Real Women Talking - Focus on a Real Woman Talking: Hillary Baron Irwin, MS RD

For many of us with children, back to school meant packing lunches. And, after a few weeks, kids tend to get bored with what’s inside their lunch bags or boxes. Any suggestions, or websites you recommend, to change things up a bit and help parents and children make healthy choices?

It is important to send a nutrient packed lunch. A well-balanced meal will help keep your kids feeling fuller for longer and keep them energized and focused throughout the day.

Start with a whole grain. Make whole-grain bread, mini bagels, pita or tortillas the basis of healthy sandwiches. Or get creative and try whole grain pasta, quinoa or barley.

Pick a protein. Include lean protein like egg whites, tuna fish, grilled chicken or turkey. Or opt for a plant-based protein like chickpeas, black beans, edamame, lentils, nuts, or nut butter.

Choose fresh produce. Apples, apricots, berries, orange segments, plums, pears, carrots, bell pepper slices, sugar snap peas, cucumber, etc. Remember, that every color contains a different nutrient.

The best way to get your kids to eat what you pack is to make it fun. Start with a cool lunch box and different containers. Let them help choose what goes in their lunch box. Check out some great sites with creative lunch ideas. Some of my favorites are www.100daysofrealfood.com and www.weelicious.com.

For moms with babies/toddlers - any tips for helping them encourage their children to develop healthy eating habits at a young age?

Do not assume that children only like “kids” food (chicken fingers, french fries, pasta with butter, etc). Kids will eat salmon, hummus, avocado, etc. You need to offer them a variety of different flavors and textures. Encourage them to try new foods. It’s important to remember that it takes about 15 tries of a new food to decide if you like it or not. Just because your baby/toddler (or teenager for that matter!) refuses a new food the first few times they try it, it does not mean that they do not like it. Keep offering it and you may be surprised which foods they end up choosing. It is also important that you eat a variety of healthy foods in front of your children. You want to set a good example and many children often want to try whatever foods their parents are eating.

What advice can you offer moms whose children seem to eat only standard kids' meal fare (i.e. mac n' cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets). What can parents do to expand their menu?

Start by making healthier versions of those foods (i.e. whole grain macaroni and cheese with some pureed orange vegetables mixed in or whole grain pizza topped with veggies). Slowly start to phase out the unhealthy items and phase in different menu items. Stock the house with healthy options – if you don’t want your children eating chicken nuggets, don’t buy them. When making something new for dinner, let the kids know that they need to take a “no thank you” bite – they must take at least one bite to really try something before stating that they do not like it. Ultimately you need to decide what kinds of foods you are happy to serve your family. You may be faced with some resistance at first, but it will get easier.

Drink more water. I recommend starting the day off with 1-2 cups of water and then drinking 1-2 cups of water before each meal. Not only does water help fill you up, but being a bit dehydrated makes you feel hungry. Slow down. Sit down and enjoy your meal and put your fork down in between bites. Eating slower will make your meal more enjoyable and help you eat less. Write it down. Keep track of everything you eat and drink. This will help you become more aware of what you are putting in your mouth and help eliminate mindless eating. Think about being a role model for your kids. Don’t eat anything you would not want them to eat.

For women who cannot afford to hire a trainer or consult a nutritionist, any advice for tools they can use to try to stay fit and eat healthy?

Grab a friend to keep you on track. Report in on what you are eating and how you are exercising. You can also download a food and exercise tracker (mapmyrun, myfitnesspal, loseit, etc) to your computer or smartphone. It helps to find someone (or something!) that is going to hold you accountable for your actions and help keep you focused.

According to recent statistics,“80% of all 10 year olds are afraid of being fat” and “42% of all 1st through 3rd grade girls want to be thinner.” What do you think is causing this? What, as parents, can we do to help our children develop a healthy body image while eating healthy?

Our culture is obsessed with being thin. More people are exercising and dieting than ever before. The media is not only bombarding us with images of super-thin models/actresses but also constantly talking about their weight and the latest fad diets.

It’s important to encourage your children to eat nutritious foods and get enough exercise. Focus on eating well for energy and how healthy food and regular exercise make you feel great, instead of how it makes you look. It’s also important to be aware of how much you talk about your own weight. Children pick up on more than you realize.

