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Help Clients Avoid Diet Pitfalls in the New Year

By Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN

Each January, the new year brings a barrage of diet ads and promotions targeting those who want to take control of their weight and repent of their overindulgence over the holiday season. This year, consumers are more vulnerable than usual to these diet ads due to the emotional, physical, and financial stressors of the pandemic that have led to additional weight gain because of overeating and little to no physical activity.

Nutrition professionals are aware that diet programs have limited long-term success, as enthusiasm for dieting usually withers after a few weeks. Only 10% of Americans with obesity seek medical treatment, making them more vulnerable to fad diets and unlicensed influencers on social media promising quick weight loss. RDs need to be equipped to meet clients where they are, find individualized approaches to weight management, and improve health outcomes while taking the entire person into account.

Research has shown that obesity is up to 70% heritable. The advice to just eat less and move more, along with weight stigma and judgment from doctors and other health care professionals, prevent people from seeking effective obesity treatment and achieving positive outcomes. There are multiple factors contributing to a person’s weight, so success often is elusive when clients don’t receive the proper treatment.

Because of these factors, dietitians are seeing a growing trend toward nondiet approaches to weight and health. What follows are strategies RDs can employ to help clients improve their health and manage their weight without necessarily focusing on the numbers on the scale.

Manage Stress
Stress raises cortisol levels that can increase fat accumulation, fat cell enlargement, appetite, and cravings for sugary, fatty foods, so it’s important to give clients coping mechanisms. They can’t control much of what goes on around them, but they can meditate, practice deep breathing, take time to relax in a hot bath, or read a book. This can lower cortisol levels and help maintain a healthy metabolism.

Get Enough Zzzs
Poor sleep increases weight gain and disrupts hunger and satiety hormones. Anxiety can affect the ability to fall asleep as well as the amount of time spent on cell phones and tablets that emit blue light, which disrupts the sleep cycle. Suggest clients turn off all devices at least one hour before bed, use a meditation app, or fall sleep to sounds of nature to quell racing thoughts. Recommend clients avoid caffeine after lunch if they’re sensitive to it and stop eating three hours or more before bed to prevent symptoms of acid reflux that also can interfere with sleep.

Socialize Safely
One positive aspect of the pandemic has been the availability of video conferencing. Advise clients to chat with friends via Zoom, Watch Party, or other apps or meet outdoors masked and socially distanced. Socializing improves mood and makes individuals less likely to overeat out of boredom.

Plan Meals
Encourage clients to plan meals at the start at each week that call for the same ingredients. This will save time, reduce stress, minimize food waste, and enable clients to eat more at home vs relying on takeout. Cooking more at home likely will decrease the amount of sodium, fat, and added sugars consumed and facilitate weight management.

Prepare Healthful Snacks
Recommend clients make a plan to have healthful snacks available to prevent them from eating highly processed foods high in fat, added sugars, and sodium and therefore calories. Plant-based eating is one of the top food trends, and with the current focus on staying healthy and supporting the immune system, people are open to eating more fruits, veggies, and other foods containing antioxidants or immune-enhancing properties. Suggest clients cut up fruits and veggies in bite-size pieces, or prepare hummus with whole wheat crackers to boost intake of fiber and other vitamins and minerals.

Suggest Regular Exercise Involving Joyful Movement
Exercise is a negative word to those who don’t enjoy it. And with some gyms closed and the cold weather upon us, outside activities aren’t possible or desirable for many. But RDs can encourage clients to work out in the comforts of home. For example, clients can purchase DVDs offering aerobic, strength training, yoga, and various other workouts. They can purchase a treadmill desk and other at-home equipment at affordable prices to keep themselves moving (see “Home Exercise Equipment” on page 50 in the January 2021 issue of Today’s Dietitian). In addition, clients can work out with friends and family via FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, and other apps, or if all else fails they can set reminders to walk around the house or up and down steps several times per day if they live in a dwelling that has them.

As RDs, many of us believe that health matters more than weight, and this year our audience appears more receptive to accepting this message. We must take advantage of this opportunity to promote lifestyle-based interventions that augment any weight loss goals clients may have to improve their overall health.

— Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, is a nutrition communications specialist, speaker, spokesperson, owner of Nutrition Starring You, LLC, and author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club. Harris-Pincus blogs at www.NutritionStarringYOU.com, where she specializes in weight management and prediabetes.