True for you Nutrition, LLC

I love my job! And the Thurston County EDC has helped me grown in so many ways!

Americans love to eat, with favorite meals, restaurants, cooking shows, and celebrity chefs. However, our relationship with food isn’t always healthy. Intuitive Eating Coach and registered dietitian Cathy Visser runs True for you Nutrition, LLC in Olympia, helping people achieve optimal health.

A Midwest native and registered dietitian nutritionist since the late 1980s, Visser moved to Olympia and has worked as a Health Planner and director for the Senior Services for South Sound Meals on Wheels program. She now helps clients manage diabetes, hypertension, and eating disorders, offering sessions from her West Olympia office or virtually across the state.

Learn more on the True for You website: trueforyounutrition.com

I love the Women in Business program at the WA EDC. They provided me with wonderful resources and support when I started my business...and they're still helping me grow.

Read full article here:
https://thurstonedc.com/healthy-diet-and-nutrition-thats-true-for-you-true-for-you-nutrition-llc/

Way to go True for you Nutrition, LLC !! 😄

Sour cherry pear crisp! It's what's for breakfast!

Aubrey Gordon tells it like it is:

Debunking wellness myths with ‘You Just Need to Lose Weight’ author Aubrey Gordon Portland-based author Aubrey Gordon brings skillful analysis, acute understanding and a dose of humor to her newest book.

Carrie Denett writes for the Seattle Times and her website blog is worth reading anytime you feel stuck in diet culture.

Blog | Nutrition By Carrie Musings on intuitive eating, mindfulness, self-compassion, Health at Every Size, healthy living and nutrition myths and facts. Plus recipes!

How not to stress about food during the holidays.

Intuitive Eating During the Holidays - Intuitive Eating The holidays can be a stressful time for many, and eating shouldn't make it worse. Intuitive eating during the holidays can make them more enjoyable.

Check out the free virtual webinar "Inhabiting the Body you Love and Loving the Body you Inhabit" coming up on November 17th by a provider affiliated with "Heart of Wellness", a naturopathic group here in Olympia:

Heart of Wellness Webinars - Heart of Wellness: Integrative Medicine, Acupuncture, Massage Heart of Wellness is a group practice in Olympia, WA providing primary care (naturopathic doctors), acupuncture, and more. Insurance & affordable cash pay.

My secretary is sleeping 💤 on the job!!

Join me tomorrow.

Refresh Your Table This Fall with Heathy Food Demos at The Rolling Pin in Olympia – The Rolling Pin Original article by Kristina Lotz at Thurston Talk While you may lament the end of summer, fall is actually a wonderful time of year to hit the kitchen and create some healthy, homemade staples to keep your family full and happy all winter long. Feeling short on skills or inspiration? The Rolling P...

Check out my first video. Watch for plant-forward cooking videos to be released soon on my YouTube page.

Plant-Forward Intuitive Eating Need help eating more plant-based food? Want to stop yo yo dieting, change your lifestyle forever, and be happy? I will help you eat more plant-based foods f...

True for you Nutrition, LLC updated their business hours.

Thurston Talk interviewed me for this article, and they used some of my photos. So fun!

How to Maintain Your 2021 New Year's Resolutions with These Thurston County Resources - ThurstonTalk It’s easy to get sidetracked as the months go by and leave your resolutions behind. Instead of giving up, help maintain your 2021 New Year’s resolutions with these Thurston County resources.

Step one for Thanksgiving: Pumpkin and blackberry pie. Nearly one pie per person! LOL!

Considering a plant-based diet? Check out this webinar prepared by me and my colleague and friend Marilyn Sitaker.

Eating Healthy for you and the Planet Marilyn Sitaker and Cathy Visser talk for TCAT about the relationship between food that is healthy for the planet and that which is healthy for us and what t...

Considering going on a weight-loss diet in pursuit of good health and wellness? What if you knew that dieting predicts future weight gain and disease? Author Christy Harrison documents the truth about dieting and the alternatives in this book. The day has arrived for people to know the truth about dieting!!

Feel like food is holding you hostage in your home?
https://www.joseesovinskynutrition.com/blog/food-addiction-resources-july2018?fbclid=IwAR0K5V1IFJERo3iRL_H3e-fgmqDBKh2nNgJUO_AxSlETssOjRvd5n5YhxP8

Food Addiction: A Round-Up Of Resources (UPDATED JULY 2018) — Josée Sovinsky Nutrition About 18 months ago, I shared a list of resources on food addiction .  Because this continues to be a hot and controversial topic, I thought I would update the list to include more recent articles and podcasts. 

