Tag: Women’s Health Body Clock Diet

16 Things You Never Knew About L’ifestyle Lounge

Posted on January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 by Laura Cipullo

16 Things You Never Knew About L’ifestyle Lounge

by the Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Team

If you are looking for yoga classes in New York or New Jersey, there are so many places to choose from. How do you know which one is right for you? It pays to investigate – it is your money and time, after all. To make things a little easier, my latest post is about all the things that make L’ifestyle Lounge the best choice for yoga, if you’re in Closter, NJ or thereabouts. And I’m also including some fun trivia you may not know!

1) We are a body-positive, gender/LGBTQ-inclusive, age-inclusive, body-inclusive space. Going to yoga can feel so intimidating for some. We get it. We want you to feel at ease the minute you step into our studio. We want you to love your body and we’ll never encourage you to change it. We don’t believe yoga is only for skinny, young women. We have classes for young boys and girls and their parents, for teens, for beginning yoga students, for experienced beginners, for advanced. Yoga has something to offer us all and that’s what makes it so powerful. We are also always open to suggestions so if you see a need for a certain type of class in our schedule, let us know about it!

2) We will be celebrating our second year this March. Can you believe time has gone by so fast? In March 2017, we opened our doors to the Closter, NJ yoga community and what a fun ride it has been so far! We are proud to be a studio that brings together nutrition counseling, yoga and mindfulness for a full wellness experience, and we’re just getting started.

3) You will not find mirrors in our studios. This is part of our commitment to being a place where everyone is welcome and feels comfortable.

4) We run a regular, free book club. Even if you are not taking classes with us, we encourage you to come to our club for warmth, new ideas and community. We have it every few months, and you can always see our next one on our scheduling page. This month, we are reading Beautiful Boy by Nic Scheff on January 23.

5) Our space is 1800 square feet. See some photos of it here.

6) You can drop in or join us for an entire semester. We are flexible with your schedule!

7) We recently introduced tai chi to our offerings. Find out more about tai chi in this blog post. Right now we’re in the last few weeks of our 8-week tai chi sessions with Phillip Cross, who studied with Master Randy Elia at Peter Kwok’s Kung Fu Academy. Check our site regularly to see when we’ll be offering a new round of classes.

8) As you can probably already tell, we’re not just yoga! We also offer mindfulness classes, nutrition appointments, tai chi as mentioned, and physical therapy. We fit a lot under one roof!

9) You can purchase clothing with our philosophy – “eat kale and cupcakes.” on Project Heal, which was created so folks could have access to eating disorder treatment without money being a barrier, and also at our studio.

10) Our founder, Laura Cipullo, has written a number of books on yoga, nutrition, diabetes, and kids. Find them all here.

11) We’re very active on social media! We do daily updates on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Comment, like, follow and share!

12) We are frequently called upon for our nutrition advice in the media and to speak at events. Here is just a partial list. If you are a journalist or want to request our services for speaking, contact us at laura@lauracipullo.com.

13) We offer online resources for free, like our Mindful Meal Log and Comfort Cards. Download them here!

14) We have a regular newsletter. Fill out the subscription form when you log in to lauracipullo.com. Subscribe to stay in the know.

15) Some of our yoga classes incorporate essential oils and painting, such as Paint and Poses and EmpowerHER.

16) We’re a great spot for birthday parties! If you’re looking for a special idea for your child’s next party give yoga a try. It’s fun and will help them better deal with stress! (Kids can get stressed too.) It might even encourage a lifelong habit of yoga.

I hope you learned at least one new thing (or maybe a few new things) about our studio, and I hope you’ll join us in 2019 for yoga, mindfulness, and fun!

A Look Back at 2018

Posted on November 12, 2018December 5, 2018 by Laura Cipullo

Grateful for 2018

A Look Back at Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Services and the L’ifestyle Lounge in the Media!

by the Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Team

Can you believe 2018 is almost at an end? We’re getting closer to that time when we reflect on our favorite moments of the year and think about what we want to accomplish in the future. Given that, Laura thought it would be an ideal time to compile all the articles we’ve been quoted in this year – to give you the latest health news from our perspective – and to talk about what we hope for in 2019.

