Thank you for checking out The Community Conversation, brought to you by Prototype Training Systems, home of CrossFit Prototype! This episode of The Community Conversation is a NUTRITION EDITION! Typically, The Community Conversation highlights a different member of the Prototype Community each week and allows them to tell their story, share their life experience, and communicate their perspective on all things fitness. For this episode, we have two of our Prototype Nutrition Coaches dropping some Nutrition knowledge bombs!
We’ve all listened to podcasts and watched YouTube videos that highlight some of the world’s greatest leaders and visionaries. We believe we have some AMAZING people at Prototype and we want you to get to know them! (Check out our last episode here!)
For this nutrition edition of the Community Conversation, Prototype Nutrition Coach Jon Collette and Prototype Nutrition’s Registered Dietitian, Sam Hally will be discussing Sam’s Story. If you’re looking to learn more about nutrition for yourself or pick up some tips, you will want to check this out!
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Jon 0:00
All right, yeah.
Sam 0:05
There you go.
Jon 0:08
Alright, thank you for tuning into the community conversation brought to you by protect trading system home of crosser protect seminar back with another nutrition episode to help provide you with some education strategies to better your nutrition. There’s a lot of misinformation on nutrition, and we aim to provide you with some clarity. Today is going to be a little different, we’re actually going to be talking a little bit more personal. Today Sham is saying, I said jam, Sam is going to share his or her
or didn’t say horror, I said her some fun way to start. Alright, this is bourbon. Sam is going to share her story of how she got into nutrition. She’s going to talk a little bit about herself and her shared experiences with nutrition and dieting and all that fun stuff. So Sam, question I have for you to start is more just on your schooling? What What made you interested in going into the fields of nutrition?
Sam 1:19
That’s a good question. So I feel like I should have a good story behind this. And I really don’t. So when I was in high school, I really liked school. And like I loved math, and I love science. And I really didn’t like English or history. So I was like, I need to go into a field that’s related to like math and science. And like, up until that point I had done like, you know, like, lifeguarding, and teaching swim lessons. So I was like, maybe education. But I’m like terrified of throw up. So it’s like, I can’t be in the schools because kids just throw up all the time. And I can’t be a nurse because I’m scared to throw up. So I was like, I think I need to go like semi into the medical field. My mom’s a nurse and my dad works in like medical sales. So like I have, like family history in the fields. And so I was like I want to like do something that helps people, but I don’t want to be dealing with people throwing up on me. So my mom who like worked in a hospital, her life was like I loved working with the dieticians at the hospital, my mom’s a pediatric nurse, so she like worked with dieticians closely because a lot of her kids were on two feeds, or like had diabetes. So she worked with dieticians regularly and she’s like, it’s the perfect, like, career for you. Like you love math. It’s a lot of calculations like you love science. It’s all about how things work in the body. I think you should go into it. And so that like was kind of it. Like I didn’t even question it. I was like, Yeah, that sounds great. This is the job for me. Um, and yeah, like after that, like the rest is history. Like I found a college where I could like dive and have the nutrition program because it’s like really specific undergrad that you’d have to go to. And like follow very specific course like set up if you want to get into a dietetic internship, which is required to be a dietitian. So it’s like once I found that and like settled on that I was just like smooth sailing ever since. And I was like, This is the job for me.
