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

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

Cravings Are Meant To Be Heard

7/16/2014

0 Comments

 
This was my very first episode of Gut Guru. 

In this episode I talk about cravings and how they are meant to be heard, they are meant to be listened to, and they typically have a message for you.

How do you typically approach your cravings?  What do you find yourself craving on a regular basis?
0 Comments

What to do after a big meal

7/5/2014

0 Comments

 
Happy Day after July 4th!  You might have gone to a big BBQ yesterday, ate a lot of food, and now today feel perhaps sluggish, tired, bloated, and gassy.  Additionally, often times after a large meal there is a judgmental voice that pops up.  "Why did you do that?"  "You are such a failure for eating that much." "I have to restrict what I eat today to make up for yesterday." "I have to go to the gym today and work this all off." 

Do any of these sound familiar to you?  This list goes on in terms of what that voice can say, but it is a voice that is loud, mean, and not looking after your health and well being.

So here are a couple of steps you can take after eating a big meal:

1.  Focus on Emotional Nourishment

Being with friends and family nourishes us in a similar and different way than food.  We can get filled up by the experience of being around loved ones.  Chatting, catching up, funny stories, playing games, effect the way we digest our food.  When you are being emotionally nourished by the situation your body is in a relaxation response and your digestive tract can handle any input of food easier.  So as those voices pop up, redirect your thoughts toward how you were nourished by the situation.  Often big meals are eaten in the company of others.  Instead of focusing on how much you ate, reflect on how the people, the situation, the environment was ultimately very fulfilling.

2.  Be gentle with yourself

Think of the negative, harsh, internal voice that arises after a large meal as your inner child.  The more you ignore the fact they are whining, the louder they get.  Listen to what your inner child is saying, rub their back, and tell them everything is going to be alright.  The voices may still be there but you can acknowledge them and choose not to do anything about them.  This can be an opportunity to delve deeper into what the voices are really trying to say.  Is eating a large meal mean you deserve less love?  Is feeling overly full mean that people won't like you anymore?  Be super gentle with yourself after a large meal and think about what you can emotionally nourish yourself with throughout the day that doesn't have to do with restriction or self punishment.  Take a bath, take a walk, listen to some music, call a friend, do something that nourishes your soul.
  It is all about coming back to self love.

3.  Eat something fermented/take your probiotics

I of course had to add this in!  After a big meal, there might have been a lot of sweets, sugar, or carbs that were consumed.  By eating some kimchee, sauerkraut, taking a probiotic, drinking some Kevita, you will be flooding your gut with beneficial bacteria which will go to work to make sure those foods are not sitting in your stomach and fermenting.  Getting in the good bacteria after a big meal will help keep your mood up and aid your belly in digesting all the yummy food you just ate.  Additionally if you take your probiotic with a glass of water with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in it you will increase your stomach acid to also help break down the large meal.


And just remember every time we eat is an opportunity to learn more about ourselves.  Every meal is a chance to explore our relationship with food and others.  There is no judgment here.  Be curious like a child and explore the situation with fascination and inquiry.


0 Comments

Changing the concept of everything in moderation.

5/18/2014

0 Comments

 
I will be honest.  I don't eat sugar.  Ever.  I don't eat processed sugar, brown sugar, agave, honey, or maple syrup.  I rarely eat fruit and I will occasionally dabble with coconut sugar and stevia, but that is about it.  And this is what works for me and may not work for you.  Let me back up first and give some back story.

I loved sugar as a kid.  I loved cakes, cookies, gummies, candy, sugary cereals, chocolate.  If it had sugar in it, I wanted it.  Now as we have learned in the present day that sugar is as addictive or maybe even more addictive than cocaine, I understand why I wanted the stuff so badly.  Eating all that sugary food as a kid though destroyed my microbiome in my stomach. 

Bad bacteria and yeast feed and thrive off of sugars.  So the more sugar you eat, the greater the possibility of feeding those bad bacteria and the less room there will be for good bacteria to thrive.  And seeing as how 95% of our serotonin or happy neurotransmitter are made in the gut there is a pretty good possibility that your ability to feel happy can be compromised by eating sugar and highly processed carbs. 

Once I learned this and slowly stopped eating sugar (which was a very slow process over many years) I just never turned back.  So when I hear other people say to me, "but don't you feel deprived" or "what about everything in moderation," I think why would I eat something that is so addictive to my body and that makes me feel awful in my system? 

