Grey-Bruce Kids Summer 2023

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Unfortunately, what most people don’t realize is that dieting may be causing more harm than good. Ninety-five per cent of all dieters will regain the weight lost within one to five years (Grodstein et al 1996 & Neumark-Sztainer et al 2007). The failure of diets can be explained by the “dieter’s dilemma” as coined by psychologists John Foreyt and Ken Goodrick, which is triggered by the desire to be smaller, which leads to dieting. Dieting leads to food preoccupation and food cravings through a cascade of neurotransmitters and chemical hormones in the brain. Eventually the dieter gives in to the strong food cravings, overeats, and regains the lost weight. The individual is back to square one, with a desire to lose weight. People often mistake the natural biological response of hunger for lack of willpower when they succumb to strong cravings, but this isn’t the case. As the cycle repeats, the dieter feels more out of control and self-esteem decreases. If diets were successful, we wouldn’t have so many unhappy and confused people seeking out help for health and weight loss. The diet industry has corrupted the word “wellness,” and it has now become almost synonymous with dieting. Part of the path to healing one’s relationship with food is recognizing the damage dieting has done to mental health and psychological well-being. Why is it that we rely so heavily on others’ opinions and advice when it comes to eating? Food is a necessity of life. It provides fuel for the body in addition to all the nutrients we require to function efficiently. Yet many people don’t trust their bodies to tell them when or what to eat. Instead, they reach out to others for advice. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how someone else could possibly know when you are hungry or full? This is the backbone of diets, telling you how much and what to eat, giving no thought to your internal cues. Food is required for survival just like breathing, water, shelter and sleep. When swimming under water, would you seek out advice from others before coming up for air? When you need to use the washroom, do you question the urge, thinking you couldn’t possibly have to go again? When it comes to breathing, sleeping, thirst and shelter, we have more confidence trusting our bodies, however, the same can’t be said about food. The more a person looks to others for diet advice, the more confused they become and the less they trust their (own) body. If dieting is an unhealthy approach, then what can we do to foster a good relationship with food and improve our health? Enter “intuitive eating,” which is a self-care eating framework that integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought (Tribole, 2107). It means getting back to your roots – trusting your body and your signals. The human body is hardwired to know when and how much to eat, however this concept is often lost in translation due to external influences. Intuitive eating is based on principles that help people let go of their rigidity around food by rejecting diet culture and giving permission to eat in a way that feels good in their body and honours their health. Babies are born intuitive eaters. When hungry, they tell us by sucking on their fists, leaning towards the breast or bottle, or crying. When full, they simply stop eating. Toddlers also eat intuitively, however their taste buds are still developing and meals become more complicated due to likes, dislikes, and their need for autonomy. This is the age where conversations around food become important because thoughts, feelings and external pressure play a part in decisions about eating. A well-meaning parent may say something like, “If you eat all your broccoli, you can have a cookie after.” This tells the child two things – cookies must be better than broccoli and it’s OK to overeat because that cookie is worth it. If this happens repeatedly, hunger cues become subdued, and overeating may become a common occurrence. Well-intending parents may also restrict sweets in the house for health reasons or fear of weight gain. Studies have shown that when a child (or adult) feels like they are being deprived of something, they tend to think about, and want that food even more. This can lead to sneaking, hoarding and overeating. By giving kids and adults autonomy over how much food to eat and providing consistent access to a variety of different foods (sweets included), they have a better chance of eating intuitively. Teenagers today are dealing with an overwhelming amount of external pressure to look a certain way due to social media and the desire to fit in. As a result, they are at a high risk of seeking out diets or listening to uninformed influencers for advice on what to eat. This can impact their relationship with food and could lead to a lifelong battle of yo-yo dieting or eating disorders. Teens who moderately diet are five times more likely to develop an eating disorder and those who practice extreme
dieting are 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder (Golden et al, 2016). Part of the problem with our thin-obsessed culture is that disordered eating has become the norm and people praise friends and loved ones for losing weight. While those comments might be intended as praise, to someone quietly battling an eating disorder this may add fuel to the fire. We need to stop commenting on people’s bodies. Clients will frequently say to me, “I’m an emotional eater,” implying this is always a negative. Emotions are part of the human eating experience, and in many cases are positive. Food brings people together and food can be used to soothe or help cope with one’s emotions. This can be a perfectly healthy outlet, but when people become too dependent on food as a coping mechanism, it can lead to negative outcomes. We often learn these behaviours from an early age, such as when a child hurts themselves and is given a treat to make them feel better. Over time the child can learn to recognize food as effective at soothing difficult emotions. It is important to celebrate and enjoy the positive emotions that come from eating, but we also need to be aware enough to recognize if we are using food as our only coping mechanism rather than dealing with very challenging underlying emotional issues. A misconception about intuitive eating is that you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want. An intuitive eater is a curious observer and if they overeat or eat something that makes them feel unwell, they observe without judgment and take note for the next time. They can differentiate between what the body wants, what the mind desires, and what’s best for self-care. If you don’t think this sounds like you, don’t worry. While we are all born as intuitive eaters, many of us lose this skill over time. Thankfully, intuitive eating is something that can be re-learned with proper information and guidance. If you are tired of dieting and want to heal your relationship with food, the intuitive eating journey may be one worth taking. GBK SOURCES Golden, N. H., Schneider, M., & Wood, C. (2016). Preventing Obesity and Eating Disorders in Adolescents. Pediatrics, 138(3). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1649 Grodstein, F., Levine, R., Spencer, T., Colditz, G. A., & Stampfer, M. J. (1996). Three-year follow-up of participants in a commercial weight loss program: Can you keep it off? Archives of Internal Medicine 156(12), 1302. Neumark-Sztainer D., Haines, J., Wall, M., & Eisenberg, M. (2007). Why does dieting predict weight gain in adolescents? Findings from project EAT-II: a 5-year longitudinal study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107(3), 448-55 Tribole, E. (2017, July 7). Definition of Intuitive Eating. The Original Intuitive Eating Pros. https://www.intuitiveeating.org/definition-of-intuitive-eating/ NICOLE BALLANTINE is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating counsellor who takes a non-diet approach to establish a healthy relationship with food. You can find her virtually at www. nicoleballantine.com or at 770 Queen St., Kincardine. greybrucekids.com • 7
Page 1: A FREE MAGAZINE FOR PARENTS AND CAR
Page 4 and 5: HEALTH AND WELLNESS EATING INTUITIV
Page 8 and 9: FAMILY An adventure to remember BRU
Page 10 and 11: One trick to keep the little ones m
Page 12 and 13: HEALTH The superhero within LEARN T
Page 14 and 15: all day beating to the sound of the
Page 16 and 17: HEALTH AND WELLNESS OPIOIDS DON’T
Page 18 and 19: use, while being aware of your own
Page 20 and 21: HISTORY Canada’s game? EVIDENCE M
Page 22 and 23: Memorabilia from Canada’s nationa
Page 24 and 25: followed by the American League’s
Page 26 and 27: RESOURCES ABUSE Assaulted Women’s
Page 28 and 29: RESOURCES Durham District Food Bank
Page 30: RECIPES Everything’s peachy! CURR

Grey-Bruce Kids Summer 2023

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