Maryann Jacobsen - How to Raise a Mindful Eater: 8 Powerful Principles for Transforming Your Childs Relationship with Food

How to Raise a Mindful Eater

8 Powerful Principles for Transforming Your Childs Relationship with Food

Maryann Jacobsen, MS, RD

Praise for How to Raise a Mindful Eater

Finally! Maryann's How to Raise a Mindful Eater takes feeding kids to the next level intentional and thoughtful approaches to raise kids who eat with thought and intention.

Jill Castle, MS, RDN, pediatric nutrition expert and author of Eat Like a Champion

Maryann Jacobsen has written an extremely helpful book in which she explains the truth about nutrition, and gives guidelines on how to raise kids to have a healthy attitude towards food, facilitating intuitive eating and mindfulness.

Dr. Nina Savelle-Rocklin, psychoanalyst, author, eating disorder specialist

What I love about Maryanns advice on feeding kids is that she combines in-depth research along with her own experience as a mother to provide a compassionate and sensible but evidence-based approach.

Sally Kuzemchak, MS, RD, creator of RealMomNutrition.com

Maryann Jacobsen MS, RD has balanced science, research and common sense to write a book about mindful eating that will completely transform your families diet. This book is a fabulous way to bring mindful eating fully into the home.

Megrette Fletcher M.Ed., RD, CDE, co-founder of The Center for Mindful Eating and author of Discover Mindful Eating for Kids

Maryann Jacobsen's latest book How to Raise a Mindful Eater guides you toward developing a way of looking at feeding your children which is not reactionary. Instead, she shows you how to take the big picture into consideration, for the present moment and the future. A must-read for all parents, whether your children are little or big!

Katja Leccisi, MS, RDN, author of How to Feed Your Kids and Questions and Answers About Your Baby's First Foods

How to Raise a Mindful Eater offers sound, sane and compassionate advice for shepherding kids to a healthy relationship with food and their bodies, and at the same time reminds the adults how we can benefit from the mindful practices of self-care and self-love that Maryann has so beautifully laid out for us all. This book is truly a must-read!

Tricia Nelson, Certified Coach and author of Heal Your Hunger

If youve ever wondered about the best ways to feed your child - and what parent hasntyou'll find answers here. Maryann Jacobsens insightful and practical book will guide you in helping your children develop a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

Judith Matz, LCSW, author of Amanda's Big Dream and co-author of The Diet Survivors Handbook

How to Raise A Mindful Eater is such a wonderful resource for parents looking to give their kids a healthy relationship with food from the get-go. Maryann gives a great discussion of the studies that support the books recommendations, and she writes in a really approachable way.

Kara Buetel, MS, Nutrition Coach and creator of RaisingNutrition.com

Copyright 2016 Maryann Jacobsen

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

Published by RMI Books

San Diego, California

www.MaryannJacobsen.com/RMIBooks

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my husband, Dan. Without your support and love, there would be no books. I love you!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I WANT TO THANK ALL the people who helped make this book a reality. First, my blog readers who read through the manuscript and offered feedback. I always am amazed how much better you make my books. Next are the parents who took the time to share their amazing stories, especially Marci. You have helped more families than you will ever know. And a special thank you to all the experts who offered their advice. I only hope to shine more light on your work that has already made the world a healthier place. Thanks to Rob Bignell and Arnetta Jackson, for attention to detail in editing. And what would I do without my family who puts up with all that goes on when Im writing a book? Your support and love is what keeps me going.

INTRODUCING A NEW WAY TO SEE FOOD

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.

-Albert Einstein

M ARCIS FIRST CHILD was born healthy, just over seven pounds. Things quickly changed as her daughters appetite and weight grew faster than the doctors wanted. Marci was given advice early on to limit formula feeding, so she did. When her daughter turned two, she noticed something wasnt quite right. She was never happy when she was done eating. But staying with the tried-and-true advice, Marci kept her daughter to child-size portions. When mom wasnt around to control her daughters eating, she ate large amounts. Outsiders began to comment on how much she ate, sharing with Marci that She had four string cheeses during snack time. Marci began to feel self-conscious and even found her daughter sneaking into food drawers.

Marci found herself in a no-win situation. Being the food police took a lot of work, with no end in sight. Like a lot of parents in her shoes, she didnt know there was a very different way of approaching her daughters eating. This book is about this other way that, unfortunately, few families know about. Its an approach to eating and feeding that actually solves eating-related challenges, and enables your family to create a healthy relationship with food.