Jon 3:12
So talk a little bit about your, like your schooling and some of the things you had to do. You have to work with a lot of different, a lot of different cases, a lot of different type of deal. We’re just working with regular people that didn’t have any medical conditions that you’ve worked with people with, you know, a lot of different, you know, ailments. So,
Unknown Speaker 3:36
toggle. Yeah, so it’s interesting. So, like, I don’t know how much people know about dietetics like as a profession, but like, it isn’t a medical field. So you have to follow like a rigorous like, undergraduate that kind of tracks with people who are going into like physical therapy or like doing their undergrad work to be a doctor or nurse. Because you’re taking like anatomy and physiology, you’re taking biochemistry classes, like you’re taking a lot of those courses, like with, you know, medical professionals. So you go through like a very specific set of courses that kind of give you an overview of what you need to know about the field. But like, I mean, we all know it like you learn by doing. And so like nurses go into like, their rotations, like doctors have residency, like anyone in the medical profession typically like works in a hospital setting before going into the actual profession. So dieticians do the same thing. It’s like four years of undergrad, and then you have to apply to a dietetic internship. And that thing is like a whole hot mess from being honest, because you have to apply and the math it’s a matching system. It’s super weird. It’s like any of you who know like, what doctors go through. It’s very similar. It’s like a 50% match rate. And it’s people coming right up route right out of undergrad people coming out of grad school people Like taking a year off to like work at a WIC for a year like it’s anybody who has any interest in has the undergrad requirements. And then also now there is a graduate school requirement. Go into that. So it’s like you apply to this internship it’s a 50% match rate, not super likely that you’re going to get it but you know, it’s all good. Like it worked out for me. I got in thankfully my director, my director was a diver and she like saw my application and was like, Oh yeah, another diver, you’re in and then in that you go through, it’s basically like residency for doctors. So it’s 1200 hours of supervised practice, you like work 40 hours a week, you do not get paid for it, you pay for it as part of your schooling, and you get to work in a lot of cool stuff. So I started in a long term care center I started with like, the elderly population. And then from there, I went into the school system. I like worked with, like school aged kids like my, my usual group that like I know and love. Um,
Jon 6:01
what was it like high school or middle school? Like,
Unknown Speaker 6:05
I had elementary and middle school? Yeah. Um, and then where do I go next? After that I went to I did food service, we have to do a food service rotation I worked at UConn
Jon 6:19
was just a one. What did you like in the schools?
Unknown Speaker 6:23
Oh, I did a lot like with the schools. We did like nutrition lesson. Um, so they did you
Jon 6:31
have a class? You like? Did you guess B? Yes.
Unknown Speaker 6:33
Okay, that’s a good question. So I worked with the PE teacher actually. And I came in more like a guest guest speaker and I gave presentations I worked like, I read the elementary school kids a book. And then with the middle schoolers, we did a couple nutrition lessons on like, sports nutrition, like how to stay hydrated going into their their gym class and sports practices. And like what good like pre and post exercise snacks are.
Jon 7:03
If you were, if you’re talking to a child right now, how would you talk about nutrition? Like, what type of advice would you give to a kid?
Unknown Speaker 7:12
Oh, that’s a good question. Okay, so I, I’m gonna like on such a tangent, john. But I am a big proponent of like, you have to show kids healthy eating habits at a really young age. And I think it’s really important to us and Leah talks about this a lot like weight neutral language, when you’re talking with kids, like never talking about food, and like, it’s good or bad, or like talking about how your body looks around kids of being like, oh, like I’m about to go run for three hours in soccer practice, I need to make sure that I’m drinking at least a water bottle before I go out in the field. And making sure that I get some good food that’s gonna like keep give me energy and foods like pretzels or crackers are going to give me energy before practice. And they have salt. So if I have salt before I go and run, it’s going to make sure that I don’t get dehydrated. You know, that kind of like sentence is something that, um, that was probably like a paragraph. But that’s kind of what I say to kids that are really young. And then as we get older, we can like dive more into more specifics, right by the high school age, like, I was a teenager, like another tangent, I was a teacher, I was a PE teacher. And I taught nutrition lessons to like high school aged kids in previous years, right before I came to prototype. And so we did do more intense like lessons like how to read a food label, like how to look at foods and how to put together a whole meal, how they would go grocery shopping, and be able to like grocery shop on a budget for when they go off to college. So it’s like, it really depends on the age group. But like, the younger the kids are, the better it is, like show them the fundamentals of like, these are foods that are going to make your body feel good. These are foods that are going to give you vitamins, and this is how you put them together to eat a really good healthy meal. And