I personally use a macro approach to nutrition with my clients, fashionable term would be if it fits your macros IIFYM. Despite what some think, its not an excuse to just eat shit but does allow more flexibility to have foods that would otherwise be frowned upon for various reasons on other approaches. However, there are still times when this structure doesnt work and you have to delve deeper into things. I saw this piece today from Precision Nutrition and felt it could help with people who are struggling no matter what approach they use to their nutrition and lifestyle. How do you motivate clients who want to make positive changes to their nutrition, but keep sabotaging themselves with foods that dont support their goals? A: While your client says the foods arent supporting their goals, the foods are supporting something (otherwise they wouldnt keep eating them). So, figuring out the drivers behind why they are eating the sabotaging foods might be useful. The next time your client has the urge to eat the sabotaging foods, encourage them to wait 10 - 15 minutes. During that time, have them write down what comes up. -What purpose is the food going to serve? -Is the food a source of enjoyment/stimulation? -Is it a distraction? -Are other people around them eating the food? -Did they eat enough nutritious food already that day, or are they truly hungry? -Did they just see the sabotaging food in a commercial on TV? There are lots of possibilities... From there, if you are able to help them figure out the driver(s) behind eating the sabotaging foods, having success in the future probably wont have much to do with motivation, but rather about practice and strategy. -If they eat sabotaging foods for enjoyment/stimulation....they can find other sources of enjoyment and stimulation that arent food related. -If they eat sabotaging foods as a distraction....they can practice sitting with uncomfortable feelings. -If they eat sabotaging foods simply because they are in the house...they can talk to family members about what foods are kept in the house. -If they eat sabotaging foods because they are hungry....they can ensure they are eating enough real food each day. -If they eat sabotaging foods because they think they are hungry....they can practice recognizing true hunger cues. -PN Coach Ryan Andrews
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 14:31:56 +0000
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