True story - I married a dietitian
Find out what it’s like to be Mr. Chesapeake Nutrition! Welcome our guest blogger, Chris!
How does your food experience change when you marry a dietitian? It definitely had me wondering…
Do they only allow a tight regimen of rice cakes and water for Friday night snacks?
Will you ever eat chocolate again?
Does taco Tuesday become tofu Tuesday?
You may have similar concerns as you consider meeting with a dietitian. You may be tempted to first try a fad diet, or look for a quick miracle “cure”. It is my personal experience that you’ll be pleasantly surprised when it comes to discussing your diet with a registered dietitian.
My story
I’m 6’1”, athletic, and 41 years old AND I’m a year into significant weight loss (40 lbs). In my single days I was the guy who loved to grab ten bottles of soda when Mountain Dew went on sale. Road trips were a reason to stop at 7-11 for peanut chews or a Reese’s cup pack. So was Saturday night! Appetizers when we eat out? Of course! Fast food and prepared foods were normal weekly occurrences.
Don’t get me wrong though, I loved to cook fresh foods at home and packed my lunch almost every day. I had the perception that I was pretty “healthy” despite slowly gaining weight after college. I knew my health could be better if I changed my diet. I had success losing weight on a low carb diet but the belly fat slowly came back.
The past year
Throughout the past year, I started putting into practice a lot of what my wife preaches. After eight years of marriage, I can certainly weigh in (pun intended) on what her style is when strategizing with clients meet their health goals.
She consistently talks about the idea that all foods fit.
She has reasonable expectations and sets realistic goals with every client.
Her perspective is to meet clients where they are, take whatever they are willing to give, and create step-by-step, progressive goals, increasing the chance that new habits will be created.
Welcome to our kitchen…
It’s not all tofu and whole grains! We eat s’mores and hot dogs when we have a campfire. Vegetables are almost always served on pizza night. We limit processed meats. We eat a huge container of oatmeal every two weeks. Spending five minutes to pack tomorrow’s lunch gets attention before or after we relax for the evening.
Talking about how we feel about food, hunger, and satiety are part of our everyday conversation. In fact, one of the most important things I’ve learned is that I was using the word “full” when I was actually overfilled. Now I eat what I put on my plate and when I’m done with that, I think about stopping (and almost always do) before I overeat.
It all started with small, intentional choices and transformed into healthy family habits. Being married to a dietitian obviously gives me an advantage when fine tuning my diet and health habits. I’m confident that my wife’s down-to-earth approach in providing everyday nutrition advice to everyday people can benefit you, too.