that’s like, really all they need to know at a young age. But then you want to build in more without saying like, this is good, this is bad. Like, I see, I see very far away away from those kinds of words. I’m talking to kids. And it seems to work. I think building foundation as kid is important. And like I told you earlier, like, for me, I had a really good nutrition foundation as a kid, like I said, My mom’s a nurse and my dad works in the medical field. So it’s they knew, so they kind of gave me that kind of base. So it’s nice that I get to kind of give that to other people. I lucked out. I went on seven tangents. Where was I going? Oh yeah, I worked in. I worked in a food service system at UConn that was cool. It was like a really big, they have like eight dining halls and so it was a lot of like, here’s how you ordered the food. And here’s how you put together a meal for like, I don’t even know how many kids they have 50,000 students and like make sure no one goes hungry. Then I worked at WIC which I absolutely love that experience I talked about a little bit with my conversation with Mike. Women, Infants and Children. It’s like a basically like a food stamps program. Just services, that subset of the population. It’s like the most amazing thing. I obviously think there’s like more that can be done there. But I do love when that was cool because I got experience like actually doing one on one counseling there for the first time compared to like being in the, in the nursing home or being in a food system. And then from there, where did I go? Oh, then I went to. So Walden has a chain for eating disorder recovery. There’s one in in westborough, actually. And there’s also one in South Windsor, the town I was like, that I grew up in. So I went back there and worked. And I know different people have had different experiences with it. But I got a chance to work with like a population that’s in working towards recovery for their eating disorder. So it’s an outpatient program. So people go there for either a whole day or part of a day. And like work through eating disorder recovery. And I’ve heard mixed opinions about it. But that was a great experience. And the place I went was really excellent with all the patients. So I did love that experience. And then I worked in the hospital for a while. And I’m like going on and on and on. And it’s getting very boring, I apologize. But hospital for a while, I like was mostly on a med surg board floor, which is just like basic people who come in with no major like diseases, but I also like went through the other units. So like the cardiac unit or the psych unit, like we were all over the place, kind of getting our hands into every kind of aspect of the field because there’s a very big difference between an old woman coming in with dementia who’s just underweight because she’s always been other underweight or someone who’s like a cardiac patient who needs a tube feed because it’s like very different population that you need. And then from there I worked in a private practice and then once I finished my internship that’s where I got hired. It’s my first like dietician job out of college and then I stopped doing nutrition for a while but now I’m here it’s cool. It’s a lot of experience when you
Jon 12:07
work with people was it mostly in group settings or one on one?
Sam 12:11
Um, mostly one on one
Jon 12:15
was it was it referred like the doctor wanted a patient
Sam 12:22
Yeah, so I thought the private practice that I worked out like actually full time like I got paid for it. I wasn’t paying for it in my internship um, yeah, so a lot of times doctors would refer we took insurance there and so like as a dietitian, I can accept insurance but it’s like I have to be on a specific plan so like the the practice that I was at we did accept surance and insurance not sure man tripping over words like crazy today and so it’s accepted insurance so doctor could write a referral and then they could come to us and then as long as they had the word is codes what I’m let’s the not Medical Board I’m looking for basically as long as the person had the right disease state, we could get reimbursed for that. Right which is like a whole frustrating process if I’m going to go on another tangent of certain insurances only cover nutrition if someone’s already sick right so there was like, one client I can think of came in with diabetes insurance covered it because he had diabetes within three months of working had like reduced his diabetes to like be now pre diabetic, has type two, and now no insurance no longer covered, right? So like he had gotten like the coverage when he was, I wouldn’t say sick, right? Like diabetes is not sick, but it’s like in insurance terms like sick. And then as soon as you’re quote unquote, healthy again, nutritions not covered. So that’s a whole frustrating thing. And I’m going to along them tangent of it, but I get to see a lot of cool people working one on one there. And it kind of translates to a lot of stuff I do here because it’s very similar aside from like, we call everyone clients here and not patients because we’re not in like a clinical setting. It’s pretty much the same stuff.
Jon 14:09
So when someone was coming to you because their doctor came you what was the success rate of that person like wanting to actually make changes? Like them being told to go see because it’s good for them versus them wanting to actually make the change themselves? Like What Did you What did you buy? Did you find that sometimes there was people that wanted to make the change and sometimes they felt like you know, you were talking to the wall like they they were forced to be there like what was some of the some of like, Yeah, really you dealt with regularly.
