Stahl pens book on healthy eating
Jul. 8—CUMBERLAND, Md. — Reconnecting to the joy of healthy eating is the focus of a new book penned by Theresa Yosuico Stahl, a registered dietitian nutritionist and consultant.
From her home in Cumberland, Stahl wrote the nearly 200-page paperback titled "I'm Full: Remindful Eating Tips to Feel Great & Make Peace with Your Plate."
Available at Amazon.com, the book contains 52 tips to develop better eating habits and make better food selections while enjoying the experience of eating. This is the first book from Stahl, who began writing it nearly 30 years ago.
"I started it when my kids were little," said Stahl. "Then I put it got on the shelf when I went to work full time."
She retired from the Western Maryland Health System in 2019 and received an unexpected increase in time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Then COVID happened and it removed all of my distractions and allowed me to put my full force into finishing and editing the book," said Stahl. "I just saw so many people were at extremes. In the nutrition world and dieting it gets crazy. There is so much misinformation and quackery. I really wanted to balance things."
Stahl serves as a supervisor for the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and is a fellow with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as a consultant for the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children.
"So many people were just so confused about food and couldn't enjoy their food because they were either on a diet or not on a diet," she said. "If they were eating things they liked, they felt like they were being bad. It created so much guilt and shame around eating that they couldn't enjoy their food."
Her tips focus on savoring meals and enjoying each bite. She suggests making fruits and vegetables the stars of the meal by having them take up at least half of your plate.
"Nothing is really off limits, it is just how frequently you eat and how often you eat it that makes a difference," she said. "My goal in my career and with the book is to help people learn the nutrition skills that will help them make wise choices."
The book of tips is organized into three parts: hunger, fullness and mindful eating; tips to improve eating skills; and tips to manage stress and improve mood.
Stahl recommends foods that let you feel your best, move your best, think your best and look your best. For those wishing to reduce their intake of meat, Stahl recommends beans, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, quinoa and soybeans, which are a complete protein like meat.
Information on sugar, teas, coffee and planning meals and the importance of local food is included. She advocates renaming leftovers, saved overs. "Because you save time, money, energy and calories. It's an investment."
Stahl said each section has a feature called "dig deeper," which includes sources to allow the reader to learn more on the topic. "It's much more than a tip book," she said. "It's a resource people can have on their shelves to refer to. You don't have to read it all it once; you can read different tips. It is all evidence-based research."
Stahl will hold a book signing July 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wholesome Harvest Co-op, 30 W. Main St, Frostburg.
For more information or to discuss a speaking engagement, email RemindfulEating@gmail.com.
Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter.