This past month the L’ifestyle Lounge was featured in the Bergen Record. Laura was quoted in “Minivan musings: Practicing mindfulness can help children.” (The L’ifestyle Lounge is located in North Jersey – Closter, in case you didn’t know.) Writer Jackie Goldschneider opened the article by saying she honestly did not know a lot about mindfulness. Therefore, Laura took it as her job to educate her! She spoke of the “four prongs” of mindfulness, which include “being aware in the moment; being present in the moment; being nonjudgmental; and narrating to yourself as you go along.” She explained that it can help children manage their stress and impulsivity – and can be valuable when they’re in school. She also gave easy hints to incorporate mindfulness into your child’s life every day.

The Bergen Mama highlighted the L’ifestyle Lounge in their article “Learn to Love Both Kale and Cupcakes at the L’ifestyle Lounge in Closter NJ.” They took notice that we embrace a wellness plan that does not glorify diets but looks at overall health.

In early October, Marie Claire interviewed Laura about those “appetite-suppressing” lollipops Kim Kardashian advertised on her Instagram. The article was called “How Are Appetite Suppressing Lollipops Still a Thing?” Laura is not a fan of suppressing the appetite or of Kim Kardashian advertising such products, but she wanted to help Marie Claire investigate the nutritional science behind these pops. The research on these pops lead one to believe they may help with emotional eating, but Laura would need to see more research before saying that for sure. One thing we know is that they are expensive. “I’d be interested to know how many regular people end up actually buying these lollipops more than once,” wrote Allie Conti. “My guess is that, more than any reality star’s endorsement, Flat Tummy Co’s success may rely on girls selling each other these candies to get commission once they decide they’ve wasted their own money.” And just a reminder – regular old-fashioned lollipops can always be found at your local dollar store, and if you are a nervous person who finds you need help with emotional eating, consider reading “Intuituive Eating” by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resche.

About six months ago, Laura contributed to an article titled “Foods You Should Never Buy Generic” for Readers’ Digest, all about generic foods that aren’t worth your hard-earned dollars. Laura thinks it’s worth it to buy the brand name when it comes to soup because she wants her soup to be made with whole food ingredients — don’t you? The article also points out that you may get additives in generic yogurt.

Travel + Leisure quoted Laura about “The Best Time to Drink Your Morning Coffee.” She said you should aim to have it “when the body is producing less cortisol, about three to four hours after waking.” You don’t want to crash harshly later in the day and this can help with that. Give it a shot.

If you have diabetes in your family, or if your doctor has told you you’re at possible risk for prediabetes, you may feel defeated. But you don’t need to be! Prediabetes doesn’t need to be your fate. Laura worked with US News, and one of her favorite writers, K. Aleisha Fetters, to bring you simple ways to limit your chances of developing prediabetes — in the article called “Got Prediabetes? 6 Nutrition Tips You Need to Follow.” One of the key things to remember is that you do not have to cut carbohydrates out of your life. That is a myth! Moderating and sometimes lowering your daily carb count and choosing whole carbs are strategies that can serve you well. An easy tip is to just eat – breakfast, that is. Do it one hour after you wake up to help balance your body clock (read more in Women’s Health Body Clock Diet).

Laura, Elizabeth Adler and Lisa Mikus were all quoted in a Prevention article titled “The 30 Healthiest Foods You Can Eat at Every Major Fast Food Chain.” For those who believe nutritious eating doesn’t mix with an “on-the-go” lifestyle, we beg to differ! Lisa recommends Popeye’s 3-piece Blackened Chicken Tenders and Zucchini Romesco from Noodles & Co, and Laura likes Broccoli Beef from Panda Express, among other options. Elizabeth likes the Roast Turkey Farmhouse Salad from Arby’s. Elizabeth and Laura were both quoted in Prevention’s 30 Anti-Aging Foods for Beautiful Skin. Fantastic skin starts from the inside. Feed your body and it will affect your glow! Elizabeth says just a small amount of cinnamon in your coffee could do the trick.

