A couple of years ago when I considered doing my first half marathon in years, I discovered Jeff Galloway’s book Running Until Your 100. In it, he advocates for people – especially those 45 years and older – to add walk breaks to their running. When done right, he claims that people of all ages can remain injury-free while obtaining the many benefits of running.
Galloway is an Olympian runner and coach that has made it his mission to improve people’s quality of life through running. He is the creator of the Galloway Run-Walk-Run Program and for 33 years he has coached over ½ million runners and answers an average of 100 emails a day.
Since the Coronavirus pandemic, I’ve seen many people and families taking walks. Of course, we all keep from each other but many of us relish the time spent outside. And this got me thinking about how this is the perfect time for people to try running with a much gentler and enjoyable strategy.
As people get older, they often think they can no longer run or that running is bad for them. In episode 29 of The Healthy Family Podcast, Jeff Galloway explains how his Run-Walk-Run program can help people at midlife and beyond enjoy running without getting injured. It's also a great way for anyone at any age to start running.
If there’s one theme I’ve heard repeatedly regarding moms, daughters, food, and body image, it’s this:
Mom has poor body image and food issues (to varying degrees). Despite this struggle, mom wants to keep her issues from infecting her daughter. She hides this part of herself, hoping her daughter never finds out the truth. She doesn’t share her unhappiness with her body, doesn’t restrict food at home, and never brings up the subject of weight.
Yet despite this cover-up, mom often watches her daughter walk the same painful path. What gives?
Today’s’ show we get right into why this happens. It’s not about helping only girls or only moms, it’s about healing both at the same time. The goal is to end the legacy of body dissatisfaction and food struggle that gets handed down from generation to generation.
Dietitian Karen Diaz shares insight from her experience working at an eating disorder clinic and helping moms and daughters over the last six years. Karen is certified in intuitive eating and uses her Signature Program Break Free to guide women in overcoming dysregulated eating and body image struggles. Her soon-to-be-published book Within is aimed at helping moms and daughters come to peace with their bodies and food so they can build a healthy and happy home.
When over 18,000 registered dietitians were asked about intuitive eating, they got a majority of the questions right (71 percent). And those who work in weight management reported using nonrestrictive/intuitive eating more often than traditional/restrictive practices. In short, this is the how of eating: Sitting and paying attention during mealtime, honoring feelings of hunger and fullness, and saying goodbye to restrictive rules and diet practices.
In Episode 17 of The Healthy Podcast, I detail what's behind my latest op-ed piece about the direction the majority of dietitians are going when it comes to eating, and why it's different from the general public.
We all have to deal with the stresses of modern life, and so do our kids. We have more choices, distractions, and unknowns than ever before. Stress is a major health issue in the modern world linked to the increased risk of many chronic diseases. It’s normal to want to try and find an escape, but this only makes things worse.
Mindfulness has become a buzz word when talking about stress and the challenges of modern life. Today’s guest helps us understand what mindfulness actually is and how it can help families buffer daily stressors and in turn live happier and healthier lives.
Stefanie Goldstein, Ph.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who works with adolescents, adults, couples, and families. She specializes in integrating mindfulness when working with stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and trauma. Dr. Goldstein is a trauma specialist and has worked with traumatized teens and their families. She has also been trained in Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS), Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), and is a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher. She is co-creator of CALM (Connecting Adolescents to Learning Mindfulness) and teaches classes in Los Angeles.
In episode 16 of the Healthy Family Podcast, Dr. Goldstein shares her knowledge, experience, and tips for becoming a more mindful family.
We live in a crazy world where food and weight are concerned. On the one hand, we hear about an obesity epidemic that researchers predict will only get worse. On the other hand, making weight the focus only exacerbates the issue. This leaves many parents confused and unsure about what to do.
Today’s guest Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Ph.D., MPH, RD, has been studying the formation of eating habits in adolescents and young adults for many years. As principal investigator of Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults), her insights help us understand what we can do to help our child navigate their environment with success. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer is a professor in the School of Public Health's Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on adolescent health, nutrition, obesity and eating disorder prevention, and she is the author of “I’m, Like, SO Fat!”: Helping Your Teen Make Healthy Choices about Eating and Exercise in a Weight-Obsessed World.
Why do some people exercise through stressful times and others stop? Why does one mom put her self-care at the top of the priority list while another puts everyone’s else needs first?
For a quarter of a century, Michelle Segar has tried to crack the code on why some people lose motivation for healthy habits, and others don't. She’s not interested in helping people change their behavior. No, she wants to help people sustain health-oriented behaviors. In part 3 of our behavior series, we get into the psychology and science of motivation.
Michelle Segar, Ph.D., MPH is a behavioral sustainability scientist and author of No Sweat! How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness. She is Director of the Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center (SHARP) at the University of Michigan. Michelle has devoted her career to creating sustainable behavior change and she is a recognized pioneer in the field. For the last 25 years, she has been conducting research and coaching individuals in her three-part system.
Based on her extensive research, coaching, and personal experience, Michelle shares the secret ingredients for making healthy behaviors lasting.
Subscribe: ITunes/Sticher/RSS I believe everyone needs to find the right fit when it comes to cooking and preparing food for themselves and their family. And choosing the right mindset is a good place to start. In today’s show, we have Katie Morford, a registered dietitian, writer, recipe developer and mom to three girls. She writes the blog Mom’s Kitchen Handbook and is the author of Best Lunch Box Ever: Ideas and Recipes for School Lunches Kids Will Love. Her second book, Rise and Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings, was published in August of last year. Katie and I discuss The Cooking Mindset -- how the outlook we have about cooking effects everything we do (or don’t do) in the kitchen. Katie shares her beliefs about cooking from the perspective of someone who grew up in a family of cooks. She says cooking and a love of food is in her family’s gene pool. I’m hoping some of that rubs off on me!
I want to do something creative and delicious as opposed to I have do this thing I don’t want to do and now I have to go do it.
Mom’s Kitchen Handbook Katie's books: Best Lunch Box Ever and Rise and Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings Katie's recommended "starter" cookbook: Katie's favorite kitchen tool: Instant Pot Recipes mentioned in the podcast: Lemon Tahini Dressing Genius Butternut Squash Soup Thai Salmon Curry Fresh Summer Vegetable Pasta
Top 12 Weeknight Dinners 6 Kitchen Shortcuts that Really Work (and Why) If I had to Start from Scratch Feeding My Kids, Here's What I'd Do
Welcome to the first episode of The Healthy Family Podcast! In this short-10-minute episode, I explain my vision for the podcast and what listeners can expect.
The Healthy Family Podcast isn’t focused just kids or adults, but families. It asks the tough questions like how to do influence those we love to take action? How do we create desire to be healthy in children? How do we grow old being as healthy, happy and strong as we can be? It demands health and happiness at all ages and stages.
Each episode will include a leading expert in a different area that affects health and well being (nutrition, exercise, self-care, stress management etc.). We will spend most of the show discussing the science, tips, and key information that support optimal ways of approaching health. My hope is that you leave each show saying “I never thought of X that way before.”
But the key for every episode no matter what its topic is taking an “inside approach” -- getting to the root cause of health-related behaviors. This is different from treating symptoms or giving advice about what to do. You will leave with a good understanding of the why, which is what is needed to move you from struggle to solution. This is true whether we are talking about picky eating, sleep, emotional problems or exercise.