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Fads vs. Facts

Yum

April 5, 2018 By Laura Ligos, MBA, RD, CSSD 1 Comment

Yesterday I had the opportunity to network with dietetic interns and nutrition students at The Sage Colleges in Troy, NY. It made me reflect on my career and background A LOT. I haven’t had to tell my whole story in a while so it was extremely humbling to do so. I spoke to 6 different groups of aspiring RDs all within a 3-hour time span. The students and interns were so attentive and incredibly eager to learn about how I got into nutrition and any advice I had for them. It made me realize how far I’ve come and how I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up 🙂

There was one question that stuck out to me and it’s been weighing on me really my whole career. This particular student asked me “how do you handle nutrition fads versus facts?” I thought to myself  “good question, I do it daily.” I thought about it all night and figured it might be better to share with all of you then just her and the few students at the table.

My Nutrition Background

When I got into nutrition, it was mostly by accident. I saw a class called “Nutrition 101” and told my mom I was signing up for it. She laughed and said, “ok, Laura, whatever you think will work for you, but you might not like it.” She laughed because I was the queen of chicken fingers, mac & cheese, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I ate peanut m&ms at swim meets and I despised broccoli. I mean, honestly, she was right to think I was crazy for wanting to take a nutrition class.

I signed up anyway. There was something about the allure of getting to talk about food all day long that I couldn’t shake. Not to mention learning about the metabolism of nutrients was fascinating. When I realized how important it was to fuel my performance in the pool, I was sold. While there is ALOT more to my story than just Nutrition 101, I’ll leave it there for now and go into this whole concept of fads vs. facts that has me all hung up. To put it simply, I credit my education and experience for how I am able to deal with the fads vs. facts.

Fads vs. Facts

As a dietitian (yes, I’m biased) I was not just taught the food pyramid like many on the interwebs like to suggest. Instead, I was taught how to critically think through problems related to health, wellness, fitness, etc. I was evaluated on my motivational interviewing skills and was allowed to practice under the supervision of practitioners for 1200+ hours before going at it alone. I was expected (and still am expected) to back everything I say, write or do with research and am told to “do no harm.”

How does this have anything to do with fads vs. facts? 

It has EVERYTHING to do with it.

Fads come and go. They can be a one-hit wonder like the Macarena or a cyclical craze like bell bottoms & man buns. Fads are not always right or wrong or black and white, but they are usually blown way out of proportion.

For reference:

A fad (as defined by Dictionary.com) is defined as “an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object’s qualities; a craze.”

On the other hand, a fact (as defined by Dictionary.com) is defined as “a thing that is indisputably the case” or “a piece of information used as evidence or as part of a report or news article.”

Unfortunately, these two are not always mutually exclusive. There are some fads backed by facts and some facts that lead to fads. So what are we to do about it? Sit in a corner, eat a pint of ice cream and hope fads will just go away already.

JUST KIDDING! 

When dealing with fads we must look at the facts and think critically through the situation. If something seems too good to be true it almost always is. If a diet worked for one person and they tell everyone to try it, it most likely will fail many who follow suit.

Why? Because of science! We are all unique individuals with a different genetic makeup, living in different environments, with different lifestyle habits, resources, and diets. We cannot jump into a fad hoping that it will work for us just because our favorite celebrity had overnight success. We must critically think through whether the diet first makes any sense, second has research to back it and third makes sense for us, the unique individual.

One Hit Wonder Fad Diets

Examples: The Cabbage Soup Diet, Grapefruit Diet, The Master Cleanse, Tapeworm diet….and so many more…

These are more of your classic “out there” diet fads. They are extreme in nature, may work in the short term and almost always backfire. They have little to no facts to back them up and they do more harm than good to most. These have all mostly died a good fad diet death and unless we forget history (as humans often do) they should never be brought back to life.

Cyclical Fad Diets

Examples: Keto, Intermittent Fasting, Juice Cleanses, Atkins/South Beach/Low Carb, etc.

These are diets that have facts to back their use, which is why they continue to come back into play. They tend to be therapeutic in nature and are really great for those that NEED them. Sounds good, right? Yes. So why are they cyclical then?

