I have been cooking, thinking about food and writing recipes since I was 8 years old and practicing nutrition professionally since 2016. In that time, I have seen several patterns emerge about food and human behavior. The longer I do this the easier it is to predict where my clients and patients have been, what got them there and what motivates them.
I suppose that is the way with any kind of practitioner be it law or dentistry or social work: patterns emerge that shape human behavior and the professional can design a program for the typical person in need.
Human behavior is fascinating. I have always been interested in how we change – or not. Motivations for change and the barriers for it are complicated. Since we don’t exist in a bubble our environment shapes us. The American food environment is difficult and people fall into routines and habits that the environment shapes.
We are each always floating among these three areas of change:
Unaware of the problem/issue
Contemplative where possible solutions are being considered
Mindfulness where change is actively afoot
There is no right or wrong way to enter or exit these phases. Each person is on their own path.
Once I spent enough time in practice I started to look past all the reductionist arguments like this. Day-to-day behavioral consistency and nutrition adherence is so much more important than the brand of fish oil someone supplements or the few ounces of meat.
As a practitioner I don’t blink twice when someone eats red meat on occasion. In the standard American diet, it does not constitute that many calories for most people. Take a Big Mac meal for instance with fries and regular coke. 1200+ calories, only 230 of which from meat. The rest is bread, oil, potato, and HFCS.
Then in the whole day:
Breakfast - Bagel with cream cheese, iced coffee. Snack - Granola bar and yogurt. Lunch - Big Mac meal. Dinner - Chicken, mashed potatoes, and a cookie. Snack - Ice cream.
Did that 4.5oz of red meat REALLY cause you to gain weight?