Sheila Bray, RD will begin providing nutrition counseling at an additional location in East Longmeadow, MA starting next month!  Appointments will be offered on select weekdays, starting in November.  Sheila Bray, RD will be seeing clients at The Warming Tree Wellness Centre, located on Route 83 on the rotary in East Longmeadow, MA.  Contact Sheila for more details or for appointment inquiries. 

Eating Disorder Recovery Support Groups are currently being held in Amherst on Thursday evenings.  Groups will be led by either myself or my colleague Sandra Kelly, Clinical Social Worker/Therapist.  Sliding scale $12-22.  Please call or email for further details.   

Sheila Bray RD will be relocating to 10 Gatehouse Road, Amherst MA at the end of March.  10 Gatehouse Road shares property with the Echo Hill/Village apartments and Hampshire Athletic Club in Amherst, MA.  There is a PVTA bus stop, Rolling Green, less than a mile down the street on Route 9.  Please contact Sheila for further details. 

I have been on a baked oatmeal kick lately.  It is super easy to throw together.  Add some yogurt, a piece of fruit and/or nuts on the side, and you have breakfast to go for the week. 

Cinnamon Apple Baked Oatmeal
Servings: 9
 
Ingredients:

• 2 cups steel cut oats
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ⅓ tsp sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon*
• ½ tsp ginger*
• 1½ cups milk
• ½ cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 ½ cups chopped apples
• Cooking spray

 
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine the first six ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg.
4. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. 
5. Mix in chopped apples. 
6. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 45-55 minutes. Serve warm. 

Notes:
*Use more or less of spices per taste.
- For dairy intolerance's, substitute milk & butter with soy or almond milk & olive or coconut oil.

This recipe was adapted from: 6 Breakfast Recipes For Healthy and Delicious Baked Oatmeal: http://www.cheatsheet.com/life/easy-to-bake-breakfasts-6-baked-oatmeal-recipes.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3lWpuLupL. 

Do you struggle with Emotional Overeating?  Have you been diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder?
Say goodbye to that fad diet and finally make peace with food & your body.
 
Introducing our 6 week “Kick Emotional Eating to the Curb” course, where you will learn:
- Nutritional and psychological components that may be contributing to your habits
- Mindful eating practices along with other mindfulness techniques
- Principles of binge eating disorder recovery, based on Fairburn’s “Overcoming Binge Eating”
- Coping strategies to reduce and replace disordered eating
 
Sign up today and get the support that you deserve in a therapeutic group setting.  This unique class is hosted by both a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) to provide you with the tools that you need to hijack your emotional eating.

Starting this November.  Classes will be held on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm in Amherst center.

For further information, contact:
Sandra Kelly, LICSW at 413-230-0508 or [email protected] or
Sheila Bray, RD, LDN at 774-254-2996,  [email protected] , or here.
 
Sheila Bray is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist with a degree from Framingham State College.  Her background includes working in adult, adolescent, pediatric and family nutrition in a wide variety of settings.  She currently works part-time as Clinical Dietitian at an eating disorder treatment center in Amherst, MA.  Additionally, Sheila has a private nutrition counseling practice in Hadley, where she focuses on eating disorders, non-diet weight management, and emotional/disordered eating.   

Sandra Kelly is a licensed independent clinical social worker.  She has been providing therapeutic support to individuals, families, and groups in a variety of settings since 2009 and has attended many trainings that include: mindfulness, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), and trauma informed trainings.   She has been working for the past two years as a clinician at an eating disorder treatment center in Amherst, MA.  In addition, she has a private practice in Amherst, MA where she provides guidance and support to individuals struggling with a variety emotional and behavioral challenges.

To learn more, see Sandra's group page.

Although eating disorders are mental illnesses, the nutritional component cannot be ignored.  Until a balanced, adequate diet is achieved, one’s ability to learn and carry out skills from a treatment center or individual therapy sessions will remain highly limited.  A dietitian’s role is to help get the individual’s body & brain to a healthy place & functioning level in order to tackle the root causes in therapy.

