As I am preparing to educate these little gardeners on the importance of eating healthy foods, I have continued my education on what to eat and what not to eat. This has heightened my awareness of the food around me, and who’s eating it, which is starting to eat at me. I marvel in disbelief as I watch diabetics snarf down birthday cake, or overweight women with knee trouble have 2 servings of punch, or even countless healthy co workers hoarding valentine’s day candy and treats. At meetings I am served hydrogenated oils, offered colorful corn syrup temptations, and fatty hormone pumped meat products daily. I have noticed an obnoxious shift in my attitude that has come with this consciousness, and I don’t like it. I spent most of my life eating these foods without a second thought. How quickly my compassion and understanding has turned to judgment and criticism. Is this an inevitable stop in the process of change and awareness? Or am I just being a tool? I believe that effectual sincere change needs to come from a place of non judgment and compassion, yet I find myself continually shaking my head in disapproval at the diets of strangers (and sometimes loved ones).
How can I express my opinion when I don’t think it’s my opinion? Meaning I believe that this issue is right/wrong, healthy/unhealthy. I’m trying to find some grey, or at least paint my soapbox grey before I get up on it.
This blogger’s post help shed some light:
http://advocacyblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/being-non-judgemental.html
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Does 'You're Too Damn Fat' Sound Too Harsh?
This is an interesting argument about the fine line between promoting healthy diets for children without invoking eating disorders and body image obsession, another widespread crisis facing our nation. As someone who has had my share of self scrutiny and is in a position of preaching healthy diets to adolescent girls, this question weighs heavily on me (yes it's a pun). All in all, I feel like the balance can be achieved through appropriate methods and channels. This is an article by Dr. Susan Albers concerning Michelle Obama's childhood obesity campaign. I have read several of Dr. Albers books and found them to be very helpful with my own relatoinship with food. I have also been following the Let's Move campaign and think it is a great start to deal with this urgent situation. Here are some links for more information and to get involved with this campaign. http://www.letsmove.gov/
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10662
http://www.healthiergeneration.org/schools.aspx
Michelle Obama's Childhood Obesity Controversy
On the Today show, Michelle Obama discussed the cause, obesity among children, she has chosen to take on during her husband's presidency. We can applaud her for picking such a worthy cause. Helping children to eat well and take care of their bodies will help our future in many ways. It will reduce health care costs as well as allow people to live healthier and stronger lives. This goal is quite a large undertaking. Tackling obesity must take place on several different levels: changing school lunches, altering the fast food environment, educating parents, providing economic resources for obtaining healthy food all without blaming or alienating parents.
Her words have sparked some controversy. According to some eating disorder groups, Michelle may not have considered or been familiar with the delicate balance between preventing obesity and triggering eating disorders. She mentioned that she put her children on a diet after her pediatrician and their father felt they were getting "chubby." Words like "chubby" don't cause eating disorders but they are often a trigger to disordered eating behavior. Most eating disorder professional would strongly caution parents from using labels or prerogative words to describe their child's weight as this has lasting impacts on a child's self esteem. Also, putting kids on "diet" instead of focusing on healthy eating and exercise can be another trigger for eating disorder behaviors. Dieting is clearly not the answer. Michelle had some great suggestions on helping parents and their children eat healthier. Hopefully, it helps to draw awareness to what parents can do to help kids eat well and add exercise to their daily routine.
We also have to keep in mind that weight alone is not an indicator of a child's health. Children's weights dramatically vary and change particularly as they go through development stages, growth spurts and puberty. Instead of aiming for slimness, let's focus on a healthy lifestyle that includes mindful eating, access to healthy food and exercise.Michelle's words drew a reaction from some of the leading organizations that work on eating disorder prevention and treatment like the American Academy of Eating Disorders, the Binge Eating Disorder Association and the Eating Disorder Coalition, and the International Association for Eating Disorders. They sent a letter outlining the potential danger of tackling "the war on obesity" without considering the potential impact on eating disorders. They have also offered their help and assistance to Michelle as she begins to tackle this cause.
