Nutrition & Weight Loss – Viki Thondley | Mind Body Food | Depression, Stress, Eating Disorders

Is Being Healthy Your Obsession?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on October 22, 2015 / Body Image, dieting, Eating Disorders, Eating Psychology, Emotional Eating, Fat Loss, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition & Weight Loss

I really dislike labels. I especially dislike labelling the way we eat, the way we look, and the way we behave. “I eat clean. I am fat. I am a perfectionist.” Why do we need to make judgement instead of making way for growth, understanding and change? Labelling the way we eat is a dangerous tendency. We get so caught up in whether we’re doing it right or not. It develops a righteous thinking attitude, that for some can translate into control: If I can control my healthy diet, I can control the way I feel. Strong, intelligent and capable

When Hunger Isn’t Real

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 3, 2015 / dieting, Eating Disorders, Eating Psychology, Emotional Eating, Fat Loss, Food, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss

When Hunger Isn’t Real… We eat for all sorts of reasons: when we’re angry or sad, stressed or festive, starving or hormonal. Most people over-eat, and usually when they weren’t actually hungry in the first place. Eventually, distracted from the stress of daily life and worries, it becomes impossible to distinguish between hunger that is real and hunger that is fake. There are actually several different types of hunger, because our drive to eat comes from various sources that often don’t have anything to do with physical hunger – that real, true hunger that begins as a rumbling sensation

Benefits of Bentonite Clay

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on June 21, 2015 / Health & Fitness, Holistic Health, Medicinal Nutrition, Mental-Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Self-Care

Bentonite Clay and it’s Benefits Last year in my effort to combat environmental toxins harming my internal health, I discovered organic, edible bentonite clay. Clay has been used therapeutically for centuries, with the first use of medicinal clay recorded in 2500 B.C in Mesopotamia. Over the centuries the Greeks, Romans, Aztecs and Europeans have all hailed the health benefits of clay. During the First World War, German physicians used clay therapy to successfully treat troops for food poisoning, dysentery, and diarrhea and wound infection. Dr. Weston A. Price, author of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, observed that several indigenous groups around the world used clay readily to outsmart disease

Does Eating Stress You Out?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on February 25, 2015 / dieting, Eating Disorders, Eating Psychology, Emotional Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Wellness Coaching

Are you a stressed out eater? What kind of eater are you: Fast, medium, slow? I used to be a fast eater – I didn’t know how to eat slow. I lost touch with when I felt hungry and never seemed to stop when I was full. Are you aware when you’re hungry? Do you register when you’re full? Eating is a necessity to sustain energy balance and fuel. But it’s definitely a requirement that is viewed as a chore when we’re busy and too tired or rushed to nourish ourselves. A familiar scenario I often hear from new clients

How to Heal Your Gut (instead of bloating, fatigue and hormone imbalance)

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on February 7, 2015 / dieting, Eating Disorders, Food, Holistic Health, Hormone Balancing, Mental-Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss

Bloating? Fatigue? Hormone Imbalance? In the last two years we’ve heard more and more about the importance of gut health and it’s influence on the brain and mood – Largely thanks to the ABC Catalyst Program for their gut and brain function series last year which you can watch here. When I was navigating my way through Bulimia Nervosa for 18 years – eating and throwing up and literally hating my own guts – I had NO CLUE as to how our digestive health is intimately linked to our immune, endocrine, circulatory and central nervous systems… I didn’t realise that all the

Should you go Gluten Free?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on January 21, 2015 / dieting, Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Medicinal Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss

Is Gluten Free for You? Why go gluten free? And what is gluten anyway? Surely you know if you’ve decided to exclude it! Unfortunately it’s a popular practice to jump on the latest health advice and follow along without really knowing why. So let’s get educated. There are various foods in modern life that are recognised toxins to the body. They’re inflammatory, upset hormones and attack the lining of the gut, which upsets the balance of healthy bacteria. The toxic six, in no particular order, are: gluten, dairy, soy, corn, caffeine and sugar. No matter how few calories you may be

Macadamia Chocolate Brownie [Recipe]

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on November 7, 2014 / Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Raw Chocolate Making, Wellness Coaching

Chocolate Brownies, YUM! Oh come on, who doesn’t love a decadent chocolate brownie?! Raw or baked, brownies are actually quite versatile in the ways you can put them together. This recipe is actually created from a biscuit recipe that my Grandmother (who’s now 98) used to make for us when we were kids. She made them as a ginger cookie – sharp, crunchy and buttery. I’ve made them many times as gingerbread men with the children, and as a rich chocolate chip cookie dough. I’ve created several raw brownie recipes that I teach in my Raw and Healthy Chocolate Workshop and that we

Have you Quit Sugar?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on October 31, 2014 / dieting, Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Wellness Coaching

