Same Diet, Different Data

Same DIET, Different DATA
FUN FACT: one of the primary reasons we choose a diet is something called “proximal association.”
We pick a diet to follow based NOT on what might work for us, but rather because it worked for someone we know.
And that creates A LOT of issues, because it messes up our “diet data.”
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “It’s different for everybody, because every body is different.” Nutrition professionals use this bit of clever wordplay to explain why some diets work better for some people than others.
Because no two bodies are alike, no single diet will have the same effect on them.
People have different exercise habits, different metabolisms, different starting points and body composition, and different genetic predispositions, just to name a few. Any one of those can shift the efficacy of a diet; in combination, the difference can be drastic.
(And that’s without even considering a host of non-physiological factors, from cultural preferences, work-life balance, schedule, socialization, family obligations, etc.)
Here’s Why This Is SO Important…
My goal as a dietitian isn’t just to get people results with the diet they’re using; it’s to teach them how to get results all the time, without being “on a diet.”
What I really want is for my clients to know EXACTLY what works for THEM.
Discovering that is a process. It requires a lot of trial and error. Like the Scientific Method, each diet is like running an experiment, giving us new DATA to use in future experiments.
But that only works if we’re good scientists and actually USE that data. And it has to be our OWN data.
You see, even two nearly “identical” clients can go through the same diet and have wildly different results.
More confusingly, they can have similar results, for vastly different reasons. Making decisions based on what worked for someone else is using bad data—if we do that, the next experiment might blow up in our face!
Whatever nutritional plan you’re currently following is teaching you SOMETHING. It’s showing you what works and what doesn’t. It’s giving you DATA.
With Lots Of Healthy Love,
Toni