Simple Nutrition Changes for a Better Life!

Alison Hopkins is the local, professionally trained Nutritionist for advice and guidance in developing optimal dietary habits. She builds her program around a foundational understanding of nutrition, the single most important ingredient of a long term, sustainable health program. Alison specializes in patient-centered therapeutic lifestyle changes along with coaching & support. Whether you want to prevent future health issues, feel better, reduce pain and inflammation, or reach an athletic goal, Alison will design a plan that meets your individual goals and needs.

Services

Grocery Shopping Tour-Do you want to make better choices when shopping at the grocery store? Nutritionist, Alison Hopkins, will accompany you on your next shopping trip and teach you how to choose healthier options while still buying your favorite foods.

Home Kitchen and Pantry Makeover-Alison will help you create a healthy pantry with some simple tips!

Individual Nutrition Consultations-One-on-one consultations with your Nutritionist, Alison Hopkins, are available. Your personal Nutritionist will assist you in implementing nutrition plan to help you achieve your optimal health. Consultations are available in-person or over the phone.

Initial Nutrition Consultation-90 minutes

Each follow-up session-60 minutes

Contact Alison for price details and to schedule your first appointment!

Mobile: 949.607.8090

email: alisonhop@gmail.com

What Toddlers Can Teach Us About Eating

Source :http://www.duluthclinic.org/otherspecialties/nutritionservices/int_whattoddlerscanteachusabouteating.htm

If you want to see the intelligence of the human body in action, try watching a toddler eat.

Toddlers take a bite of this, a sip of that, and a finger-full of something else, all the while smelling, feeling, mashing and exploring their food. Their whole body moves toward food with eagerness. Toddlers are positive about eating.

As for quantity, toddlers respond to their inner satiety cues. They eat what they need and run off to play. The toddler eater knows when he has eaten enough to fuel his body. This is the wisdom of the body in action.

As adults, we too have this built-in "how much" regulator, but learned behaviors and external messages — such as "clean your plate,""too fattening," or "not healthy enough" — have overpowered this inborn trust and competence.

It is essential to reclaim ownership of the competent eater within us — to listen, trust and use the body's intelligence. You can shift from "external control" to "body trust" in your eating management, by asking yourself these insightful, intuitive questions:

• Am I giving myself permission to eat?
  This is most important. It opens up body trust and the ability to pay attention to body cues. There is a paradox here. You would think that by giving yourself permission to eat that your weight and eating would go out of control. In fact just the opposite happens — your weight stabilizes and finds its genetic predisposition.
  
• What am I feeling physically? How hungry? How thirsty? How full? How satisfied?
  Tune in to these clear physical cues and pay attention to them. Rate your hunger and fullness on a scale of zero to 10, zero being ravenous and 10 being stuffed full. Become mindful of where you are within your body at the beginning of eating, and at the end. Don't judge — just gently become aware.
  
  Also, become attentive to thirst. We often experience thirst well before hunger. TIP: sip on water all day long.
  
• Am I recognizing my body's satiety signals, which tell me when I've had enough?
  Satiety is individually recognized at about a 5 to 6 on the above 0 to 10 scale. It is the point where your body innately balances energy in with energy out — without counting a single calorie. No diet can honor this inner wisdom. In fact, diets destroy it.
  
• What am I feeling emotionally in this moment, as I move towards food? This is your emotional awareness of everything that is competing with the competent "toddler eater" within. This step moves you to a place where you can let go of the destructive diet mentality and negative learned messages (attitudes, anxiety, fear, guilt and shame).
  
• How do I fuel my body optimally throughout the day? Start the day with your own plan for eating every two to four hours. Choose "mini-fuel" combinations of lean protein, carbohydrates, and fat to give you the kind of energy and alertness you can appreciate all day long. Read labels, seek information, and make informed choices, but remain attentive to your body— the cues from within will guide you.

The desired positive outcome here is to provide you with awesome sustained energy, mentally and physically, all day long! Own it again and enjoy it. It will make a difference in the total you!!

Source:http://www.duluthclinic.org/otherspecialties/nutritionservices/int_whattoddlerscanteachusabouteating.htm

Focus on Whole Foods

The American diet once was mainly whole foods, or foods that have not been through processing before reaching the grocery store. Families grew their own vegetables, prepared home-cooked meals together, and consumed less processed foods. Times have changed and Americans are now eating more processed foods than ever! Here are some tips to help you focus on healthy whole foods.

Whole foods consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole nuts, and other foods that exist in their natural, recognizable form. Whole wheat flour and other whole wheat items with very little preservatives and other additives are other examples of whole foods. You wouldn't take stalks of raw wheat home to process your own wheat flour. Whole wheat flour is available at the grocery store and ready to use!

Many breads and baked goods come from refined, bleached white flour. When wheat is refined, certain layers of wheat are removed. These are the layers that contain many of the vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients. Foods such as these, are often enriched with added vitamins and minerals to replace the nutrients that were removed. It is important to include whole foods in your diet to help ensure optimal nutrition.

Here are some phrases to keep in mind while shopping for packaged whole foods that are tasty and nutritious.

• On breads, pastas, cracker, cereals, and other baked products, look on the ingredient list. The first word on the list of ingredients should be "Whole..."
• 100 percent fruit
• No added sugars
• Low sodium
• Made from whole ripe....(e.g., tomatoes, cranberries, raspberries, etc.)