Sugar, Sugar The ‘I Quit Sugar’ movement is in full swing: Cut the sugar and reduce inflammation, stabilise key hormones, reduce cravings, lose weight and gain improved health. That’s the message from author Sarah Wilson, who quit sugar in January 2011 as an experimental attempt to get control over her autoimmune disease called, Hashimotos – a disease which attacks the thyroid and mostly affects women over 30. Sugar is a known substance to flare up the condition. After boosting her energy, clearing up her skin and experiencing a happier state of mind and wellness, Sarah wrote a book that took

Are your Cravings really an Addiction?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 22, 2014 / Body Image, dieting, Eating Disorders, Eating Psychology, Emotional Eating, Food, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Hormone Balancing, Mental-Health, Nutrition & Weight Loss

The Brain and Addiction Following on from last Blog article about Cravings, you now hopefully have a better understanding of the difference between “body hunger versus mind hunger”. In short, one is genuine and the other is playing tricks on us. Let’s look a little deeper into understanding the parts of the brain that are activated when we crave specific foods. In 2004, participants in a study were asked to think about a favourite food. The participants’ resulting fMRI images displayed three primary areas in the brain that lit up: the hippocampus, insula and caudate. [Source: Monell] The hippocampus, located in

Raw Chocolate Fudge Wheel [Recipe]

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 19, 2014 / Food, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Raw Chocolate Making, Workshops

Raw Chocolate Fudge Wheel It’s REAL FOODIE FRIDAY! I’ve officially created an absolute decadent delight for you all! This one is raw, vegan, dairy free, gluten free and naturally sweetened. The raw chocolate base is fructose free, but of course some of the toppings aren’t. However, therein lies the beauty of customising your own raw and healthy chocolate delights because you can choose whichever substitutes you prefer! If you prefer a creamier, softer consistency, simply add a little more coconut milk! This recipe is taken from my new 145 page eBook Healthy Chocolate Delights! Over 60 raw, cooked, vegan, paleo, dairy free,

Are Your Cravings Real?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 17, 2014 / dieting, Emotional Eating, Fat Loss, Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Hormone Balancing, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss

Mind or Body Cravings? In previous blog posts I’ve explained how when we restrict and deny nourishment to our body (dieting), we often wrestle with cravings (also tiredness and mood swings) until the brain overrides our willpower and has us reaching for a quick fix of fat, sugar and salt. Hunger and cravings are two different sensations. The body regulates our hunger, while the mind wields greater power over food cravings. Hunger serves a more functional purpose, signalling our brains that it’s time to eat and replenish the energy and information we’re running low on. To recap previous articles about the

Nutty Choc Granola Recipe

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on August 15, 2014 / Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Raw Chocolate Making

Nuts for Chocolate Granola! I confess I’m a little late to the granola making party. Funnily enough I used to the love the cardboard boxed stuff years ago, and probably in retrospect had a mild addiction to the apple and cinnamon flavour. Granola wasn’t something I ever got around to making myself until a few weeks ago, after a rather inspiring episode of “Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen” on the Food and Lifestyle Channel. We loved this recipe so much I’ve made several more versions with various nuts, seeds and spice combinations. I first ate it with greek yoghurt, then coconut cream, pure cream, and also

The Slow Down Diet / FREE Eating Psychology Online Conference

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on July 11, 2014 / Body Image, dieting, Eating Disorders, Eating Psychology, Emotional Eating, Fat Loss, Food, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss

2nd Annual Eating Psychology Online Conference It’s a sad fact that every single one of us has something negative to say about our bodies at one time or another. For many people, especially women, it’s an everyday never-ending torrent of disgust, shame and hatred. Another huge challenge is food and eating – what to eat, when, how much….. so many negative and worrying thoughts about our bodies, food and eating. I know all too well what this destructive relationship can do after spending over 15 years battling an eating disorder. It’s dark, painful and lonely. I don’t want that for anyone

My Easy Roasted Salted Caramel Macadamia Nuts

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on July 5, 2014 / Food, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss

Caramel Macadamia Nuts Recipe I love Macadamia nuts. Always have since I was a child. We often travelled up to the Sunshine Coast where my Grandparents lived, not far from the Big Pineapple tourist attraction and alongside the Macadamia Nut Factory. Macadamia nuts are buttery, crunchy and flavourful natives of Australia, although they are also cultivated in Hawaii and several other tropical climates. They’re rich in monounsaturated fats (great for heart health), plus high in fibre and flavonoids (antioxidants). I love them roasted – crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. This scrumptious little recipe is something I put together

Eating Psychology Conference 2014

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on July 3, 2014 / Body Image, Confidence, Eating Disorders, Emotional Eating, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Positive Thinking & Affirmations

FREE Eating Psychology Online Conference Obesity, overeating, body image concerns, emotional challenges with food, and diet-related health issues have permeated our society, culture and mindsets. We’ve become the most unhealthy and unhappy we’ve ever been! Throughout my own recovery a huge A-ha! moment was realising that even though I was trying my hardest to watch what I ate and eat “healthy” food, my constant dogmatic, rigid and restrictive thinking was placing so much stress and imbalance within my body that it was impossible for me to find a healthy balance and weight. My digestive fire was just a glimmer of

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