You are what you digest.
Active Gut Therapy
  • Welcome
  • True Nourishment Blog
  • Recipes
  • About
    • Media
    • Testimonials
  • Work With Me
  • For Health Professionals
  • Contact

Nourishment for your email:

SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER ON MY NEW WEBSITE AND STAY CONNECTED BELOW.

SUBSCRIBE

Eat Whatever You Want This Thanksgiving!

11/24/2015

0 Comments

 
I'm sure you're seeing a lot of articles right now on how to eat less during the holiday season, what to fill your plate with to keep the pounds off, how to stay away from certain foods this Thanksgiving. I'm here to offer a very different piece of advice. Eat! Eat with pleasure! Eat everything and anything you want. Eat that pie. Eat the cake. Eat all the foods you have maybe been waiting to eat for an entire year.

When we restrict our food or tell ourselves that we can's have that piece of food that we want so badly we trigger a stress response in our body. Eating in a stress response shuts down our digestion and makes it more difficult for our body to assimilate and digest the food we are trying to eat. So you could be eating the healthiest foods on the planet this holiday season but if you are eating it in a stress response because what you really want is the gravy or the mashed potatoes or that piece of pumpkin pie then you actually won't be nourishing your body in the most optimal way which is probably your intention to begin with.

Now I'm sure some thoughts can perhaps arise of, "But if I eat that food I'm never ever going to stop eating!" When you hear these thoughts, I want you to slow down, close your eyes, and take three deep breaths, and invite in trust. Trust your body. Trust yourself that when you tune in to your body and what it is truly wanting to be fed that your desire for the food will diminish. A tidal wave does not keep getting bigger and bigger. Eventually all waves die down. So you can eat that piece of pie and then notice. Notice how it feels in your body. Notice the desire to eat another piece of pie and explore what would eating another piece give you? Explore the voice that wants more and more and see what it has to say, what does it have to teach you, if it had an age how old would that voice be? The more we deeply listen, the more those internal voices can soften because we are allowing them the space to be heard and acknowledged and seen and we get to embrace our human experience exactly the way that it is. You can invite all your emotions to the table. Invite in the fear, the excitement, the anxiety, and give them all a big hug for a being a grand messenger to remind you to be gentle with yourself.

Every eating experience we have is just an opportunity to learn more about ourselves. So instead of bringing in even more control over this holiday season, allow yourself to relax into the moment, and put whatever foods you want to eat on your plate. Fully enjoy them. Notice the tastes, the textures, notice what you love about that food, be fed by your surroundings and being around people you love or even just appreciate your own presence in the moment. When we eat in this way we bring our body into a relaxation response where the body can function optimally and digest any kind of food that you choose to nourish your body with.

I'm wishing you a holiday season filled with self compassion, acceptance, and kindness toward yourself no matter what you eat. I hope your plate is filled with pleasure, joy, and love!
0 Comments

Own It To Release It

8/21/2015

2 Comments

 
I know it has been awhile since I last wrote something. Let's just say I have been traveling in the depths of my own soul as I entered my last year in my 20's. It took me awhile to be able to first acknowledge that a lot of emotions and questions were coming up for me. Instead of honoring and embracing where I was at, I was pushing it all away. And of course in me pushing it all away, everything that wanted to arise to be explored pushed right back. And so this push pull went on for awhile until of course the emotions won (as they always do) and I began to explore and question how do I want to spend my precious time here on Earth and what am I looking forward to going into my 30's. My body began to relax into the uncertainty of it all.

Whenever we push away our feelings, that usually intensifies the feeling. We may think that pushing something away means it will just leave and never come back. In not honoring how we feel, in not embracing our human experience as messy as it can be, that is when food comes in, addictions come in, digestive issues worsen, and stress increases. We have to own our emotions, own our situations, own our body just as it is to be able to love where we are at now, bringing our body into a relaxation response, to set up an internal atmosphere of relaxation for deeper healing to occur.

Is there anything in your life right now that you are pushing away? Are you having a hard time slowing down and listening to the deeper message within your symptoms? As difficult as it may feel, trust that your symptoms, your emotions, your weight, your relationship with food is all there for a beautiful reason and is perfect just as it is right now. It is all there to be the greatest teacher for you to cultivate the most beautiful insights and wisdom.

So how do we do this? How do we begin to embrace what is? Here are two suggestions:

1. Whenever you hear old harsh internal voices arise or old patterns show back up, begin to breath and start to name what is unequivocally true around you. Usually our thoughts are going over things from the past or anticipating what is to come for the future. When we begin to name what is true around us, like the sky is really blue today, I am wearing jeans, the leaves on the tree outside my window or bright green, you can begin to come back to your body and the present moment and that in that very exact moment nothing bad is actually occurring and that you may even find you are having a pleasant moment.

