Blog 

Dr Mark Craig TrueSouthMedical.co.nz

Reflections on how people change habits and diet

My raison d’etre in and outside of medicine is of helping to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and diet to improve the health of my patients, and the environment. I came into this area after many years of practicing medicine in the standard way, which is to largely address chronic health conditions using medications and procedures, with not enough time or emphasis put on lifestyle changes. There are reasons for this but my take on it is to empower patients to take responsibility and control for their own health, to beat your genes and beat the system – our obesogenic environment and financially driven foods industries. 

Lifestyle factors which affect health are those of ‘Forks, feet, fingers, sleep, stress and love;’ i.e. our food, movement/ exercise, ‘fingers’ are avoiding toxins like smoking and excess alcohol, as well as our mental health wellbeing, relationships. I focus on nutrition as it is the biggest immediate influencer of physical health, but am aware that if as person is struggling in the other domains, then dietary changes can be hard to make.

It should be appreciated to anyone interested in nutrition that the preponderance of scientific evidence, and therefore the of modern consensus of nutritional guidelines and recommendations that of eating a plant predominant diet: From national and international guidelines like the EAT Lancet Commission, the American Cardiology College and US dietetics association (the largest in the world) to the NZ Heart foundation and Ministry of Health. There are uncertainties and discussions around some of the details of dietary specifics and foods, but in general it is known that diets centred around fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, and low in meats, dairy and processed foods, are beneficial. 

The nuts and bolts of what to eat are quite straightforward. Given all the complexity modern medicine can entail, often the best advice I can give is to point patients to recipe websites, advise where to shop (supermarkets, bulk food shops, and fruits and veggie shops),what individual foods to buy, and simple things like how to cook beans (legumes) and what whole grains are. 

The much more challenging aspect for patients trying to follow a whole foods plant based diet is trying to do this in a world which tries to derail you into following the norm, the Standard Western Diet. The food industry is a business, by definition trying to maximise profits with no concern for your health, and use various means to encourage buying their foods: from supermarket marketing, junk food marketing, cheap deals like BOGOF (although low in nutrition value often). Eating socially can be challenging as doing anything away from the norm can attract unwanted attention, friends and colleagues may question your way of eating, or even deliberately derail you if they either disagree with your chosen diet, or feel you are making positive changes which they are unable to. 

As I have written before, certain personality types find it easier to eat this way, whilst others may need tips to help them stick to it; as per behaviours change psychologist Dr Doug Lisle’s talks on this subject. 

When I consult with a patient about diet change and health, initially I’m really assessing how motivated and how able they are to make dietary changes in their current life situation as well as their understanding of what a whole foods plant based diet actually is. Common barriers are other family members, stressors and work, poor sleep, addiction to alcohol, caffeine, processed foods or animal product and personality type.

Personality types which make behaviour change easier are: 

1. Not being very open to experience
2. Conscientiousness
3. Introversion
4. Disagreeableness
5. Emotional Stability

You will probably recognise people you know with this pattern; they may be called ‘their own women/ man’ or a strong personality. The excellent Dr Doug Lisle of Esteem Dynamics has several tips to help stick to changes if your personality is different from this however. 

http://www.wholefoodplantbasedrd.com/2016/07/where-do-you-stand-on-the-big-five/

Some people are not able to make these behaviour changes, or get derailed easily. Everyone in fact does at times if enough duress or stress is applied to us. 

It’s important to not let perfect be the enemy of good with making changes, appreciating slip ups are part of the learning experience, just like life, and to forgive yourself and get back to the change the next meal.

‘People do not decide their futures,

They decide their habits, 

And their habits decide their futures.’

‘Working on your environment’ to help make behaviour changes as much as you work on yourself is important – what foods you fill your house or workplace with, who you associate with for meals, daily habits or routines, using support groups (online or in person like the Auckland Plant Pod potluck), and preparing meals in advance for tired or busy days. 

Change is a process for all of us; no one is perfect but any movements in the right direction will be very beneficial when it comes to physical (and mental) health. 

Please get in touch to book your appointment if you would like to discuss the above. 

Mfc