foundational guide to reaching & maintaining your …€¦ · your healthy weight is your...

FOUNDATIONAL GUIDE TO REACHING & MAINTAINING

YOUR HEALTHY WEIGHTIncluding: Finding your healthy weight, embracing healthy eating strategies, starting a fitness

practice you enjoy, and using mindfulness to overcome stress & emotional eating.

WHAT A HEALTHY WEIGHT IS & WHAT A HEALTHY WEIGHT ISN’T

A HEALTHY WEIGHT ISN’T.. .

A NUMBER ON A SCALE

A CATEGORY IN THE BODY MASS

INDEX (BMI)

A SPECIFIC SHAPE

FITTING INTO SPECIFIC SIZES OF CLOTHES

WHY NOT?Because a healthy weight is individual. It cannot be determined without taking the individual into consideration.

Having a higher number for any measure of body shape or size, or body composition, is not predictive of higher risks of dying from all causes compared to people with ‘healthy’ numbers and picture-perfect bodies.1

Weight can be a reflectionof health—sometimes we are larger or smaller than is natural for us because of illness or unhealthful behaviors.

Or, it can be proof that: just like the colors of our eyes and how tall or short we are, PEOPLE COME IN DIFFERENT SIZES.

A HEALTHY WEIGHT IS. . .

WHY?Your healthy weight is your natural weight, which is largely determined by your genetics. If you come from a family of larger or smaller people, you are likely to be larger or smaller. Achieving and maintaining your healthy weight is supported by healthful, enjoyable living that includes

mindful, pleasurable eating and physical activity, effective stress management, adequate sleep and more. It is not a weight that is achieved through restricting what you eat or excessively exercising in order to lose weight.

INDIVIDUAL AFFECTED BY MORE THAN DIET AND

EXERCISE

AN OUTCOME, NOT A GOAL

1. Flegal KM, Graubard BI. Estimates of excess deaths associated with body mass index and other anthropometric variables. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr;89(4):1213-9.

WEIGHT

HEIGHT

262 Fox Lane, Ludlow, Vermont 05149 | ( 8 0 0 ) 4 4 8 - 8 1 0 6 | W W W. F I T W O M A N . C O M

MINDFUL EATING & HOW IT SUPPORTS YOUR HEALTHY WEIGHT

7 TIPS FOR TRULY HEALTHY & MINDFUL EATINGHEALTHY EATING IS PLEASURABLE EATING THAT FEELS GOOD IN THE MOMENT AND AFTERWARD.

1.TUNE INTO YOUR INTERNAL

HUNGER & SATIETY CUES

Check your hunger level.

If you’re physically hungry, knowing how hungry you feel will help you determine whether you need a snack or a larger meal.

If you are not physically hungry, something else may be triggering that desire. You can explore your options—like strategies for stress management or choosing to eat anyway (& that's okay!).

2. CONSIDER WHAT YOU WANT TO

EAT

Evaluate your options. Give yourself permission to eat what you want and decide what will meet your needs and help you feel your best—without being bound by rules or restrictions.

3.FIND BALANCE IN YOUR MEALS

Your body can tell you what it needs to feel best if you know how to listen. But sometimes, listening to all the “healthy” eating advice out there has thrown our body out of balance.

If that’s you, consider including a source of carbohydrate, fiber, protein, and fat at most meals.

Meals that include these nutrients can help stabilize out-of-balance appetite regulatory systems so they can give us accurate cues about what we need.

4.EAT A VARIETY OF FOODS

From a nutrition perspective: This helps you get a wide variety of nutrients. Eat from the rainbow— different colored fruits and vegetables contain different nutrients.

From a satisfaction perspective: Variety helps prevent boredom. If we don’t enjoy what we eat, we’re le� wanting something more—this can lead to overeating.

5.REMAIN PRESENT THROUGHOUT

THE EATING PROCESS

While you’re eating: Allow yourself to completely savor your current bite before deciding what to eat next. Try pu�ing your fork or spoon down between bites.

Halfway through your meal: Pause to re-check your hunger level. How do you feel? How much more do you think you need to feel satisfied?

At the end of your meal: Check your hunger level, then check again 5–10 minutes later. Do you feel satisfied? Still hungry? Uncomfortably full? What can you learn from this?

6.EAT IN MODERATION

(BUT NOT THE WAY YOU THINK)

Give yourself permission to include foods that, perhaps, in the past you have not.

Moderation is not about restriction. It’s about embracing an all-foods-fit mindset & not depriving yourself of any food that brings you true pleasure.

7.ENJOY!

