Nourish Network

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• Lia Huber said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

  Alexandra and Shannon . . . shoot, I typed out a long, enthusiastic reply to your responses and then shut down my computer without hitting ‘post reply.’ Argh. Bottom line, though, is–good for you guys! And you too, Alicia. I love the real way you all approach eating and how it keeps your bodies healthy, your spirits high, and your weight at a level you’re comfortable with.

  Alicia, I couldn’t agree more that the only real changes come from permanent shifts in the way we act, and the way we look at food. And I’m a firm believer that those can be super pleasurable shifts (they were for me!) that are not a burden to live with, but a joy.

  Thanks, all!

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• culinarybliss said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

  When we use the word “diet” we often mean something temporary, but obviously any permanent change in ones weight will only come from a permanent change in practice.
  I run a couple miles a day, walk a couple too, and watch what I eat carefully. If I eat too much, I exercise more.
  I rely on basic foods for my daily routine and generally only eat whole foods. This gives me the flexibility to indulge when I want to without feeling guilty.
  I know people recommend against weighing daily, but I do to keep myself in check.

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• sclark said 7 months ago:

  I am a firm believer in nutrition plans. However, diet is a nasty four letter word for me. 10 years ago I was 75 lbs over weight and suffered from several fat related deceases. I went on every fad diet I could think of only to be let down. It wasn’t till a couple years ago that I finally realized that most diets are designed to fail from the start. They are way to strict to stick to and they are not the answer to long term weight loss and good health. After all, a diet is something that you go on short term to lose some unwanted pounds. And in most cases we don’t reach our goal because the diet is to rigid or we didn’t have a sound plan to begin with. But with a good nutrition plan, we go on this willingly and stick with it for ever.

  Lets face it. Our goal is to wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and feel good about ourselves. A sound nutrition plan will do this. I am living proof of this. Not to toot my own horn or anything but, I am down to a comfortable 195 lbs. and I am in the best physical shape of my life. And the neat thing is, I still eat my favorite foods every week. Pizza, Pasta, Burgers… All of these are my list to eat. And that is because I found that the real way to lose fat is to not put yourself into ‘starvation mode’. Fat burns in the presence of fat. Now, I don’t do this everyday of the week. Only once, every Saturday.

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• Alexandra Alznauer, C.S. said 7 months, 2 weeks ago:

  Have you ever noticed that people in the cheese world are often thin, evn very thin? And yet they often consume large amounts of butter-fat laden cheeses. I personally know several cheese professionals like this. When I’ve inquired how they stay thin I generally get the same answer. They eat (and taste) professionally and for personal pleasure. Other than cheese they eat what they enjoy and eat in a balanced way. They don’t go crazy denying themselves on diets.

  I know from personal experience that when I do the same, particularly when I eat a lot of cheese and bread or crackers paired with 1/4- 1/2 glass of wine (OK maybe a few nuts and dried fruits thrown in), I lose weight naturally and then maintain a healthy weight naturally. My friend’s call it “Alexandra’s cheese and wine diet”. I’ll sometimes have this as my dinner (as opposed to an appetizer and dessert course). I’m enjoying what I eat. I stop eating when I’m full. My cholesterol and my blood pressure are fine and stay that way. And I feel great. I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone but it works for me. What I try to do now is incorporate cheese into dishes more and eat fruit for dessert.

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• Lia Huber said 7 months, 3 weeks ago:

  Dang that’s impressive, Charles. I’m embarrassed to admit how often my bicycle remains hanging while I drive the few blocks into town–and I’m in a mild climate. Good for you!

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• wayupnorthinalaska said 7 months, 3 weeks ago:

  I know skinny guys who smoke, drink and have cholesterol levels and blood pressures through the roof (in other words, walking strokes about to happen). I also know a guy who weighs more than 300 pounds but he runs the Honolulu Marathon every year in about 4-5 hours. I also know an Iditarod musher who is about 5-foot-7 and more than 250 pounds, but he’s completed the 1,000-mile-plus race about 20 times and he’s usually in the top half of the field (most distance mushers actually run the equivalent of a marathon every day for about 9-15 days during the race, they don’t just ride the sled’s runners). The two guys who both have BMIs in the 40 range, BMIs that would list them in the morbidly obese class, I’m sure have better cholesterol and blood pressure levels than the skinny guys I mentioned.

  BMI is one measure of a person’s health, but it’s only one of many measurements and should not be the final determination of a person’s real health condition. People come in all body types and sizes, and we shouldn’t try to be clones. I’m a larger guy with a football-lineman-gone-to-seed body type (6-foot-1, over 300 pounds), but I commute by bicycle every day (I use studded tires in the winter) and walk about every place else. Even though I have asthma, I have the endurance to go on a 20-40 mile bike ride if I needed to.

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• Lia Huber said 7 months, 3 weeks ago:

  Thank you for that info! I’ve been abiding by that philosophy for several years now (see my article on embracing the not-so-flat belly) and know several others feel the same way (like you, Alison). But I didn’t know there was an official movement behind it. I’ll check out the links for more info. I appreciate it!

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• Alison Ashton said 7 months, 3 weeks ago:

  I love the philosophy behind HAES. For years, I’ve maintained that people can be big and be healthy. Living in LA, I see too-skinny people (usually women) all the time. You want to hold them down and force-feed them a hamburger.

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• wayupnorthinalaska said 7 months, 4 weeks ago:

  I work for a non-profit tribal health organization, and several years ago our health educators, dietitians and doctors decided to follow a new concept called “Health At Every Size” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_at_Every_Size). Health At Every Size (HAES) is based on recent research that shows how dangerous the yo-yo syndrome caused by the harder weight-loss diets (such as on the show, Biggest Loser) is to your long-term health. The Health At Every Size paradigm emphasizes healthier eating habits based on hunger cues and intuitive eating, increased physical activity that’s fun, and body acceptance. Recent research has shown that the HAES concept is more sustainable over a long period of time, and while there is less of an emphasis on weight loss HAES usually results in better cholesterol levels, better blood pressures, better glucose levels and greater endurance. Some of the key people writing about HAES include Linda Bacon (http://www.lindabacon.org/ or http://www.haescommunity.org/), Jon Robertson (http://www.jonrobinson.net/) and Ellyn Satter (http://ellynsatter.com/).

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• Lia Huber said 8 months ago:

  Alison Ashton and I have both told our stories about losing weight when we actually stopped trying to lighten food and started to ENJOY real food. And I’ve heard others tell passionate tales of their own.

  Do you have a story to share about the paradox of getting healthier by NOT dieting?

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