ease discomfort for sufferers of osteoarthritis http://www.yogajournal.com/health/2577, especially when props such as blocks, straps and chairs are used to accommodate limitations, and when practiced regularly.

There are many forms of therapy out there and yoga may not be the right one for everyone.

The message is to not let disease or limitation prevent you from trying therapeutic activities that you may enjoy.

Under medical advice explore your options, do research, don’t be afraid to use props or modified techniques to get you started, and sticking with it is important.

Cafe Gratitude - San Francisco

I have always been a healthy eater, I am a vegetarian and try to be conscious of getting a fairly good balance of fresh fruit and vegetables in my diet, one of my favorite places to eat in Sydney is IKU for it’s creative raw and macrobiotic meals.

Since moving to San Francisco I have really appreciated it’s focus on sourcing local produce, much of it organically grown.  I was intrigued when I first visited Cafe Gratitude, a cafe dedicated to healthy vegan and raw food meals, drinks and delicious desserts.

However, as I have discovered there is so much more to the ‘Cafe Gratitude’ phenomenon than just the food, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to interview the founders of Cafe Gratitude, Matthew and Terces Engelhart.

One of the first insights we got was to invent a board game.  This board game was to train people in what we call ‘the being of abundence’, to extract people from the ‘scarcity paradigm’, not enough money, not enough time, not enough beauty, not enough love, not enough, not enough, not enough….that human beings have found themselves in.

by Angela Stewart

Homebirth Rally 7 September 2009, Canberra ACT

Recently, on a very cold, wet and dull Canberra day, my close friend, her four year old daughter and myself joined more than 2000 others to protest against federal government plans that would see homebirthing effectively made illegal.

Our participation began listening to Fluer Magick, an Indigenous woman, perform a special welcome ceremony at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, in front of Old Parliament House.  Despite the weather  the mood was determined and jubilant amongst the crowd.  It was amazing to be part of this energy.

We then marched up the hill to the lawns of new Parliament House, and gathered – under a sea of umbrellas – to listen to a range of speakers.  There were many speakers including Homebirth Australia Secretary Justine Caines, Family First senator Steve Fielding, Greens senator Rachel Siewart, Liberals Sophie Mirabella, Ian MacFarlane, Andrew Laming and Gary Humpries – all spoke in support of allowing women the right to choose homebirth.  It was wonderful to hear Sarah Buckley MD, a GP and mother of four – all homebirths speak.  Sarah is the author of “Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering” a leading book on homebirth and calm mothering.

At times it was hard to hear over the excited chatter of friends spotting friends, children sharing their own forms of protest, and the rain… but it was a wonderful experience to be surrounded by so many people willing to ignore their discomfort to stand up for what they believed in.  The crowd was made up of all ages, stages and makes of people.  Babies slept soundly in slings, prams or at their mothers breasts, children ran around and dodged the rain, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, sisters, friends and future parents stood firmly – for several hours – to make themselves heard, and support the leaders of the homebirth movement.

It was incredible to feel the warmth and hope amongst the crowd on such a bleak day.  Although homebirth was not a path that I took – I consider it for my second birth until I knew I was having twins – it is a choice that I had, and would like my daughters, nieces, sisters, friends and all of the future mothers to have.   For me it was as much about protecting my right to choose, and preserving that right for future generations.

If you are interested in the progress of the protest, and homebirthing www.homebirthaustralia.org has up to date information.

If there is something that you are passionate about, or you are simply wanting to protect your right to choose, I would encourage you to stay in touch and informed – I am very proud that we pulled on our waterproof boots and braved to the weather to stand up and be counted.  What moves you???

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By the way I’m building this up you’d think I’d done something totally heinous. Nothing quite so salacious I’m afraid.

I went to see a counsellor, a therapist, a psychologist – a shrink. There you have it – my confession. I had a complicated problem that I was struggling to solve on my own so I decided to seek outside help. The details of the problem aren’t the important part – we all have problems of varying degrees from time to time in our lives – mine are no more significant than yours. What is important is that at the end of the first session with my counsellor – I’d established a course of action that would lead toward the solving of my problem.

The second session took place on the following Friday. We talked about the steps I’d taken toward solving my problem. It was all going quite well – I’d ticked most of the boxes and had a clear plan of how I was going to tackle the remains steps. What a sense of accomplishment I felt.

No longer was I dwelling on the emotions I had been experiencing due to my problem – I was pragmatically focused on solving it. Sure, emotions have their place – they tell us when we’re wandering off the track and are there as a guide to serve us through life. But we’re by no means a slave to them – once emotions have alerted us to a problem then it’s up to us to take over and seek to solve the problem. It would have done the cavemen no good to be paralysed by fear, they would have become lunch.

No one was more surprised than me when at the end of the second session, my shrink told me I was fine and wouldn’t need to come back. I felt a pang of “but surely there’s something wrong with me” – why else would I have had a problem that I needed a therapist to help me solve? She must have interpreted my enquiring expression because she smiled at me and told me that everyone, from time to time has a problem they need an impartial person’s assistance to reframe the questions we seek the answers to. To which I smiled and thought to myself, there’s nothing wrong with me – I’m totally fine!

Anyway, enough about that – the reason I wanted to share this is that I got a bit of a shock when I slowly started to mention to my closest friends that I’d been to see a counsellor. All but 2 of them had at one time or another, out-sourced some help with their decision making process or employed the services of a therapist to help them clear of the clutter of their past.

Of the 2 who hadn’t, one confided that her and hubby were considering a bit of marriage counselling – things weren’t all that bad between them but they wanted to learn a few skills in the communication department to ensure things stayed good and they’d set a good example for their children to learn from.

So, when you think your problem might just need an impartial sounding board – do what everyone else does – ask a professional!