Dieting on Any Given Sunday?

As a licensed clinical nutritionist, I am very aware of the foods I eat. And while I don’t always make the best decisions (who can refuse Lou Malnati’s pizza on Super Bowl Sunday?) I do my best to make smart choices.

When a patient comes to me with neck and back pain, I approach the patient as a whole and look at more than just the regional complaint. If a patient has had a chronic pain that is not resolving on its own, usually there are multiple factors involved. This is where the health history plays an important role. Knowing what the patient’s life is like on a day-to-day basis is a very important factor in determining how to address their complaint.

One of the important factors in how the person is going to respond to our care is their nutritional status. Nutrition plays such a strong factor in your well being, and it is important to realize the impact it can have, not just on your physical being, but also on your mood and mindset. I know for a fact, that a smoker, who has a very poor diet and sits all day at work, will respond much more slowly to any type of care he or she will receive as opposed to an active, non-smoker who has a healthy diet.

The tricky part is finding out what diet is good for you. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking a diet that takes the weight off as a healthy diet. Although it is better to be closer to your ideal weight than not, it shouldn’t be at the cost of your health. This is why partnering with your doctor to find what foods and at what quantity is best for you is paramount to creating a healthy you. This doesn’t mean that you would have to deprive yourself, it just means you might have to alter some things that will make your body run more efficiently.

It’s no life at all if you live in a constant state of food denial, which I am reminded of on Any Given Sunday.