1. “I don’t like vegetables and fruits”.
In the initial nutrition and dietetics consultation, the patient usually discusses with the patient which foods he/she likes and which he/she does not like. Many patients have a reluctance to some vegetables or fruits, but it is rare that someone does not like any of these foods at all, whether raw, pureed, juiced or prepared in any other way.
You may not be a lover of these foods, but if you like only two fruits and three vegetables and only prepared in a very specific way this is our starting point.
The work of a specialist in nutrition and dietetics is to introduce the patient to new ways of preparation and cooking to try to expand the range of foods to include, as this helps the patient learn to eat healthier and can have a greater variety and thus not get bored. Discover new flavors and find a balance between what you like and what is good for your health.
2. “I don’t have time for physical activity”.
Physical activity is a fundamental ally in nutritional treatment, the food-physical activity binomial works.
Its benefits are many:
- Reduce body fat
- Increasing muscle mass
- Optimization of metabolism, which helps the body to be able to maintain the weight achieved in the long term.
When there is no order in what we eat we invest more time and more money. By planning weekly menus and making a shopping list in advance, we can better manage our time and surely we can steal a few minutes a day to move more.
Think that right now your physical activity is scarce or very limited, even more so if you are teleworking. There are many possibilities to do some physical activity throughout the day, either directly or indirectly: an online dance class, walking to the grocery store, using the treadmill or elliptical trainer you have at home, vigorously cleaning your apartment, walking up and down the stairs of your building, playing with the kids, walking your dog, tidying your closet … are activities that bring benefits from the first moment in your treatment and that will gradually take a place in your routine, noticing how good they feel.
3. “I forget to drink water”.
The importance of good hydration for health is unquestionable; think that all the chemical reactions that take place in your cells need water to be carried out.
Currently we have many resources to avoid “forgetting” to drink water, some options are:
- App on the mobile with alarms and reminders.
- Smart watches with alerts and monitoring of your hydration status.
- Self-sending emails to each other
- Strategically place post-it notes at home to remind us.
In case the problem is that you don’t like water as such; there are many options. We can “hydrate” with jellies, broths, soups, stews, juices, smoothies, milk, infusions, fruits and vegetables, flavored waters, sparkling waters, sherbets, ice, etc.
There are always options to make everything easier.
4. “I don’t have time and I don’t like to cook”.
The time factor is a determining factor for a nutritionist to design an eating plan that can become a reality. That is why it is very important to listen to the patient and to know how their working day is and the time available for the purchase, preparation and intake of food.
In addition, the possibilities to prepare meals are endless: a huge availability of foods and their presentations, cooking robots, hot air fryers, ovens, microwaves, containers and utensils of different materials for cooking, refrigeration, vacuum preservation…
Once again, knowing your needs and circumstances is key to designing a formula that works for you.
5. “I need to lose 5kg in 1 month”.
A very recurrent phrase heard in the first consultation. In these cases it is necessary to reflect with the patient. It should be remembered that excess weight is excess fat, not a high percentage of muscle or body water. Therefore, instead of targeting weight exclusively, it is necessary to look at changes in body composition: water, body fat, more to fat-free, abdominal circumference; and to assess something even more important than these data, i.e., to assess changes in your attitude: how you have modified your routines, how you feel. Actually a change in the patient’s behavior represents the path that will inexorably lead to weight loss; without this flexibility to adopt better daily habits, weight loss becomes pure mathematics and we are not machines, so the exact sciences cannot be applied to our biology.
Therefore, weight is not everything, it is only a number that must be contextualized and your ideal weight is not indicated by the tables, we must look for the comfortable and healthy weight for you.