Enjoyment isn’t just about pleasure—it also relaxes the body & that helps you digest, absorb and metabolize the nutrients you get from healthy eating.

Enjoyment is about ge�ing the biggest bang for your buck!


THE TRANSFORMATIVE DIFFERENCE OF ENJOYABLE MOVEMENT

5 REASONS NO PAIN/NO GAIN EXERCISE IS HURTING YOUR HEALTH (& WHAT TO DO INSTEAD)

NO PAIN/NO GAIN EXERCISE…

Increases the risk of injury & overtraining.Including restless sleep & elevated resting heart rate. Exercise is supposed to help us sleep, not hinder it!

INSTEAD, TRY…

Exercising at a level of intensity & frequency that leaves you feeling refreshed & full of energy.


Eliminates the joy in exercise, which makes it less sustainable.The more you enjoy exercise, the more likely you are to keep doing it. The more mindful you are with exercise, the more you’ll enjoy it.

INSTEAD, TRY…

Slowing down, observing your intensity level, being aware of the muscles you’re working & noticing your surroundings.


Is dependent on having a high level of energy.And we all know that’s not always the case.

INSTEAD, TRY…

Giving yourself a break & reminding yourself that every day you have a different body. Honor it.


Sets you up for “failure”—which can be psychologically damaging. Because no pain/no gain exercise isn’t sustainable, most of us can’t keep it going in the long run.

INSTEAD, TRY…

To be reasonable with your expectations & try to stop comparing yourself to others. Recognize that everyone is different.


Increases stress on the body—which breaks the mind-body-spirit connection.When you listen to your body, the right movement will not only cultivate self-trust & compassion, but also leave you feeling energized & looking forward to your next workout.

INSTEAD, TRY…

Being present with how your body feels before, during & a�er your workout.


THE POWER OF EFFECTIVE STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR EMOTIONAL EATING

HOW STRESS DRIVES EMOTIONAL EATING & WEIGHT GAIN

STRESS SERVES AS A WARNING SYSTEM, CREATING A CHEMICAL RESPONSE IN THE BODY TO PROTECT US FROM DANGER.

SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE (STRESS)

• Muscles tighten• Breathing becomes rapid & shallow• Heart rate increases• Nutrient absorption decreases• Blood flow to the gut decreases, decreasing metabolism• Enzymatic output to gut decreases• Insulin levels decrease, increasing blood glucose levels

STRESS TRIGGERS FOR WOMEN WHO STRUGGLE

WITH WEIGHT

• Fear about what we eat• Fear that we’re not enough, that we need to do more, be be�er• Fear that we’re unacceptable because of our body size

WHAT ’S THE REMEDY?

Mindfulness: a mental state achieved by focusing our awareness on the present moment, while acknowledging & accepting our feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations.

Mindfulness helps us:• Leave the past behind• Worry less about the future• Stop asking, “what if”?• Bring more perspective to situations• Lower stress levels

WHAT ’S ONE THING YOU CAN DO TODAY

TO PRACTICE BEING MORE MINDFUL?

Think along the lines of…• Focusing a�ention on the present moment• Breath work • Meditation• Yoga• Gratitude

When stress turns chronic, we become

unable to effectively manage the dangers

that come our way.

STRESS & EMOTIONAL EATING

Eating activates our parasympathetic nervous system—the relaxation response—because our bodies know that digestion is more effective when we’re calm.

PARASYMPATHETIC RESPONSE (RELAXATION)

• Muscles loosen• Breathing slows & deepens• Heart rate lowers• Blood pressure lowers• Nutrient absorption increases• Blood flow to gut increases, increasing metabolism• Enzymatic output into gut increases

When food is restricted by diets or eat regimens, eating often (and understandably) ends up as a go-to stress management tool, which can lead to weight gain. Which results in MORE STRESS!


HOW WE CAN HELP

Since 1973, Green Mountain at Fox Run has helped thousands of women overcome feelings of food addiction with our pioneering non-diet program.

Contact us at (800) 448-8106, ](802) 228-8885 or [email protected] to talk about how we can help you end your struggle with eating and weight.

For more information, please visit our website at www.fitwoman.com

MARSHA HUDNALLMS, RDN, CD

President & Co-OwnerGreen Mountain at Fox Run

KARI ANDERSONDBH, LCMHC, CEDSChief Clinical DirectorWomen’s Center for

Binge & Emotional Eating

SHIRI MACRI MA, LCMHC

Clinical DirectorWomen's Center for Binge

& Emotional Eating


foundational guide to reaching & maintaining your …€¦ · your healthy weight is your...

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