NutriVie Sante
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Media
  • EATING DISORDERS
    • Anorexia
    • Bulimia
    • Binge-Eating Disorder
    • Orthorexia
    • Bigorexia
    • Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
    • Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder
    • Weight Issues / Obesity
    • Unhealthy relationship with food
    • Negative body image
  • SERVICES
    • Individual Counselling
    • Nutrition Workshops
    • Corporate conferences
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG
  • RECIPES
  • FR
  • Menu Menu
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Letting go of BMI and
embracing the set point theory

Everyone has probably at one point in his/her life assessed his/her weight using the Body Mass Index (BMI) to calculate if he/she is healthy or not. Even now, many doctors still use the BMI as a sole determinant of our health status. However, doing so is very wrong for many reasons and can undoubtedly lead to detrimental effects for an individual’s physical and mental health.

Why is the BMI flawed?

Using a person’s BMI as an indicator of health has indeed been heavily criticized, with much of the criticism coming from how it was created in the first place. Its creator was a Belgian astronomer and statistician named Adolph Quetelet. The latter was neither a physician nor did he even study medicine.

Furthermore, he warned that the BMI was not to be used for individual diagnosis, treatment or assessment as it was simply created to predict the average size of a population. Also, this calculation could only really be used for male white Western Europeans, as it was solely based on their measurements. The World Health Organizatin (WHO) still decided to use this imperfect measurement and it was embodied into a public policy anyway.

Even though BMI is used as a means to determine the risk for individuals’ health problems, the calculation does not take into account many factors that affect disease risk. For instance, we cannot simply assess if a person is healthy or not just based on his/her weight for his/her height. It has indeed been proven that behaviors for a healthy lifestyle (healthy eating, regular exercise, good management of stress, etc.) are more accurate indicators of the health status of an individual. And weight is simply NOT a behavior.

In fact, a person’s weight could be in the normal BMI range but the latter could engage in unhealthy restrictive eating behaviours and excessive physical activity leading to nutrient deficiencies and the loss of menstruation. Undoubtedly, that person would be wrongly diagnosed as being healthy if we just relied on the BMI to assess her health status.

The opposite is also true for individuals who might be wrongly categorized as overweight or obese according to the BMI. Those people can be healthy as they lead healthy lifestyle and have normal bloodwork regardless of their weight.

Also weight is influenced by many factors which the BMI does not take into account. For instance, BMI does not take into account muscle mass, bone mass, genetics, ethnicity, gender, age, medication, past diet history, pregnancy, etc.

And many of these factors that influence our weight are out of our control. Indeed, it has been proven that genetics can determine up to 70% of our weight!

What is the set point theory?

On the other hand, the set point theory is a refreshing new concept based on scientific research that demonstrates that our bodies have a set point weight that is encoded into our DNA. This weight is one which we can maintain relatively easily without restricting ourselves in our food choices nor having to engage in excessive physical activity. It’s a weight where we feel energetic and in good health by listening to our body, without having to exert any control over it.

How do you know if you are at your natural weight?

Unlike BMI, there is no formula that we can use to calculate our natural weight. However, there are many factors that can help you achieve it. This includes being in tune with your body’s hunger and fullness signals, eating for pleasure and finding foods that truly satisfy you, accepting and respecting your body shape and size, moving regularly for physical and mental well-being and taking care of your body.

Since your body is genetically made to stay around a certain weight, it will do what it can to stay there. This is why it can be so difficult for people to maintain the weight lost through restrictive diets.

What happens to your body when you go on restrictive diets?

In fact, when you go on restrictive diets, your metabolism naturally decreases. This is because your body will go into starvation mode and start burning less energy to compensate for the low food intake.

In addition, since your body will not be getting the energy needed from food to meet its needs, your hunger hormones (called Ghrelin) will increase, making you more hungry than usual. Therefore, you might end up eating more and regaining all the weight lost and even more sometimes.

Another physiological change that contributes to weight regain is a decrease in satiety hormones. Therefore, it takes more food to give you that feeling of fullness and again, you might end up eating more and more as your body fights to go back to its natural weight.

One of the last major changes that contributes to this regain of weight is an increase in stress hormones. When you severely restrict your calories or exercise in an excessive manner, cortisol (the stress hormone) is often released. Increased cortisol can slow down your metabolism and therefore it becomes harder to maintain the weight lost.

