A Value Drive Approach to Nutrition

To be honest, writing about changing eating patterns is difficult. Our food choices are dependent on so many factors - availability of food, cost, culture, socioeconomics, medical reasons, and our personal relationship with food. As a doctor, it is easier for me to simply tell you to “eat more fruits & vegetables'' than to discuss how to implement this in your life in a way that respects your values. When I discuss nutrition with my patients, I aim to break down the behaviors around eating and obstacles that you may face when changing your eating patterns in order to make you more successful.

When I was younger I remember hearing a prayer which has always stuck with me. It was something along the lines of “help me to be patient, and kind, and forgive, and etc etc etc… but not today. Amen.” I feel this is a common approach when thinking about modifying our food choices and eating behavior. We often create goals of changing our nutrition… but not today. And I can understand why this occurs. Our personal and cultural identity can be tightly intertwined with food, or maybe you have tried diet change before and it failed, or you are overwhelmed by all the information and “experts”. These past experiences and memories can influence our willingness to engage with nutrition and eating behaviors that can improve and reverse heart disease. 

Our past experiences and associations with food can sometimes motivate us to avoid certain behavior to prevent feelings of inadequacy or stress. Avoidance of change in eating behavior might lessen our short term discomfort (i.e. not feeling overwhelmed with meal planning, or guilt about food going bad), but can often contribute to significant consequences later on (i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease). What would happen if you engage with those short term discomforts that might occur when you choose to adopt some heart healthy eating habits? There might be some short term stress due to learning about meal planning and food preparation, but how does that compare to the long term improvement in your cardiovascular health? 

To help facilitate changes in nutrition patterns, we use an Approach-Oriented Strategy. Here is an example:

This is the approach that I recommend taking when embarking on change to affect your heart health.

My wife shared this meme with me. I love this, it describes so much of my life in my 20’s. Buying heart healthy foods is a good start, but preparing and eating that food is the next. To help lessen the short term stress associated with adopting new eating behaviors, I will be posting recipes, meal planning and grocery lists, and general cooking tips. 

Let’s talk about the role food can play in your heart and metabolic health.