Ditch Fad Diets: Become a Conscious and Intentional Eater in Midlife

Have you ever finished a meal so quickly that you don’t remember the taste or consumed popcorn while watching a movie, and suddenly the bowl is empty? Most midlife women can relate to mindless eating at some point. 

Your emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and environment influence what and how much you eat.   Add to the fact that the extreme diet culture penetrating society today (positively or negatively) influences your food beliefs, and how you comply with those beliefs may impact how you feel about yourself.

Whether it’s vegan, paleo, keto, Whole 30, flexitarian, or even “nondiet” diet beliefs, the ideology of ONE WAY of eating versus another can leave you feeling in control one day and frustrated the next, or on the “team” today and kicked out of the club tomorrow. Diet culture promotes the idea that there is one right way to eat, and you must follow strict food rules to be a part of the team. 

It’s time to be done with diets and restrictive thinking! Over our 50-plus years, we have not seen friends or family sustain weight loss or positive health outcomes by complying with one particular fad diet over another. Plus, diets foster a loss of joy in eating and rigid black-and-white thinking around food. We wrote about it here. Yet, we continue to witness new fad diets hit the landscape every year, and the divisive culture followers promote is not helping anyone improve their health and flourish. 

You’ve told us midlife weight gain is one of your biggest challenges, yet you don’t want to jump on another fad plan only to be disappointed again. So what do you do? 

Start with conscious, intentional eating to develop an awareness of the relationship between what and how much you eat and your body, feelings, mind, and interconnectedness. 

It’s assumed we only eat in response to hunger, which we all know isn’t accurate. Our social (who we surround ourselves with) and physical environment (food accessibility, price, and portion size) influence our behaviors including what and how much we eat. 

That’s why developing mindful or intuitive eating principles can help you ditch diets, control how much you eat, and find joy in food, traditions, and culture again.  

Mindful eating refers to being fully present and paying attention to the food you eat, the experience, and your environment with minimal distractions. Jon Kabat- Zinn is considered the founder of mindfulness, which includes mindful eating. Mindful eating (i.e., paying attention to our food on purpose, moment by moment, without judgment) is an approach to food where you focus on the taste, smell, sound, and feelings of what you’re eating when you’re eating it. 

It sounds like common sense, but our lives are full of distractions (television, computers, phones, etc.), which we often use when we’re eating and these distractions can cause us to eat too fast, too much, and without pleasure. 

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is a philosophy and lifestyle behavior, not a trademarked diet program or strictly defined principles. Common practices include:

• Eliminate eating distractions, such as the TV, phone, or computer.

• Eat while sitting down versus standing in the kitchen.

• Be curious about where your food comes from, who made it, and how it was prepared.

• Be grateful and offer thanks before meals. 

• Take small bites, chew intentionally, and slow down when you eat.

• Savor the food's smell, taste, and texture. Engage all your senses.

• Pay close attention to how hungry or full your body feels. What cues is it giving you to start, slow down, or stop eating?

• Eat without judgment such as thinking about a particular food being good or bad. When black and white thinking persists, acknowledge your feelings.

• Notice internal and external cues that affect how much you eat. 

• Acknowledge how you feel after a meal or snack.

Mindfulness is intended to cultivate a nonreactive attitude to your feelings towards food and eating, which can help break cycles of over and under-eating. Our eating culture doesn’t promote these principles, so being conscious, intentional, and mindful can help you slow down, eat less, appreciate healthful foods that nourish your body, and find joy in food again. 

Intuitive Eating

Intuitive eating, on the other hand, is a specific philosophy aiming to free people from the confines of damaging beliefs around food (and often themselves), with the goal of establishing judgment-free eating.  Developed by registered dietitians Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole, intuitive eating involves ten core principles which include:

• Reject the diet mentality

• Honor your hunger

• Make peace with food

• Challenge the food police

• Discover the satiation factor

• Feel your fullness

• Cope with your emotions with kindness

• Respect your body

• Movement—feel the difference

• Honor your health—gentle nutrition

Intuitive eating is a pattern of eating that focuses on positive psychological and physical well-being first. The focus is to reconnect with your inner hunger and fullness cues, understand external influences such as mood, social, and food availability, disconnect from strict dieting food rules and unrealistic expectations, and love your body regardless of size or shape. There are no good or bad foods, just food. 