Trusting your body

Letting go of all food rules and control over the weight might be hard especially if you have been exposed to diet culture for a long time. It is therefore important to give yourself time and self-compassion to heal your relationship with your body and food. However, trying to trust your body as it knows what your natural weight is, can definitely help you to ditch diets, stop obsessing about food and be more in tune with your body’s cues.

Categories

  • Healthy relationship with food
  • Healthy eating
  • Eating disorders
  • Intuitive eating
  • MIndful eating
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding
  • Responsible consumption

DOWNTOWN MONTREAL

1200 Avenue Atwater
Westmount (Quebec) H3Z 1X4

514 965-5175

WEST ISLAND MONTREAL

3708 Boul Saint-Jean
Dollard-des-Ormeaux (Quebec) H9G 1X1

514 965-5175

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

FOLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

View
Open
As-tu peur de perdre le contrôle en mangeant des bonbons d’Halloween ? Voici quelques astuces pour t’aider pendant cette période : 
1-	Mange les bonbons que tu veux
Eh oui, te restreindre de manger des bonbons ne fera qu’accentuer l’envie d’en manger et il y aura plus de chance que tu perdes le contrôle éventuellement. De plus, ne mange pas des bonbons sans sucre si c’est une barre KitKat que tu veux ! Satisfaire tes papilles diminuera aussi les chances de perdre le contrôle. 

2-	Savoure tes bonbons sans culpabilité
La culpabilité annule l’acte de manger ! Ainsi ce sera plus difficile d’être à l’écoute de ton rassasiement si tu te sens coupable de manger tes bonbons. On mange pour le plaisir aussi. Alors, à bas 

3-	Essaye de ne pas sauter de repas et de collations
Tu n’as pas besoin de te punir en te restreignant pour pouvoir manger des bonbons ! Te restreindre, ne fera qu’accentuer ta faim et augmenter les risques de perdre le contrôle avec les bonbons plus tard.

4-	Et même si tu manges trop de bonbons, donne-toi une bonne dose d’auto-compassion !
Se reprocher d’avoir trop mangé ne fera que renforcer les aliments interdits. Par exemple, tu pourrais te dire : « J’ai mangé beaucoup trop de bonbons et maintenant je vais prendre du poids. Plus de bonbons pour moi pour les prochains mois ! » En vous interdisant les bonbons, ils deviennent le fruit défendu qui, à son tour, devient encore plus attrayant. 

Si tu as besoin d'aide pour travailler sur ta relation avec la nourriture, on est là pour toi ! 🙂 N'hésites pas à nous contacter !
View
Open
La semaine de sensibilisation aux troubles alimentaires se tient du 1er février au 7 février 2022. La thématique de cette année vise à vous aider à éloigner la voix négative du trouble alimentaire et faire place à votre voix bienveillante ! 💪💪

Selon les dernières données, 2.7 millions de Canadiens souffriraient d'un trouble alimentaire. Cette semaine permet de sensibiliser davantage la population à mieux comprendre la problématique du trouble alimentaire, de communiquer avec une personne qui souffre d'un trouble alimentaire, et de lui apporter votre aide.

Au Québec, Anorexie et Boulimie Québec (ANEB) et la Maison l’Éclaircie, avec l’aide de nombreux partenaires issus de milieux communautaire, privé et hospitalier ont préparé pleins d'évènements gratuits auxquels vous pouvez participer. Vous trouverez le lien pour la liste des événements dans la bio .
View
Open
L’équipe de NutriVie Santé s’agrandit ! 🎉

Nous avons le plaisir d’accueillir Olivia Carone, une nouvelle nutritionniste-diététiste !

Olivia  détient un baccalauréat de sciences en diététique de l’Université McGill et est membre de l’Ordre professionnel des diététistes et nutritionnistes (ODNQ) du Québec.
 
Olivia se spécialise en :

👉 Alimentation intuitive pour vous aider à avoir une meilleure relation avec la nourriture et avec votre corps

👉 Compulsions alimentaires

👉 Gestion des maladies chroniques

👉 Gestion des problèmes digestifs (syndrôme du colon irritable, ballonnements, constipation, etc.)

👉 Nutrition sportive

Olivia est très heureuse de pouvoir vous accompagner dans l'atteinte de vos objectifs de santé. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour prendre rendez-vous avec elle ! 😊

*****

Our team is growing! 🎉

We’re really happy to welcome Olivia Carone, our new nutritionist-dietitian!

