The Reality of a Registered Dietitian

 

The nutrition profession does not make us less human.

“We were in a hurry to pick up birthday donuts as a treat for my daughter’s classmate. The donut shop threw in an extra dozen donut holes. After dropping her off, I headed to Target, finding myself very hungry after the rushed morning. I ate 7 of the donut holes and threw the remaining 5 away.”

“I was given some holiday cereal mix. I didn’t really want a full meal, and since I don’t do this very often, I decided to have some snack foods instead. I put the snack mix in a small bowl instead of eating from the bag so I would know how much I ate. I did leave the bag visible and accessible, however, so I ended up getting another small amount, about half of what I ate the first time. I also considered what nutrients I was getting from the snack: grain from the cereal, and protein from the nuts. I ate a couple of halo oranges afterwards so that I could still be getting in some fruit.”

As nutrition professionals, we are passionate about food and healthy eating. However, that doesn’t mean our diets are perfect. Some days we just aren’t “feeling it,” and that’s perfectly okay. Understanding the science of nutrition doesn’t eliminate the occasional craving for a sweet food. Sometimes giving in to a small dose of donuts or snack mix can keep us on the healthier path more consistently because we don’t get tired of eating “perfectly.”

 

–Your real-life, purely human dietitians 🙂