Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

If you experience great emotional stress around the holiday season, you are not alone. Here are some reasons why the holidays can be so stressful when it come to food: Fear of weight gain. Too many food items available. Guilt around indulging. Feeling weak or out of control. Stress and anxiety. Uncomfortable being seen eating food. Pressure or comments when eating. Worry of offending others. Struggling with "normal" food portions. Remarks about body weight/size. Inability to recognize fullness. Eating on another person's schedule. Having tools to manage triggers and unhealthy thoughts can help you maintain a healthy relationship with food and the body so you can fully enjoy the holidays. Here are a few tips to help you maintain a healthy relationship with food and your body:

Yesterday we drove 2.5 hours (one-way) to watch my favorite comedian, @natebargatze, perform in Evans, GA. We laughed for 2 hours. If you don't know who Nate is, check out his two Netflix specials, his Amazon prime special and his Washington's Dream skit on SNL. We left early for the 7pm show so that we could have dinner in Evans. We love different cuisines and I was excited to find an Indian restaurant called Namaste Indian Street food. Prior to ordering, I asked myself "What do I want and what do I need?" 🍴I needed a satiating meal that would leave me satisfied for the next 4.5 hours (show + drive home). 🍴I needed a meal that would allow me to focus on the show and not feel hungry or lethargic. 🍴I needed a meal that would leave me feeling comfortable during 4.5 hours of sitting. 🍴I wanted a meal that felt nutritious. I've done very little intentional exercise this week (30 minutes of swimming yesterday) to let my body fully recover from a massive season of ...

The holiday season is here and it's filled with family, friends and.....food.  Without a doubt, food is a significant component of every holiday. For anyone who suffers from an eating disorder or an unhealthy relationship with food and the body, this can be a challenging time of the year.  You may not realize it but the holidays bring several triggers that could lead to disordered eating and exercising behaviors. Often times, stress, overwhelm, people pleasing, travel, toxic relationships/family members, uncomfortable conversations and finances can bring on uncomfortable feelings. In order to lessen those emotions, it's easy to resort to food restriction (or dieting). And with restriction often comes binge eating. Overeating from time to time does not mean that you have a binge eating disorder. Fundamentally, binge eating is different from overeating.  Signs and symptoms of binge eating include:  Eating a large amount of food in a short period of time (ex. over 2 ho...

Mindful eating. Intuitive eating. Both approaches are used by Anti-Diet and Health at Every Size dietitians. While these two eating approaches complement each other, there are some important differences. Intuitive eating is a framework created by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch based on their work with eating disorder recovery. They are most known for the 10 principles of intuitive eating, which center around making peace with food, rejecting the diet mentality and to learn how to develop a healthier relationship with food. Intuitive eating goes beyond the eating experience to encourage people to change their relationship with food and the body. Mindful eating is awareness that arises from paying attention, eating with purpose, eating non-judgmentally and being in the present moment. Mindful eating encourages you to use your senses in choosing to eat food that is satisfying and nourishing to you and your body. It means you acknowledge your likes, dislikes and neutral respon...

Food is often viewed as a tool to manipulate the look of the body. From a very young age, diet tricks, hacks and tips are introduced as a way to change the way that you look, to improve health or to gain control over eating. While some of these strategies can be helpful, many are unhealthy and sometimes hazardous to your health and well-being. When food goes from being pleasurable and nourishing to serving as the primary method to manipulate body composition, you no longer have a healthy relationship with food. Your thoughts about food matter. Seeing food as an enemy can make it difficult for you to eat for fuel and nourishment. In our diet-crazed society, constantly eating too little, eating too much and always eating with fear (or guilt) can cause serious mental and physical health issues. Undereating and a cycle of restriction and binging can have serious mental effects, especially when this style of eating becomes a way of life. This is the time of the year when it's so easy to...

For athletes, social eating at holiday parties family gatherings and end-of-the-year events can be challenging. Even with the best intentions, it can be difficult to stay consistent with nutritious eating when you are overwhelmed by so many calorie-rich food choices. No need to skip your work holiday party, the family cookie-swap, your child's holiday function or your team social. Here are a few tips to help you feel good about your eating choices and improve your relationship with food. Sit down -  Instead of eating standing up, put food on a plate, sit down and focus on the present moment. You will enjoy your food much more when you give eating your full attention.   Slow down - Intentionally chew slower than normal.  When you eat slowly, you will notice your food and enjoy it much more.  Savor - Enjoy every bite. Use all of your senses and eat without distractions. Remind yourself that the first bite is always the most flavorful.  Simplify - Crea...

Happy Halloween!! Does the thought or sight of candy leave you anxious, worried or guilty? To fully enjoy what you eat, you need to be present and in the moment. This is where mindfulness comes in handy. Mindful eating takes practice but you can learn a lot about your emotions, food choices and break some bad habits. Mindful eating is eating with intention, awareness and pleasure. Because most treats or indulgences are not rich in nutrients, we eat them for pleasure or enjoyment. The key word here is enjoy. I'm here to tell you that you can still eat a healthy and nutritious diet with sweets and treats. When you eat what you love, you should also feel good about what you eat. This will help you feel more satisfied with your food selections so you don't overindulge. You will learn how to slow down and savor your food. To help you get started, I’m going to walk you through a mindful chocolate eating exercise. This was taught to me during dietetic internship during on...