Fads that are cyclical are great for therapeutic reasons but for the general public tend to be unsustainable and not incredibly effective. Take Intermittent Fasting for example, I just had a client email me asking my opinion on the matter and here was my response:

“Oh man, this is such a cyclical fad/craze, which signals that it is a method that works but is incredibly unsustainable (much like the keto fad), it works but people are unable to continue on it b/c of how it does not fit into most people’s lifestyle.
 
That being said there are definitely documented & researched benefits to fasting and I think that it can be incorporated in an intelligent fashion. I suggest fasting on days that you have off, are on vacations and whenever it will not wreak havoc on training or hormones (aka NOT when you are at peak training). T-nation posted a good article about it last month, check it out here.”

How to Find the Facts?

It can be hard to separate the fads from the facts and sometimes the lines are blurred so it’s completely understandable. Here are four tips to get you started.

  1. Use common sense first. If the person writing and/or telling you the information has no credentials or experience, question the advice and ask them for more information.
  2. Remember science matters! Look for evidence-based information, aka research that backs up what is being said. If the person is unable to back up what they are saying, say goodbye.
  3. Know that there is no perfect diet. Trust the person/people who explain BOTH sides of the story so that you can get an unbiased viewpoint and understand if it will work for YOU.
  4. Simple answers usually mean complex understanding. If the person explaining it to you is unable to dumb it down for everyone, they most likely do not fully understand the facts, and they are more likely to promote fads.

If you are at all confused or skeptical, feel free to reach out, I’m happy to help you sort through the fads and facts, and if I can’t I have a great network of smart individuals who can help too!

Nutrition Networking Night 2018

The event yesterday featured 7 dietitians all with different experience and expertise. I still feel like I’m a student and wondered if anyone would find my story or experience helpful. I was wrong. Why? Because I realized I am no longer just the student but also the leader and mentor to the next generation of dietitians. The students and interns asked such great questions and I saw myself in a lot of them. I hope that at the very least I inspired some of them to trust their gut and go for their dreams.

Corny, I know, but when I was in school no one told me I could do whatever I wanted as a dietitian. They told me I could work in clinical, community or food service, I just had to pick. However, nutrition is such a huge field and dietitians are needed in so many roles that I hope I was able to show the future RDs that you can create your own path, you may just have to pave it yourself!

Thank you to all who came yesterday, if I met you please feel free to reach out! You inspire me to continue on my journey and I hope in some way inspired you too.

xoxo,

Sassy

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  1. Gluten-Free Black Bean Avocado Toast - The Sassy Dietitian says:
    December 24, 2018 at 8:01 am

    […] just like any good trend or fad, it’s been around a time or two. This is one of those fads that I’m okay made it’s way to Instagram. Why? Because avocados have a lot of health […]

    Reply

@thesassydietitian

We’ve made it over a week together and it feels We’ve made it over a week together and it feels like it’s always been this way.

Motherhood is a wild ride & it’s only getting started. I have never been so tired & simultaneously so fulfilled in my life. That’s not to say it’s not filled with tears, worries and doubts but what fun would it be if it were all sunshine and roses anyway?

Going into this all I have felt so supported by friends going through this with me BUT I felt so unsupported by the general public. It seems like we want to fear and shame moms because misery loves company, right?!

The focus quickly shifts from mom to baby (still shocked that I only have an appointment at 6 weeks even though my body went through the biggest event of its life) and there also seems to be this shift from joy to shame & guilt.

Here’s some of what I heard from people:

😕Sleep when baby sleeps. You’ll never sleep again.
😕Don’t let baby sleep in a car seat, or a bouncer, or anywhere but their crib EVER. 
😕You’ll never have time to shower again, enjoy it now. 
😕Cry it out is cruel and harmful to the baby. 
😕Get baby on a schedule/never put baby on a schedule.

These are all things I heard and that truly led me to believe I was going to lose all sense of who I was and my life as I knew it.

