Working with adolescents opened my eyes to what little value I actually place on its influence. My days inevitably revolve around their persistent focus on the latest social and pop culture trends. I can’t help being in awe of how the images at our fingertips so profoundly impact emotion and shape sense of self. Editing the information that flashes across the blue screen can help change electronics from a means for comparison and distraction, to tools for metal and physical health and wellness. Here you can explore apps and podcasts to practice meditation, develop mindful eating practices, enhance body acceptance, and select the best nutrition for your body.
Meditation
We are just beginning to understand the intricate ways in which the brain pays a role in eating patterns. I so often work with women and girls who berate themselves for not being able to “give up” on their food obsessions or “push through” their meal plans. Addictive patterns turn off rational thinking and send the brain into “fight-or-flight” mode. Healing your relationship to food is not about will power, but instead changing those thought loops in your brain.
Meditation immediately shifts the brain’s response from the limbic system (emotional center, “fight-or-flight” mode) to the prefrontal cortex (rational thought). The more consistently you meditate, the better able your brain will be to instinctively respond from the prefrontal cortex when an obsessive thought or urge arises. To reap the benefits of meditation, you don’t need to book a trip to an Ashram in India. Ten minutes of meditation a day is sufficient to begin transforming your brain. Although you do not need a smart phone to meditate, the following are apps and experts on social media to help guide your journey:
- Insight Timer, free to begin. This app offers a wide variety of guided meditations, soothing music and paid programs if you want to take your experience deeper. I frequently recommend the course: Coming Home to Yourself, by Sarah Blondin, as it provides support in healing your relationship with food.
- Meditation Studio, $3.99. Collections of guided meditations are offered for a variety of emotional states: stress, pain, happiness, confidence, performance, and sleep. Featured experts include: Dr. Elisha Goldstein, Emily Fletcher, Michael Apollo, and Susan Piver.
- Headspace, $13/month. If you love a British accent, this is the app for you. Each guided meditation is 10 minutes and led by founder Andy Puddicombe. The app offers a free 10-day challenge to see if it’s right for you.
- Simply Being, $1.99. This app allows for a customizable meditation experience. You can select a time for 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes and choose to meditate with a guided voice, nature sounds and music, or both. Created by the founders of the Meditation Oasis podcast, this app is a great option for someone who wants to experiment with different varieties of meditation.
- The following are experts to follow on social media for inspiration and more comprehensive meditative training: Emily Fletcher @zivameditation, Guru Jagat @gurujagat, Biet Simkin @guidedbybiet, Light Watkins @lightwatkins, Amy Budden @connectthemind.
Mindful Eating
Simply put: how we eat is just as important as what we eat. Our mindset while eating impacts not only the quantity of food we consume, but also how well our bodies are able to digest and absorb the nutrients present in the meal.
Mindful eating is a process of training yourself to become more conscious of each bite. It’s about noticing the cues of your body during meal times. Researchers are reporting powerful evidence that mindful eating improves health indicators and decreases stress-related binging. The following are apps to help bring your awareness to the table:
- Mindful Eating Tracker – Self-help Journal, $2.99. This app offers an eating notebook that lives in your phone and visualizes your eating habits. Track eating and drinking throughout the day, along with your level of satisfaction from each experience. You will be offered a visual scale comparing hunger, thirst, food enjoyment, food satisfaction, and gratefulness.
- Am I Hungry?® Virtual Coach, $2.99. Each time you are reaching for food, open this app to walk you through a mindful eating approach. The prompts ask you to reflect on: why, what, when, and how much you want to eat. It offers a hunger / fullness scale from 1 to 10, similar to the one shared in my post: Decode Hunger & Fullness.
The following are podcasts highlighting intuitive eating. These powerful speakers engage in discussion around the intricate connection between food and body image:
- FoodPsych by Christy Harrison, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Intuitive Eating Counselor who interviews an amazing list of guests to discuss dieting, body image issues, and eating disorders.
- Mind Body Musings by Madelyn Moon, a Holistic Health Coach sharing her passion for helping women live a more fulfilled life. Madelyn is not afraid to incorporate femininity and spirituality into her discussion with guests about food and body image.
- Let It Out by Katie Dalebout, a Holistic Life Coach and author of a self-help book on journaling. This podcast is appropriate for a younger audience, as Katie openly shares her personal struggles with eating through her interviews with guests.
- Dietitians Unplugged, hosted by Aaron Flores and Glenys Oyston, both Registered Dietitians who specialize in intuitive eating and Health at Every Size®. The two discuss the latest trends in dieting and health, covering topics like: “Tips for Living on Non-Diet Life” and “Will I Ever Lose Weight as an Intuitive Eater.”
Nutrition
Although there is no shortage of nutrition-focused apps, I am thoughtful in my recommendations to eliminate a focus on calorie counting, weight loss, or food shaming. The following are useful tools when trying to select the best nutrition for your body:
- Food Intolerances, $4.99. If you are someone with food allergies or sensitivities, or trying to navigate an elimination diet, this app will help take some of the frustration out of grocery shopping. The app offers users the option to explore foods by category or search directly for information on how a product may affect your allergy or sensitivity. Options include lactose intolerance, gluten sensitivity, and high-FODMAP foods. You can set a filter to remove the foods that you (or a dinner guest) cannot eat to ease your meal planning.
- Food Tripping, Free. Because we all know that healthy options can be hard to come by on a road trip. In addition to providing useful information about restaurants, the app also informs you of health food stores, farmer’s markets, and coffee shops in your neighborhood. This app is a must for frequent travelers and will guide you to great eateries along your trip.
Through my work with adolescent clients, I have witnessed how changing the way in which you interact with your smart phone can powerfully influence your relationship to food and your body. Try incorporating one or more of the apps or podcasts listed above and notice how it shifts your energy and emotion.