Q. Melanie, as a nutritional therapist, what attracted you to the Beyond Chocolate approach?
A. Through my work I am always meeting people who are continually searching for the perfect diet, the one that will work, the one that will magically make them thin. It became clear to me that these diets do not exist, and that there must be another way. It has also always been clear to me that serial dieters don’t need to be told what food to eat to make them slim, it’s much more to do with attitude and state of mind. Beyond Chocolate seemed to hit the nail on the head, with it’s wonderful empathetic approach and extremely effective principles. It has always been my aim for my clients to develop a carefree attitude to food, and Beyond Chocolate epitomised this idea.
Q. How has Beyond Chocolate changed the way you work with clients?
Since discovering Beyond Chocolate, I tend to focus on ‘how’ people eat, rather than ‘what’ they eat. I look at what people perceive to be the biggest problems with their diets, and together we work out why these things are happening and what might be the way forward. We discuss favourite foods and how no food is off limits, as long as they are mindful of what they are eating. I also spend time working through fears and feelings of guilt; many people are so bombarded with information that they feel bad about what they eat, and also try choose their foods based on lots of false premises. And I think Beyond Chocolate has really helped me to help people who are over-eating, which is something that no other training I’ve done has covered.
Q. Does Beyond Chocolate 'work' for people with intollerances and illnesses which impact what and how your clients eat?
Before I did the Beyond Chocolate training course for professionals, I was most worried about how the principles would work with people who had illnesses and intolerances, but this is actually where I find it most useful. For example, people with illnesses need to listen to their bodies particularly carefully with regards to when and what to eat; they might not always feel ready for meals at the normal times, and they need to pay attention to the times when their bodies are asking for food. With regards to food intolerances, rather than telling people they need to cut certain foods out of their diets, I explain that if they do feel like eating these foods, they need to pay specific attention to how these foods make them feel and of course make sure that they really, really want to eat them.
A. Through my work I am always meeting people who are continually searching for the perfect diet, the one that will work, the one that will magically make them thin. It became clear to me that these diets do not exist, and that there must be another way. It has also always been clear to me that serial dieters don’t need to be told what food to eat to make them slim, it’s much more to do with attitude and state of mind. Beyond Chocolate seemed to hit the nail on the head, with it’s wonderful empathetic approach and extremely effective principles. It has always been my aim for my clients to develop a carefree attitude to food, and Beyond Chocolate epitomised this idea.
Q. How has Beyond Chocolate changed the way you work with clients?
Since discovering Beyond Chocolate, I tend to focus on ‘how’ people eat, rather than ‘what’ they eat. I look at what people perceive to be the biggest problems with their diets, and together we work out why these things are happening and what might be the way forward. We discuss favourite foods and how no food is off limits, as long as they are mindful of what they are eating. I also spend time working through fears and feelings of guilt; many people are so bombarded with information that they feel bad about what they eat, and also try choose their foods based on lots of false premises. And I think Beyond Chocolate has really helped me to help people who are over-eating, which is something that no other training I’ve done has covered.
Q. Does Beyond Chocolate 'work' for people with intollerances and illnesses which impact what and how your clients eat?
Before I did the Beyond Chocolate training course for professionals, I was most worried about how the principles would work with people who had illnesses and intolerances, but this is actually where I find it most useful. For example, people with illnesses need to listen to their bodies particularly carefully with regards to when and what to eat; they might not always feel ready for meals at the normal times, and they need to pay attention to the times when their bodies are asking for food. With regards to food intolerances, rather than telling people they need to cut certain foods out of their diets, I explain that if they do feel like eating these foods, they need to pay specific attention to how these foods make them feel and of course make sure that they really, really want to eat them.
Melanie came on the Beyond Chocolate Professional Training course. Read more about the new workbook for professionals: The Professional's Guide to Treating Overeating.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.