2. Name the thought or feeling. We get to approach everything with childlike curiosity. So when a thought passes by like a cloud in the sky, you can just name the thought, "O look that old thought is popping up again. Thanks thought for showing up. I wonder where this thought is asking me to go and explore how I am feeling today." There is so much softness and loving kindness in just approaching a thought not as a fact but as a fabrication of our own mind that we can explore how it got created in the first place. The same thing can happen with feelings. When you feel anxious or stressed and want to begin to push it away, actually welcome it in. "O my dear old friend anxiety, how are you today? Thank you so much for being here." In embracing your human experience, it suddenly makes emotions not something that is dangerous but in actuality they are your friends.

These two tricks can facilitate coming into the present moment with so much love and compassion that whatever is going on or whatever you are experiencing is just a part of your beautiful journey. Embrace it. Invite it all in. Have dinner with it. Own it. And then watch it all shift and change and transform into something else that supports you in stepping into your life more honestly and authentically.
2 Comments

Setting Boundaries with Food Around the Holidays

11/5/2014

0 Comments

 
I used to always be a yes girl. I said yes to everything. Yes I will hang out, yes I will take on 4 jobs, yes I will eat that cookie, o you made me a brownie for my birthday-yes I will eat that. I took me a long time to learn that a healthy no is not only important it is crucial for your own health and vibrancy.

Of course it wasn't until my body was in pain that I was forced to learn how to say no. No I will not eat that dairy, it is not worth the pain. No I will not eat that sugar, it is not worth the emotional upheaval. It can be especially hard to say a healthy no around the holidays when there is constantly candy, treats, and people bringing in food to work. The treats are everywhere and they are screaming for you to say yes to eating them.

So here are a couple things to keep in mind on how to create healthy boundaries for yourself and stay embodied and grounded this holiday season.

1.  Just say NO. Your grandma is going to ask you to try the brownies she made especially for you, your co-workers are going to bring in pies to celebrate, your partner may bring you chocolates. Sugar, sugar, sugar will leave your head spinning and more susceptible to inflammation and sickness this winter. What is the common theme here? It is all acts of love. Everyone around is just trying to spread the love and they are doing that through food. You can thank them for the offer and just say no thanks. They may continue to try and get you to eat the food that you know inside doesn't feel good in your body and you may have to say no thanks again. Sometimes when setting boundaries you'll have to sound like a broken record because others around you may not be used to you saying NO. Then you'll get to choose other things to eat that feel good in your body and let you stay focused on other things in the moment besides food.

2. Be fed by the moment. Like I mentioned above, cooking and feeding others is an act of love. We can thank others for the love they are offering and not have to eat all the food in front of us. We can be fed and nourished by the environment, the people, the smells, the laughter.  Instead of focusing on all the foods you are trying to avoid or worried about overeating or feeling guilty about perhaps all that you have already eaten, come back to the present moment and be nourished by all that is around you. Come back to the feeling of gratefulness. When we are fed emotionally by the moment, the act of eating becomes less important because we can feel so filled up by love.

3. It is not really about you. If you find yourself in a moment where others are trying to force food on you just remember it is not really about you. Others may feel insecure about what they made and they may want to make sure it tastes good. Or someone offering you more food when you are already full may feel self conscious about eating so much so they are trying to perhaps make themselves not feel so guilty and that others are eating a lot too. When you say no you are also setting an example for others that they can say no too. Eating pounds and pounds of food can be easy around the holidays as it becomes a mindless act. When you bring mindfulness into the meal and respect your body you allow others to do the same. So when you say no, you are just respecting yourself and if others feel bad you have done nothing wrong.

It can be difficult around the holidays to set boundaries but with practice saying no will become easier. The whole holiday season has so much more meaning than just what we cook and eat. It is about being with family, loved ones, cultivating gratefulness for what we have, and spreading the love. I wish you a happy holiday season and I am grateful for all of you!
0 Comments

5 Digestive Tips to the Rescue!

9/7/2014

2 Comments

 
Dealing with years of digestive pain, I definitely found tricks and tips of how to soothe an upset tummy. And while I am no longer in constant pain now, I find that when I want to feel adventurous or test out a food on my digestive tract, these tricks still come in handy.

So when you first feel a twinge of pain, ate too much, ate something you know your sensitive to but just couldn't resist (it happens!) here are some tricks you can try to bring your tummy back into balance.