What I wish people had said instead were:

🥰Your heart will grow bigger than you could imagine.
🥰You’ll cry the happiest tears you’ve ever cried.
🥰You’ll feel like a giant hole was filled that you didn’t even know was there.
🥰You won’t feel guilty about cleaning your house, it just won’t matter anymore.
🥰Babies pooping will make you laugh so hard you will feel like a kid again.
🥰You will have time to eat and shower and you don’t have to neglect yourself.

We need to do a better job of building each other up, supporting one another and our decisions while refraining from offering unsolicited advice and opinions. 

So for all you future mamas and new mamas out there, I see you, I’m proud of you and I cannot wait to share our stories with one another and the world.

Let’s stop fear mongering (just like the diet world) and start building one another up.

Xoxo,
Sassy & lil sassy man
🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s b 🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s been a long year of loss, unknowns and worry but it’s all been worth it to get to meet my lil man🥰
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Now time to introduce this sassy human who is already so well loved to the world...
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Introducing 

💙 Connor James Ligos 💙
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After an almost 24 hour labor, Connor joined us over a week past his due date on 2/12/21 at a whopping 9lb2oz & 22.5 inches long with a full head of hair and lungs to scream hello to us with.
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We are so in love already and cannot wait to share him with the world. Thank you for all the love and support from friends and family and to all those that helped us in the hospital. Holy cow labor & delivery teams are truly magical and I cannot imagine doing it without all of their support.
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Now back to snuggling this human of mine and trying not to cry at every last thing he does 🥰 
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Mom, Dad & Bode are all doing well!
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#babyboy #pregnancyafterloss #rainbowbaby #birthdayboy #birthannouncement
I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk t I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk to others about what worked for us. That's great!
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What's not great is when we push our nutrition and eating behaviors onto others ESPECIALLY when we are not qualified to do so.
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So often when people meet me for the first time they are worried to eat around me and/or buy groceries around me. My friends can attest I am not judgemental around food and will gladly eat that cake, queso dip or sip on that glass of wine right alongside of you. I am not the food police and do not offer unsolicited nutrition advice unless it's a client who is paying for my help OR on Instagram and other social media platforms where my goal is to educate.
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Why do I share this? 
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Because I see far too many people diving down diet rabbit holes, finding success & then claiming to be nutrition experts purely because something worked for them. 
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I've also seen this alot being pregnant, everyone wants to tell you what worked for them. IF you use that stipulation of "this worked for me" then fine, share away but if you start doleing out advice please pause, take a breath and think about NOT doing it.
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People are OVERWHELMED by diet culture and some so badly want to change but YOUR way is not the only way and it most likely is not what will work for your friend/coworker/cousin/neighbor so please, stop trying to be an expert in something you aren't.
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Got it!?! 
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Ok, carry on.
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xoxo,
Sassy
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#nutrition #nutritiontips #nutritionist #dietitianapproved #rdapproved #rdchat #dietitiansofinstagram #dietitian #dietitiansofig #albanyny #albanynutrition #albanynutrition
Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. I'm not saying you have to find perfect balance (does that even exist?) but I am saying that we shouldn't feel like either we have to eat perfectly or that we might as well give up.
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Instead we should look to the grey area in between for our nutrition guidance. 
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What do I mean?
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I mean that we need to realize that we can still eat cookies but we probably should throw some veggies in there. 
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We can have a glass or 2 of wine but we should probably also drink some water. 
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We can take rest days but we should also find ways to move our bodies regularly.
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And the list goes on.
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It's not about all or nothing it's about doing something daily to help your health and nutrition without it feeling like a set of rules or a free for all.
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How do we find that grey area in between?
👉🏻 stop hopping on and off fad diets
👉🏻listen and trust your self, not your coworkers and cousins 
👉🏻focus on the simple things (ie drinking water instead of worrying about supplements)
👉🏻work to remove guilt and shame around food & body
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Where do you currently fall Right now?!
🤪 all
👍🏻in between 
🙅🏻‍♀️ nothing 
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Xoxo,
Sassy
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#dietitian #dietitiansofig #dietitiansofinstagram #nutrition #nutritionist #nutritiontips #thesassydietitian #rdchat #realtalk

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