Author Archive

By: Rebecca Bitzer, RD, LD

When I first started this blog, I decided that I wanted my section to focus on exquisite self care. Since then, I have become more clear on what is exquisite self-care. Merriam-Webster’s on-line definition of exquisite is the following:

1 : carefully selected : choice
2 archaic : accurate
3 a : marked by flawless craftsmanship or by beautiful, ingenious, delicate, or elaborate execution b : marked by nice discrimination, deep sensitivity, or subtle understanding c : accomplished, perfected
4 a : pleasing through beauty, fitness, or perfection b : acute, intense c : having uncommon or esoteric appeal

Although all of the above  seem to fit, the idea of exquisite self-care to me seems to encompass being able to identify your individual needs and finding ways to meet them by “filling up” your own vessel  and have enough to nourish others also.  This seems like a tricky thing to do, unless you carefully select things that foster nourishment of one’s body, mind, and soul.

Another interesting way to think about nourishing your body is to think about nourishing all of your senses.  In addition to nourishing your sense of taste by eating, how can you nourish your sense of smell, touch, hearing, sight, etc?  The photo above reminds me of ways that my dogs meet my needs of touch, hearing, sight and help me to slow down and enjoy my day.

For me, I must slow down long enough to really listen to myself to find out what charges my batteries or what drains me.  Some things that drain me, are important to do, so I must remember to nourish myself with things that replenish my energy.  I know when I am tired, stressed, and over-extending, I am not much value to myself and those around me.  However, when I am rested, well-nourished, finding time for satisfying work and play; I like myself much more and I seem to attract even more wonderful nourishing things in my life.

A carefully selected choice, it can start with a simple decision before you get out of bed in the morning to be grateful for the day and to commit to doing one positive thing for yourself each day.  This can be as simple as deciding to take the time to eat breakfast in the morning or making sure to get to bed at a reasonable time at night or any combination of other “carefully selected” choices throughout the day.

I believe that it is necessary to slow down and take the time to be thoughtful in terms of which actions would help you live your life with more peace, more creativity, more health, more satisfaction, more direction, more sense of accomplishment, more fun, or more whatever may be missing from your life.  You may wonder why I am writing about this as a “NUTRITIONIST” but I think if not me, than who?  As a nutritionist, I see that so many people’s lives are “out of balance” and that for whatever reason, most people need support and encouragement to make better choices in terms of  self-care.

Self-care in my mind involves anything that makes you a healthier person.  Who can argue that getting enough sleep, eating healthier foods and physical activity at regular intervals will not help you feel better?  Who does not benefit from some form of movement, fun, or adventure?  Food and feelings are very closely tied for some and for others there may be a big disconnect between food and feelings, but wherever you fall on this spectrum,  I believe that is important to pay attention to all the ways that you nourish your mind, body and spirit.

I challenge you to come up with big ways and small ways to nourish yourself.  I encourage you to share these with us on the comment section and I want to also say that I will be introducing additional opportunities for you to try new experiences which might encourage you to add tools to your tool box of ways to nourish yourself.   The choices and opportunities for self-care are vast and I encourage you to challenge yourself to commit and follow through with at least one positive choice or one example of exquisite self-care each day.

As a nutritionist, I often hear people say:

• What would Rebecca think of this meal?
• Is this a good snack?
• Did I eat enough protein?
• I wish that you were actually sitting with me so that you could see how well I ate.
• I am not really eating that much.
• I don’t know how to describe to you what I am eating?
• I hate keeping a food record.
• I forgot to write down what I ate.

As those of you know who keep food records, it is a very good predictor of long-term success.  It is a great way to communicate what you are eating and not eating to your nutritionist.  However, I would like to take this one step further and encourage you to actually photograph your meals and snacks so that we can see exactly what you are eating.  Like the expression says, “A picture is worth a thousand words”.  By using this new technology, we can actually see what you eat and provide timely feedback to you to keep you mindful, accountable and ultimately successful.  It is almost like taking your nutritionist to breakfast, lunch and dinner (not to mention snacks).

We have teamed up with meallogger to provide an efficient way for you to post your food photos.  By signing up with meallogger, we can provide frequent feedback on your meals.  The more that we understand what you are eating, the better we can help you and we think that this is a wonderful use of technology especially since so many people have camera phones or very small, easy to carry phones that can upload photos of foods.