Clearly, there are multiple causes of eating disorders that include biological, social and psychological factors. It seems like this discussion is a just another reminder that addressing any weight issue, whether eating too much or too little, is extremely complicated. However, it is a very important health issue for everyone. Eating disorders aren't just anorexia and bulimia. It includes binge eating disorder, which is linked with obesity.
We look forward to hearing more from Michelle. She is sure to gather a fantastic team of professionals to help to begin addressing childhood obesity. Thank you again for taking on this important cause.
The key is to work with these professional groups to find the latest scientific research that addresses the obesity issue cautiously without causing a wave of eating disorders. To see guidelines for Obesity Prevention Programs click here.
By Dr. Susan Albers, psychologist and author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food and Eating Mindfully. www.eatingmindfully.com
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10662
http://www.healthiergeneration.org/schools.aspx
Michelle Obama's Childhood Obesity Controversy
On the Today show, Michelle Obama discussed the cause, obesity among children, she has chosen to take on during her husband's presidency. We can applaud her for picking such a worthy cause. Helping children to eat well and take care of their bodies will help our future in many ways. It will reduce health care costs as well as allow people to live healthier and stronger lives. This goal is quite a large undertaking. Tackling obesity must take place on several different levels: changing school lunches, altering the fast food environment, educating parents, providing economic resources for obtaining healthy food all without blaming or alienating parents.
Her words have sparked some controversy. According to some eating disorder groups, Michelle may not have considered or been familiar with the delicate balance between preventing obesity and triggering eating disorders. She mentioned that she put her children on a diet after her pediatrician and their father felt they were getting "chubby." Words like "chubby" don't cause eating disorders but they are often a trigger to disordered eating behavior. Most eating disorder professional would strongly caution parents from using labels or prerogative words to describe their child's weight as this has lasting impacts on a child's self esteem. Also, putting kids on "diet" instead of focusing on healthy eating and exercise can be another trigger for eating disorder behaviors. Dieting is clearly not the answer. Michelle had some great suggestions on helping parents and their children eat healthier. Hopefully, it helps to draw awareness to what parents can do to help kids eat well and add exercise to their daily routine.
We also have to keep in mind that weight alone is not an indicator of a child's health. Children's weights dramatically vary and change particularly as they go through development stages, growth spurts and puberty. Instead of aiming for slimness, let's focus on a healthy lifestyle that includes mindful eating, access to healthy food and exercise.Michelle's words drew a reaction from some of the leading organizations that work on eating disorder prevention and treatment like the American Academy of Eating Disorders, the Binge Eating Disorder Association and the Eating Disorder Coalition, and the International Association for Eating Disorders. They sent a letter outlining the potential danger of tackling "the war on obesity" without considering the potential impact on eating disorders. They have also offered their help and assistance to Michelle as she begins to tackle this cause.
Clearly, there are multiple causes of eating disorders that include biological, social and psychological factors. It seems like this discussion is a just another reminder that addressing any weight issue, whether eating too much or too little, is extremely complicated. However, it is a very important health issue for everyone. Eating disorders aren't just anorexia and bulimia. It includes binge eating disorder, which is linked with obesity.
We look forward to hearing more from Michelle. She is sure to gather a fantastic team of professionals to help to begin addressing childhood obesity. Thank you again for taking on this important cause.
The key is to work with these professional groups to find the latest scientific research that addresses the obesity issue cautiously without causing a wave of eating disorders. To see guidelines for Obesity Prevention Programs click here.
By Dr. Susan Albers, psychologist and author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food and Eating Mindfully. www.eatingmindfully.com
Friday, February 12, 2010
Frozen February
Here’s where our edible schoolyard stands as of today: frozen with areas of slush. This is okay because a.: we haven’t started yet, and b: it’s February and that’s what happens in February, so all is going as expected. Hurrah!
As for our future, I have recently been experimenting with visualization and manifestation by closing my eyes and concentrating on an image or feeling of what I want as if I already have it. As you can imagine (or can’t if you haven’t honed this skill quite yet) this practice is tricky and seems sometimes, well, silly. In some areas of my life, it’s just impossible, but in others, i.e. a gorgeous vegetable patch on a summer day with enthusiastic school kids harvesting zucchini and tomatoes, it’s crystal clear. I take that as a good sign.