Laura was also proud to participate as a speaker at a number of events in 2018:

NEDA con 2018 Philadelpia on Saturday, May 12, 2018, where she presented Self-Care Tools for Sustaining Recovery. This was NEDA’s First Regional Conference held at Drexel University and audience size was 100.
Giuliana Rancic’s “The Pink Agenda” TPA Talks (a division of Breast Cancer Research Foundation) on Thursday, June 7, 2018 at The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture. The theme of the talk was You are More Than You Eat – Don’t Blame Yourself for Breast Cancer. Laura spoke about learning to eat all foods using the 21 Pillars to Positive Nutrition.” Laura spoke along with physicians, researchers, breast cancer survivors and previvors on empowering a positive lifestyle.
The Thriving Child, Happy Child Summit on June 9 and 10, 2018, where Laura spoke on the Eat Kale and Cupcakes philosophy that has defined her nutritional practice.

At L’ifestyle Lounge, we started our Fall 2018 yoga series in September, which includes our Paint and Poses series for grades K-4 and EmpowHer for ages 11-14, plus Tai Chi, which is returning in late November. We are so happy to have begun our L’ifestyle Book Club, which is a free event we are proud to offer the community. Our next one takes place on November 14, 7pm. We’ll be reading The Weight of Being by Kara Richardson Whitely. January’s book is Beautful Boy By David Sheff. We choose books that focus on wellness to inspire and help create meaning in your life. Consider this my personal invitation to join us for book club. Sign-up either yourself or your child up for our yoga classes. Our schedule is always available at this link.

L’ifestyle Lounge is excited about all we’ve accomplished in 2018, and look forward to bringing you more yoga classes, community events, and health advice in 2019! Stay tuned in with us and tuned-in to your “self.”

Celebrities who regret dieting

Posted on September 11, 2018September 11, 2018 by Laura Cipullo

Celebrities who regret dieting

Jennifer Lawrence picture by Gage Skidmore

by the Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Team

Even though strides have been made in the body-positive movement, we still live, by and large, in a diet-happy culture. Women’s websites and magazines try to promote body positivity, but they also publish news about the latest fad diets with annoying regularity. Both types of articles must be popular with audiences or they wouldn’t publish them, and I think that says a lot about us as women. We want to embrace body positivity, yet we’re still stuck thinking we have to be a size 6 (or what-have-you) to be “perfect.” Those who are older can remember when it was even worse: The body-positive movement wasn’t even a thing, so we lived in a world where bigger bodies were never celebrated in magazines or TV, not even a little. All of us –regardless of age — have been subtly brainwashed for years to think diets make us healthier and prettier, but the truth is health does not come from weight and all sizes are beautiful. Celebrities face even more pressure to look thin, but now more and more are speaking out about not dieting. Their voices are important because they have the reach to influence the most vulnerable.

Emma Thompson is one who is speaking out. In a recent interview with the Guardian she said, “Dieting screwed up my metabolism, and it messed with my head. I’ve fought with that multimillion-pound industry all my life, but I wish I’d had more knowledge before I started swallowing their crap. I regret ever going on one.”

Kate Upton has likely experienced even more pressure than Thompson, as a model. But she has said she’s refused to starve herself to become more commercial.

“I still want to hang out with my family and be a normal girl. You have to be confident, and that doesn’t mean starving yourself.”

Jennifer Lawrence, who had been pressured by Hollywood in the past to lose weight, told Vanity Fair that she simply cannot work without food, that she needs the energy it gives her for the day. “Dieting is just not in the cards for me.”

And that’s a great way to think about food – as something that provides you with energy, as fuel. That takes the emotion out of it. It’s not good; it’s not bad; it’s not a reward for doing well at work or a treat “just because.” Food is there so you can get through your day – so you can enjoy yoga class, so you can finish up those last-minute assignments your boss asks you to do, so you can play with your kids! And while all foods fit, you will likely want to choose foods that stay with you throughout the day, that give you nourishment so you can lead your life.

I’ve said this before, but I want us to get to a place where we go back to the original definition of diet (from all the way back in the 13th century!). It originally meant “habitual nourishment” and that’s what it should mean now. That means you take the time to listen to your body throughout the day and feed it regularly, being prepared for “hungry” moments with cheese sticks, Cliff Z bars, or similar snacks that’ll keep you going. And the snack does not always have to be a “healthy” one. Gone are the days of deprivation or treating food as the enemy.