Sam 14:46
It was all over the map. So I like that one man with diabetes. Great. He came in he knew he wanted to make a change and it was like instantaneous. He was doing everything. But he also came from a place where he had like, no nutrition Background whatsoever. So like he changed from eating a plate of pasta, which if you know anything about diabetes isn’t a isn’t a super diabetic friendly meal, to changing that. So it’s like a portion of pasta with his protein with his fats and vegetables that he’s like now, you know, keeping track of his carbohydrates, but we’re on the move, this is fun keeping track of his carbohydrates, so he’s not like spiking his blood sugars. So that was pretty cool. But then I had people who definitely came in and wanted nothing to do with me. Which is interesting. But the thing is, like, part of my nutrition schooling is. So we had a class specifically tailored to like how to do nutrition counseling. And so one of the things that we talked about in there is like motivational interviewing. And it’s definitely something that, like we’ve mentioned before, john, like, you have to figure out where your client is, and like, Are they ready to make a change are they like, not sure, if they’re ready to make a change, and you have to figure out like, it’s basically like, a huge like steps, right? So they’re, like, not ready, they’re like thinking about it, they’ve like, reached out and made the contact, they’re pretty, like excited about it, but like nervous that they’re not gonna be able to do it, and then they’re, like, definitely ready to go, they’re 100% gonna make those change, right. And so like, my, my diabetes patients, like way at the top, but I had people down the bottom. And so a lot of times, like the first like, three or four sessions are just like walking people up that step like ladder to get to the top where they feel ready to make changes on their own. And once they’re at that point, then they’re ready to make a change in their lifestyle or in their diet to like, be healthier for the long term. So yeah, it’s, it’s all I had all over the map, but like, that’s, I think part of our job is like, talking to people and like, figuring out if they really truly want to make a change, and like helping them get to that point, so that they’re able to make all those changes.
Jon 16:57
Now, you probably also found that you had people that want to make a change, but how often Were you able to communicate with with people?
Sam 17:08
Yeah, so that was a little difference. Yeah, so I only saw them mostly because everything was run through insurance like once a month. And so there was like no follow up in between because that’s just not like the system that we use. It’s kind of unlike here where we see the people that we have as nutrition clients all the time. But at that place it was we could only you know, like check in and if they sent an email we’d say like hey, this is awesome, let’s file it and we’ll touch on it during your appointment time, right? Whereas like right now I’m readily available people can text me at any time of day I will most most often answer unless I’m like, in the middle of coaching a class right so it’s, it’s a little harder because it was like I would say less hands on right like I didn’t have same kind of relationship I do with the people that I have as clients here which is why I like it here. This is awesome. And I think this is much better situation like your prototype, I’m able to follow people through the whole process for just a little while longer because it’s like we’re not waiting on insurance and we’re not like having insurance run out so I like can’t see you again. So it’s like the people who come here or people who are vested and like wanna like make that change and so they’re a little bit higher up on that ladder and so it’s cool because we get to see a lot of great changes and like you’ve been here way longer than I have john like you’ve seen like a lot of people make huge changes all the way through and I think that’s like the best part of the job is like I just want to help people that’s what I’m here for.
Jon 18:39
That would was that one of the reasons why you made like the switch of going from working in like that type of environment to working at prototype was it that you wanted to have like a stronger relationship with your clients?
Sam 18:58
I think so. Like I just want to feel helpful I want to feel useful, like my own personal thing and like in the job no matter what I do I want to feel useful which is like why I thought in high school I want to go into teaching and then I did go into teaching and it was not the job for me but like I like being helpful and so when I was at the other place it was just a little hard I feel like like it was great experience Don’t get me wrong and I’m very happy that my first job was at this private practice it was also like in like a place that like everyone’s everyone’s values but like I was very obviously different from the people that I worked with. So it was like very hard to relate but here I feel like everyone at the gym is like my second family and like I go into the morning classes and I’m like with the my second set of moms you know and it’s like I you know I mean like I we have similar life experiences like it’s a little easier to connect in the sense that like, I’m sharing information And hopefully people trust me just a little bit more because they can like see my background, see where I’m coming from. As opposed to last place, people are just like, oh, who are you? You’re clearly not from here. I’m like, I’m saying please. And thank you like, there was a, I was in New York like it was, it was like, a little more aggressive in New York. And I can say that because I was born in New York, and we moved out. But yeah, they were like, you’re definitely not from here. And I’m like, No, like, I moved out when I was five. Yeah, cuz I could tell just because I said, Please, and thank you on a regular basis. No, I’m so happy here. I love it here. And like, I have jumped job to job all my life. Like I’ve been all over the place. I’ve been like, up and down the East Coast. Like, I keep saying, like I talked for a while like, this is this is what makes me super happy. And I love what I’m doing. And I love the people I work with. And it’s just exciting to go into work every day. Like knowing that I want to go into work every day, because I like haven’t always
Jon 20:55
had that feeling. And when did you graduate
Sam 20:58
2015 from undergrad and then 2018 from grad school, because I did 2015. undergrad did my dietetic internship for a year. And then I did two years for grad school not related to nutrition at all. I did my masters in marketing. That was just an extra aside, and I did. I’m all over the map. But yeah, so 2018. So I’ve been up here since 2018.