You’ll notice neither of these approaches focuses on the health of the food first. They both promote paying attention to physiological signs of hunger and fullness to control eating, how your body feels, enjoying your food, and eating without judgment. It is easier said than done, so we strongly recommend checking out the resources below if you’re struggling with eating mindfully or intuitively.  We believe it’s hard to focus on what to eat to live well and flourish unless you can first eat in a way that brings you joy, fills you up, and frees you from the black-and-white diet culture. 

Midlife Zest

However, we do believe in choosing foods and beverages that optimize your health and eating them in a way that maximizes your well-being. What eating pattern do we recommend?

Our recommendations vary based on you, your history, and your goals. Eating to maximize your health when you’re in a state of good health is different than eating when you’re in a state of sickness or dis-ease, and your goal is to restore health; therefore, our recommendations change accordingly.

Recommended Resources:

Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, FAND

The Intuitive Eating Workbook by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, FAND

Mindful Eating: A Guide For Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food by Jan Chozen Bays, MD

The Body is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

Can protein help women age well?

Eating adequate protein plays an essential role in preserving skeletal muscle as women age.

It’s impossible to move through your day without seeing a headline about what you should eat for good health. In your lifetime, you’ve most likely witnessed the popularity of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, or protein) rise and fall. Most of us are old enough to remember the nonfat obsession of the early 90s. Today protein is all the rage, but does it have a role in aging well through menopause and beyond?

Eating protein is essential to good health. As you age, it helps maintain healthy muscles and physical functioning. Compared to carbohydrates and fats, protein also takes the longest amount of time (and energy) for the body to digest and absorb, so it has a significant role in helping you stay full longer after a meal.

A growing body of research suggests that loss of skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia) and strength along with fat accumulation in muscle tissue begins in your 40s. Decreasing estrogen plays a part in the process, but so does the increase of sedentary time (e.g., sitting too much) and decline of physical activity. The combination over time decreases muscle strength and power by two to three percent a year. The progression can lead to increased risk of falls, metabolic dysfunction, heart and respiratory disease, early mortality, and decreased quality of life.1

The good news is you can prevent this decline by eating high-quality protein throughout the day and exercising (prioritizing, strength, or resistance training). You can read more about the keys to getting fit after 50 and how to sit less and move more in previous blog posts. Today we’re focusing on protein as part of a nourishing eating pattern for aging well after menopause.

Why do you need protein? 

Eating adequate protein plays a role in making and preserving skeletal muscle before, during, and after menopause. Protein distribution at meals and quality have also been reviewed recently in the literature.

The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is .8 grams per kilogram (1 kg = 2.2 pounds) of body weight. The RDA is the amount of protein healthy adults need each day to prevent deficiencies. However, there has been criticism that these recommendations may not be optimal for older adults who may need additional protein to sustain muscle mass and functionality.

Experts suggest that the current protein recommendations don’t account for research showing that while older people can make as much muscle as younger individuals, they require more protein to achieve the same effect. 

How much protein do you need after menopause?

Your personal protein goals will vary based on your age, activity level, and goals. Working with a registered dietitian is the best approach for determining exactly how much protein you need each day.

However, several expert groups have advocated for 1.0 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for healthy adults and >1.2 grams of protein per kilogram per day for older adults with acute or chronic illnesses. For example, a healthy 150-pound woman would need 68 to 82 grams of protein a day.

Is there an optimal way to consume protein?

Our skeletal muscles are in a constant state of growth and repair, so it’s essential to understand how to feed them most effectively. Studies have looked at whether it is better to consume protein throughout the day or at a single meal and suggest an even distribution throughout the day helps maximize muscle-making.

Aim for 20-25 grams of protein at each meal and pair 5 to 10 grams of protein with a fruit, vegetable, or fat as a snack.

