#mindfuleating

Paige Smathers

Sep 30, 2019

When You're Eating, Eat

You know what makes us uncomfortable? Just doing one thing at a time. This is a very normal human thing. Our lives are busy and there are many demands on our time. It makes sense that we try to maximize our ability to get things done by multitasking. I definitely fall into this trap myself and I can find myself feeling a bit uncomfortable noticing that it is extremely difficult to just do one thing at a time. As I notice that discomfort come up for me, I practice some curiosi

Paige Smathers

Aug 19, 2019

Does this Ever Get Easier?

"Whoa, this sounds like a lot of work! You're really saying you watch your thoughts and practice mindfulness, self-compassion with your food choices? That seems like it would take a lot of time! Will it ever get easier?" If I had a nickel for every time I was asked that question... Look, I get it. Diets have made us believe that we should have instant 'results'. Diets have brainwashed us into thinking that if it isn't easy, we need to move on to the next quick fix empty promi

152: What Does it Look Like When Things are Going Well with Nutrition and Body Image?

Paige Smathers

Jun 24, 2019

152: What Does it Look Like When Things are Going Well with Nutrition and Body Image?

This podcast outlines ways to identify when things are going well with your relationship with food. It's understandable that we spend significant amounts of time talking about where things go wrong and what to do about it, but I think it's also useful to look at food, nutrition, and body image from the perspective of what's going right. In other words, how can we see progress? What are the skills, habits, and behaviors of those who are in a positive, happy place with food? I

151: The Distinction Between Mindfulness and Intuitive Eating

Paige Smathers

Jun 10, 2019

151: The Distinction Between Mindfulness and Intuitive Eating

This week on the podcast, I'm sharing an episode where I was a guest discussing mindfulness, intuitive eating, self-compassion and more: some of my all-time favorite concepts! We discuss how mindfulness fits into intuitive eating and vice versa. If you've ever wondered what "mindful eating" actually means, this one is for you! Links mentioned: Rachel Goodman's new podcast: The Kosher Intuitive Eater June's webinar: The Positive Nutrition® Approach to Meal Planning Subscribe t

Paige Smathers

Jan 28, 2019

It Doesn't Really Matter What You Eat

It doesn't really matter what you eat. Does that sound crazy? It probably does, and it probably sounds even stranger coming from a registered dietitian. I care about healthy eating. I care about providing nourishing foods to my family and myself. I care about working with others to make improvements with their nutrition. This is a huge part of my life so of course it's important to me! But, you can have too much of a good thing. You can die from drinking too much water, and y

Paige Smathers

Sep 17, 2018

What is Normal Eating?

Everyone seems to have an opinion about what you should be eating, how you should eat it, and when. The lure of diets can be intoxicating—promising quick, easy, and drastic results. Everywhere you turn, there’s a new blog post, article, research study, or casual conversation with a friend that revolves around weight and food. The intention of many of these articles and conversations is good—many people have made it their life’s goal to help educate and inspire people to make

116: Letting Go of the Shoulds with Food

Paige Smathers

May 23, 2018

116: Letting Go of the Shoulds with Food

In this episode, Jenn Hand—food and eating coach—and I talk about food rules and their sneaky tendency to create perfectionistic thinking and chaos with food. We dive deep into the practical ways you can let go of rules and "shoulds" with food and instead find ways to feed yourself in ways that are both satisfying and nourishing. We talk about the importance of awareness of your true intentions as you begin this process. We outline some things you can do today to start moving

Paige Smathers

Apr 10, 2018

Mindful Eating Workshop Recap

Well, we did it! We pulled off our first even in-person workshop and it was a huge success. Noah Rasheta, host of Secular Buddhism Podcast as well as author of a brand new book, and I hosted an all-day Mindful Eating Workshop in Salt Lake City for 34 attendees on April 7, 2018. We started the day off with Kodiak Cakes who sponsored our pancake and fruit breakfast. Each attendee got a cute reusable Positive Nutrition™ grocery bag, a workbook to write and reflect in during the

Paige Smathers

Feb 1, 2018

100: What is Mindful Eating?