1. Digestive Enzymes- I don't always suggest digestive enzymes as I have seen a lot of individuals dealing with digestive troubles begin to rely on them and get hooked on them. This leads the body to think that it doesn't have to work so hard producing digestive enzymes so getting off of them can be difficult if you're eating multiple at every meal. But, this handy supplement can support a troubled digestive tract for a short amount of time or an evening. When you find you have eaten a large amount of food or something just isn't sitting quite right, digestive enzymes can be an aid to boost your digestive power to break something down in your stomach that is having a hard time digesting.

2. Apple cider vinegar- ACV really just is a cure all for so many ailments. I have read so many articles recently on just how wonderful ACV truly is for our body. Often times, acid reflux or difficulties digesting a high protein meal can actually mean that you need more acid in your stomach to break down your food (not less, throw out those Tums!). Putting a 1 tsp-tbsp. of ACV diluted in a glass of water and sipping it before or after a meal can add some acid power to your stomach to help break down a meal and diminish any pain. You can even add a few drops of liquid stevia to it to make a refreshing drink. Yum!

3. Ginger- Ginger tea, ginger root, ginger capsules, ginger syrup. There are many ways to get your ginger in. Ginger stimulates the digestive system to produce more enzymes to facilitate digestion. It also helps stimulate more bile production, which can aid in making any digestive pain go away by increasing your ability to break down your food. When I travel abroad I take ginger capsules with me and they work fairly quickly in helping with a digestive woe. You can also make sure you have some ginger tea with you or if you're home break out some ginger root and start chewing. I would just suggest to stay away from ginger chews with the added sugar; the sugar takes away from the benefits of the ginger.

4. Deep breathing- Much of the time digestive pains can be due to trapped gas from possibly eating too fast. When I was going through the worst of my digestive troubles, you could often find me face down, lying on the carpet breathing into my belly. Deep belly breathing can begin to relax the muscles of your stomach switching your whole body into a relaxation response, which is what is needed to turn on digestion. When you're going through any kind of digestive upset, try to remember to breath through it. The added thoughts of "Ow, this hurts, I wish this would go away, why is this happening" causes the body to tighten even more which can in turn worsen the pain. Try lying on the ground, placing your hands on your belly, and just focusing on watching the rise and fall of your belly and feeling the support of the floor beneath you. This too shall pass.

5.  Activated Charcoal- Speaking of trapped gas....activated charcoal will be your little miracle worker. It will bind and absorb to any chemicals or gas or whatever it is that is upsetting your stomach thus diminishing the stress being put on your digestive tract and decreasing pain. Just make sure that if you're taking any medications to take this away from your medications as it will decrease the efficiency of your medications being absorbed as well. Its powerful stuff!

Just remember to add in some extra self love when you're going through any digestive pain. Loving yourself up through the process of learning what does and does not work for your body will help you to move forward from any digestive and eating experience with so much compassion and patience for your unique journey living in a body.

I would love to hear from you! What have you found has worked to help you when you're having a digestive upset?
2 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Stephanie Pollock Fox

    Here to discuss the many ways we can find nourishment.

