Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Reminder: I’ll be at the Fireside conference Sept 6-9 in Canada, and doing a live podcast on stage with the venerable Yoni Freedhoff. Would love to see you there!

This week mushroom tea isn’t magic, a little alcohol probably won’t kill you, and diet impacts women’s wellbeing more than men’s.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week industry gets busted influencing scientists, Salmonella hits the cereal aisle, and how exercise reduces inflammation.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Read the rest of this story »

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week willpower is overrated, alcohol isn’t healthy, and the downside of posting calories.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Read the rest of this story »

A couple of times a month Polly is expected to go out for drinks with her coworkers. This is part of the company culture and a great opportunity to bond with her team. Plus, she really enjoys it and finds it to be an overall rewarding experience.

The problem is that at these events Polly finds herself drinking three to four times more alcohol than she normally would. This frustrates her because it is out of character and not aligned with her healthstyle values.

In her normal life Polly has no problem stopping after one or two drinks and the rest of her healthstyle is very strong. She eats mindfully, cooks every day, exercises, and gets plenty of sleep.

Polly has tried to talk herself into drinking less at work events without success. As soon as she arrives anxiety and excitement kick in and she feels the urge to match her coworkers drink for drink, making sure no one’s glass is ever empty.

While all over-indulgence habits are hard to break, binge drinking is particularly tough since alcohol inhibits your ability to make good decisions. It is important to remember in these cases that small actions can lead to big results over time and to have patience with yourself when you aren’t perfect.

In this episode, Polly and I discover what her triggers are and I share with her some tricks that have helped me drink less in social situations. We also develop strategies she can use to alter her behavior through trial and error, instead of setting strict rules to follow. This encourages her to approach her situation with a new and more realistic outlook.

Wish you had more time to listen to the podcast? I use an app called Overcast (no affiliation) to play back my favorite podcasts at faster speeds, dynamically shortening silences in talk shows so it doesn’t sound weird. It’s pretty rad.

Related links:

8 Tips For Drinking Less Without Your Friends Knowing

How To Cut Back On Alcohol Without Going Cold Turkey

Listen:

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Listen on Soundcloud

If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please fill out the form here and tell us your story.

Peg had a regular habit of drinking a couple glasses of wine every night and felt like it was a problem, like something that she needed.

Not only did this habit impact her general wellbeing and ability to be at her best for herself and her work, she also knew this wasn’t the person she wanted to be.

At the same time, Peg knew that she couldn’t just stop drinking all at once. So she decided to try slowly, a method that worked for her in the past to overcome bulimia.

Kaizen is the Japanese principle of making continuous small, incremental improvement. For Peg, addressing her problems slowly removed the fear of the idea of stopping completely, which she knew she wasn’t ready for.

Starting with one small change––not drinking for one night, not purging for a few hours––gave her the courage and empowerment to continue.

Her deepest motivation was to ultimately become the person she knew she wanted to be, and kaizen was her method to get there.

Wish you had more time to listen to the podcast? I use an app called Overcast (no affiliation) to play back my favorite podcasts at faster speeds, dynamically shortening silences in talk shows so it doesn’t sound weird. It’s pretty rad.

Related links:

How to Cut Back on Alcohol Without Going Cold Turkey

yogahealer.com – Cate Stillman

How to Get Past “I Should” and Actually Become a Healthy Person (external vs internal motivation)

Listen:

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Listen on Soundcloud

If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please fill out the form here and tell us your story.

After a move from Chicago to California, Mary found herself slowly gaining weight to the tune of 1 pound every 3 months. After awhile she was dismayed to find she was up 15 lbs, and wanted to find the reason.

She tried several things to cut back a bit on calories without any luck. Her last resort was her evening routine of drinking several glasses of wine, a habit that’s proving more difficult to break than any of the others.

This worries Mary for a few reasons. Obviously she wants to lose the weight and feel back in control of her healthstyle. But we all know alcohol is an addictive substance, so part of her fear is that this may be related to why she hasn’t been able to cut back.

Alcohol is a difficult habit to work with, and as a wine lover myself I can definitely relate. Mary had done a few experiments and is fairly confident she isn’t dependent on the substance. Together we come up with some strategies for her to cut back enough to feel more in control and potentially lose the weight.

Wish you had more time to listen to the podcast? I use an app called Overcast (no affiliation) to play back my favorite podcasts at faster speeds, dynamically shortening silences in talk shows so it doesn’t sound weird. It’s pretty rad.

Related links:

What to Do When Willpower Isn’t Enough (The Power of One)

How to Burn More Calories Without Breaking a Sweat

Listen:

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Listen on Soundcloud

If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please fill out the form here and tell us your story.

For the Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. 

This week how to keep your brain 10 yrs younger, the future of food tech, and why nursing moms should eat spicy foods.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week emotions are key to weight loss, easy recipes don’t exist, and a link between exercise and beer.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Read the rest of this story »

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week the science of Dad Bod, omega-3s impact kids’ behavior, and the dangers of drinking before you know you’re preggers.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (Yes, I took that picture of the pepper heart myself.)

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For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week Costco is making you fat, meditation protects the brain, and the strange psychology of taking a pill.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (Yes, I took that picture of the pepper heart myself.)

Read the rest of this story »