Eating, a Learnt Behavior

Take a look at what you are eating. If you enjoy cooking, look at how you prepare and cook your meals. Have you ever asked yourself why you cook the way you do? If your style of cooking has been handed down from generation to generation, is it best suited for today’s lifestyles?

It is true, we learn many things from our environment at an early age and those learnt behaviors, whether good or not the best choices, do affect our lives as adults. Take for instance eating; what we eat and how we eat are acquired tastes, and in some instances, there are health issues that go along with these foods. We hear everyday, too much salt and fast foods are not good for our health, yet we continue to ignore warnings from our doctors and our bodies. Ask yourself this question, what would it take to make the change in your life?

There have been numerous stories of people who have found themselves in a life threatening situation due to their eating habits and lack of exercise. And often, it is this frightening situation which is the needed force to make the lifestyle alteration. I was working with a client sometime ago where she was literally told by her doctors that if she did not give up the fried foods and begin an exercise program that she should consider giving up her life. This was a profound statement but this was what it took for this particular person to make a change in her lifestyle.

Of course it was difficult working with this client. Why? Because she had the custom of cooking in a particular way which was traditional to her family, and these traditions were passed down from mother to daughter. Following a few weeks of coaching, she began to show signs of truly seeing and accepting the importance of altering her lifestyle for a healthier way of life.

I and my client worked together to create a plan and set goals which were realistic to her life and schedule. In addition to receiving lifestyle fitness coaching from me, she also saw a registered nutritionist who assisted her in creating a diet that she would be able to maintain. I also worked closely with her nutritionist to design a program and monitor her progress towards achieving and maintaining a healthier way of eating and living.

Making a lifestyle change can sometimes present challenges such as relearning how to prepare and cook your foods and incorporating a daily “exercise program” into your life, but these are only minor adjustments that could possibly prevent a lifetime of medical and health problems. Ask yourself this simple question, “Aren’t I worth it?”