It seems that daily we are being bombarded with images of supermodels and very thin actors/actresses and athletes, so it’s no wonder many of us women grow up thinking about what we eat and step on the scale a bit too frequently, but then there are extremes. What signals should we look for in friends, and particularly children/adolescents to recognize a developing eating disorder?

Because many people with eating disorders keep them a secret, their conditions can go unnoticed for long periods of time. If you are concerned that a close friend or child is struggling with an eating disorder, it’s important to be supportive and to enlist the help of a health care provider. Eating disorders are about more than just food and losing weight, they can be caused by psychosocial conditions. These are a few warning signs to look out for:

Many women who routinely watch what they eat, see pregnancy as giving them carte blanche to eat whatever they like. Any thoughts?

During pregnancy you are NOT eating for two. Your body needs about 100 extra calories per day during the first trimester, and about 300 calories per day during the second and third trimester. That is equal to an apple, a cup of yogurt and 15 almonds. It is important that throughout your pregnancy you are choosing a wide variety of foods to get in all of the nutrients that you need. You should focus on high fiber whole grain breads and cereals, a variety of different fruits and vegetables, good sources of calcium, iron rich foods, vitamin C, and folic acid. An occasional treat is fine, but remember that you need to fuel your body with nutritious foods to help support a healthy and happy pregnancy.

There seems to be increased public focus on post-partum women and in particular how soon after giving birth women can get their former bodies back. Jessica Simpson has been the subject of many articles regarding this issue. What's the best strategy you can give women who have recently given birth for getting back to their pre-pregnancy weight in a safe fashion (keeping in mind that most are often sleep deprived and overwhelmed)?

While you may have had fantasies of walking out of the hospital in your pre-pregnancy jeans, that is NOT how it works (not even for celebrities)! You have to remember that it took 9 months to put the pregnancy weight on, so you cannot expect to lose it all so quickly. Proper nutrition is essential to provide you with the energy needed to take care of a new baby, to help your body heal and to produce nutrient rich breast milk. It is therefore important that you focus on eating healthy, well balanced meals, drinking plenty of water and getting rest whenever you can. Be mindful of your food choices (skip the chips, cookies, etc.) and try to fit in exercise whenever you can (take the baby for long walks, try a mommy and me yoga class, etc).

With Halloween around the corner and Thanksgiving and the holidays not too far behind, any suggestions for encouraging healthy habits (for ourselves and children) while still managing to "live a little"?

We all have one life to live and we want to enjoy it. Part of that enjoyment is being healthy and feeling great about how you look and feel and part of that enjoyment is indulging in delicious food…especially during the holidays! I think it’s important to have both. You want to focus on balanced, healthy eating with an occasional treat. No one (not even kids) feels great after indulging in too much food. For Halloween, make sure to feed the kids and yourself a healthy meal before going out, allow a few treats that night and then limit them to 1-2 small pieces of candy a day after a healthy meal. When it comes to Thanksgiving, fill everyone’s plates with a variety of vegetables, lean protein and a small portion of starch. Save room for dessert if it’s something really special, and do not get overfull! Make sure to drink a lot of water, eat slowly and focus on the whole experience (being with loved ones, taking time to eat and enjoy, relaxing), not just the food.

So many women constantly talk about being on, or needing to go on a “diet”. Is this the proper way of thinking about food?

The problem with going on a diet is that at some point you end up going off the diet, regaining any weight lost. It is much better to focus on changing your eating habits to create a lifelong plan that you can really stick with. Work on cutting out processed foods and limiting portions sizes while increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean protein sources. It’s a great idea to keep a food journal for a week to see what you are really eating and to help you make healthier changes.

As a mom of two young children running a business, how do you find "balance" in your life? And, what do you do for your own self-care?

I LOVE spending time with my little munchkins, but I do make sure to take some time for myself. It’s not always easy, but I try to keep set working hours and then shut off the computer when it’s playtime. I love my work and I am very dedicated to my clients, but it’s important for me to spend quality time with my family.

When I have kid-free time, I make sure to schedule in exercise. I am addicted to the Bar Method and I try to sign up for 3 classes a week. Committing to regular exercise makes me feel great, helps me keep my sanity and encourages me to make healthy food choices.

I love helping people feel better about their food choices and about themselves. I love when people tell me that I have really changed the way they look at their food choices. And I really love when they try my recipes and let me know that not only did they love it, but that their kids loved it too!