What exactly is mindful eating? We throw the term around regularly but don't always dive into the nitty gritty details of where the practice of mindfulness came from. This podcast was originally recorded for Noah Rasheta's Secular Buddhism Podcast and is being republished here when Paige was a guest on Noah's show. Listen in to learn more about the practice of mindfulness and how the ideas in mindfulness intersect with ideas of intuitive eating and body positivity. Links ment

What I Mean When I Use the Word "Balance"

Paige Smathers

Sep 28, 2017

What I Mean When I Use the Word "Balance"

When you hear the recommendation to incorporate “balance” with food and nutrition what comes to mind? Maybe you picture a plate with some veggies, a starch and a protein or maybe you visualize some ideal proportion of the major food groups throughout the day. While those conceptions of balance are useful and true to a sense, there’s much more to the concept of balance with nutrition than the principles of nutrition science alone. There’s also the art of how to put these thing

Paige Smathers

Aug 30, 2017

78: Exploring the Benefits of Yoga

Krystal Thompson is a Professional Yoga Therapist and Intersectional Body Positivity Activist. Krystal’s work focuses on helping people be in good relationship with their body, while recognizing that there are systems of oppression working to undermine feelings of self-love and worthiness. Her work rests on the belief that all humans are worthy of love and respect. As we do the work to feel better about ourselves and to better love and respect ourselves, we are able to offer

Paige Smathers

Jun 28, 2017

When Emotional Eating is A-Okay

Emotional eating gets vilified a lot. We often spend so much time worrying about what goes into our mouths at the expense of worrying about what we allow to take up space and energy in our minds. How we talk to ourselves about ourselves in our own head and having a positive relationship with food are important facets of health that sometimes get overlooked. When pursuing a better connection to our bodies through intuitive eating and gentle nutrition, we can feel anxious about

Paige Smathers

Jun 12, 2017

68: The Art of Mindfulness

There has been a lot of excitement around the idea of mindful eating (and mindfulness in general) over the last few years. With all the chatter about this important approach to life/eating, I thought I'd invite an expert to come on the podcast to talk about the art of mindfulness. Noah Rasheta is the host of the Secular Buddhism Podcast. He has completed formal training for lay ministry in buddhism. He focuses his podcast around the quote from the Dalai Lama who said: "Do not

Paige Smathers

Jan 18, 2017

There's Power in DOING

The other day, I sat in a room full of women talking about their vulnerabilities and struggles with body image. As one wise woman shared her story of learning to love herself, she said, "There's power in doing. DOING is how we learn." I thought about this for days afterward; those words hit me hard. The most profound moments of learning in my life have always been when I go out and use my body to DO something difficult, meaningful, helpful or scary. For me, the most profound

52: How to Recognize & Combat Diet Culture

Paige Smathers

Dec 8, 2016

52: How to Recognize & Combat Diet Culture

In this episode, I talk with dietetic intern and RD-to-be, Kate Bennett, about her own personal story with recovery from an eating disorder as well as some of the tricky ways dieting and the culture surrounding it creep into our lives. We provide practical ideas for how to kindly but assertively deal with people in our lives who are not on board with the non-dieting approach (yet!). Links mentioned in this episode: Kate’s blog Positive Nutrition online course coming soon! Joi

Paige Smathers

Oct 19, 2016

Why You Should Own What You Eat

There’s power in owning what you eat. In my opinion, there are two types of eaters in this regard: those who own what they eat and those who have great intentions yet continually fall short and as a result, live in a state of denial about what they do and do not eat. Let me help you understand what I mean. A person who doesn’t own what they eat often makes large, sweeping claims such as: “Oh I don’t eat sugar” or: “I never eat sweets”. If you pay attention, many times this ve

Top 6 Myths of Intuitive Eating Debunked

Paige Smathers

Aug 17, 2016

Top 6 Myths of Intuitive Eating Debunked

If you’ve ever experienced the yo-yo effect diets have emotionally and physically, you might have looked into an idea called intuitive eating. There’s a book, a website, trainings for health professionals, and many online communities all revolving around this approach to nutrition and health. At the core of this philosophy is making peace with food by ditching dieting and honoring your body’s innate ability to regulate hunger and fullness. Intuitive eating can change lives —

37: Ways to Work Through Problematic Self-Talk

Paige Smathers

Jul 2, 2016

37: Ways to Work Through Problematic Self-Talk

Episode 8 in the Body Image Series on NMP is all about how to develop positive self-talk. So often, one negative thought leads to a cascade of choices and thoughts that lead us to a place of despair, discouragement and shame. Christy Maloney, RDN, LDN, CPT is a registered dietitian who works with people who are in recovery from an eating disorder and has tons of experience helping people work through negative self-talk. In this episode, 5 filters mental filters are discussed