The RD that you trust is now able to help you more conveniently than ever.

To sign up, simply contact our office admin@rbitzer.com and we will send you an invite to connect on MealLogger and we can set you up with the package that best meets your needs.

See our packages below:

One Week Getting Started or Get Back on Track Service $50

• Feedback of every meal. Food logs checked daily Monday through Friday
• Registered dietitian monitors your progress toward your health goals
• Comments will target your goals and questions to provide suggestions to improve your eating habits.
• Appropriate handouts and reference materials.

Two-Week Getting Started or Get Back on Track Service $75

• 1^st week, food logs checked daily Monday-Friday
• 2^nd week, food logs checked Monday, Wednesday and Friday
• Registered dietitian monitors your progress toward your health goals.
• Comments will target your goals and questions to provide suggestions to improve your eating habits and assist you to establish life long health habits.
• Appropriate handouts and reference materials.

One Month Service It’s Time to Get and Stay Healthy $125

• Food logs checked three times per week.
• Registered dietitian monitors your progress towards your health goals.
• Advice and suggestions provided to help you make lasting changes to your diet and improving your health.
• Comments will target client goals and questions to provide suggestions to improve your eating habits and help you establish life long health habits.
• Appropriate handouts and reference materials

Visit our Facebook Fan Page and Comment on it to win prizes. During the holiday season we will be promoting lots of new holiday tips and programs to help make your holidays successful. We will choose one person each week to receive a special holiday gift. http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Greenbelt-MD/Rebecca-Bitzer-and-Associates/85945163588

As a new intern at Rebecca Bitzer & Associates, one of the first things I noticed around the office was the amount of seemingly complicated equipment: blood-sugar kits, scanners, machines with dozens of buttons and wires. Not wanting to be left out of the 21^st century, I am determined to master each one, and last week, I had the opportunity to try out the RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) test.

Our bodies are constantly working: to move our legs when we are walking the dog, to digest the food we ate for lunch, and to constantly pump blood and keep our lungs breathing, even while we sleep. So it is no wonder that we all need to consume a certain number of calories each and every day, but what is that “certain number?” And is it different for everyone?

The answer to the latter is yes, and while many make use of faulty online calculators to find their “magic number,” I am suggesting that you give RMR testing a try. One of the most important factors in losing weight is knowing one’s personal RMR, because this is the basis from which we can develop a range of calories that will ensure a steady weight loss. With so much misinformation out there (like the 1200-calorie myth), it is easy to get the wrong idea about how many calories one really needs. The RMR test, however, considers all factors such as age, height, and lifestyle factors to deliver the most accurate results. That number is then multiplied by another number depending on how active one is (see chart below). So how does the test work? Last Tuesday, I found out.

Unlike a test for BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), I did not have to sleep in a testing facility for 8 hours prior, nor did I have to fast for 12 hours. This test only required that I didn’t exercise for 24 hours prior, and fasted for 4-5 hours, which, if planned around a mealtime, can be very reasonable. I was seated in a comfortable chair and instructed to place a nose clamp over my nose and breathe directly into a tube, the other end of which was plugged into the machine. Although the nose clamp at first felt a little funny, I soon relaxed and found it really enjoyable to simply rest for 10 minutes and focus on nothing else but my breathing. The results were quick (the whole test took under 20 minutes) and very detailed. I was provided with my RMR, my weight-loss range, even the number of times on average that I breathed per minute! My mentor Shelley went over the numbers and explained how I would then apply them if I were to begin a weight-loss plan. Easy as that.

Just for fun, I took my personal number that night and compared it to the number I got from an online RMR calculator. The online calculator was off by over 400 calories! In the often tricky battle of weight maintenance and weight loss, I know that that much difference can be detrimental to success. So for all of you out there who have been struggling to lose weight, consider finding your magic number by getting your RMR tested, the right way!

Submitted by Elizabeth Haaser

Last year, I listened to several of my friends talk about their CSA boxes.  I had no idea what they were talking about. CSA what is that? For the longest time, I could not even remember what the acronym stood for, now I know that CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, it is a program that allows you to purchase a box of produce each month from local farmers.  Here is an example of some of the locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables that are available:

I love getting the mystery package. I never know what is going to be inside the produce box. It is exciting, kind of like my own present each week. It inspires me to try new produce and it feels great to have an abundant amount of produce on hand so each summer meal can have at least two kinds of fruit/vegetables. For instance if I have 2 kolrabi, then I can saute one and serve one raw. Or, I can roast half the potatoes and use the rest for homemade mashed potatoes.  FUN and delicious!  I have learned to cook fresh beets and all kinds of produce that I might have only had frozen or in a can in the past.