Sometimes there are some foods that we just need to stay away from.  If you feel emotional, unstable, ungrounded, lacking clarity, mental fog after eating a particular food ask yourself what is it about this experience of eating this food that feels addictive?  Is there some part of you that is so used to your physical and emotional reactions after eating a particular food that you have become complacent that this is just the way life is. 

1.  With those foods you have to decide for yourself, is "in moderation" worth it if it makes you feel a certain way that blocks your ability to be your most vibrant self. (And I want to make sure I state that for you it may be worth it!!  I do not believe in deprivation, but please understand I do not feel deprived not eating sugar when there are other foods and things in my life that bring so much sweetness.  Whatever you decide, honor that decision that you are making the best choice for your health and well being.)

2. 
Next step
is to ask yourself is there an alternative you can have in this moment?  For example, if I really need something that tastes sweet I will go toward berries, cooking something with stevia, baking some vegetable that has a sweet flavor like acorn squash or spaghetti squash or sweet potatoes.  Get creative!  If your thing is chips, would making some kale chips satisfy?  If your thing is a cheeseburger, could you make a burger at home and wrap it in a romaine lettuce leaf.  Or if your thing is sugar, could you make your own chocolate with raw cacao powder and stevia and freeze it in the freezer.  (more recipes to come soon on my blog ;)

3.  Last, ask yourself what would happen if you never had that food.  What emotions come up?  This is a lot of information about how that food is possibly nourishing you on an emotional level but not a physical one.
 

At this point you don't necessarily have to give up that food altogether but you now have more awareness to make conscious decisions.  And that is really what this is all about.  Instead of asking yourself what would feel good in my system right at this very moment, you could ask how do I want to feel in an hour, two hours, the rest of the day, how do I want to feel tomorrow?  Your choices today effect your future self.  The choice is up to you and just remember there is no wrong choice.  Every action just gives us information to make informed decisions.
0 Comments

You are always Nourishing something

10/31/2013

0 Comments

 
This lesson was a hard one to learn and I find a difficult one to remember.  More and more articles these days are preaching what is "healthy" and what are the "healthy" ways to exercise and what are the best times to eat "healthy."  Most of these articles are based off of what is healthy for the physical body.  Yet, the physical body is more complicated than we can ever fully comprehend.  Yes, due to science we have a wonderful grasp and understanding of the human body but I'd like to believe there is quite a bit of magic the human body holds that we truly have no knowledge or awareness of quite yet.  So how can we truly define what is healthy for us?

With Halloween approaching tomorrow (or rather one hour from now), I want to offer a different way to get through this holiday.  First of all, we all affect each other whether we are aware of it or not.  Cravings for sugar and chocolate at this time of year are not just yours but they are everyone's.  You may be feeling the craving for that 3 musketeers from the person in front of you who is feeling it from the person in front of them waiting in line to check out.  We are not islands.  A "sugar" issue is not yours, it is also our culture's.  I digress.  So, with Halloween being tomorrow, which has somehow been misconstrued to be the holiday of slutty outfits and candy, I want to offer that eating that piece of candy that you are desiring may actually be you eating healthy.

When we deny ourselves the basic pleasure of eating, there is a natural stress response in the body.  Cortisol (the stress hormone) goes up and we crave that piece of candy even more to try and bring ourselves back into balance.  Let's say we breath through the craving and it goes away.  Woohoo!  And then a couple days later Halloween is over and you have all this extra candy and the craving comes back even stronger.  I say in the first or second moment you are allowed to have that candy!!  Even if all the articles out there toot how dangerous and awful all this candy is, well so is the stress that is wreaking havoc on your system just by trying to stay away from it all. 

Now, if you do finally give yourself permission to eat that piece of candy, really truly allow yourself to have it.  No judgment, no voice in your head saying what you have to do later to make up for it, no getting on the ground and doing pushups to try and burn it off.  Sit down with your piece of candy, take one bite at a time, roll it around in your mouth, taste it, feel the textures, ask yourself what it is about this moment you are enjoying so much.  Sure, it may not be the "healthiest" thing for your body, but you are nourishing some piece of you.  Any time you are eating, no matter what it is, you're nourishing your emotional body or your physical body or maybe even some ethereal part of your body we don't even know about.  The moment you are giving yourself to allow yourself to receive is nourishing.  Plain and simple.  So this Halloween, if you feel up to it (unless eating that one piece of sugar sends you down a scary path of not being able to stop then you can totally forgo this experiment) try something different and just allow yourself to enjoy one piece of candy.  One piece, pick it out like you would when you were a kid and you got to pick something out of a basket of small plastic toys, treasure that moment, and fully experience what it is like to give yourself love in the form of food.

0 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