We can’t stress the importance of this enough! Yes, social media is awesome in the sense that we can connect with so many people and it is undeniably a great vessel for sharing information but, what we see and how we internalize everything out there can have some profoundly negative effects 👎🏼.
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It pains us to see the beauty standards perpetuated in the media and diet culture. Everyday on social media, tv, the radio etc. we are bombarded with advertisements for cosmetic procedures and media depicting the “standard of beauty”. With photo editing, plastic surgery etc the media projects a cookie cutter approach to beauty that is UNREALISTIC. Not only that, but these appearances have become so normalized that some individuals actually think that people naturally look like this 🤦🏻♀️🙆🏼♀️.
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Take a step back and consider how much the idea of ‘beauty’ changes depending on where you are in the world. Seriously, who decides this stuff and why do we let them make us feel worthless when we don’t fit that mold? 🎭.
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We would love to say that we are completely immune but sadly we have all been there; comparing ourselves to the images and airbrushed people that we see. We have to stop doing this. This constant comparison is damaging and only feeds that negative voice in our heads that leads us further away from being in-tune with our bodies 🗣️.
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Accept your genetic blueprint and focus on doing right by your body. Stop shaming yourself and others. Respect your body for what it enables you to do. If you are unrealistic and overly critical of your body it will be much more difficult to reject diet culture and practice intuitive eating 🌱.
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Source: intuitiveeating.org
We love to hike! Here are some of our top tips for nutrition and hydration while hiking! 🏞️.
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Plan ahead! Make sure you consider the length of your hiking trip and what the weather will be like. Don't forget to think about how much you can comfortably carry and what utensils you may need 🍴.
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Hiking Fuel & Food Safety 🗺: You can pack perishable foods (i.e. sandwiches, cheese, yogurt) just be sure you have a cold source (i.e. ice pack) to keep foods properly chilled to below 40°F. .
Make sure you pack foods that contain carbohydrates as this is the body’s main energy source during physical activity 💪🏼.
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The more you stash in a backpack, the harder it is to hike, so opt mainly for non-perishable foods that are relatively lightweight and nutrient dense, such as:
Trail mix
Nuts, seeds, nut-based bars or nut butter packs (we love @justins)
Fresh, whole fruit that doesn’t require refrigeration such as apples, bananas and oranges
Dried or freeze-dried fruits and veggies
Granola or granola bars
Ready-made tuna salad pouches
Whole-grain tortillas
Drink Up! Smart Hydration 💧: Water is the preferred fluid source during physical activity. Ensure you are adequately hydrated before starting your hike in order to reduce the volume of fluids you will have to carry. A good rule of thumb is to plan for about 2 cups of fluid for every 1-2 hours of hiking (dependant on environmental conditions, intensity etc.). Make sure you can bring or access clean drinking water during your hike. If the weather is very warm and you are sweating, you may want to consider packing oral rehydration solution powder, such as @pedialyte, that can help to replenish electrolytes lost during sweating.
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Happy Hiking! 🌞
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Source: Eat Right: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
🍓Strawberry Salsa! Taking salsa to another level with seasonal fresh #local fruit! This salsa is sweet n’ spicy and pairs well with both crackers and tortilla chips!
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🍓Makes 1.5 cups of strawberry salsa
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🍓Ingredients:
3/4 cup diced fresh strawberries
1/4 jalapeno pepper, diced and seeds removed
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/2 avocado, peeled and diced
Zest and juice of one lime
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🍓Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips (I used @tostitos hint of lime). Enjoy!
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🍓Recipe and Photo By: Brittaney Berendsen RD, P.H.Ec.
Food is meant to be enjoyed, to nourish and to fuel 💪🏼.
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Eating to provide comfort, distract ourselves or cope with our issues is not conducive to building a healthy relationship with food 🚫.
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Anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger and stress are all emotions that we are bound to encounter in our lives. Each emotion has its own trigger and each individual trigger has its own appeasement, but food won't fix these feelings 💭.
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Food may provide temporary and fleeting comfort, distract you from the pain or even numb you but it won't solve the problem. More often than not, emotional hunger only makes us feel worse in the long run and then we are left to deal with not only the source of our emotions but with the discomfort of overeating as well🙍🏼♀️.
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What are your healthy coping mechanisms to manage stress and negative emotions? 🧘🏻♀️🏃🏾♂️💆🏽♀️
