Practical Nutrition

Am I really the best person to advise on nutrition? Training as a yoga teacher, you would think a Dietitian would feel confident if clients had nutritional questions. Instead, I felt uncertainty in my own knowledge and noticed a propensity to distance myself from those most concerned with nutrition, vegans and the ‘superfood’ junkies. Why? 

This is a world away from what I worked with day-to-day in a hospital setting, typically matching insulin to carbohydrate intake or perhaps preparing a nutritional prescription to provide intravenous nutrition to a patient after surgery. I feel out-of-touch with real food. I feel like I often work with those whose diets are so far from ideal that eating 10 biscuits a day instead of 15 now seems like success.

Why is it that I feel so removed from real healthy eating? Many of the clients I work with, particularly those with type 2 diabetes are overweight to morbidly obese. Typically fast food is enjoyed regularly, huge portions can be eaten at meals and high fat and sugar snacks are common. As I employ the recommended “patient-centered” approach of supporting the patient to make a small change (e.g. eat one vegetable a day or getting off the bus one stop earlier to increase activity levels), I can’t help but feel like I am doing them a massive disservice. A radical new diet, for many, would lead to weight loss, reducing or even eliminating the need for medication. At times, the medical model to nutrition feels like dealing with the tip of the iceberg. With my initial degree being in Physiology, I have held “black and white” beliefs about science and nutrition. Having completed my yoga teacher training and staying at Life Synergy has led me to explore the grey area. An intensive Yoga Teacher Training program has allowed me to feel the subtle difference in an appropriate stretch and going just a little too far. Similarly, meditation has stopped me in my tracks at times and allowed me to re-evaluate my eating patterns. Why is it that you can watch television and put your hands into a bag of treats only to hit the bottom and don’t really remember eating most of the bag?

When I learned to focus my attention on what I am actually eating, often I realize it doesn’t taste very nice but because it looked yummy and I had a craving for it, I started to eat it and didn’t even think about it. I have started to think about food and why I am eating. I try to identify why I want something. If I walk past a bakery and smell the yummy pain-au-chocolate, I can take time to register the craving, enjoy the smell, feel my own body, and often realize I am full and walk on by. Often still, I go ahead and enjoy unhealthier foods, but now when I do, I try to enjoy every yummy bite. Sometimes, I eat too much of the “wrong” food and ongoing mindfulness has helped me catch negative thoughts or emotions I have at the time or afterward. We all get cravings, we all over-indulge, the important thing is not to dwell on negative emotions linked to this, and as soon as possible get back in touch with what feels good for your body and respond accordingly.

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I will always look for the best evidence for providing nutrition advice. I’m now more open to trialing alternative safe options that clients feel work well for their body specifically and will not compromise their nutritional intake, even if it is a little wacky! Spending my last few days at Life Synergy Retreats has allowed me to see how easy it is to try simple new options and see how it works for me. The most simple and my favorite to date is making cashew milk. This involved soaking cashews in plenty of water overnight, then blending them with fresh water and tah-dah… fresh yummy almond milk. You can then use this to make a milkshake, add some vanilla or whatever takes your fancy to change the flavor. And most importantly…. see how you feel after it! It really is getting back to basics.