How to navigate Halloween candy as a parent.

As a parent, you might feel some anxiety around Halloween approaching. There’s candy…everywhere… and your kids want it all. Or at least that’s how it may feel.

So how do you navigate allowing your child to eat candy? Many parents worry their child will eat too much.

Here’s some sweet food for thought:

• Treat candy the SAME as any other food, even vegetables.

  -Why? Because this will reduce the forbidden or “special” label on it. As humans, we like special things, limited time offers, forbidden treasures, and novelty items. By putting candy on the same playing field as veggies, it’s no longer this special it to be desired after.

• Allow your child to eat as much as they want.

  -If they eat too much, then they’ll get a stomachache and learn to eat less next time. Self regulating the amount they eat will help them feel satisfied and confident in their abilities to eat.

• Encourage your child to eat it as a part of meal or snacks.

  -This will ensure your child eats a variety of foods. This will also reinforce the first 🍭point. It also teaches that food isn’t something that needs to be earned (ex. If you eat your veggies you can get dessert).

More questions about this? Meet with our dietitian nutritionist!

Call the front desk to schedule an appointment.

Other Signs of Hunger

When we think of hunger signs we commonly imagine the classic sign of a growling stomach. Yet, there are a variety of hunger sings, some more subtle than others.

1. Headache or Mental “Fog”

   1. When you haven’t eaten in 3+ hours your body will experience a gradual dip in blood sugar levels. This can lead to a headache or lack of mental clarity. You might find it difficult to focus on a task or notice yourself continually zoning out.

2. Tiredness

   1. If the body is running low on energy, then we will likely feel tired. This can be one sign that it’s time to eat again.

3. Food Thoughts

   1. Are you constantly thinking about food or drawn to pictures of food? We are biologically wired to seek food when our body is hungry. This might show up as obsession with cooking, food pictures, grocery stores, or planning food.

4. Anxiety or Fidgeting

   1. While anxiety can have many origins and influencers, one of those can be related to hunger. When the brain is malnourished or hungry, it can produce an anxious state. Scientists suspect the anxiety might be a biological drive to make us more alert for food sources.

5. Irritation or Hangry

   1. Hangry is the mix of hunger and anger. When you notice your irritated (especially if its for no reason) check in with yourself. When was the last time you ate? Was it enough? Perhaps try eating something.

6. Feeling shaky or weak

   1. When the body is running low on energy, you might feel physically shaky or weak. Physical exertion, such as lifting weights, running, etc. may become more difficult than usual. This is a sign that your body doesn’t have enough energy.

7. Nausea or Stomach Pains

   1. This one may seem counterintuitive, however, nausea can sometimes be a symptom of hunger. This can occur due to the acidity of stomach acid, in addition to taking certain medications (ex. NASIDS) or supplements (ex. multivitamin) without food.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of hunger signs, it hopefully provides you some guidance on navigating your less obvious hunger cues. Questions or want more? Contact us to meet with our nutritionist!

Five Nutrition Tips for Travelers

Traveling can make eating tricky with limited access to food, new foods, chaotic schedule, etc.

It’s important to stay nourished while traveling that way you’re energized and healthy. Take a look at the images below for tips on how to stay nourished while traveling!

Diets Don't Work

FACT: Research shows that diets are proven to fail long term (~5-10 years post start of the diet). The research that shows weight loss diets “working” is all conducted within the 5 years time or less.

Why do diets not work?

Well, first of all, your body is WAYYY smarter than any diet program. Your body recognizes “oh crap, I’m not getting enough energy; there is a limited amount of food…guess I should slow things down.”

You’re body doesn’t know the different between purposeful restriction and unintentional /environmental restrictions. And let’s be real, it all has the same outcome of reducing the body’s ability to repair, move, think, grow, and heal.

Now you’re probably thinking “okay, great, what do I do now?”

Eat like you did as a young child. Eat in a way that respects your physical and emotional needs. Become attuned with your body, listen to it, and nourish it.

If you feel really detached from with body’s needs, that okay. You’re not alone.

Working with an ED-informed or intuitive eating specialist can be really helpful in rebuilding a healthy relationship with food.

Note: this post is not meant to replace individualized healthcare recommends. Information has been simplified for the purpose of making a brief post.