"I am the Allower of my own Wellbeing"

A monthly newsletter written by Sherry Dell, PhD, CN

Volume 1, Issue 9
March, 2008

The Basics of Healthy Eating

In my line of work, I often see people struggle with making changes in their eating habits.  The Standard American Diet (SAD, for short) that is consumed by Americans and provided via the grocery stores and the fast food restaurants and the Qwiky Marts is slowly, but surely making us sick; but it is pervasive.  It is so pervasive as of 2008 that for most of us, the change toward conscious, healthy eating requires some very big changes in our daily food choices.  And making changes of any kind can be a wee bit tricky, no?

We start out with good intentions. We already know that fast food, sodas, and a diet devoid of fruits and vegetables isn't healthy.  More than that, at some point, that nasty (albeit in some ways, yummy) diet starts to make itself known to us in the form of tummy aches, headaches, constipation, fatigue, etc.  We know we need to eat better to feel better and to improve our quality of life. (Take a look at the side bar for a quick refresher on the basics of health-promoting food choices).  But nonetheless, struggle, we do.

Why is that?  Why do we, day after day, put foods in our mouth that make us sick?  After working as a nutritionist for 15 years, I've got lots of ideas about that.  Maybe you do too.  We learn so many of our eating habits subconsciously from our parents.  Then we follow along with peer pressure.  We're subjected to all kinds of marketing messages.  And at some point, what we have been eating begins to set up biochemical urges for what we want to eat next. And of course, food and eating is not solely a physical process; for many of us it is also an emotional process. We eat to fill in empty spaces in our heart, soul, and lives.  On and on.

But to me, a much more interesting question is this: what can we do to change this nation-wide trend toward unhealthy food choices?  To begin with, it's important to remember that  changing food habits is not so different from changing any other habit.  Nor is it different from adding new ways of thinking or being to our daily life experience in any arena.  In the corporate world, this undertaking might be called change management.  In the spiritual world, it might be called healing or transformation.  In the psychological world, it might be called behavior modification.  The process is the same.

Einstein reminds us that "the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."  And Maslow tells us "what is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself."

At a very simple level, change begins with becoming aware of the need for change or modification of some part of daily life.  It proceeds with a time to become educated about the options and detailed reasons for making that change (to change your diet, this is time for reading and researching and maybe working with a nutritionist).  And it follows with a period of time (short or long) where the change is practiced and ultimately, integrated into the essence of our lives (1).  When it comes to eating healthy foods, we are usually derailed in the period of time where the change is being practiced and before it is fully integrated into our lives.  There are a multitude of strategies for getting through this time but I'd like to emphasize just one of them here today.  I'm going to call it nutritional role modeling.

Role modeling, of course, can work in two ways.  You can be the one being role modeled to and/or you can be the role model.  Of course role models can be beneficial or harmful. When it comes to eating practices and nutritional role modeling, these dynamics are no different.

Put yourself around others who can be a positive role model to you for healthy eating and see if making your own healthy choices doesn't become a bit easier.  This might be the nutritionist you work with, but even more powerfully, it might be some particular friends or family members who already know when to choose the apple over the Snickers bar.   And this might be especially helpful to you personally when you're in that phase of change before your new habits are fully integrated into the nature of who you are.

But even more importantly in my way of thinking, nutritional role modeling benefits (or harms)  those individuals whose lives you influence everyday.  Your children.  Your family and friends.  Ah yes.  Here is the rub.  We are ourselves practicing nutritional role modeling whether we know it or not; whether we want to or not, all day, every day.  

I suggest we all ponder this idea long and well.  Knowing the connection between food choices and health, let's imagine what a grand impact our own nutritional choices can have on our families, our communities, our country and beyond.  What might our own lives be like; what might we learn; what might we accomplish as individuals if the amount of our time spent in pain or illness were cut in half?  What sorts of discoveries or new ways of thinking might be possible if we had half the time of our lives that we've spent grieving the early deaths of loved ones back?  What might our country do with even half of the $2.3 trillion dollars spent on healthcare in the U.S. in 2007 if it didn't have to be spent on taking care of the sick? (2)

And you thought you were just grabbing a slice of pizza....

(1) Read the father of change theory, Kurt Lewin and his change theory model regarding "unfreezing, changing, freezing" in Frontiers in Group Dynamics, 1946.

(2) Poisal, J.A., et al, Health Spending Projections Through 2016: Modest Changes Obscure Part D’s Impact. Health Affairs (21 February 2007): W242-253.