This week, we feature a guest blog from Nathalie Jones, a dietician based in Glasgow who helps people get the most out of their diet, to ensure it works specifically for them. See links at the foot of the page to find out more about Nathalie’s work.
What’s in it for you? Challenging how we approach dietary change.
Most people come to see me with a problem that they hope can be made better by a change to their diets. Many ask for meal plans, guidance on a health condition or to learn more about what, when or how much to eat. Others know what to do but struggle to put it into action long term and want support.
However, the educational part of how much fibre to have to regulate bowel habit or the portion sizing for weight management can be covered relatively quickly. This is also advice that can be found online (although I appreciate that much of that advice is conflicting and a person needs to know where to look). Often, it’s information that is already known to the person.
Being aware of the now
I’m interested in how the person came to the situation they are in now, what impact food is having on them and how they want their lives to be different. During this part of the discussion, we both get an idea on levels of motivation and desire to change the current situation. What’s in it for them to make changes (we often make a list)? How will they know when things are better? What do they want to achieve?
Noticing and reflecting
When it comes to diet, we tend to eat similar things and repeat habits daily without really being aware or noticing what we are having. So much of our eating is automatic and we eat without questioning our choices and their impacts.
A really useful first step is to take note of our eating decisions either mentally or by writing it down. What are we choosing to eat, why, and how are we feeling before and after eating. This noticing and questioning can cause change in itself as we start to listen to our body and mind cues and respond with an intention of self-care.
Making changes
We can notice impact of an “eating occasion” immediately. Most people can resonate with feelings of energy or lethargy after particular meal choices.
Building on what we have noticed about what we eat and how we feel, setting goals is a useful next step. It may be to repeat a particular lunch more often because it made you feel more satisfied than another choice, for example. It may be that you have noticed you sleep better when eating earlier in the evening. Whatever has felt right, repeat. Build these new habits over time, staying aware and curious throughout the process.
Noticing impact and knowing when things are feeling better.
Being able to trust our body cues and listening to what we want and what feels good food wise, is key. Respecting that we are all experts on ourselves, helps us trust that we can choose foods that we have learned works for us in different situations.
Over time we can notice changes in how we feel in terms of hunger, energy and health as the cumulative effect of noticing, questioning and acting on eating choices builds.
Reflect back to how we felt before starting the journey and our “what’s in it for me” list. Small changes and learning about how to fuel ourselves as individuals is gradual and at the time feels small but can be invaluable over time. Far more valuable than just being told what to eat.
Find out more about Nathalie:
She joined us for a podcast to talk about the importance of tailoring diet to the individual and their lifestyle, and how making dietary change isn't just about the calories but also about being much more conscious of eating habits. Check it out here!
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
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