You might think because I have a popular diet book out that I am pro-dieting, but I think of the Women’s Health Body Clock Diet as the anti-diet. Unlike traditional dieting, my book encourages you to consider your body’s needs and not your need to see a certain number on the scale. All foods fit, so have the ones you like (including cookies!) The goal is to create a whole new relationship with food and unlearn harmful messages you may have been taught in the past. It helps you avoid emotional eating and understand when your body actually is hungry (which can be quite difficult, as so many of us are used to mindless eating in front of the TV!). And the best part is once you understand how mindfulness in eating works, you can pass the wisdom onto your kids, helping them have a healthy relationship with food right from the beginning. (If you’re wondering what you can say to your child to promote mindfulness and healthy eating with your kids, check out this blog post.)

You may have spent a lifetime learning and internalizing destructive thoughts about food, so don’t expect it to turn around in a day. I hope you will look to the anti-diet celebrities and to my anti-diet book for some encouragement.

The Truth about the BMI

Posted on April 29, 2018April 30, 2018 by Laura Cipullo

The Truth about the BMI

by Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD, CDN, Whole Nutrition Services

BMI is a term you might have heard of — through either your doctor or a health article or maybe even your child’s teacher. If you don’t know what it is, the initials stand for Body Mass Index, and it is determined by making a calculation using your height and weight. The BMI categories are Underweight (any BMI less than 18.5), Normal (18.5-24.9), Overweight (25-29.9) and Obese (30 or more). These categories are taken very seriously by some in the medical community. The Harvard School of Medicine believes that measuring BMI can tell you if a person is at a “healthy weight,” while WebMD says “it’s important for your health to understand what it is and to know your number.” Yet Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania researchers believe it does not accurately measure body fat content, or consider attributes like muscle mass, bone density, overall body composition, race and gender. The BBC says that by itself, BMI can’t predict what diseases we will or won’t get.

I believe the BMI can be both misleading and quite damaging. This is something I speak about at length in the Women’s Health Body Clock Diet and my former blogs at Mom Dishes It Out and Laura Cipullo LLC. I certainly do not use it to measure my own, my clients’ or my children’s health.

The BMI reduces poor health to being caused by just one issue – weight. With its’ categories, it clumps bodies to fit into “healthy” and “not healthy” boxes when the science doesn’t always back that up. These categories can lead you to assume that everything above a 24.9 is a problem. But this is not proven. In adults, only BMI measurements of more than 35 or less than 18.5 are affiliated with higher mortality. In fact, as TIME points out, “some studies show that people with higher BMI tend to be healthier and have lower premature death rates than those with lower BMI.” Overweight and healthy are not mutually exclusive categories. It is entirely possible to be both. And it is possible to be thin and unhealthy. Researchers from Oxford Brookes University discovered that more than a third of 3,000 people who were measured as having a “normal, healthy” BMI were potentially likely to have cardiovascular disease, something you might think only affects those who are overweight. Athletes also may naturally have a higher BMI, and even the CDC admits that it is not sure the overall BMI requirements should extend to them. The CDC’s list of health consequences associated with a high BMI also do not necessarily apply to everyone whose BMI is higher than 30: Mental illness, certain types of cancer, and low quality of life are a few of the things a person with a high BMI is supposedly at risk of, but I’m sure there are plenty of folks in this category who are living and will continue to live happy, healthy lives with BMIs over 30, and many affected by those issues who have a “normal” BMI.

You can see, then, how taking the BMI as gospel could lead you down a dangerous road. Your health choices are your own, but I would personally not see a healthcare professional who uses the BMI as a health tool.

Health is a complicated thing, and it’s not something that can always be relegated to numbers. We have to see the bigger picture, and that’s what the Health at Every Size movement is all about. BMIs can make a person obsessed with numbers, which is such a terrible thing to do to folks who already feel biased against for being a certain weight. People with eating disorders fight daily with an obsession to hit a certain number on a scale, and an obsession with hitting a BMI can lead to similar negative consequences. Dieting to get to a lower BMI can be physically dangerous as well. As I mentioned in the Women’s Health Body Clock Diet, “The famed Framingham Heart Study showed that weight cycling (aka yo-yoing) as a result of restrictive dieting is something that is indeed associated with higher mortality and cardiac disease. It’s actually healthier to be at a higher set weight than to allow your weight to fluctuate up and down by 20 pounds.” Putting pressure on your child to be at a certain BMI can set them up for an unhealthy relationship with food for life. Remember that as a parent you are a role model. Don’t put your child on any kind of fad diet in an effort to achieve any arbitrary weight goals. Body dissatisfaction, body shaming and eating disorders are some of the things a focus on BMI can do to kids.