Does protein quality matter?

As women age, the protein quality may be more critical than when younger. Protein quality impacts digestion, absorption, amino acid composition (e.g., essential amino acids that our bodies don’t make), muscle growth, and muscle repair. 

Animal and plant foods provide protein, but meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and seafood supply all the amino acids that the body cannot produce. Gram for gram, animal proteins are better for stimulating muscle growth than plant proteins, but both can help you reach your protein goals. Plus, plant foods are packed with nutrition, like fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals beneficial for aging, without the cholesterol and saturated fats found in animal products.

Leucine, a branched-chain amino acid required to grow and repair muscle, skin, and bone, may be vital in preventing age-related sarcopenia. Plant foods tend to be lower in leucine than foods rich in animal proteins. Short-term studies have evaluated higher doses of leucine at meals with lower total protein content and seen beneficial effects on muscle growth. Therefore, try to incorporate foods like chicken, steak, pork chops, tuna, tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, lentils, navy beans, milk, yogurt, nuts, seeds, and eggs into your daily eating pattern. 

Can protein powders help you reach your protein goals?

Although we do recommend eating whole foods to meet your protein needs, there are times when protein powders can help supplement your protein goals. There are many choices on the market. 

Whey protein (from dairy) is one of the most commonly used proteins, contains all the essential amino acids, and is easily digested. Collagen is popular on the market today, but it doesn’t include all the essential amino acids. Research is still inconclusive regarding health benefits, so if you’re reaching for a supplement, you’re better off choosing an alternative to meet your protein requirements. 

Many plant-based protein powders are incomplete protein sources (lacking all essential amino acids), so you may find plant-based powders contain a mixture of plant protein sources. Plant-based options include soy, brown rice, pea, or hemp. The bottom line is to choose a protein powder you like with the least amount of additional additives. 

In summary

Eating adequate amounts of high-quality protein throughout the day, doing resistance or strength exercises at least twice a week, and reducing sedentary time are all vital for maintaining muscle mass and strength as you age.

No matter your age now is the time to assess your intake, review the quality, and look at how you distribute protein in your meals and snacks. Aging well may require tweaks to what you eat and your exercise routine to ensure you live the quality of life you desire in your later years.

Resources: 

1. McKendry J, Currier BS, Lim C, Mcleod JC, Thomas ACQ, Phillips SM. Nutritional Supplements to Support Resistance Exercise in Countering the Sarcopenia of Aging. Nutrients. 2020 Jul 10;12(7):2057. DOI: 10.3390/nu12072057. Erratum in: Nutrients. 2021 Mar 23;13(3): PMID: 32664408; PMCID: PMC7399875.

2. Roger PS, Zanella R Jr, Martins GL, et al. Strategies to Prevent sarcopenia in the Aging Process: Role of Protein Intake and Exercise. Nutrients. 2021;14(1):52. Published 2021 Dec 23. doi:10.3390/nu14010052

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables: It’s Not as Difficult as You Think

You know fruits and vegetables are essential for good health and longevity. You've heard this message since you were a youngster and adults encouraged you to eat your green beans. 

Yet only one in 10 adults eat the minimum 5-A-Day recommended amounts of fruits (1.5 to 2 cups) and vegetables (2 to 3 cups) on any given day. 

Eating a diet abundant in plants can help reduce the risk of many leading causes of illnesses and deaths, like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. 

No matter what eating pattern you follow—keto, paleo, vegan, Mediterranean, or plant-forward—fruits and vegetables are at the foundation of the recommendations. Eating more produce is a great place to start when trying to improve your eating habits for aging well. 

Consider what you ate yesterday. How many servings of fruits and vegetables did you eat? For most of us, we could eat more. The 5-A-Day recommendation for good health is a baseline. Research continues to suggest that eating additional servings is even better for health. 

We realize this may be old news for some, but living well and flourishing after 50 requires going back to the basics, assessing where we're at, and modifying our lifestyles to align with the recommendations for healthful eating. This is especially important as our nutrition needs change as we age.