Sage advice at this time of self-isolation. Be gentle and kind with yourself - and if you're eating Cheez-It's, drop the guilt and try to taste them and enjoy them. This too shall pass. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/eating-through-the-coronavirus-take-deep-breaths-instead-of-another-handful-of-cheez-its/

Eating through the coronavirus? Take deep breaths instead of another handful of Cheez-Its In the time of the hunkering down at home for the novel coronavirus, everything you knew about good eating, portion control and feeding your child's brain has gone from your head. But there are a few things you can do.

Is Sugar Addictive?
By Cathy Visser, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Calling sugar an addictive substance has become quite popular in the media, but does that make it true? Not necessarily, but believing you cannot trust yourself around certain foods can lead to undo stress and isolation. An extensive review of the research published in the European Journal of Nutrition, titled “Sugar Addiction: The State of Science” (Westwater, Fletcher & Ziauddeen) concluded that “little evidence supports sugar as an addictive substance.” They noted that most of the research was limited to animals…and that animals only show addictive behaviors toward sugar when they are restricted from access to it, not when they have free range access to sugar and other foods. Additionally, humans do not eat sugar alone, but rather as an ingredient in other foods like ice cream and chocolate. And while many people have an attraction to sweet foods, this does not qualify them as addicts.

Addiction is complicated and a diagnosis of addiction requires an expert, but let’s step back and review what it means to be addicted to a substance. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “Addiction is a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by three (or more) of the following in the same 12-month period: 1. Tolerance, as defined a need for markedly increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or the desired effect. 2. Withdrawal symptoms when not taken 3. The substance is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended. 4. There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control substance use. 5. A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain, use, or recover from its effects. 6. Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of substance use. 7. The substance use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent physical or psychological problem caused by the substance.”

Because sugar addiction has not been proven or disproven, it might be helpful to think about whether you meet 3 or more of the criteria necessary to consider your intake of sugar an addiction.

Many foods, including but not limited to carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and chocolate, naturally cause the brain to release the “feel good” hormone dopamine. This helps ensure that we eat regularly for survival. Drugs like co***ne or alcohol, “hijack” the dopamine pathway and cause an unnatural surge of dopamine to be released. This unnatural surge of dopamine does not occur from eating food - even when the food is high in refined sugar.

The survey tool used to measure food addiction is also problematic. Responses to the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) are subjective and the tool does not control for dieting, which naturally causes craving. In addition, the title of the survey suggests that so-called food addiction is an actual proven condition, and this is yet to be determined.

So why do people crave sweet foods? Tribole & Resch, authors of “The Intuitive Eating Workbook,” conclude that food cravings are more likely a result of learned conditioning, not addiction.” To manage food cravings, I suggest allowing yourself to experience the freedom, taste, and choice of eating anything and everything you desire with the exception of a food to which you are intolerant or allergic. Slow down and really taste the food. Make note of how you feel before, during, and after eating the previously “forbidden” food. As you give yourself permission to eat and to truly taste the foods you normally avoid, you may find that your taste for these foods’ decreases. If you crave sweets, try eating more whole fruits and naturally sweet foods in place of processed junk food like candy bars and ice cream. If you crave salty, crunchy potato chips, try lightly buttered, salted popcorn or nuts. It takes time to change your palate…and when you have a sweet treat, enjoy it and drop the guilt. A bowl of ice cream or potato chips is not going to ruin your health, but guilt and shame might.

Body fat is not the proven cause of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Association does not equal causation! This is a paradigm shift, so I understand if you are skeptical.

For more info, check out Heath at Every Size at https://haescommunity.com/

Let's focus on what matters - joyful eating, joyful movement, and joyful, generous living for all body shapes and sizes.
- Cathy Visser, RDN, MPH, CD
True for you Nutrition

Health at Every Size® The Health at Every Size community provides free supportive resources. Health at Every Size® principles help us advance social justice, create an inclusive and respectful community, and support people of all sizes in finding compassionate ways to take care of themselves.

Dieting is a form of violence against self. This practice is especially harmful to women. Empower yourself. Focus on self-care and self-love. Push back against unrealistic standards about body shape and weight.
-Cathy Visser, RDN, MPH
True for You Nutrition ❤️

Dieting is a form of violence against self. This practice is especially harmful to women. Empower yourself. Focus on self-care and self-love. Push back against unrealistic standards about body shape and weight.

