Eat For You Dietitian

What I’m finding is a common theme when speaking to my patients in my clinic is that they are apologising for what they’ve done over the Christmas period. I can’t judge a person on the dietary choices they make because the choices that they make are based on many factors that are not completely in our control. I have half an hour to try to understand and make a clinical judgement. Sometimes it may not be dietary related, but focusing on overall well-being.

I guess what I’m trying to put into words today is let’s stop apologising for being the way we are, for eating that meal or snack. 

We shouldn’t have to explain our actions to anyone and if we are seeking support to make positive behavioural changes whether related to your lifestyle or diet should only be met with encouragement from those around us. I think I’m finally at a point in my life when I have stopped trying to people please.

I spoke with a lady this week who told me that she has a history of diagnosed eating disorders. She was referred to our community dietetics department for lipid-lowering dietary advice. She told me that her cardiac consultant called her right before Christmas and because her cholesterol hadn’t reduced, which isn’t only related to diet. There could be genetic factors for example, he said she had to lose more weight. This led her to returning back to her eating disorder behaviours which she told me she acted upon in different ways, luckily this only lasted a couple of weeks and she confirmed she is no longer doing those behaviours. However it just showed me the impact those words that doctors and healthcare professionals have but we don’t think about the consequences. In the end I felt it was my responsibility to give feedback to this consultant and also to her GP that we are focusing on positive lifestyle behaviours away from her weight measurements and away from labelling foods as good, bad, unhealthy or healthy. 

I invite you to do the same. I am tired of being told by various different people that they have been naughty or trying to be good today. Why can’t we enjoy the food that we have because everyone has different foods in their day-to-day life based on different factors. The most important one being our likes and dislikes, what we enjoy and what we don’t and you shouldn’t be shaping your diet based on any influencers ‘what I eat in a day’ videos.

I’m trying to find the best way I can share and help others find freedom around food and eliminate any guilt around food. Food shouldn’t have that power over us, we have too many great things to be experiencing. 

My first advice on how to begin your journey towards finding freedom around food is putting pen to paper and writing down what are your food rules. Put pen to paper and see the list in front of you and gradually over time start challenging these rules and find out where we actually got them from. You’ll see if we break them nothing happens. Our world stays the same, our body may change but if it changes maybe it was intended to do so.