Eat for real change TEDx talk

Eat for real change | Dr. Joanna McMillan | TEDx Macquarie University

Powerful TEDx video – I highly recommend you set 20 minutes aside to take in Dr. Joanna McMillan’s wisdom about nutrition and eating real food. Her question of the presentation – “Which food is the odd food out: bread, pasta, or butter?” Her answer is pretty powerful and shows you how we’ve come to view our food!

As a Registered Dietitian, my most important job is to help people establish a positive relationship with food. That means not just focusing on the “WHAT to eat” part of the equation, but also the WHERE, WHY, and HOW we eat our food.

Food is such an intricate part of our lives, and I always try to emphasize the importance of getting back to eating real food, spending time shopping, preparing, and cooking healthy dishes, enjoying the occasional indulgence guilt-free, and most importantly, sitting down distraction-free (that means technology-free) to ENJOY eating food with others or alone in a mindful way.

Food is so much more than just the nutrients it contains, and more often than not, the sensational media posts, “nutrition expert” blogs, and online articles that get shared via social media do more damage than good adding to the consumer confusion about what to eat. It’s a disservice to the health of our population to break individual foods down into itty-bitty components, or sing praises about the next great diet or supplement that claims it will help you lose 20 pounds in 4 weeks or will cure cancer.

Health is improved, weight is lost, and body composition is altered by focusing on changing habits and setting up healthy, repeatable actions that are consistent with eating well within the context of your own life. This includes focusing on eating a variety of healthy, unprocessed foods that feel right for your body, grocery shopping frequently, and learning to enjoy the process of cooking and preparing healthy meals and snacks. Most importantly, taking the time to sit down at a table, eat slowly, and share the joy and comfort of eating food with others is a skill that desperately needs to be re-learned by many. When you finally decide to ditch dieting and micro-picking-apart what you eat, the clarity, freedom, and positivity you’ll gain around food is life changing.

If you’re feeling like you could use a nutrition tune-up or a nudge in the right direction to re-establish a positive and healthy relationship with food, I’m always here to help as a mindful eating coach!

To book a nutrition counselling appointment, contact: Jennifer Broxterman, Registered Dietitian & Sports Nutritionist by emailing info@nutritionrx.ca

Always remember, “it’s progress, not perfection, that counts!”