Have you ever wondered why your clients are struggling with long-standing nutrition challenges? At first, you might think, a client doesn’t know what to do? However, pause and consider are your clients dealing with a knowledge deficit or is it something harder to describe, like resistance or lack of motivation? In motivational interviewing resistance to change arises when there is conflict or ambivalence. That makes sense because when you are not sure what to do you wouldn’t know where to start, there are simply too many options.
Change takes effort and motivational researcher Dr. BJ Fogg explains that the amount of effort needed to change a behavior that is disliked and hard is so much more than changing a small, emotionally neutral behavior. (Okay, that seems like a “Duh” moment, but it is research, and somehow that makes the obvious answers seem more important.)
While you see many tiny choices to improve, your clients likely only see one, [Diet] or do nothing. This is called a Hobson’s choice, and it is an all too common situation that is fueled by our society’s obsession with appearance. This external focus on dieting and weight correlated with the rise in eating disorders and prompted The American Pediatric Association to issue a warning against dieting because dieting AKA: Restrictive Eating is a cause of disordered eating.
There is always more to every situation and if you are starting to get curious about how to navigate your client’s thoughts and reactions without creating resistance, shame, blame, and frustration great! These compassionate desires face many health care professionals, and this is where Mindful Eating can help. The Core Concepts in Mindful Eating is a comprehensive overview of mindful eating that uses counseling tools and techniques from Motivational Interviewing. Mindful Eating not only provides an alternative to restrictive eating and appearance based programs it also can dust off and enhance your counseling skills.
If you are thinking, Oh That Will Work! then please sign up for my e-newsletter! The Core Concepts of Mindful Eating: Professional Edition is available for preorder. The ebook will be available March 15 for $19.00, and the print book costs $29.00, and no joke will be shipped April 1, 2017. You can also check out other mindful eating learning options at Skelly Skills, or The Center for Mindful Eating.