Skip to content

Search for:

Vitamin (Ph)D: Evidence-Based Performance Nutrition

Welcome to the official Vitamin (Ph)D blog!
Podcasts, Articles, and Speaking Engagements
Nutrition Coaching and Consulting
- Contact
Testimonials and Client Success
About
Disclaimer

Contact

If you are interested in nutrition coaching for weight management or sport performance, or you have any questions or comments about the content, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Instagram

AUSTRALIA PART DEUX!!🙌 I'm returning to one of my favorite places on the planet in July to speak at @jps_education UEBC 2020! I'm very excited to be discussing a new topic--one that gets back to my roots as an educator. While the #gutmicrobiome was my contextual area of study, my PhD was a means to become an #educator. I pursued both a fellowship and graduate certificate in #pedagogy so I could learn how to teach how to learn! 😁 I aspired to evoke change in my students. Guess what? It's just as essential to apply these principles as a coach! So, years later, #guthealth became a conduit through which I could practice my passion for education and #science communication, but it's only the "how," not the "why." I'm much more excited about the latter. Stay tuned for the actual topic! Tix are available at the link in my stories and bio. 👍

Bridging the Gap Part II: The Dangers of Dieting "The damage caused by chronic dieting extends far beyond simple weight gain. Many individuals, dieters and non-dieters alike, self-identify with their eating behaviours. When a ‘perfect’ diet is not achieved, self-image suffers... This is the same media that feeds the flames of pervasive diet culture by promoting arbitrary food rules - most recently under the guise of ‘wellness’ labels. The diet paradigm is inflexible, prescriptive, fear-driven and guilt-inducing. Im summary, dieting and body dissatisfaction go hand in hand and disordered thinking is a pathway to disordered eating." - @shannonbeer_ No, not everyone exhibits disordered eating, and yes, weight loss diets result in lasting weight loss in a percentage of people (about 10-20% of individuals maintain >10% bodyweight loss for at least 1 year, with about 10% maintaining put to 5 years when reviewing NWCR and NHANES data.) BUT. Ignoring the inherent risks of dieting behaviors won't make them go away. It only does a disservice to your clients. Challenge your biases, acknowledge the nuances of the literature, and try to know your shit before you misrepresent a potentially valuable and impactful paradigm. We've been playing a game of telephone for too long. It's time to #bridgethegap with better understanding and more #conscientiouscoaching. Read the second installment of our series on my website. Link in my bio! #haes #antidietculture #diet #weightmanagement #evidencebased #science #research #weightloss #fitness #intuitiveeating #mindfuleating

Contrary to popular belief, the Health at Every Size (HAES) paradigm does not state that health is present at every body size, nor that weight change is inherently bad or harmful. Rather, #HAES promotes participation in health-seeking behaviors regardless of body size. In addition to this principle, HAES-aligned practitioners and programs emphasize: ● Weight inclusivity ● Health enhancement ● Respectful care ● Eating for well-being ● Life-enhancing movement Health, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is, "...a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Respect for diversity is one of the three main values of the #WHO, and I'd argue that this should be one to which all practitioners adhere. According to the National Eating Disorders Association #neda, diet culture stigmatizes certain body types, conflates health and worthiness with body size, promotes potentially harmful eating habits, and focuses on external regulators of food intake and behaviors. While larger bodies are generally pathologized, these aspects of #dietculture are damaging to people of all sizes if their internalization leads to mental, physical or emotional harm. Data clearly show that both weight-neutral and weight-focused programs lead to improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors regardless of weight loss (which is similarly low after 6-9 month follow-ups in either case). Of course, in some cases, weight does need to be acknowledged (ie. weight class sports), but the the approach doesn't require absolutist thinking. It's still possible to apply many of these principles to mitigate the risk associated with weight-focused #coaching. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/recognizing-and-resisting-diet-culture https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values Dugmore, J. A., Winten, C. G., Niven, H. E., & Bauer, J. (2019). Effects of weight-neutral approaches compared with traditional weight-loss approaches on behavioral, physical, and psychological health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuz020 #bridgethegap