That being said, you should know that there is a chance your child will get screened for BMI in school. One agency – the Institute of Medicine – endorses that, but others – including the CDC– do not. New York, Arkansas and California are some of the states that do BMI screening for children in schools. BMIs are also part of the FitnessGram. If your child does bring the results of a BMI screening from school, consider asking your child if they have any questions about this screening. Whatever you do, don’t place urgency on it and restrict your child. Be curious. Ask yourself questions such as, Is my child active on a daily basis? Does my child eat in respect to his/her body? Does my child eat all foods without guilt? Does my child hide their food? This is not a question of how many veggies are they eating. Rather, is your child getting caught up in using food or restricting food for emotional reasons? Any concern you have about your child’s health should be discussed with your pediatrician and/or registered dietitian specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders or HAES. And always remember, choose healthcare professionals who share the same All Foods Fit, All Bodies Fit value system you do.

A Year in Review

Posted on December 30, 2016January 9, 2017 by Laura Cipullo

A Year in Review

Picture courtesy Wynand van Niekerk at freeimages.com

by Laura Cipullo and the Whole Nutrition Services Team

Want the scoop on Lisa and Laura’s nutrition perspective? Below are some highlighted press pieces to get a flavor of our nutrition palate. From nutrition recommendations and recipes to information about our new book and the January 2017 yoga retreat.

Laura and Lisa’s New Diabetes Book

On March 22nd, Robert Rose will release our new book, Everyday Diabetes Meals — Cooking for One or Two. (Pre-order here.) Living with diabetes is made easier with recipes for the single-serve lifestyle. Diabetes-friendly recipes are all for one or two, including options such as Blueberry Yogurt Scones and Beef Tacos. In this book, we’ve got you eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks that will please your taste buds and help balance blood sugar, with carbohydrate contents ranging 45- 60 grams per meal. Get a preview here. Publishers Weekly featured our book as a Spring title to look out for. Lisa and I worked so hard on this book and really hope it is a life-changer! Share your experience on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #EverydayDiabetes.

Lisa Mikus, RD, in the Media

Our own RD, Lisa Mikus, was on tap as nutrition expert for Vitamin Shoppe’s What’s Good site, Women’s Health magazine, Eat This Not That, Self magazine and more. Pick up a copy of Women’s Running magazine in January 2017 issue to read about Lisa’s nutrition recommendations!

Very proud to be sharing my practice with such an awesome RD and author!! #Grateful

Read more about her go-to breakfast and holiday food swap on the Vitamin Shoppe’s What’s Good site. She also shared her pre-workout snack on AOL, gut-friendly snacks at Spark People and favorite kitchen gadget on Self.

Get a Taste for the L’ifestyle

Read my advice for balancing blood sugar, preventing weight-loss traps, rethinking rewards and punishments, avoiding yo-yo dieting, and getting your youngsters into yoga. And check out my appearances on Powerwomen TV, talking about my nutrition philosophies (scroll to the Essie episode in the second row), and the Jenna Wolfe Show, where I talked about stress.

This Mom is Dishing It Out in NJ again

What’s on the horizon for 2017? The opening of my L’ifestyle Lounge, which you can read all about right here on my blog. Look for it in February.

Bequia

From January 25-29, I will be leading a retreat with wellness coordinator Ali Quinn in Bequia. I believe it will give you essential tools — in terms of mindfulness and stress reduction — as you embark on the coming year. Not to mention how beautiful Bequia is as a vacation destination. You can learn more about the retreat here, on Yoga Digest (which profiled my retreat as one of their top choices for Best Yogi Destinations in 2017), in Shape (which called us a best retreat), and on The Observer, which highlighted it as “a yoga retreat that’s all about getting your body and mind right for the new year. ” Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Holly LoRusso, RD, is on maternity leave until March 2017. Congrats, Holly, on motherhood!

Happy and healthy New Year to you and your family. Thank you for joining Lisa, Holly and me on the L’ifestyle journey.