    Archives

    April 2018
    March 2018
    October 2017
    May 2016
    March 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    February 2013
    July 2012
    January 2012
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    Accept
    Acceptance
    Activated Charcoal
    Addiction
    Advice
    Alive
    Aliveness
    Alone Time
    Answers
    Anxiety
    Apple Cider Vinegar
    Appreciate
    Assimilate
    Authentic
    Authenticity
    Awareness
    Bacteria
    Belief
    Belly Breathing
    Bhutan
    Big Meal
    Binge
    Binging
    Birthday
    Body
    Body Acceptance
    Body Image
    Body Listening
    Body Wisdom
    Boundaries
    Boundary
    Bowel Movement
    Boxed In
    Brain
    Breath
    Breathe
    Bristol Stool Chart
    Calm
    Centenarian
    Challenge
    Change
    Changing
    Changing The World
    Chew
    Chewing
    Childhood
    Chocolate
    Choice
    Choices
    Clarity
    Colon
    Comfort
    Comfort Zone
    Commit
    Commitment
    Compare
    Compare And Despair
    Compassion
    Connect
    Connected
    Connection
    Conscientious
    Consciousness
    Consume
    Control
    Conversation
    Cramps
    Craved
    Craving
    Cravings
    Curiosity
    Curves
    Dairy
    Dark
    Darkness
    Deep Breathing
    Define
    Depressed
    Depression
    Desire
    Despair
    Diet
    Dietary Theories
    Digest
    Digestion
    Digestive
    Digestive Enzymes
    Digestive Issues
    Digestive Pain
    Digestive Tips
    Digestive Tract
    Digest Life
    Digests
    Discomfort
    Divorce
    Dreaming
    Eat
    Eating
    Eating Disorder
    Eat Real Food
    Eclipse
    Ego
    Elimination
    Embodied
    Embody
    Embrace
    Emotional
    Emotional Eating
    Emotional Hunger
    Emotional Nourishment
    Emotions
    Empathy
    Empowerment
    Empty
    Endings
    Enjoy
    Enjoyment
    Environment
    Excitement
    Expectations
    Experience
    Explore
    Expression
    Facebook
    Family
    Fasting
    Fasts
    Fat
    Fear
    Feel
    Feelings
    Fermented
    Fill
    Flavors
    Flux
    Food
    Food Sensitivities
    Friends
    Fulfilled
    Full
    Fun
    Gassy
    Gentle
    Ginger
    Glass
    Graduate School
    Grateful
    Gratefulness
    Gratitude
    Grey Area
    Grief
    Growing
    Growing Up
    Growth
    Guilt
    Guilty
    Gut
    Gut Brain
    Gut Wisdom
    Halloween
    Happiness
    Happy
    Harsh Voice
    Head
    Heal
    Healing
    Health
    Healthy
    Heard
    Heart
    Highly Sensitive
    Holding On
    Hole
    Holidays
    Honest
    Honesty
    Honor
    Hope
    Html
    Humor
    Hunger
    IBS
    India
    Inner Child
    Inner Critic
    Inquiry
    Insecure
    Instincts
    Intense
    Intention
    Internal Chatter
    Internal Guidance
    Internal Thoughts
    Intuition
    Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    Jewish
    Journal
    Journey
    Joy
    Judge
    Judgment
    Judgmental
    Judiasm
    Kevita
    Kimchee
    Kind
    Kindness
    Knowing You
    Labels
    Laugh
    Laughter
    Learned
    Learning
    Lessons
    Let Go
    Letting Go
    Light
    Linkedin
    Listen
    Listening
    Love
    Loved
    Loving
    Loving Kindness
    Loving Yourself
    Meal
    Meal Time
    Meditation
    Mental Illness
    Messages
    Microbiome
    Microflora
    Mind
    Mind Body
    Mindful
    Mindfulness
    Money
    Monkey Mind
    Moods
    Moon
    Mother
    Mother's Day
    Mourning
    Muck
    Need
    Needs
    Nerves
    Neurotransmitters
    New
    New Year
    No Judgment
    Non Judgment
    Non-judgment
    Nourish
    Nourished
    Nourishing
    Nourishment
    Nutrients
    Nutrition
    Nutritional Counseling
    Open Up
    Overeating
    Own It
    Pain
    Pains
    Panic Attacks
    Parents
    Passion
    Past
    Patience
    Patient
    Pause
    Permission
    Perspective
    Physical Hunger
    Pleasure
    Poetry
    Poop
    Positivity
    Power
    Powerful
    Presence
    Present
    Present Moment
    Probiotic
    Probiotics
    Process
    Protect
    Protection
    Psychobiotics
    Public
    Publicize
    Punishment
    Questions
    Reach Out
    Relationship
    Relax
    Relaxation
    Resiliency
    Resilient
    Resolution
    Respect
    Restrict
    Right And Wrong
    Robin Williams
    Sad
    Sadness
    Satiate
    Satiation
    Sauerkraut
    Savor
    Scared
    Seen
    Self Acceptance
    Self Care
    Self Expression
    Self Love
    Self Respect
    Sensations
    Sensitive
    Sensitivity
    Sensual
    Shapes
    Showing Up
    Sizes
    Slam
    Slow
    Slow Down
    Sluggish
    Social Media
    Softness
    Soothe
    Soul
    Speak
    Stillness
    Stomach Acid
    Stool
    Strength
    Stress
    Stressed
    Struggle
    Success
    Sugar
    Support
    Surroundings
    Sweets
    Taj Mahal
    Taking A Break
    Talk
    Tears
    Thanksgiving
    Therapy
    Thoughts
    Tides
    Time
    Tired
    Transformation
    Transitions
    Travels
    Treats
    Trust
    Truth
    Twitter
    Uncertainty
    Unique
    Unique Body
    Universal Truth
    Upper Limits
    Urge
    Vegetables
    Voices
    Vulnerability
    Vulnerable
    Wall
    Water
    Weight
    Whole Foods
    Wisdom
    Wounds
    Yoga
    Youtube

    RSS Feed

My New Website