Ways an RD (registered dietitian) plays an important role in the treatment of eating disorders:

Nutrition counseling provides a safe environment for the client to discuss food related thoughts & behaviors - opening visits with the therapist and doctor up to discuss the many non-food related parts of the disorder.

The dietitian may be the first provider to become aware of the eating disorder.  It then becomes the important task of the RD to assess the level of care needed and assist the client in setting up a treatment team.

Nutrient deficiencies are common in those with eating disorders.  An RD will help identify and work the individual on replenishing any nutrient deficiencies.   

Electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and phosphorus are vital in keeping us alive. They play an important role in allowing the body to work and for the cells in our body to function.  Electrolyte imbalances are frequent in those with eating disorders.  The RD is trained to explore current nutrient intake, behaviors, weight & symptoms in order to identify a possible life-threatening electrolyte imbalance.  The RD will collaborate with medical providers on ordering and obtaining lab values, weight issues, and medication as related to physical symptoms from ED (eating disorder) behaviors.    

The dietitian may also collaborate with medical providers to establish an appropriate, healthy goal weight and exercise pattern. 

RD’s will coach and support weight gain if needed in a secure setting.  It can be extremely dangerous for someone with anorexia nervosa to gain weight on their own, without the aid of a medical doctor and experienced dietitian.  Gradual, carefully planned weight restoration is needed in order to prevent refeeding syndrome (a potentially fatal shift in electrolytes that occurs with a rapid increase in energy intake after severe restriction).  Additionally, a dietitian trained in the treatment of those with eating disorders will be sensitive to the emotional hardship of restoring weight. 

Those who have an eating disorder know that recovering is not as simple as “just eat more” or “can’t you just stop eating as much or doing that?”  The RD will calculate energy needs and prescribe meal plans as needed for both weight maintenance and restoration.  Meal plans are used as a guide in order to attain a normalized eating pattern and an adequate, balanced and varied diet individual to each person’s goals.

Those who have been suffering from an eating disorder may react to establishing a normalized eating pattern an unexpected ways.  The dietitian will assess & reassess what each individual needs throughout their journey in order to work towards a healthy weight and nutritional restoration. 

Misguided beliefs about food & body weight are common amongst people with eating disorders.  It is the role of the RD to challenge these myths, encourage variety of food choices – especially with feared foods, and help transform attitudes and judgements about food, eating, and its effect on the body.  The RD will provide ongoing education on the role of nutrition in overall physical & mental health. 

The dietitian will collaborate with the psychotherapist in monitoring food intake & behaviors in order to aid the individual in recognizing unhelpful patterns and triggers.

Eating disorders are challenging and confusing for both the individual suffering and those that surround them.  Meal planning & ways to promote a supportive setting within the relationship dynamic may be discussed with family members, care givers, and loved ones by the RD.

Those who suffer from eating disorders have lost touch with their hunger & satiety cues.  The dietitian will work with the client to help them to identify these signals. 

Further into treatment, guidance from a meal plan to a more intuitive eating pattern will be encouraged.  The RD will assess readiness and teach mindful eating practices when it is appropriate.

When looking for help with nutritional matters related to disordered eating, it is crucial to find a registered dietitian with experience and training in eating disorder treatment.  While RD’s are qualified to treat a variety of nutrition related conditions & disorders, one RD may specialize in weight loss while another’s focus is on allergies & food sensitivities.  Nutrition counseling may be detrimental for a client in recovery if the RD’s focus is not on eating disorders, as harmful behaviors and rules may inadvertently be further enforced.   



Nutrition Counseling with Sheila:
Sheila is passionate about helping others achieve a healthy relationship with food & their bodies.  If you would like to schedule an appointment with Sheila Bray, RD, send a private message or email on the Contact page.

Re-posting this insightful article from an awesome eating disorder recovery site.

https://www.recoverywarriors.com/the-benefit-of-an-eating-disorder/