Comfort in Food

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.

Benjamin Franklin

The nights are dark and there is a chill in the air the perfect time for a big bowl of piping hot tattie soup!

Comfort food is warming, fills your belly & harks back to good times. I'm thinking of a warm hug from the inside out, you know the feeling.

Your comfort food may be a mug of hot chocolate, a hearty soup, a traditional pasta bake or any food that you associate with feeling good with so a treat such as ice cream or cakes.

Food can affect your mood, and your mood can affect your food choices.

As a dietitian my work life is all about food. I talk about it all day! I have started to notice a pattern and association between my food and my mood.

When my mood starts to dip, my food choices start to slip.  I start choosing quick and easy meals.  My prep of meals gets less and less till I eventually end up eating out of packets.  Now this is not a post on healthy eating but more an observation that food plays a role in my depression.

When your spending most of your time on the sofa and haven't managed to coax yourself into the shower, there is no way your going to have the energy or inclination to cook a healthy meal from scratch. My meal of choice on these days (if I eat at all!) is a packet of crisps. Is this the kind of food that is going to fuel my brain and help with my serotonin levels? Not likely, however this is what I turn to.

Part of the choice comes from the lack of energy and motivation to complete tasks but there is also a part of me that chooses foods that give me comfort.  The downside to the comfort is the associated guilt feelings that I 'should' be choosing foods that will help provide the energy and lift I so desperately need.

I have struggled with my weight most of my adult life. I desperately want to be thinner and go through periods where I concentrate on weight reduction. I have the nutritional knowledge and if you had a look around our tiny flat you would think I was an athlete the amount of exercise equipment I have! Yet I still struggle.

At present I am going through my "I want to lose weight phase" So I have my fitness pal (follow me on   MrsBrownThought) and I am logging my calories in and out.

My mood has been up and down the past few weeks but I am trying to keep my eating on track and my hubby is home and he never lets me have nothing to eat.  He enjoys cooking and because he can be away alot with work he enjoys being able to try out new recipes when he is home.

He felt we had to celebrate the conclusion of the flat sale (yeah!!) and he chose to mark such an occasion by making a banoffee pie.

Just call Mr Brown - Browngella!

We use foods in this house to celebrate, to commiserate and to treat ourselves. Food is my work and it is a big part of our social life - eating out, cooking, treats, and rewards.

When my mood is low, I find myself looking for comfort in food.  Eating to feel better.  Eating to feed my brain more than my belly.  Eating to dampen the feelings of despair.  Eating to fill my emptiness.

Usually I would have all the banoffee pie and then beat myself up about it for days afterwards, which would send my mood on a downwards spiral.

This week I had a sizeable piece that I enjoyed immensely! Thank you Mr Brown. I logged it in my fitness pal food diary and I did a quick tabata workout to balance out my calories!

Today I right a blog post feeling the real comfort in food.  I enjoyed the treat my hubby had lovingly prepared and I felt the joy of being in control of my mood and my choices.  I think I may be turning a corner folks!

What's your comfort food? How does food affect your mood?

Love Mrs Brown xx

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• Comfort Food...

What is the ideal weight for a dietitian?

found at Jillianfitness.tumblr.com

Fat Weight Loss Experts Get No Respect - ABC News was so frank, it inspired me that I have to include something about this on my blog.

There are many articles about health professionals having unhealthy behaviours.  Does that make you less effective at your job?

I understand everyone makes judgements based on lots of different things, not least appearances.  As a registered health professional we must present a professional appearance, hence why we have uniform policies and professional standards we must adhere to in order to maintain the integrity of the profession.

There is the saying "Never trust a fat dietitian" which if you google comes up with lots of jokes and digs.  How can you preach to patients the healthy eating message when you outwardly don't follow your own advice?

Well I have to say, I don't preach.  My role is always to empower patients to make their own choices and to help them towards their goals.

At present I don't specialise in obesity/weight management.  Not because I don't think I am capable, although my self esteem takes a big battering with the weight struggles.  I help people increase their weight.  I counsel people to improve their nutritional status.  Many of my patients struggle just as much to keep the weight on as others try to lose it.

Do I get judgements from these people about my weight? Yes, I do.  I get the friendly comments "If you could just share a wee bit of your weight" or "well you don't understand how hard it is for me"

So there is no ideal weight, for anyone, let alone a dietitian.

I am human.  Think some people need reminding some times.

I can empathise.  As a profession as I have the understanding of nutrition, health and behaviour change.

I am qualified.  I study hard, and I keep up to date.  But I know my patients don't see this part of me.

Everyone has their own story.  I've never walked in your shoes, I will never know what it is exactly like to be 'you'.  But you will also never know what it's like to be 'me'.

Judge me on my knowledge, judge me on my skills, judge me on how we interact but don't judge me on the numerical number I weigh on the scales, or the number that is stitched into the label on my clothes.

Do you see your health professionals as 'people'? Or do you make judgements based on appearance or job title?

Love Mrs Brown xx



Related articles

http://leighsactiveengagement.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/who-would-trust-fat-dietitian.html

http://healthyinkuwait.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/fat-dietitian-story-of-ongoing-battle.html

• All of me.

Change Challenge

So this year one of the things I've decided I'm going to change is my weight.

I have been overweight since I was 16 years old.  I was besotted with a boyfriend 6 years older than me, was studying for exams and decided I was too old for Highland Dancing so after years of dedication to this hobby I gave it up overnight.  I had classes 4 days per week with competitions at the weekend, not surprisingly as my activity levels went from hero to zero and the number on the scales just kept rising.  It went on very fast and I've struggled with my weight ever since.

Fact #1 I am a registered Dietitian
Fact #2 I know how to lose weight - 4yrs at uni and 6yrs clinical practice
Fact #3 I have wanted to lose weight, even longed for it since it piled on 13years ago!

So why is now different?  In answer to that  - I don't know, but I do hope this motivation lasts.

I have decided to put everything I know into practice - energy requirements, medical knowledge, nutritional contents, behaviour change skills, psychology and good old common sense.

So I've also started a group! Yeah I can't do anything in half measures.  So I am running a group on a Monday evening called the Change Challenge.

Each week I load the group up with information and set them a challenge to put healthy eating principles into practice.

Life doesn't get better by chance, It gets better by change.

So this week was about enjoying your food more.  This challenge asked us to slow down, relax and enjoy our food with all our senses.  Commit to eating one meal each day as if it's your favourite food in the world and your describing it to someone who's never experience this dish before.  It's about eliminating distraction, being mindful and falling in love with food again instead of it being the enemy.

The other challenge this week had the title "Dance like nobody's watching!" and I have to say I'm enjoying it even more than I thought I would.  So maybe I'll try do a blog on one of my favourite songs for this week.

Any sensible slimming tips please feel free to add them below!  This is not about fad diets but more on self acceptance and adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Over and out,

Mrs Brown xx

(bam another post in the bag!)