It'll be sort of like "Eat This, Not That," but actually helpful, and for your #gutmicrobiome! The truth is, we can't really make definitive recommendations about how to "optimize #guthealth," and I'm not going to blow smoke up your bum just to make a buck. 🤷‍♀️ BUT...BUTT.😏...We do have strong enough evidence to support some dietary and lifestyle habits, and also plenty of evidence to save you time and money on things that won't do diddly. Spend that money to get to this seminar instead! Or at least to buy some #veggies. 🤷‍♀️ So come on out to learn about the #science and science fiction of gut health, plus a bunch of other awesome topics, while earning CEU's! Tix are available on my website and @rpstrength and periodically in my stories!🤗

"In the past year or so, a chasm has formed between some groups in the health industry. Many people have strong opinions about Health at Every Size (HAES), Intuitive Eating, weight neutrality, anti-diet culture, and body positivity, often despite having read none of the books or literature. Let me be clear: I have seen misinformed, extremist voices yelling from both sides of this divide. I also have respected colleagues and friends in both camps. While I’m sure that we as practitioners have good intentions, we also need to provide good information and content. We need to operate from a place of awareness and understanding for the context and nuanced ideals of these paradigms. We serve no one but ourselves when we dig our heels in and refuse to acknowledge that both sides make relevant points. We certainly aren’t doing any favors when we form opinions without adequate evidence to support them. It is my hope that this series of articles, written in collaboration with Shannon Beer, will serve to improve the dialogue and the industry as a whole by bridging the divide with shared meaning and a deeper understanding of weight-neutral approaches to health. In this first installment, I will first explain the Intuitive Eating framework and skill subset of mindful eating to establish clear definitions and meaning. I’ll clarify some of the common concerns and misconceptions around weight-neutral approaches to health. In order to illustrate the commonalities between Intuitive Eating, mindfulness and athletic endeavors, I’ll explain the ways we as athletes and coaches implement intuition and interoceptive sensitivity (recognition of internal physical cues) to enhance the efficacy of training. The subsequent series articles will serve to contextualize Intuitive Eating processes in the fitness industry, bringing light to oft-neglected risk of dieting, and how we might best set clients up for long-term success through more conscientious approaches to coaching."--Me, 2020 If you're interested in reading the rest, click the link in my profile. Please share and let's improve the dialogue for everyone. #haes #bridgethegap #intuitiveeating #diet #antidietculture #dietculture #coach

I want to put this to bed, for once and for all! I don't mind being asked this question on every podcast--in fact, I LOVE the mic-drop moment that ensues--but I want to go ahead and put this on record. It's not official until it's an infographic. -- Listen, I'm NOT invalidating your symptoms. It's totally possible that you have a food intolerance or allergy, and it's very likely that you--like all other humans--experience GI symptoms associated with maldigestion of some things for which we lack digestive enzymes. -- BUT PLEASE STOP WASTING MONEY ON TESTS THAT AREN'T VALIDATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIAGNOSES AND PLEASE STOP WITH THE FOOD SENSITIVITY TESTS BECAUSE THEY TELL YOU ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AND IN FACT THEY ARE INDICATIVE OF IMMUNE TOLERANCE -- Other Invalid Diagnostic Tests: LEAP/MRT ALCAT Applied Kinesiology Electrodermal Testing Hair Analysis -- Obviously, this isn't an exhaustive list of the nonsense you can find on the internet, but these are just a few you can read about in the references. Check out QuackWatch if you'd like a REALLY extensive list of things people might try to sell you, like $150,000 worth of electrolyte and pH testing. -- It's important to determine whether a test is valid (it's testing what it means to be testing) and reliable (its results are replicable). These concepts are different from being accurate. We often confuse accuracy with validity. For example, an IgG test accurately measures levels of the IgG antibody. It will do this reliably, as well. That doesn't mean the test has a valid application in testing for a food sensitivity (because a food sensitivity doesn't exist!). Likewise, the ALCAT test accurately and reliably measures white blood cell count; we could say that it's a valid test for white blood cell count. But that doesn't mean it's valid *as a diagnostic test* because a change in WBC count doesn't imply an allergic response. References in comments!👇 #foodsensitivities #igg #gutmicrobiome #nutrition #dysbiosis #guthealth #fodmap #evidencebased #science #research

Vitamin (Ph)D Facebook

Vitamin (Ph)D Facebook

Recent Posts

BRIDGING THE GAP PART II: THE DANGERS OF DIETARY RESTRAINT
BRIDGING THE GAP PART I: INTUITION IN EATING AND TRAINING
Know When to Start–and When to Quit, Too
Budget-Friendly Fitness Finds
Take Control Radio: Episode 22–Gut Health

WordPress.com.