Stay Attuned ™: The E-zine for Nourishing Connections

Your journey to freedom from food and weight struggles presents an opportunity for not only a new relationship with food, but also a new relationship with yourself and others. Ultimately, it is a journey of nourishing connections with yourself, others--and yes--even food. Stay Attuned™ is committed to supporting you in this journey and to helping you develop nourishing connections that will last a lifetime. Remember, a journey always starts with one small step....

From fellow travelers,
Karin and Amy
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Nourishing Nuggets

“Of those who stay in treatment, most will not lose weight, and of those who do lose weight, most will regain it.” Albert Stunkard, obesity researcher (1958)

“However, no plan has demonstrated significant success in weight maintenance beyond 6 to 12 months.” Ann Coulston, dietitian (from Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998)

Reflections for Staying Attuned

It’s easy to get caught up in weight loss mania these days, especially with all the before and after stories in the media. Weight loss mania thrives because it ignores the second phase of dieting. You know it as “I gained it back.” We call it the Regain Phase.

Most people do not realize the Regain Phase is actually part of the diet, a fact that is easy to forget since the Regain Phase does not follow a predictable course. Sometimes a diet may last for two months before the Regain Phase takes over. At other times, the diet may last only two days.

When we do not realize that the Regain Phase is part of the diet, we get to remember only, “I dieted and lost, and I can do it again." This keeps us dieting--and intermittently hopeful. However, those going through the Regain Phase experience food cravings, food preoccupation, increased hunger, and for many, bingeing. Dieters in this phase believe they are out-of-control eaters who need more willpower. They become more reliant on diets and/or diet surveillance groups, which once again leads to the Regain Phase.

The Regain Phase of the diet is the body’s attempt at survival--the body screaming out for an end to this “famine.” Without dieting, there is no need for the Regain Phase.

Stay Attuned Tip

Recall your dieting history. Write down your weight at the start of your first diet, how much you lost, and how much you gained back. Continue recalling this information for every diet that you can remember. Do you notice a pattern? Weight loss followed by weight regain. Remember this when you see “inspiring” before and after pictures. Remember too that attuned eating will end this Regain Phase.

As we turn to the New Year, consider making a commitment to attuned eating and reap its rewards. When you use hunger as a signal to eat, fullness becomes a signal to stop! As Geneen Roth said in Breaking Free (1984):

Your body gets hungry. When you feed it, it gets satisfied. There is no magic to it…. No one has to tell you when to eat; your body will tell you. No one can tell you when to eat; they aren’t in touch with your stomach. And if you are listening to your body to tell you when to eat, you can also hear it saying “enough.”

Stay Attuned Affirmation

“I listen to my body’s signals of hunger and fullness. I am an attuned eater.”

What's New at Nourishing Connections

More and more we hear about the problems inherent in obesity research. In November, a prominent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of obesity-related deaths in 2000 may have been overstated by as much as 20 percent. Check it out at http://www.nourishingconnections.com/cdc_study_overstated_obesity.htm.

Feedback and Closing

Welcome to our new subscribers, and hello to current members! Stay Attuned™ exists for you. If you have ideas for topics or feedback (did you try an idea? how did it go?), please write us at ideas@nourishingconnections.com.

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Stay Attuned™ is written by Karin Kratina, PhD, RD
(Dr.K@ nourishingconnections.com) and Amy Tuttle, RD, LCSW
(amyt@ nourishingconnections.com). Edited by Cassie Tuttle.
Please visit us at www.nourishingconnections.com!

© Copyright 2004. Dr. Karin Kratina and Amy Tuttle. All rights reserved.

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DISCLAIMER: This information is not intended to constitute a professional relationship between Karin or Amy or the reader, nor is it intended as therapy or counseling. Be sure to consult a qualified professional if you require medical or psychological services.

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