I’ve written a letter to the upper grades urging them to help with this current epidemic. It was meant to inspire but as I reread it now I realize it is a bit severe.
Dear Food Rules Team,
America is in trouble. That means we are unhealthier than ever before, and instead of getting better and stronger, we are getting weaker and sicker. This problem affects all of us. It costs a lot of money to get sick, and some people don’t have enough money to pay for doctors. No one wants to spend a lot of time not feeling good, or watch people they love like their parents not feel good. The main reason our bodies are getting sick is because we aren’t eating enough fruit, vegetables and grains. In fact, we aren’t eating a lot of real food at all. A lot of what we’re eating is made out of chemicals and other stuff that is actually hurting us more than helping us. Sometimes we don’t know what choices to make that would be best for our bodies. Other times we do know what would be better to eat, but it costs too much money, or it is unavailable. There are even times when we could choose to make healthy decisions, but we are so used to eating the way we always have and it can be hard to change bad habits.
We need your help to figure out some solutions to change this sad situation and live long healthy lives. Together we can change this, one bite at a time!
Sincerely and with hope,
Ms. Dyson
Pretty ominous, huh? I got 10 kids to join our little coalition. We will meet every Thursday for an hour for 7 weeks to get the ball rolling. I’m glad they are going to be there because I just realized that I have no idea where to start. But at least we are moving forward!
If you are interested in volunteering or have advice or comments for me, leave me a note and I will respond. Thanks for your interest and support in this experiment!
As for our future, I have recently been experimenting with visualization and manifestation by closing my eyes and concentrating on an image or feeling of what I want as if I already have it. As you can imagine (or can’t if you haven’t honed this skill quite yet) this practice is tricky and seems sometimes, well, silly. In some areas of my life, it’s just impossible, but in others, i.e. a gorgeous vegetable patch on a summer day with enthusiastic school kids harvesting zucchini and tomatoes, it’s crystal clear. I take that as a good sign.
I’ve written a letter to the upper grades urging them to help with this current epidemic. It was meant to inspire but as I reread it now I realize it is a bit severe.
Dear Food Rules Team,
America is in trouble. That means we are unhealthier than ever before, and instead of getting better and stronger, we are getting weaker and sicker. This problem affects all of us. It costs a lot of money to get sick, and some people don’t have enough money to pay for doctors. No one wants to spend a lot of time not feeling good, or watch people they love like their parents not feel good. The main reason our bodies are getting sick is because we aren’t eating enough fruit, vegetables and grains. In fact, we aren’t eating a lot of real food at all. A lot of what we’re eating is made out of chemicals and other stuff that is actually hurting us more than helping us. Sometimes we don’t know what choices to make that would be best for our bodies. Other times we do know what would be better to eat, but it costs too much money, or it is unavailable. There are even times when we could choose to make healthy decisions, but we are so used to eating the way we always have and it can be hard to change bad habits.
We need your help to figure out some solutions to change this sad situation and live long healthy lives. Together we can change this, one bite at a time!
Sincerely and with hope,
Ms. Dyson
Pretty ominous, huh? I got 10 kids to join our little coalition. We will meet every Thursday for an hour for 7 weeks to get the ball rolling. I’m glad they are going to be there because I just realized that I have no idea where to start. But at least we are moving forward!
If you are interested in volunteering or have advice or comments for me, leave me a note and I will respond. Thanks for your interest and support in this experiment!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Okay so our schoolyard is not edible. And that picture under the heading was not taken outside my classroom, but rather from Walnut Farm in the UK. This is just a dream, a vision, but one that might save our lives. Our chubby, cholesterol-stricken, diabetic lives. This dream is coming to fruition all over the country. Lakewood Elementary is making huge strides in St. Petersburg, FL. (http://theedibleschoolyard.blogspot.com/).New Orleans is also host to a thriving edible garden (http://www.esynola.org/). PS216 inBrooklyn also has some boastable botanicals. http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/01/brooklyn-edible-schoolyard/
The goal of this blog is to document our journey of revolutionizing our eating habits, starting with our most eager, hopeful, and impressionable population: our children.
Here are some potential obstacles that face this heroic endeavor:
1. Kids hate (or at least seem to hate) vegetables. The other day I was eating pea pods in front of a child and it appeared to offend him on a deep and perverse level.
