How to Practice Eating Better
I just came back from a 2-day workshop on motivational interviewing, a counselling approach for helping people change their habits, which is basically what I do every day. This approach really connects with my belief that healthy eating looks different for each individual, and though I may be the expert on nutrition, you are the expert on your lifestyle and your needs. As a result, our dietitian-client relationship should look like a partnership, instead of the stereotypical teacher-student one.
I was already practicing some motivational interviewing techniques in my work, and the workshop really helped me to tie a lot of loose ends together and see the reasoning behind the techniques, hopefully adding some “oomph” to my practice. I am really excited to start sinking my teeth into some the skills I learned and practiced during those two days, and I am committed to letting go of judgment and of my own agenda in my client sessions, and trusting your inner wisdom to help guide us through your journey. (So, if you have a session with me coming up, hold me to it, OK?)
I really wanted to share with you some of my learnings without getting too technical, or in a way that makes you feel like, “Hey, she’s doing that thing to me!” So, here’s what I came up with.
3 Steps to Practice Eating Better
Most people would agree that learning and mastering a new skill takes practice before it gets comfortable, and the same applies to healthy eating.
Some of us might find it difficult to wrap our heads around the idea that we need to practice eating healthy – I mean, everybody eats. How hard can it be? Sure, you’ve probably got the chewing and swallowing part down, but we can all use a little practice when it comes to food skills like meal planning, reading nutrition labels, time management, cooking, responding to cravings, etc, that all contribute to better food choices and overall health.
1. Importance + Confidence = Readiness
One common mistake that people make when it comes to change is that often we want to change EVERYTHING. AT ONCE. NOW. When that happens, we might be raring to go for a few days, but we quickly get overwhelmed and things fizzle out. Allowing yourself to just focus on one or two goals at a time can also make it easier to monitor your progress.
So, how do we pick a change that’s most likely to happen?
If you have a lot of changes in mind, it might be helpful to spend a couple minutes jotting them down. For big tasks, like meal prepping, break it down into smaller steps, like scheduling time to meal prep, buying the containers you need, picking the recipes, etc.
We are more likely to change when something is important to us – when it’s something that we want to do (not necessarily what the doctor, our parents, or our partner wants us to do), and when we have confidence that we know how to do it and can do it.
Go through each of the changes you wrote on your list and ask yourself whether it’s important to you and whether you’re confident that you can do it. Start with the one that scores the highest in both of those categories.
2. Acknowledge that Change can be Uncomfortable
Many of our eating habits and food preferences have been ingrained from a young age, sometimes to the point where we’ve decided that our way is the “right” way. I mean, there are websites dedicated to peeling a banana or hanging a toilet paper roll the “right” way, when really, there’s no right or wrong, there’s just different. (I do both things the right way, btw.)
So, as you start practicing your new (to you) habit, acknowledge that it might feel weird to be out of your regular routine, even if it is an effortless part of “everyone else’s” routine. (It’s not, it just feels that way.) Hold off on passing judgment right away – that’s coming up next!
3. Check In
As you give this new-to-you habit a few kicks at the can, notice if it gets any easier or comfortable the more you do it, and see if there are any other outcomes, like how you feel overall when you do it.
If it is getting more comfortable, then you might allow it to just slip in and become a part of your lifestyle, and move on to the next change. On the other hand, if you’re clawing your eyes out and wailing, “When is this over?!?” then it might just be a habit that doesn’t fit into your lifestyle, either for now or forever. If you think it’s a “for now” type deal (like, it’s uncomfortable, but you can see some benefits) then it’s totally OK to leave it on the back burner for a bit and come back to it in a few weeks or months. If you think it’s forever, then celebrate the fact that you tried something new and move on to the next item on your list.
Rinse and repeat.