Ah, summer break! It’s a time for relaxation, fun, and a well-deserved break from school routines. But with this break can come a few challenges, especially when it comes to staying healthy. Without the structured schedule of school days, it’s easy to find ourselves slipping into habits like snacking a bit too often, lounging around more than moving, or getting tempted by all those tasty (but not always healthy) treats. But here’s the good news! Summer also offers a fantastic opportunity to focus on maintaining a balanced diet and getting plenty of exercise—without the rush and strict timetables of the school year. It’s the perfect time to explore new activities and foods that keep us feeling great. Achieving a healthy summer is all about embracing these opportunities to stay physically fit and mentally strong, ensuring our well-being throughout the vibrant season. At the Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research (CHEAR), we recognize that family involvement is crucial in the treatment of overweight and obesity. Our approach is built on the understanding that sustainable health…

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder out there, and it's something that a lot of people deal with. Imagine sometimes feeling like you can't stop eating, even if you're already full, and afterward feeling really bad about it. That's what happens when someone has BED. It can also make someone feel really down, anxious, or have a really low opinion of themselves. Getting better from BED isn't about eating less or trying to lose weight. It's about getting help from professionals who understand what's going on in your mind, learning about food in a way that's not scary or all about rules, and finding ways to move your body that make you feel good. So, tackling BED means dealing with it from all sides—talking about thoughts and feelings, developing a balanced relationship with food, and getting active in a fun way. In the next parts, we're going to talk more about how getting moving can be a secret weapon in feeling better again, with some helpful tips for making exercise a…

Creating a lasting home environment for healthy eating is more than just picking the right foods at the grocery store. This journey includes careful planning, thorough organization, and a strong commitment to making healthier choices easy and attractive for every family member. The heart of building a health-focused household is not just in choosing nutritious foods but also in creating a space that naturally supports these choices. Starting on this path brings many benefits, including a big positive effect on overall health and the development of lifelong healthy eating habits as well as impact weight. A good plan for meal prep, along with smart grocery shopping and organizing your kitchen, lays the foundation for a lifestyle that values nutrition and balance. Planning for Success Starting a foundation for healthy eating begins with smart planning. This method makes sure that every meal and snack adds positively to your family's nutritional needs, promoting a lifestyle that supports health and energy. Here's how you can plan for success: Understanding Nutritional Needs Importance of a Balanced Diet: A balanced…

In today's society, dieting is the norm for controlling the weight and shape of our bodies. Yet, dieting can have unintended outcomes that conflict with these goals and create a fractured relationship with food and eating. The diet narrative may lead individuals to engage in periods of restrictive behaviors such as strict dieting, skipping meals, eating very little calories, and avoiding certain foods. Ultimately, leaving individuals hungry and unsatisfied. Our bodies are biologically wired to overcompensate for these periods of restriction. Biological mechanisms kick-in and drive us to experience increased hunger signals and potentially eat more than we intended because our bodies recognize these periods of restriction as “famine” or “starvation”. This is known as the binge-restrict cycle. Binge-Restrict Cycle The binge-restrict cycle is a pattern of disordered eating that involves alternating between periods of strict food restriction and episodes of binge eating. This cycle is not only a psychological phenomenon but is also deeply rooted in biological responses to perceived scarcity of food. Understanding the binge-restrict cycle requires exploring its components, triggers, and the…