Behavior change can be hard, especially when it comes to what we eat. We understand. We live the challenges too. Eating patterns become habits. Habits can be difficult to recognize and modify. And, even if we make changes, we often find ourselves slipping back into our old ways. 

Instead of focusing on the statistics of why you should increase fruits and vegetables in your diet, let’s focus on how to do it so you can create healthier habits for good.  

Because no matter where you're at on your fruit and vegetable consumption journey, it's not too late to look for ways to add more servings into your day to reap health and well-being benefits. 

Let's get started. 

First, assess what is getting in your way of eating more fruits and vegetables.

It's difficult to make sustained changes without identifying what is actually getting in your way. Think about what is stopping you from eating fruits and vegetables. For many people, it's the taste. Growing up, you may have been served overcooked or canned vegetables that tasted bland. Or maybe you have a habit of reaching for convenience foods for meals and snacks. Depending on your climate or location, you may even lack access to fresh produce. Whatever your barriers, write them down. Think deeply about how they impact your food choices on a day-to-day basis. The good news is that it is always easier to add something health-promoting to your lifestyle than it is to take something away. 

Next, set a goal. 

Start small and be realistic. Trying to make too big of a change at one time can set you up to fail. If you're eating three servings of fruits and vegetables a day right now, can you add one more serving every day this week? If you're doing well on eating enough fruit but not veggies, set a goal to substitute a veggie for a snack each day. Write your plan down and post it somewhere you can see it every day. Use your goal to make a plan for the week. For example, you may have to modify your grocery list or adjust your weekly meal plan. 

Be adventurous.

Take a look at your plate. Are you eating a variety of fruits and vegetables every day or unintentionally limiting yourself to just a few? Different fruits and vegetables deliver specific nutrients and therefore promote various health benefits. Aim to choose a variety of dark leafy greens, red and orange veggies, cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or cabbage), berries, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and garlic daily.

If you're looking for additional ideas for adding fruits and vegetables to your day, join us for Rumblings' Fruit & Veggie Challenge. Together we're committing to increasing our intake, enhancing the variety of choices we make every day, being more adventurous in trying new types of fruits and vegetables, experimenting in how we prepare them, and supporting each other along the way. You can download tips to get started and follow Rumblings Media on Facebook and Instagram to be inspired. 

Track your progress.

Writing down your goals and progress helps you focus on overcoming your barriers, prioritize your intentions, stay motivated, and celebrate your successes. Putting specific goals in writing and then visualizing successfully achieving them is associated with a greater likelihood of reaching them. Plus, it helps you be consistent, stay on track, and recognize your progress. Writing down your goals and checking your progress is worth the effort. 

Be aware of how you feel.

It's essential to recognize how you feel when you eat more fruits and vegetables and how you feel when achieving your daily goals. Recognizing positive progress impacts your confidence in your ability to make a lasting change. How we feel often dictates what we do more than knowing something is healthy for us, so make sure you're intentionally focusing on how you feel. Write down how you feel physically from eating healthfully, and how you feel about achieving your goals and making progress. 

See yourself as a role model. 

It's not what we say, but most often what we do that influences the behaviors of others. Think of yourself as a plant-eating role model to your kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids, neighbors, girlfriends, or partner. Not only will this positively influence others' behaviors, but it will also make it easier for you to be consistent and sustain your fruit and vegetable eating patterns. For example, talking about the great taste of vegetables helps you motivate others to give them a try.

Believe in yourself!

Self-efficacy is your belief or confidence in your ability to succeed in a particular situation. It plays a role in how you feel about yourself and how you think and act. Believing in yourself will help you achieve your goals. Believe that you have the knowledge, skills, motivation, and willpower to overcome your barriers, be consistent, and sustain your new fruit and vegetable eating behaviors for the long term. Tracking your progress can provide an external motivator until you have established a solid internal sense of self-efficacy of changing your behaviors.

Celebrate your success. 

