Tuesday, 06 April 2010
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How Would You Talk to Someone About Their Weight?
I was finally able to watch the premiere episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.Youtube trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLgmk323H6kIn the first episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, a lot of people did not respond well to being called the fattest city in the world. I can see how people may feel embarrassed! Jamie Oliver wants to make a positive difference in the health and wellbeing of people's lives, but people don't like being called fat or being criticized. Weight is a touchy topic. I know that I hated it when so many people in Hong Kong commented on my weight gain two years ago. It's more common in Hong Kong culture to comment on weight, but it made me shut down and not even want to talk to these people because I felt they were being so rude. Being called "fat" or "fatter" hurts!
This is something I worry about when I start practicing as a dietetic intern in October. I do sincerely want to help people create a better life for themselves, just like Jamie Oliver is attempting to do, but I worry that people will take one look at me (5'4 Asian girl) and say "Lose weight? Psh! It's easy for you to say! Honey, you don't know me!" It's natural for people to become defensive when receiving criticism. I can relate. But if you believe that someone has a weight problem that may be affecting their health and life, how would you approach this topic without embarrassing the person? Here are some ideas off the top of my head:
- Show empathy and listen. "Listening" is actually a skill that a lot of people do not do well. Many people just try to shove out advice or try to solve other people's problems. This actually invalidates the other person's feelings. A great quote/paragraph on listening here (LINK).
- Ask questions. Help the person identify the barriers in their life that are stopping them from achieving a healthy lifestyle. This could be time, motivation, money, etc. Ask lots of questions and listen more.
- Work together as a team. Overcoming barriers in life is tough. Lots of support and encouragement is needed.
I think it's easier to show empathy and work together with loved ones. I just hope that I can provide empathy and understanding to people who do not know me and probably will not trust me in the beginning. Please know that even if you don't like what you read here, my intention is to help. I will always be supportive and encouraging to those wanting to make positive and healthier lifestyle changes.
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Comments (17)
I think it's harder with loved ones. You don't want to hurt their feelings so they rarely get the point. Until you're blunt about it and then they go...oh...maybe you're right asshole hehe.
I probably need to work on my delivery too. I need to be more descriptive too, like when I see people heading towards getting fat rather than already being there.
that's an inspirational concept... although, you're right, it's hard to get people to change something like this that's so easily to be taken offensively.
That's ridiculous! Pizza for breakfast? Even NYC schools don't do that.
@Agent_Spanky - Yea I did wonder if this concept was exaggerated. Maybe every other school in that city doesn't serve pizza, but the TV producers of course would choose the pizza-serving school to make ratings better. Do the NYC schools serve breakfast in their cafeteria too? I've never seen that before, let alone pizza for breakfast.
@i_Nutrition - LOL Of course the schools here serve breakfast. We get like bagels and banana muffins. haha I love banana muffins!
@JusticeCho - For sure I believe preventing weight gain is a lot easier than trying to lose it! Most of the time people know that they do have a problem. Perhaps you showing concern/love for them will be that extra push to motivate them to do something about it =)
@Agent_Spanky - oh wow that's nice! Canadian school systems don't have that. I've seen breakfast programs, but they're mainly staffed by volunteers. It's nice to have at least something available as most kids/teens skip breakfast. Banana muffins taste so similar to banana bread for me :P
Oh my god, my parents live there!
...and they got pissed when I put the story on my Facebook. Sheesh, these people are sensitive.
Talk is cheap, supply is greater than demand.
Everyone wants to talk but no enough people want to listen. Listening takes patience, and patience is short and rare these days.
Many HKG young people are really slim.... i have to wear LG or X-LG in HKG size.
i've realized that i used to be not very nice about other people's weight when i was thin and very fit...
but now after i have been ill and have gotten fat, i realized how much weight can be a big deal! i wish i had been nicer about other people's weight in the past now : X
You can watch episodes of jamie oliver's food revolution streamed on ctv.ca http://watch.ctv.ca/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/season-1/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-ep-103/#clip284030
@frankenberries - that's where i watched it ^__^ for canadians! Umm... but sometimes the site takes a long time to load up the show. I'm not sure why. Maybe b/c my internet has limited access on school residence boo.
I lost three (3) inches around the waist. I was taste-testing the suishi bars on Queen Street - here in Toronto. They are cheaper on the south side for some reason.
@communitychannel - Congratulations! you must be working really hard on your diet and lifestyle! I haven't tried sushi bars before. They sound really cool. Toronto is just filled with all you can eat sushi restaurants now! I don't like such huge buffet style portions anymore though. I don't have the metabolism that I had when I was a teenager. The quality is usually not as high either. I worked at an all you can eat sushi buffet restaurant in Guelph, and the boss was always just skimping on foods to save money like putting more rice in sushi than fish.
I love that show, it a breath of fresh air. You would think that it would be on food network or something. Glad to see health consciousness being spread to the masses through major channels.
Yesterday I watched the first 2 episodes of that show and completely love it. Completely understand the resentment the locals have vs Jamie but completely understand why Jamie is doing what he's doing too. Thanks for telling me about the show!