Olivia holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Dietetics from McGill University, and is a member of the Ordre Professionel des Diététistes et Nutritionnistes (ODNQ) du Québec. 
 
Olivia specializes in:

👉 Intuitive eating to help you heal your relationship with food and your body

👉 Binge-eating disorder

👉 Chronic disease management
    
👉 Digestive problems (IBS, bloating, constipation, etc.)

👉 Sports nutrition

Olivia is happy to accompany you on your health journey. Feel free to contact us to book your first appointment with Olivia! 😊
View
Open
A lot of you might already know that diets do NOT work. But beyond that, diets have detrimental impacts on SEVERAL areas of your life.

Note that the examples listed above for each area of your life are just a few examples of many more ways diets can be damaging for you.

Recognizing all the damaging impacts of diets can help you mute all the food rules that have been dictating your life and finally help you be more in tune with your body, let go of food obsession and guilt. 💚

A big thank you to our intern @oliviaacarone for her collaboration on this post!
View
Open
Body Mass Index (BMI) is still a prevalent calculation used by many people including healthcare providers to determine if someone is as his/her healthy weight.

 

However, BMI is deeply flawed for many reasons and CANNOT be used as to assess an individual’s health.

A big thank you to our intern @oliviaacarone for  her collaboration on this post!
View
Open
At first glance, these applications seem quite user-friendly and useful for the intended purpose. You only have to enter your age, sex, weight, height, physical activity and they provide a recommended daily calorie intake.

1. They are inaccurate at determining your energy needs

Determining your energy needs is much more complex than just plugging in your age, weight, height and physical activity in an application. For instance, sleep, hormones levels, stress, genetics, body composition such as muscle mass, medications, medical condition and history of dieting are a few other factors required to determine your energy needs. Eating the amount of calories dictated by an application is therefore inaccurate.

2. They make you more disconnected from your body’s signals

As our needs vary from day to day, our hunger and fullness cues will vary accordingly. However, when you are fixated on achieving the calories recommended by the application, you will be disconnected from your body’s signals.     

3.They could trigger an unhealthy relationship with food  

In some  instances, it will undoubtedly be hard to stick to the recommended caloric intake. Therefore, when that happens, you might feel guilty for not having enough “will power” to resist the temptation to eat. You might compensate those “excess” calories by forcing yourself to work out, thereby punishing yourself for simply listening to your body’s needs and cravings.

4. You miss out on some nutritious foods

When focusing only on the calories, you might prioritize low calorie foods and might want to exclude higher caloric foods. However, by doing so, you might be forgoing on some nutritious foods such as nuts, fatty fish such as sardines and salmon, avocado or seeds. Yes, those foods are higher in calories than a low fat yogurt, rice cakes, or a 100 calorie fibre 1 bar but they are nourishing for your body. 

5. You might forgo on the pleasure of eating 

We just don't eat calories and nutrients. Another factor influencing our food choices is the pleasure of eating which calorie tracking devices do NOT take into account!

For the full article, click the link in the bio 💚
View
Open
March is Nutrition Month! This year, dietitians want you to know that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to healthy eating - let us help YOU find YOUR healthy!

 

What is “good for you” is not the same for everyone. There is no one-size-fits all approach to nutrition. Because each person has unique needs based on

👉their health status and nutritional needs.

👉 their preferences

👉 their lifestyle

👉 their culture, religion and food traditions
View
Open
If eating disorder behaviours are not recognized and addressed, they can lead to detrimental impacts on the physical and mental health.

If you recognize yourself in some of those behaviours or have witnessed someone you know engage in them, please reach out for help.

There's nothing to be ashamed of. An eating disorder is not a lifestyle choice. It is a serious medical condition and recovery IS possible! 💚

 #edaw2021 #semta2021
View
Open
It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week! In Canada, it is estimated that 2.7 million people in Canada suffer from an eating disorder.

And as the pandemic continues to exacerbate this issue, it is more and more important to increase awareness, educate the public and reach out to those who need help.  

To contribute to this collective effort, let’s demystify some common beliefs about eating disorders!
Follow on Instagram
© 2022 NutriVie Santé - Tous droits réservés.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Understanding eating disorders for optimal recoveryunderstanding eating disorders5 things to do after a binge eating episode
Scroll to top