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

"...disconnection is as necessary as connection for creating a healthy, happy life. " ~ Martha Beck

Reflections for Staying Attuned

Try to feed an infant when she's full. She will refuse to eat. Try to entice her with a special dessert. She will refuse it. Why? Because "hunger," the drive to eat, is gone. And a recognizable, "just right" feeling of fullness has kicked in. How simple.

And how frustrating for those of us who had to join the Clean Plate Club. Or who started dieting and, as a result, un-learned these innate skills and stopped trusting ourselves.

It is not easy to re-connect with our cues for fullness. And it's even harder to trust these signals once we do find them. But it is well worth the effort. After years of dieting and stopping at a dictated portioned-controlled amount, or not stopping at any amount, it can feel so freeing to simply become uninterested in food when it is physiologically time to stop eating.

What gets in the way of having this freedom? Quite a bit actually – and this is one of the reasons we recommend the assistance of a professional. We are often not able to tell when we are full for various reasons, which range from physical to emotional to mental to spiritual.

For instance, on an emotional and spiritual level, if we have a hard time saying "no" in life, many of us may also find it difficult to say "no" to food when our bodies have had enough. And so, when we are not able to say "No, I won't be able to stay late tonight" or "No, I can't help you with that now, I've scheduled some time for myself," we become depleted. And in this depleted state, as we search for rest and replenishment, a deep "hungering" may arise as an understandable consequence.

It is easy to confuse this hungering for physical hunger. But because food is not what we are actually hungry for, it is also understandable that, in our efforts to care for ourselves by eating, no amount of food will be enough. And so, of course, we will not feel "full."

Therefore, the work of detecting and responding to physical hunger or fullness must include tuning in to our unmet needs on an emotional and spiritual level and tending to these needs with strong boundaries and mutually respectful "no's" to others and "yes's" to ourselves. When we are able to avoid depletion by saying "no" in life, it becomes much easier to say: "No thank you, I am satisfied with a "just right" feeling of fullness."

Stay Attuned Tip

Look in the mirror and repeat several times a day until you can say it with complete seriousness: "No, I can't do that; I've scheduled that day to do nothing."

Stay Attuned Affirmation

"I set respectful boundaries and confidently connect with my hunger and fullness."

What's New at Nourishing Connections

Do you feel squeezed by the pressures of others' demands? Do you have a hard time taking care of yourself when others need your time and attention? Then check out our Reducing the Squid-Factor In Your Life handout for some helpful hints.

Also, check out a great slide show, BMI: Freaking Out About Nothing.

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 dr.k@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 2007. 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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