For athletes, social eating at holiday parties can be difficult, especially as you try to nourish and fuel your body to support your training sessions. Even with the best intentions, it can be tough to stick to your eating plan when you are overwhelmed by so many delicious choices.  Because it would be wrong to skip your work holiday party, your child's holiday function or your team end of the year social, here are a few tips to help you feel good about your eating choices, despite all the large meals, alcoholic beverages and mouthwatering deserts.  Don't workout just for the calorie burn - Thinking beyond performance, your workout is also a proven stress reliever, self-esteem booster, energy giver and endorphin pusher. With so much going on, don't put yourself last. Because it's very easy to eat mindlessly, out of boredom, stress or emotions, remind yourself that eating is for enjoyment, but also for nourishment and for fuel. Make sure you are not training/exer...

Overeating and overdrinking. This doesn't sound healthy, right? For many, Thanksgiving is a day to surround yourself with family and friends, all while consuming a smorgasbord of food in a short period of time. Although "a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year", Thanksgiving is a holiday that makes it socially acceptable to binge eat. Regardless if you have a meat or vegan feast, Thanksgiving is known to be the holiday in which you have the permission to indulge and eat with reckless abandon. But knowing how binge eating and overeating makes you feel, is it really worth it to eat until you are stuffed on Thanksgiving?  Maybe because I've spent the last 25 Thanksgiving's as a vegetarian, but this holiday doesn't make me think "food" but instead, "family." I think back to many Thanksgiving holidays with my mom and dad, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin and grandparents and it was always a fun time to...

For an athlete-in-training, there are many challenges around the holidays, especially when it comes to staying consistent with training and healthy eating. Your frustration is not well-understood by your non-athlete family members but your training buddies understand that a routine disruption disrupts your goals and makes it difficult to get back on track.  So what's an athlete to do?  Do you put your training on hold and say "oh well" to healthy eating, every time there is a disruption to your routine?  Do you become stubborn with your ways and begin to remove the distractions from your life, even if it means pushing away your family and close friends....maybe even quitting your job, because it takes up a lot of your time and energy? What's an athlete to do. While it's not necessary to put your training on hold for an extended period of time or avoid your family in order to get in every minute of your prescribed workout, it's impo...

In sports like running and triathlons, there will always be a focus on body composition and for many athletes, a desire to be leaner. Specific to running economy, speed and aerobic capabilities, leanness in athletes, as it relates to performance improvements, is a topic that will never go away. There's nothing wrong with athletes seeking weight loss, a decrease in body fat or an increase in lean muscle mass. This could be for aesthetics and self-esteem, to experience and improvement in performance and/or for overall health.  Every year, I see my body composition change as I prepare for my peak races. But my race weight is unintentional as it is simply the weight on my body that I bring to race day.  And I don't know that number because I don't weigh myself.  I have never been against the idea of athletes changing body composition, especially if it improves overall health but there are many ways to improve performance and not always is weight loss the c...

I've spent the last two blogs talking about mindful eating. And I'm not done yet. I still have part IV to combine everything together so that you, the athlete, can fully understand where I am coming from as it relates to your health, performance and body composition goals. First off, I invite you to read  THIS ARTICLE  to help you improve your relationship with food. As promised, here are a few simple tips to help you practice mindful eating. Whereas the above article (link) can help with improving your relationship  with food, the below tips are specific to when you indulge. Most people do not have an unhealthy relationship with food they term healthy and feel good when eating is under control. The food mind games likely occur when you indulge, eat something you term "off limit" or feel "off track" with your eating. (Be sure to practice these tips throughout the holiday season when you will be presented with more treats than normal.) Befor...

How did you do with your homework today from my last blog post? Did you find yourself with positive or negative thoughts when you ate? Did your thoughts turn negative when you ate foods that you term "off-limit"? What foods made you feel the best and what foods gave you the most anxiety? Continue to work on this so that you learn how to quiet the voices in your head so that eating is a peaceful, joyful and positive experience. I promise - it is possible and it will make a huge impact on how you fuel for your athletic endeavors.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------- So why do I continue to talk and talk and talk about mindful eating as it relates to athletes? As a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, shouldn't I be spending most of my time talking about supplements and sport nutrition products? Well, every athlete has to eat. And in my field of work, far too many athletes struggle with their relationship with food...

A few days after returning home from Kona in mid October, Karel and I went to an Ironman celebration party in Greenville. We spent the evening talking with several Ironman finishers who live in the Greenville area. To finish the evening, we enjoyed cake from a local baker.  And to top it off (literally), the dot of the cake had our names on it. So sweet (literally, again) ! After cutting into the M part of the cake for everyone in the party, the dot remained uneaten. The host of the party insisted that Karel and I take home our personalized section of the cake. After returning home from the party with a beautiful round cake, I wrapped up the cake and put it in the freezer. I figured there would be a good time to eat the cake but the right time wasn't anytime soon.  --------------------------------------------------- As a sport dietitian, when I think about athletes and their relationship with food, I often see/hear two different types of athlet...

We are all aware of how diets work - follow rigid food rules and you will lose weight. If you can follow the diet for a specific period of time, you will lose weight. It's as simple as that. With every diet, there are certain foods that are allowed at certain times of the day, a specific amount of food that is allowed to be eaten and foods that are forbidden. This is why people love diets - they are nothing more than a plan telling you how to eat so that you have a reason to avoid certain foods and to ignore biological hunger cues. With a diet, you don't have to learn how to be a mindful eater or how to eat with intention. You become a robot in that you only have one program for x-weeks and that is all you have to focus on. Ask any person who has followed a diet plan and she/he will likely say that food rules offer boundaries or perhaps a level of discipline that the person wasn't able to do on his/her own and this is why diets work so well. Whereas once a ...