2. Their food is already mandated by the government to include overly processed foods, very little fresh ingredients, and zero organic produce. Basically, it’s THE LAW to eat crap and get fat.
3. Being employed by the afore mentioned government, I run the risk of pissing off my bosses (like by calling school lunch crap) and I might back down from this initiative.
Here are some potential bonuses that support this heroic endeavor:
1. The school where I work is brand new, open to ideas, and is dead broke (the bonusness of this part comes in later).
2. There is already time set aside during the day for enrichment, meaning just this type of thing, and can be easily incorporated into a weekly routine.
3. This idea is taking off all over the country, pioneering in California by Alice Waters , who wrote a book entitled Edible Schoolyard, hence this blog. http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/journal/
4. Stuff (see below)
So far here’s what we got:
Support in the form of professional help and dedicated time by the Master Gardeners of Georgia.
Items listed on donorschoose.org, (search donorschoose, search athens, ga, gardening) some of which have already been fulfilled.
Monetary donations from Master Gardeners of Georgia.
Volunteers and donated supplies.
Starting in March, this will really kick off with weekly meetings and actions steps to get seeds in the ground as well as in the minds of the children. I am so excited about this I’m bursting like an overripe tomato. Thanks for checking in, this blog will be updated weekly as new developments arise and momentum builds.
Want to be part of the momentum? Come out and help us dig. Give us some stuff from donorschoose.org. Write your congressman and help reopen and revise the Child Nutrition Act. Here’s a link that will help you do this, it basically writes the letter for you and gives you the address of your congressman, it takes 90 seconds.
Sign the Hungry for Change petition by clicking on this link.
http://www.foodincmovie.com/sign-the-petition.php
Eat better. Educate yourself. Be the change and THRIVE.
Very inspirational!!
Why bother with this?
Despite being more educated than ever before, America is pervasively ignorant on the effects their bad eating habits are having on their bodies, and consequently, super fat and chronically sick.
According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/index.html
This generation is the first EVER, that has a life expectancy that is shorter than their parents.
The goal of this blog is to document our journey of revolutionizing our eating habits, starting with our most eager, hopeful, and impressionable population: our children.
Here are some potential obstacles that face this heroic endeavor:
1. Kids hate (or at least seem to hate) vegetables. The other day I was eating pea pods in front of a child and it appeared to offend him on a deep and perverse level.
2. Their food is already mandated by the government to include overly processed foods, very little fresh ingredients, and zero organic produce. Basically, it’s THE LAW to eat crap and get fat.
3. Being employed by the afore mentioned government, I run the risk of pissing off my bosses (like by calling school lunch crap) and I might back down from this initiative.
Here are some potential bonuses that support this heroic endeavor:
1. The school where I work is brand new, open to ideas, and is dead broke (the bonusness of this part comes in later).
2. There is already time set aside during the day for enrichment, meaning just this type of thing, and can be easily incorporated into a weekly routine.
3. This idea is taking off all over the country, pioneering in California by Alice Waters , who wrote a book entitled Edible Schoolyard, hence this blog. http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/journal/
4. Stuff (see below)
So far here’s what we got:
Support in the form of professional help and dedicated time by the Master Gardeners of Georgia.
Items listed on donorschoose.org, (search donorschoose, search athens, ga, gardening) some of which have already been fulfilled.
Monetary donations from Master Gardeners of Georgia.
Volunteers and donated supplies.
Starting in March, this will really kick off with weekly meetings and actions steps to get seeds in the ground as well as in the minds of the children. I am so excited about this I’m bursting like an overripe tomato. Thanks for checking in, this blog will be updated weekly as new developments arise and momentum builds.
Want to be part of the momentum? Come out and help us dig. Give us some stuff from donorschoose.org. Write your congressman and help reopen and revise the Child Nutrition Act. Here’s a link that will help you do this, it basically writes the letter for you and gives you the address of your congressman, it takes 90 seconds.
Sign the Hungry for Change petition by clicking on this link.
http://www.foodincmovie.com/sign-the-petition.php
Eat better. Educate yourself. Be the change and THRIVE.
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