Lori Schermers

Body Kindness for Your Here-and-Now Body

Body Awareness, Mindful Eating, Mindfulness, Self-Compassion / By / 4 minutes of reading

I have noticed that many people who are interested in mindful eating are very dissatisfied with their body and want to lose weight. They are plagued with this belief: “When I lose weight, then I will have the confidence, health, and well-being I wish for.”   Even if you are committed to learning to trust your body, it’s very understandable to feel conflicted about intuitive eating and weight. I see people struggle with this strong wish to lose weight quickly while at the same time knowing they can’t withstand yet another diet.  Mindfully consuming a balanced, nutrient-dense pattern of eating can …

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Care for Yourself This Holiday Season by Asking: What Do I Really Need?

Body Awareness, Mindful Eating, Mindfulness, Self-Compassion / By / 4 minutes of reading

Now, more than ever—amid the ongoing pandemic, social unrest, and divisive political climate, the pleasure I seek from food goes a long way in soothing the raw edges of my emotions, connecting with family, and entertaining myself with a love for cooking.  I teach what I need. When I teach mindful eating, I often say mindful eating is a lifetime practice. That may feel daunting to hear, but my personal experience tells me that it’s true.  Lately, my own mindful eating practice has needed some extra care and attention as I find myself struggling with more internal distress. The ways …

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Embrace Your Love of Food This Holiday Season

Mindful Eating, Mindfulness / By / 4 minutes of reading

The holidays are filled with the warmth of love from family and friends, brilliant decorations, and an abundance of food and traditions. Many of us eagerly anticipate the traditional foods of the season while worrying about how to manage the numerous social events. And the 2020 holiday season will be a bit different, in a variety of ways. The stress of the holiday season combined with the abundance of seasonal foods, including desserts and treats, creates understandable challenges for eating in a way that honors our health and well-being. There are so many distractions—external and internal—that pull us away from …

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A Season and Reason to Be Kind

Mindful Eating / By / 3 minutes of reading

Winter is the season of self-reflection and renewal. Many of us set intentions to move more, eat better, improve our time management, give more, or spend less money. In some aspect, all of these are on my list of intentions for 2018. Is being kinder to yourself on your list of intentions for the coming year? It’s made mine. I recently completed the Mindful Self-Compassion program at Grand Rapids Center for Mindfulness. The concepts and practices of self-compassion are not new to me.  My awareness of the ways in which I criticize myself continues to grow. Research shows the nicer …

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Mind the Gap: A Guide to Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating / By / 2 minutes of reading

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” —Viktor E. Frankl On a recent trip to London, we frequently used the extensive subway system known as the Underground. At every train stop, there was an announcement to MIND THE GAP between the train car and the platform. As an accident-prone person, I came to appreciate this frequent and kind reminder to be mindful to prevent the risk of an injury if I were to mindlessly step off the train. In our …

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A Path of Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating / By / 3 minutes of reading

My Journey My journey with mindful eating began over 30 years ago as I learned to listen and honor my body during my recovery from an eating disorder. This was prior to the popularity of mindfulness. Back then, it was referred to as “conscious eating,” which had many of the same principles of mindful eating, such as: Eat what you are really hungry for Reliance on the body’s internal cues of hunger and satiety to determine what and how much to eat Eat for physical, rather than emotional, reasons Early on in my career as a dietitian, I began to …

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