Most people have at least a vague sense of what it means to eat well. Eat less, move more. Less fast food, more veggies. And yet, and more importantly, there are reasons we’re not following this advice.
This absolutely matches what I’ve seen from clients. When I first became a dietitian 20 years ago, I did what I learned in school and gave people diet plans. People would follow them for a while, then find the rigidity unsustainable. But rather than deciding there was something wrong with the plan or something that needed to be tweaked, changed or brainstormed, they presumed there was something wrong with them.
Obviously, that’s not what I want for my clients or anyone! Ideally, what we work on are steps you’ll still be taking a year from now, 5 years from now, even decades from now. My emphasis is on HEALTH. It’s about habits; about is getting enough veggies, finding balance around food, getting in omega 3s, getting enough sleep, getting regular physical activity, managing stress and so much more.
I use a coaching and goal setting model with clients, which is based around identifying the strengths and weaknesses and then developing specific and measurable goals for getting where you need and want to go. Often it’s identifying the foods that you’d like to add in and ways of reducing the barriers, brainstorming ways of getting more movement, looking at ways to manage mindless triggers, eating more mindfully, and so on. I also often provide sample recipes for meals, ideas for snacks. For many, it can be awareness of hunger and fullness, mindfulness techniques, stress management tips, etc. as well as encouragement, structure and support. My job is also to help make these changes work for YOU: in your life, with your time constraints, with your food preferences, your medical needs, monetary constraints, etc.
This was summed up nicely by Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, founder and director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh and diet and nutrition editor for NBC’s Today show: “‘Diets don’t work’ is only half the story. Lifestyle change will work if you have realistic expectations, good support, and choose a plan that you can stick with — a plan that will give you moderate change over a long time.”
For more reading on dieting, and why it may not be ideal, here are a few research articles on topic:
Parent Conversations About Healthful Eating and Weight: Associations With Adolescent Disordered Eating Behaviors JAMA Pediatr. 2013;():1-7. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.78
Mann, T. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. Am. Psychologist, 2007; 62(3): 220-233.
Sumithran et AL. Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. N Engl J Med 2011 Oct 27 (full text)
Neumark-Sztainer D. et al. Obesity, disordered eating,and eating disorders in a longitudinal study of adolescents: how do dieters fare five years later? J Am Diet Assoc. 2006;106(4):559-568.
Katan, Martijn B. Weight-Loss Diets for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity NEJM 2009 360:923-925.(full text)
Field AE et al. Relation Between Dieting and Weight Change Among Preadolescents and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 2003 112:900-906. (full text)