Happy Monday, Noosers! It’s the last monday in January…We imagine some are breathing a sigh of relief and others are surprised we are here already. Wherever this finds you, it’s a nice time to think about how your month went and look ahead to what February will bring. I (Avery) have been having a lot of fun skiing with my family in VT on the weekends — spending the days outside in the cold moving my body has been a real treat. Watching my sons ski for hours on end in the frigid temperatures is fun and extremely satisfying; I love seeing them being active, learning a skill and fostering independence while having fun with each other. I also love knowing they will fall asleep early and sleep so very soundly from all the activity 🤣! It made me think about movement and how we lose touch with its playful side as we age — more on that in the movement section.
We hope you enjoy today’s Noosletter. We have been giving a lot of thought about “serving sizes” on nutritional labels and are exploring how that shapes our mindset while eating, as well as seeing exercise as play rather than punishment, and how cognitive dissonance plays a role in our decision making — read along as we dive in!
Enjoy!
If you missed Anne’s birthday post last week, check it out — it was one of our most viewed posts and a really helpful guide if you are curious about what to expect in perimenopause and menopause. As always, if you like what you read please give a ❤️ at the top or bottom of this post — thank you for your support!!
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Nutrition
The other day while out on a walk, Avery and I got talking about the serving sizes that are listed on the back of food labels (the things we walk and talk about 🤣). This didn’t just randomly come up, we were discussing the updated 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, due to come out later this year. Every five years updated guidelines are released. You can read more about the process here, if you so fancy.
Getting back to our conversation, Avery asked what determines the serving size on a Nutrition Facts label. I realized, I actually don't know. In all my studying, teaching and reviewing of the Nutrition Facts label, I don’t know if I’ve ever really thought about the determining factors that set the serving size. I am sure I was taught it at one point, but clearly don’t remember. I thought, hmmm, maybe it’s based on overall consumption? Or was there a special calculation done based on ingredients? Perhaps many of you are thinking — who cares?
When was the last time you ate out of a bag, box or container and looked at the serving size on the back? When educating patients to read a Nutrition Facts label, I draw their attention to the serving size. Learning about portion sizes and how to read food labels can help increase awareness about the nutritional content of food.
I, myself, recently skimmed the label of some tasty new seed crackers (they’re freaking delish), and when reading the serving size, I realized it’s given in grams. This question made me read almost every serving size we had — thanks, Avery!
* A whopping 55 pieces for 1 serving of goldfish! Damn!!
* 6 crackers per serving of Triscuits.
* 2 Tbsp for half & half (what I use in my coffee)
* ¼ cup raisins
* ¼ cup peanuts
* 28 pieces french fries (frozen)
* 2oz of pasta
* O’Dough’s gluten free everything bagels, 2 bagels per serving size
The list goes on.
I started to wonder… Does a serving size dictate how much of an item I eat? Yes and no. I drizzle the half & half in my empty cup in the morning and then pour the coffee over. I take handfuls of snacks, scoop out yogurt, and grab nuts without looking at serving sizes.
When I looked at the goldfish I definitely thought, wow that's a lot — nice! Would seeing a larger number nudge me to consume more? Maybe. Or if the serving size stated two bagels instead of one, would I be inclined to eat what was “suggested”? Again, maybe.
The serving sizes listed on the Nutrition Facts labels are not recommended serving sizes. By law, serving sizes must be based on how much food people actually consume, and not on what they should eat.
When the FDA established the Nutrition Facts label in 1993, they determined serving sizes using the Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACCs), which were primarily derived from food consumption surveys conducted in 1977-1978 and 1987-1988. Manufacturers relied on these 1993 RACCs to calculate product serving sizes for more than two decades!
In 2016, the FDA updated the Nutrition Facts label regulations, requiring manufacturers to use more recent data from the 2003-2006 and 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to determine serving sizes. These updated serving sizes reflect current eating habits, which have changed significantly since the original 1970s and 1980s surveys.
For food packages containing between two and three times the standard reference serving amount, manufacturers must now display nutrition information in a dual-column format. This allows consumers to easily view nutritional details for both a single serving and the entire package, accommodating varying consumption habits and appetites.
Where do serving sizes stand today in comparison with earlier ones?
Yup, you guessed it — they’ve generally gone up.
The most recent serving sizes reflect actual eating habits, aiming to provide more transparent nutritional information.
This is important. The serving size is not what’s recommended. Instead, it's based on surveys of current eating habits.