Embracing Health at Every Size®
by Cathy Visser, RDN, MPH, LD
What if I told you that carrying extra fat on your body does not cause diabetes or heart disease? Would you believe me? I understand if you would have a hard time moving away from the myths of thinness. People in the U.S. are steeped in diet culture and the pursuit of thinness. It is time to stop the madness. People living in heavier bodies can be as healthy or healthier than people living in thinner bodies. It is true that people living with more fat on their bodies have an “association” with higher levels of diabetes and other diseases, but the actual “cause” of this association has not been proven. Association is not causation! Matter of fact, it is more likely that being fit is what protects people from disease. The death and disease rate for thin people who are unfit is at least twice as high as for heavy people who are fit. (1)

Valuing thinness in our culture can lead to chronic dieting, preoccupation with food, disordered eating, yo yo weight loss/gain, lower self-esteem, and ultimately more weight gain. (2) Weight bias and fat stigma is damaging to the health and wellbeing of all people, including slender people who may not get screened for diseases because they are viewed as healthy. In addition, there is not a proven way to help people lose weight and keep it off.

Are you ready to ditch dieting and focus your energy and time on things that matter like enjoying time with friends, eating good food, and moving your body for joy rather than weight loss? Then you are ready to embrace the principles laid out in the Health at Every Size® (HAES®) movement. The HAES® approach “promotes balanced eating, life-enhancing physical activity, and respect for the diversity of body shapes and sizes.”

The Health at Every Size® Principles are:
1. Weight Inclusivity: Accept and respect the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and reject the idealizing or pathologizing of specific weights.
2. Health Enhancement: Support health policies that improve and equalize access to information and services, and personal practices that improve human well-being, including attention to individual physical, economic, social, spiritual, emotional, and other needs.
3. Respectful Care: Acknowledge our biases, and work to end weight discrimination, weight stigma, and weight bias. Provide information and services from an understanding that socio-economic status, race, gender, s*xual orientation, age, and other identities impact weight stigma, and support environments that address these inequities.
4. Eating for Well-being: Promote flexible, individualized eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure, rather than any externally regulated eating plan focused on weight control.
5. Life-Enhancing Movement: Support physical activities that allow people of all sizes, abilities, and interests to engage in enjoyable movement, to the degree that they choose.
Source: https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/index.asp; https://haescommunity.com/

It’s never too late to stop dieting and start embracing size diversity, non-dieting, joyful movement, and self-love.

ASDAH ASDAH - Association for Size Diversity & Health. A professional organization promoting .....

What is Intuitive Eating?
By Cathy Visser, RDN, MPH, LD
Have you ever tried to get a four-year old to stop playing and come eat lunch when they’re not hungry? It’s not easy. Children naturally follow their internal cues of hunger and fullness. This is called intuitive eating. We are all born intuitive eaters. We eat when we’re hungry and stop when we start to feel full. Unfortunately, most of us lose the ability to recognize our hunger and fullness because we are trained to finish our plates and to eat at certain times regardless of hunger.

The first and most challenging step in becoming an intuitive eater is to reject the diet mentality. It’s okay to get angry about the lies you’ve been told about how to lose weight. To help you reject the diet mentality, it helps to recognize the damage that dieting does to the body and mind.

Chronic Dieting has been shown to:
• Teach the body to retain more fat when you start eating again. Low-calorie diets double the enzymes that make you store fat in the body.
• Decrease metabolism. Dieting causes the body to use calories more efficiently.
• Increase binges and cravings. Both humans and rats have been shown to overeat after chronic dieting.
• Increase risk of premature death or death from heart disease – people who yo yo diet have a higher overall death rate and twice the normal risk of dying from a heart attack.
• Cause hunger and fullness cues to atrophy.
• Cause body shape to change. Yo yo dieters tend to regain weight in the abdominal area.
• Dieting is linked to eating disorders, stress, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, and depression.

So what is a person to do? A good first step is to work on accepting that diets don’t work. I like to say that people don’t fail diets, diets fail people. Dieting causes craving and hunger. Dieting causes weight gain in 80% or more of people within two years. Listening to your hunger is important. If you ignore your signs of hunger, you’re likely to ignore your signs of fullness and satiety. It takes about 20 minutes for your body and mind to recognize fullness when eating, so try slowing down when you eat so you have time to realize your hunger. If you find yourself eating out of boredom, don’t beat yourself up, but recognize that you may wish to find other ways to deal with emotions or boredom. Be patient and kind to yourself. It will take time to regain your ability to be an intuitive eater and to enjoy the pleasure of eating food without guilt.

Stop dieting and worrying about food and start living your life to the fullest now. Come learn more about the Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating philosophies. I'll be teaching classes the first Thursday of each month from 5:15-6:30 in the Olympia Center Lobby.