Your Own Food Coach

“When you starve or restrict, you're much more likely to overeat. But you can plan.” Special events can throw us off. I'd love for you to be able to enter the upcoming holiday season without worrying about food. Fully present to enjoy each moment. In this final episode of season 1, we will talk about about some practical ways you can enjoy food this holiday season.

“I continued to get educated about what made me feel better... The more I learned, the more I wanted to share it.” In this episode we explore what functional foods are and how they impact popular restaurants and foods. I talk with a very special guest, Kelsey Vasileff, owner of Southern Squeeze which is a vegan, cold-pressed juice bar and lunch café located in beautiful Chattanooga, TN.

“Remember that restriction causes scarcity and scarcity leads to overeating or overvaluing food and food obsession.” Intuitive Eating allows for eating on demand without as much structure as you might expect from a planned diet. So the task is to be in constant touch with hunger and appetite, eating when hunger reaches a critical defined level (which is subjective of course) and eating food that is appetitively salient. And yes, in this episode, I talk about donuts.

“Food safety used to be just about spoilage and contamination. Today it is about life or death for some.” In today's episode we look at food allergies and sensitives, the difference between the two and a bit of history of food mediated problems in health. And I am so excited to include a very special guest!

“We live in rich abundance and we can have a shopping experience where we are well aware of this abundance with gratitude.” In today's episode I want to take you on an imagery trip through the store. There are so many alternatives today with grocery delivery or grocery pick up at the curb. But the fact is we still need to procure that food and have an idea of what needs to be on the list.

“Think of the genome as our ‘soft inheritance.' The impact of genetics is a factor in our life, but it isn't the whole story.” In this episode we talk about the new frontier in personalized nutrition recommendations, genetic testing.

“Each of us is a beautiful subject that can be explored, nurtured and loved with compassion.” In this episode we talk about dysfunctional and disordered eating. Eventually, such a negative and harsh assessment of the self will lead to seeing the self as an object. If you see yourself as an object with a degree of separation, it's easier to judge it, try to change it and hurt it.

“In order to change the relationship you have with your kitchen you have to agree you're stuck and want to accept change.” In today's episode we will talk about preparing meals at home, what the road blocks are, and how to get through those blocks to accomplish eating and cooking at home.

“For many, dining or ordering out has become a bit of a necessity and a habit.” Whether you're able to go out to eat where you live right now or not, the options to order in are plentiful. And one day, before too long, you'll be able to eat out again too. How can this season help reset your perspective on dinner out? Let's emerge from this season with reset perspective. In Episode 9, we talk about how whatever health related decisions you have made for your own nutritional needs and biology need to be respected when you eat out as well. When you eat out all the time, it's not a special occasion to order anything and everything. But it can be an intuitive and mindful moment in your day.

Up to 90% of the cells in our body are not human, they are bacteria! In Episode 8, we'll talk about the key to our best health is not in counting calories or fat grams and certainly not eliminating entire food groups, but rather being concerned about how happy and healthy our microbiome is in our gut.

With the Ketogenic Diet and Intermittent Fasting and so many other diet trends, it can be hard to make sense of it all. In Episode 7, we talk about how to make sense of current diet trends so you can look at what can be a motivator for you personally to choose the best practices for your eating style or pattern.

In Episode 6 of the Your Own Food Coach podcast we will take a look at what compels people to diet and how to navigate the plethora of nutrition recommendations we are bombarded with continually. Most, if not all, recommendations are based in the altruistic drive for health and good practices for humanity… but underneath almost everything is commercialism and profit. However, many times we are left still not knowing how to trust or understand what our bodies really need.

In Episode 5 of the Your Own Food Coach podcast we will take a look at fullness and what it means in the human body. We're going to talk about fullness from a variety of perspectives. We'll talk about ways to look at fullness from an inner wisdom perspective and we'll look at the physiological perspective.

In Episode 4 of the Your Own Food Coach podcast we are looking at hunger from an emotional perspective and the different types of hunger that occur. With mindful attention in a quiet moment you can learn over time to identify what and which triggers initiate in you a pattern of eating that you find unhealthy or uncontrolled. “Mindfulness is present moment awareness and usually cravings are highjacking our brains out of the present moment.” ~ Pamela Kelle

“If hunger is not honored the body will compensate with a powerful biological and psychological force.” ~ Pamela Kelle Hunger can feel terrifying for some, either from a history of being hungry long ago or from skipping a meal. The internal wisdom and drive from hunger can be so profound it can not be underestimated. Ignoring hunger will not last long even if you have great will power. Will power is in the head but hunger is mechanical…it's straight up biology!

We have all received dieting messages over the years; it's impossible not to hear them when they are major advertisings on all social media and television. Dieting has been a part of culture for many generations. But today we will try to back up to the beginning and remember the truth of what we know about eating and nourishment from its most basic foundation. “Often, starting at the beginning is necessary to reset or reboot the foundation of eating and to relearn the trust of the intuitive nature we were all born with regarding food and the experience of eating.”

“I hope that together we can think about our relationship with food and our bodies.” ~ Pamela Kelle My message and conversations I want to share here are based on the conversations, questions and sharing that occur in my office every day. Sometimes I look at and point to the door that opens into my office space and tell my clients that there are others who share their feelings about food and body. Many who have entered my office and quite possibly many of you listening. My hope is while walking your dog or driving to work our conversations might bring up questions in you too. And that you would know you are not alone. I have spent my career as a registered dietitian researching, getting additional certifications, licenses and background first as a diabetes educator, then onto mindful eating awareness, constructive living, and finally as a certified eating disorder dietitian. This podcast will address the areas where I have developed a keen interest and experience. I am always learning, and look forward to learning together here in this space. You've come to the right place.