Jon 21:26
Got it. So did you do all those jobs after school? Or was that all through school?
Sam 21:33
Yeah, so that was like part of the internship. That was like in the year like 2015 to 2016? Yeah, it’s like a year long internship. So I got my 1200 hours in there. And then I went right into grad school, from 2016. I graduated may 2018. God, if I tried to draw a map of my life story, it would be really confusing. Because there’s like, a lot of overlapping jobs and things that I did.
Jon 22:00
Now, have you found that there’s like a, you know, certain type of people that you can communicate really well with, and certain people that you felt were difficult to communicate with?
Sam 22:13
Um, I’ve definitely had,
Jon 22:14
yeah,
Sam 22:15
yeah, I’ve definitely had clients that are more challenging. And that’s, if I’m like, Okay, tell me about everything you ate yesterday? And they’re like, I don’t know, like I had to check in, like, all right.
Jon 22:28
Did you find it? Good? Did you find that those types of people weren’t 100% Committed to changing? Like, could you read body language like that? Or did you? Like or Yeah, people have a really hard time opening up about nutrition, like what they think they’re dealing with part of
Sam 22:47
it. Yeah, part of it is that. So if someone’s telling me that all the all day long with chicken, I feel like they feel that I’m judging them for what they ate, which is like not the case at all. Like, I’ve never judged anything that anyone has told me that they eat, and I’m sure you get it all the time. If I’m like, at a family event, people are like, Don’t look at my plate. Like, I don’t care what you eat, right? If you want to tell me about what you eat great, like, I’m really glad that you enjoyed that meal. But like, I’m not judging anything that’s on your plate. So like, I feel like if someone’s not always willing to tell me what they’re eating, then I feel like they think I’m judging them. And so I spend extra time trying to help them realize that I’m just there to guide them. And so that’s what I spend those two, the initial sessions doing until we get to the point of they’re like, talking as fast as I am right now spilling every single detail of their life, right? Like, that’s the end goal. And so I want people to feel comfortable talking to me, I want people to feel comfortable opening up, like about nutrition, but also about life. You know, like, I am there as a sounding board for a lot of people. And I say it all the time. Like there are a lot of people that cry in my office and like you will not be the first thing you’ll not be the last like nutrition is like a big piece of everyone’s life. And so it’s like getting people to the point of like, they can open up about, like, what they’re eating, what their frustrations are, what their stresses are in life, and like how that all comes together. Yeah, so it’s like, at first we might start not not as best of friends, but that’s okay. We’re gonna keep working till you’re willing to open up to me. Because then then it makes it a whole lot easier for both of
Jon 24:18
us. So what would you give for advice to someone that is, you know, you know, doesn’t have the best energy right now. And, you know, they’re not really in their high stress. What would you give for advice as a starting point for someone that is, you know, they feel like they’re almost too busy to focus on their nutrition. What would you give for advice for someone like that?
