{"id":16002,"date":"2017-06-14T15:51:53","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T19:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/caloriecontrol.org\/addressing-weight-control-are-you-asking-your-patients-the-right-questions\/"},"modified":"2018-01-05T08:49:17","modified_gmt":"2018-01-05T13:49:17","slug":"addressing-weight-control-are-you-asking-your-patients-the-right-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caloriecontrol.org\/addressing-weight-control-are-you-asking-your-patients-the-right-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Addressing Weight Control: Are You Asking Your Patients the Right Questions?"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Rosanne Rust MS, RDN, LDN\u00a0 \u2014<\/strong><\/em> A crucial question that\u2019s often missing in diet evaluation is, \u201cwhy\u201d. Why do people eat what they eat? Asking this question, with curiosity and without judgement, will provide both you and your patient a lot of valuable information<\/a> and insight. Of course people should be eating when they are hungry and need fuel, but there are many other reasons people eat, and these behaviors need to be thoughtfully considered.<\/p>\n While mainstream and social media often demonize certain ingredients and focuses on what not<\/em> to eat, I find it best to focus on what to add<\/em> to the diet (not what to take away). When healthy foods are added, they generally will displace the less healthy foods.\u00a0 In addition, it\u2019s also the behaviors <\/a>surrounding meals that really impact whether a healthy diet and lifestyle can be sustained.<\/p>\n For example, sugar continues to receive headlines, suggesting that health will improve just by focusing on reducing sugar intake. Certainly, this is often not<\/em> the case. If an individual is using food to treat emotional challenges, a broad approach is required to get them on a healthier path. Emotional eating, binge eating and eating in response to cravings, have all been linked to weight gain, or regain in individuals who have lost weight.<\/p>\n When these types of eating behaviors are present, it\u2019s important to address them with your patient, helping them find healthier ways to cope with anxiety, stress or the emotional responses to food. If your patient is suffering with some anxiety or depression, he may be self-medicating with sweet foods, as a method to increase serotonin levels. While chronic stress may lead to increased consumption of palatable food, fructose itself does not bring on the craving, nor promote the weight gain. Advising this individual to remove sugar from the diet does not necessarily improve his\/her eating behavior. Addressing the root of this problem is your best strategy, before embarking on dietary advice.<\/p>\n Tackling emotional eating can be daunting, but helping your patients understand that they will feel better when eating a balanced diet is step one. Offering a simple meal plan, like the one below, can help illustrate intended diet modifications. The goal is to balance carbohydrate, protein, and fat at each meal or snack. While it can be helpful to provide suggestions for modifying meals, listening to a patient describe why they eat can help tailor the meal plans based on the patient\u2019s needs. Assessing cooking ability\/interest, need for convenience, cost constraints, and sensorial preferences can be helpful in providing tailored guidance for patients that want to improve their habits.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nWhen working with patients, dietitians are trained to evaluate the nutrition status of clients, reviewing everything from medical history, to biochemical and anthropometric data, to lifestyle habits and dietary intake. We determine the best diet for individual clients based on this big picture. When it comes to the dietary evaluation, we don\u2019t just ask clients what they eat, we also ask about the timing of meals and snacks, their environment, and even the feelings associated with eating (hunger, mood).<\/p>\nSugar\u2019s Role<\/h2>\n
Defining Terms<\/h2>\n
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Striving for Balance<\/h2>\n