By Michelle May, M.D.
The most common praise I hear about Am I Hungry? is that people have freedom without fear around food. I believe that’s what it takes to reach and maintain a healthier weight in our abundant food environment. In other words, we have to love food more, not less. This is great news for all of us “foodies.”
As a recovered yoyo dieter, I am never more grateful for this lesson than when I travel or dine out. In my old Restrictive Eating Cycle, vacation and restaurants were among my most challenging situations. (If you don’t know what I mean by “Restrictive Eating Cycle,” download a complimentary copy of the first chapter of Am I Hungry? from http://www.amihungry.com/am-i-hungry.shtml.) I would either give up, promising to go back on my diet later, or I’d carefully select all my meals based on calories, fat, points, or whatever I was counting at the time, completely missing the opportunity for novel and exciting food experiences.
Not anymore!
June was a full month of business and leisure travel—and wonderful meals enjoyed without the bitter taste of guilt to spoil them. Since people sometimes ask, “What exactly do you eat?” I decided to chronicle my recent trips with a tip-a-day throughout July to show you Am I Hungry?® strategies in action. I’ll be posting my daily tips to my blog, Consumed, at http://consumed.freedomblogging.com/.
I’ll be sharing short stories, tips and photos based on my recent travels to Kansas City, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, California, Nevada, and Washington. During July, I’m also headed to Ohio and New York City (my first visit there). I’ll use these travel blogs to answer some of the most common questions I hear from people about how to practice a healthy lifestyle under some of the most challenging social conditions:
• Business meetings and conferences
• Dining out
• Airports
• Vacations
• Eating with your family
• Special occasions
If you’re at all familiar with Am I Hungry? you already know that I’m NOT going to focus on what you should or shouldn’t eat. Instead this is more of a “have your cake and eat it too” approach.
If you just want the short answer to “What exactly do you eat?” it is “Whatever I really want.” If you want to know how, click on this link daily throughout July to read my blog: http://consumed.freedomblogging.com/.
Eat Mindfully. Live Vibrantly!
Michelle May, M.D.
P.S. If you’re a food lover, please help me spread this message! There are three things you can do:
1. Forward this E-Newsletter and link http://consumed.freedomblogging.com/ to your friends, family, colleagues, patients, and clients with a brief comment about why you think they might enjoy reading it.
2. Put a link to the Consumed blog on your Web site, blog, newsletter, or forum.
3. Most importantly, please post your comments to my blog posts. We all love to read what other people think about learning to love food again.
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