Sam 24:44
Hmm, okay, good. I like that you’ve specified a little bit. So someone who’s super stressed out I would say, Can we sleep more? And it’s like, there’s no way to sleep more. And there’s no way to de stress because like, I don’t know going on a five minute walk reading a book, like Listening to music, like a lot of things that people do, as hobbies get, like tossed to the wayside when they have a high stress job. It’s like seeing if you can fit something like that in your life. And then also, if I’m being honest, like let’s reevaluate, like, do you like your job? And like I say that, like, do you like your job? And like, what would you do? If you left your job? Right? Because I understand for people, like, it’s not just a matter of like, do you like your job? Like, if you don’t, you should leave it because that’s like, not how things work. You have to figure out like, if the job and the money that you’re making and this charity that you’re getting from it is worth it to you. And like if your stress level is too high, could you make a move? That would make things better? That’s like usually where I go? And if the answer is absolutely not, I need to stay at my job. It’s like, Okay, then we need to like, assess what is actually important in your life. And we have to make nutrition as easy as possible for you. Which literally could mean, instead of cooking an elaborate dinner, go get a bag, salad mix, and a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and have that with a side of toast, it takes three minutes for a pair, you don’t have to think twice about it. You know, it’s like finding the shortcuts to like make nutrition easy, that are going to take away stress, instead of adding stress back in, like nutrition should not be stressful, in my opinion, to be a de stressor. That was long winded. Did I answer your question?
Jon 26:37
No. Yeah, I mean, I’m sure a lot of people have like, that’s the I mean, that’s one of the number one reasons that I think it’s like an easy like, excuse to not prioritize your health all the time, his work and stress and your family. And I think like kind of what you just described is you almost have to make it, you have to make it a priority, or it’s not going to, it’s really not going to change. So if it’s something that you really want. If there’s things in your life that you can’t control, like your job where you can’t leave your job, then you have to be able to figure out what what are the things that you can control? And that’s what I’m hearing is what your what your answer is, is there’s certain things that you’re not going to be able to change. But if it’s important to you, then you’re going to, you’ll have to make some of those changes. And you’ve probably found too, that sometimes people probably come to you and they’re not 100% ready to make that change.
Sam 27:44
Right? Yeah, everyone, Jon’s really good at analyzing all these things. I’m talking to him. You know, it’s truly a part of the process is being ready to make a change. And if you’re not like, that’s, that’s part of my job, that’s part of your job is to get people to the point where they’re ready to make that change. Like, I know, you’ve had conversations where it’s like, okay, we’re not ready to change everything. Like let’s just try to drink like three glasses of water a day. You know? Yeah, like let’s start super simple. And once you do that, one thing that will kind of guide you into this situation where you’re able to do more things, like put nutrition as a priority, like eat the things that make you feel good without worrying about it as a stressor.
Jon 28:28
Yeah, it’s sometimes hard because we’re kind of like you know, we’re in that anything that we want or need we can basically just google it or we can amazon prime it to us. But you can’t do that with like your health and fitness like you like you have to like you have to put in the effort and you have to put in like the reps in order for the things to to improve. Um, yeah, I just wanted to get your to kind of like your idea of, you know, someone that has a lot of stress and doesn’t have a lot of time. Like it’s it’s the the first the first step is really like having them be like ready to want to do that. Yeah. I have like, my phone blowing up for some weird reason.
Sam 29:17
Um, people are asking nutrition questions left and right.
Jon 29:20
Yeah, while I’m recording this. Alright, so Sam, any last things that you want to share about your experience with I don’t know maybe maybe your own personal diet that you’ve done in the past or maybe a good way to end this is what are the things that you wish would be would change in the view of how people look at health.