I would strongly recommend either participating in a similar program or simply making a stop at a local framer’s market to see which produce is locally grown.  Remember that the best way to enjoy fruits and vegetables to purchase is locally grown and in season.  In addition to “making your plate look like a rainbow” another tip is to “eat close to the earth” meaning that the food that you eat should change as the seasons change, for instance, eating strawberries when they are in season taste delicious and are quite affordable, yet, when strawberries are purchased in the middle of the winter they are expensive and tasteless.  The same is true with cantaloupe, a piece of fresh cantaloupe while in season tastes like candy, yet a piece a cantaloupe at a salad bar mid-winter tastes awful.

This is also a great way to get your children to like fresh produce and to re-introduce yourself to fresh fruits and vegetables.

There is always so much to learn about food and food preparation and it can be both fun and enjoyable.  I like to try a new food item or recipe each week so with the CSA box, that makes it easy to for me to meet my goal.

How do you encourage yourself to eat a wider variety of fresh fruits and vegetables?

Happy Fourth of July from all of us at Rebecca Bitzer & Associates.

We hope you all have a fun, safe and healthy holiday.

For those who do not know Shelley (pictured above),  she is our Chief Registered Dietitian.  Shelley was recently sailing our boat during our office staff party and I thought that this photo illustrated her positive, fearless attitude and her never-ending smile.  We are fortunate to have Shelley on our team.

I also like the way that the photo includes the American flag, symbolic of our freedom and independence which we celebrate this weekend.  As Washington said about our American Flag: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty.”

Happy Birthday America!

Listen to favorite music , Enjoy a relaxing nap, Enjoy a long, warm bubble bath or shower, Visit a museum or art gallery, Go for a walk, Practice yoga, Relax outside, Relax in a whirlpool or sauna, Physical activity (of my choice), Say or read a spiritual prayer, Attend a caring support group, Practice deep breathing, Do stretching exercises, Reflect on positive qualities “I am…”, Write my thoughts and feelings in a personal journal,  Concentrate on a relaxing scene, Create a collage representing the “real me” are some of the activities that we discuss with our clients to inspire exquisite self-care.

How posting your self-nurturing activities?  I think it will be a great way to keep us thinking about self-care and inspire others to do the same.

The suggestion for this challenge came from a client of mine, Kathe Kramer who has been regularly sharing her thoughts and ideas and it is a pleasure to be able to share her fresh outlook.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  I used to have this drawing hanging on the wall of my office, it has since aged quite a bit, but the drawing sticks in my mind and I hope it sticks in your mind also.  This was drawn by one of my clients when she was a young teenager struggling with anorexia nervosa.

If you know of someone struggling with an eating disorder, please encourage them to make an appointment with a Registered Dietitian who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders.  Rebecca, Shelley and Bobbi have all had advanced training in coaching clients with eating disorders, work closely with psychotherapists, and we all feel passionate about helping our clients recover from all kinds of eating disorders.

If you are unsure if you have an eating disorder, visit this website to find out more information http://www.something-fishy.org/.  We will be adding a page to our website on eating disorders soon.

Hi Everyone,

I am so glad that so many people have been participating in our first exercise competition.   Great job with week 1 and 2!

I enjoy reading your comments and seeing you all inspire each other.  I am working on staying “unplugged” from the computer on Sundays, but I know that Kait who tallies up the exercise totals is on vacation so she will tally them up when she returns.

Keep on logging your exercise either daily or weekly or whenever you have a chance.  Remember our bodies are meant to move (not sit in front of TV screens or  computer screens for extended periods of time), so get up and move!  Signing off now so I can get up and move, enjoy the last few hours of the weekend.

Week 3 starts tomorrow, it is not too late to participate so tell your friends!

This morning, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial of school children showing vitamin D prevents influenza. A secondary finding was that asthmatic children on placebo had six times more asthma attacks than did children on vitamin D.

For information, contact the lead author, Dr. Mitsuyoshi Urashima at urashima@jikei.ac.jp

…read more on Vitamin D and Influenza and Asthma