Changing behaviors is challenging, especially when adding additional fruits and vegetables to your eating plan. When you reach your goals, celebrate! Tell others about your achievements. You did the hard work and deserve the accolades. Your success will motivate others to join you in your new healthy habits!

Living well as you age will take work. It's worth it. Commit to eating more fruits and vegetables to flourish after 50. 

Join us in celebrating National Nutrition Month as we challenge ourselves to eat more fruits and vegetables, support one another, and get healthier as a community. Download our free Fruit & Veggie Challenge Tips and follow Rumblings Media on Facebook and Instagram for support, sharing successes, and discussing challenges. 

Together we RUMBLE! 

Is your favorite chocolate the best choice for your health? Find out 4 ways to check.

The media would have you believe that eating a superfood—like chocolate— will ensure you live a long healthy life. 

Sounds good, but unfortunately, when consumed as part of an eating pattern containing mostly processed or ultra-processed foods, no food has superpowers. 

So-called superfoods are nutrient-dense choices (a good thing) that should be consumed regularly as part of an overall healthful eating pattern. 

Dark chocolate is often on the “superfood” list. We love that! 

But, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation surrounding the health benefits, type, and how to choose chocolate that’s better for you. 

The Cacao Bean

Chocolate is produced from the cacao bean and goes through steps of fermentation, drying, roasting, nib grinding, refining, conching, and tempering to make the cocoa, chips, chunks, and bars you find in the grocery stores. Many brands are available, but not all offer the same benefits. 

The Benefits of Chocolate

Chocolate is rich in polyphenols—plant micronutrients packed with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and other potential health benefits. Studies suggest that chocolate's polyphenols, such as flavonoids, contribute to improved blood pressure, blood lipid levels, heart disease risk, cognition, and potentially skin health. However, a recent literature review on healthy adults and the effects of chocolate intake only supported a positive association between consumption and improved lipid levels (triglycerides).  

No matter the extent of the health benefits, the reality is most everyone loves chocolate! 

As with any food, when choosing what to buy or eat, you should select foods with the highest nutritional value.

How to Choose the Healthiest Chocolate

The polyphenol content of chocolate varies based on raw ingredients and types of processing.  There are general rules to remember to ensure you get the best health benefits when eating chocolate.

1. Choose dark chocolate with a minimum of 70% cocoa content. Dark chocolate can be 50-90% cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar. The higher percentage of cocoa indicates a higher concentration of polyphenols than chocolate with a lower cocoa percentage. It is also a clue that there is less sugar in the bar. The higher the cocoa content, the better! In comparison, milk and white chocolate are only required to contain 10% and 20% cocoa, respectively, so it’s best to avoid or limit them as they’re mostly sugar and have little nutrition. 

2. Check the ingredient list. Good quality chocolate contains only cocoa solids/powder, cocoa butter, and sugar/sweetener. Ensure sugar or other sweetener is not listed first on the ingredients list. Skip chocolate with added butterfat, milk, trans fat, vegetable oils, artificial flavors or colors, and emulsifiers (e.g., lecithin).

3. Ensure your chocolate has not been Dutch or alkali processed by checking the ingredient list. Meant to give the chocolate a smoother mouthfeel and less bitter taste, it degrades the health benefits of cocoa. 

4. Choose Fair-Trade and organic chocolate whenever possible. Fair-Trade will ensure the cacao bean farmer earns a fair price for the product. Choosing organic chocolate will reduce exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and other artificial chemicals while ensuring a high phenol content. 

Enjoy Dark Chocolate in Moderation

Studies suggest adults may experience health benefits from eating one or two squares of dark chocolate daily. Chocolate is primarily fat, sugar, and calorie-dense, so moderation is critical for good health. Limit your serving size to 1-2 ounces (30-50 grams) daily. 

The foods you eat can significantly impact your feelings, overall health, and quality of life as you age. 

Learning to choose foods that are nutrient-dense and delicious is vital. The more you enjoy healthful foods, the more you’re likely to reach for them again. 

Rest assured, a square of decadent dark chocolate can be a part of your healthy aging-well eating plan. 

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