Sam 29:53
That’s good. Well, I have a lot of like, try to trim it down. I’m going to try to finish saying this in like two minutes. Okay, so I mentioned this in my conversation with Mike of, I really truly feel like the health world as a whole should focus on preventative measures about rather than reactive measures. That’s like, that’s a whole thing. I also wish health insurance would cover people all the time. That’s a whole other thing. Um, nutrition wise, I do think that the importance of setting a good foundation in kids is like, by and large, the best thing that you can do as a parent of like, I got really lucky that I grew up in a family where like, my, my parents work in the medical field. And like, my mom always had a, I mean, maybe not freshly cooked, but like we had we had dinner on the table every night. And it always included like a protein, a starch and a vegetable, like always. So I was just taught that that was the way to eat and anything different was just out of my norm. I was also like, as a kid a yodels for breakfast, like the ding dongs, ring games, whatever they’re called. yodel you know what I’m talking about the swiss roll. That’s what they’re called? Swiss. They’re there. They’re like cake things, right? So as a kid, I ate that. And my parents, like, never commented on it, right? They’re like, she’s active, she does sports. She’ll at least eat breakfast if she eats this thing. So she’s eating that we’re gonna make sure she gets proper nutrition later on in the day. And they never said that to me. They never questioned my food choices. They were like, okay, Is that good? Does that bother your stomach? Does your head hurt after eating it? No. Great, eat it. And so I think that was like really important for me. And I’ve had this conversation with my parents recently, like, I grew up in a family and Italian family where food is important. And I also grew up doing a sport that’s like very appearance based. So I got really lucky that I never really had like major body image concerns or like I never ended up in like an eating disorder, just sorting disordered eating patterns. And I think a big part of that is the way my parents talked around food. Like I was in a bathing suit, 24 seven, from the time I was seven, until like, literally even. And I’ve never felt that way. Because my parents always looked at food as like, fuel, and like ways to like help me be stronger, or help me get faster. And so they never made comments about like, Why are you eating Swiss rolls for breakfast. And so I think if I have one thing to share, everyone is like, set your kids up for success. Like make sure that you’re like giving them healthy, nutritious foods, well make sure that you’re not teaching them that like, foods are dangerous, or eating a cupcake is bad, right? Because if you set them up for success as a youth, then they’re never going to have like this need to like crave sweets, or they’re never gonna have this need to overeat on certain foods that aren’t allowed in the household. So I think like, I have a lot of things to share. But if I’m going to, like cap it off on like, one thing and like, use my personal experience as the background, I feel like that’s what I want people to know.
Jon 32:59
Yeah, I’m seeing a lot of, like, dieticians that work with kids and stuff. Like they, a lot of what they’re doing now is they’re almost like, including dessert with dinner. So it’s not being something that is a reward, you know, look like okay, this is like, this has to be earned or this is so it’s interesting, like, kind of like how you like phrase things a little bit instead of like, you can’t leave the table until you’re done with your broccoli that puts broccoli on that pedestal of like, Okay, this is, this is good, and you know, and then this is bad, and then you get this like, almost like mixed like mixed feelings when it comes to Well, I don’t want to do something that’s bad by eating this, you know, and that starts like very, very young. But yeah, I’m seeing a lot of like dietitians that work with kids they like, I’ll give them like, you know, like a balanced meal, but then they’ll put like, two two Hershey Kisses on the plate. And they don’t order to eat it and but they’re not getting any more, you know? Yeah, kind of teaching them like the balance like you know, you’re not going to eat like an entire bag have you know, Hershey’s candy because obviously that’s not healthy. But going ahead and saying that, you know, having this or that is better than is kind of the wrong way to look at it. I mean, you can obviously say like, okay, fruits and vegetables are definitely stuff that you should have in your diet. And you can say that candy, something you don’t need, but it also doesn’t mean that it’s like an inherently bad for you if you have like a healthy relationship with it.
Sam 34:41
Well, 100% it’s important and I’m glad you’re seeing that a lot too. Because it’s like, I that’s my lived experience, but it’s also like how I educate other people. And if your kids don’t eat vegetables, let me just put this out there for the parents. Give them a choice like so if they’re coming home for an after school snack and they want a bag of Hershey Kisses be like, do you carrot sticks or do you want cucumbers? And they get some agency and they’ll pick a vegetable and they don’t have to fight them about it. I’ll end on that with that tidbit.
Jon 35:10
No, that’s good. Yeah, like and like give them like a lot of different colored options to like, if you give them a choice, then instead of being like, okay, you have to eat this. You say, here’s your options, like you don’t open up endless possibilities be say, here’s your options. Yeah, no, that’s great advice. Um, that being said, guys, I hope you enjoyed listening to Sam’s story a little bit. All her endeavors in the dietetics. And going through all that schooling. Guys, if you have any future podcast episodes of questions you want us to answer. Talk about reach out to Sam or myself, and we would love to talk about it.
Sam 35:59
Yeah. Thanks, everyone. Bye