Skill- Based Nutrition Flashcards
What are some standard (and short-term) solutions for nutrition management?
Dieting (w/o exercise)
Food elimination
Limiting quantities/ratios
Adhering to a specific plan
Meal replacement
These ideas are short term, and don’t usually work in the long term
Do not make people happy and require a TON of effort
How can we manage nutrition/form healthy behaviours?
Practice! Healthy eating is a skill - nearly everyone requires practice at it to be good/until it becomes automatic (a habit)
What are some differences between the Standard Approach to nutrition vs the Skills-Based Coaching Approach to nutrition?
Standard Approach:
Change every habit at once. Adherence starts high, and falls off
Goal is to be perfect 100% of the time
Plan is either on or off - no continuum
Skills-Based Approach:
One habit/skill at a time
Scaled to confidence level and to life
Self-paced
Goal is sustainability
Other behaviours are integrated
Practice and develop skills - just like if it was fitness training!
Why the Skills-Based Approach?
Long-term adherence is much higher
“Food skills should be seen as 100% of ability to
manage weight while exercise should be seen as
100% of our ability to sustain LBM or 50% of our
ability to manage our stress”
Why do we develop and practice food skills?
Takes the pressure off - its just practice!
Allows for errors
Encourages beginner mindset (it’s okay if I’m not perfect, I haven’t practiced this yet!)
Focuses on process rather than outcome
Feels easier, boosts confidence
What are some homeostatic (biological) hunger signs? How is it different than hedonic hunger?
Hollow stomach
Physical growling/rumbling
Usually wanting an entire meal vs just one specific food
Hedonic hunger doesn’t have a lot to do with physiology, but instead internal feelings
How many food-based decisions do we make every day?
Over 200!
The role of hunger in nutrition and weight loss
Nutrition (and weight) management depends on controlling what’s eaten. Hunger influences decisions - much easier to eat sensibly when not extremely hungry!
Homeostatic vs hedonic (emotional) hunger
What are some ways you can bring awareness to nutrition and caloric intake?
Tracking! Sometimes simply tracking what you eat is enough to make the change. People may not realize what/how much they are eating
How does the ‘path’ influence our eating behaviours?
The ‘path’ - external cues. Container/serving utensil size can make a huge difference in the amount of food eaten.
This can work both ways - buying small, individual packaging for unhealthy foods while buying bulk packages of healthy foods can both decrease and increase consumption of each respectively
How can you tell when you are done eating?
Focusing on internal cues, rather than external cues, is key. Feeling full/satiated rather than because you finished the plate.
Methods to monitor/limit eating habits
Keeping unhealthy foods out of sight/not easily accessible - candy dish study