These serving sizes listed may be really helpful. You may want to think twice before downing the entire ice cream container or bag of chips, but on the flip side, perhaps you’re being nudged to consume more.
Your body possesses the biological wisdom that far surpasses any arbitrary measurement printed on a package. Listening to your body's hunger signals—recognizing true physical hunger versus emotional or habitual eating—allows you to consume what’s best for your body. While nutrition labels provide helpful nutritional information, they should not be a rigid script for consumption, but rather a guide.
Whole foods—unprocessed, nutrient-dense ingredients from nature—inherently communicate their nutritional value more effectively than any printed label. Processed foods often disrupt these natural signals through added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and artificial ingredients that override your body's natural hunger regulation.
Your internal hunger cues, which communicate energy needs (if we’re able to listen!) are infinitely more sophisticated than a one-size-fits-all serving recommendation. Trusting your body's innate intelligence means eating mindfully, and stopping when you feel satisfied, not when a label suggests you should.
Movement
As we enter the final week of January, I’m sure some people’s well- lit resolution fires are dwindling into some smoldering embers that need to be stoked! So here is a way I reframe exercise when it feels like a drag. Remember when you were younger and a game of tag or red rover sounded fun? When swinging on the monkey bars or climbing a tree sounded like a great way to spend recess or the afternoon?
What’s changed?
Sure, we have adult responsibilities, like work and making dinner etc, that keep us busy, but the interest in doing those types of activities naturally wanes with age. In fact, have you tried swinging on the monkey bars recently? That sh*t is hard!!!
But, rather than putting my nose up at “playing” I thought, what if I took that attitude towards my workouts? What if I focused on playing rather than what workouts can be labeled as — dreaded, rigid, or a form of punishment. So often, we think of exercise as an obligation, something we have to do because it supports our health. We begrudgingly get on the treadmill or elliptical and try to zone out and hope that time passes so we can collect our burned calories and move on with the day.
But rather than seeing exercise as something we should “check the box” for our body, what if we saw it as something that could enhance our overall well-being? We should celebrate what our bodies can do. Next time you dread a workout, consider a walk with a friend, or a game of pickleball or paddle tennis — that kind of exercise (playing) helps your body and your mind.
Playing is important, because it gives us levity. As adults, we are considered “in charge” and burdened with a rolling list of responsibilities (both serious and dull ones). Exercise can be something we look forward to. So next time you’re dreading a workout, channel your inner child and think of it as play — see what your body can do physically and remember that exercise can be fun if you have the right mindset. You won’t regret it!
Behavior
This week I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with some new patients. I’ve noticed there is a common theme: I know what I should do, but I have a hard time doing it! So many of us face that knowing vs doing dilemma. For instance, one might want to improve their diet, but consistently choose convenience over health, or think “I know I need to move more,” but spends hours sitting in front of the TV. Another example might be: "I want to get good grades," but scroll social media instead of studying, or you might tell yourself "I need to save money," but then jump at the first instagram ad of your favorite brand (guilty 🙋♀️). These internal struggles affect all parts of our lives.
There is something called cognitive dissonance. It’s the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values simultaneously. For instance, a smoker probably knows that smoking is harmful, but continues to smoke. Cognitive dissonance helps explain why people make excuses for their behavior, and resist changing their beliefs despite contradictory evidence.
How can we overcome cognitive dissonance? I am laughing as an image pops into my head, “the more you know” NBC’s long-running PSA’s from the late 80s and early 90s (I actually thought it was from Reading Rainbow 🤣).
The more you know, by having honest awareness of what’s going on and recognizing the internal resistance to change, is a great place to start.
It all comes back to your mindset. Try and reframe exercise as self-care, not punishment. View healthy eating as nourishment, rather than restriction. Start small with micro-commitments: ten-minute daily walks, add one vegetable to each meal, or stand or do a plank during TV commercials.
Nothing happens overnight. There's no universal timeline or one-size-fits-all approach; some people experience sudden insights that spark immediate change, while others require gradual, incremental shifts in perspective and behavior. The process demands patience, self-compassion, and an understanding that personal growth is rarely linear—moments of resistance, backsliding, and breakthrough are all natural parts of transforming deeply ingrained thought patterns and behaviors.
What works for one person may completely fail for another. Approaching personal change with curiosity, flexibility, and a willingness to experiment with different strategies, while honoring your own pace and learning style, is crucial. So this week, pick one tiny health habit and commit to it like it's the last slice of pizza at a midnight buffet — with unwavering, passionate devotion.
Until next time…
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