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Changing my plate – wrap up message from Katie180

This is the final post in the Change my plate series and it is written by the wonderful Katie Rainbird. 

image_katieKatie Rainbird (AKA Katie180) is a Sydney-based Nutritionist who is just as likely to be found jogging as she is baking. She is a mother to two, a keen home cook, prefers to get around in her workout gear and has a major passion for the written word. You can learn more at www.katie180.com.au.

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Dear Plate Changers one and all,

I’d like to thank you for stepping up and sharing your diet with myself, Nicole and ALL of her readers (whom are many in number!)

It can be embarrassing to share what we eat and drink for fear that we’ll be judged by it – especially in these times of particular diets with an emphasis on “clean” eating and elimination or drastic reduction of grains or other food types and groups.

I used to sit in student clinic with sweaty palms, nervous that I’d miss something during the consult or afterward in my plan of action. I’d try to factor in every possible underlying dietary cause of symptoms and match these up to foods and supplements and it was a lot of work for me and the client! Urgh, too hard basket.

It didn’t take long for me to realise that this was not the best approach to making changes in people’s diets. Sure, it was enthusiastic and thorough but it wasn’t do-able. Nor a sustainable way of practicing in the long run (I’d burn out!) and so I relaxed into the important practitioner skills of LISTENING and FEELING when sitting with a client.

And my take-home advice became simple and small steps: two or three things that could be easily applied between consults.

Applying trust in my instincts and power of observation along with keeping my treatment protocol basic really worked for me.

I enjoyed my clinical experience, I found a great rapport with my clients and I really came to love naturopathic medicine as much as I hoped I would when I filled out my enrolment forms five years earlier.

…So this has been a little bit of my back-story, and I’m telling it because I want you to know that each diet submitted to Nicole’s Changing my Plate series has been read, re-read, pondered, left to deliver instinctive messages to me (I KNOW I sound like a hippie but it’s how I work!) and then I’ve entered my suggestions.

Sometimes I’ve had to do a little digging around in my text books and this has been a humbling reminder that I’m going to be learning my whole life and this is OK by me, as long as I have the wherewithal to acknowledge when I need help along with good resources.

Thank you for sharing with me, for putting yourself “out” there and for those of you whom have given feedback noting improvements and positive changes – these have been professional highlights for me.

I wish you all good health: starting with self-acceptance and self-love no matter if you are at your goal weight or eating your most ideal diet.

I believe the cell-to-cell communication that happens within our bodies can be as much affected by negative self-talk as by “bad” foods.

So: love yourself just the way you are, identify areas of your diet that you know are better for being changed and make the changes in a do-able fashion. Start small and simple, build on confidence and skill, no rushing into things. You’ve got the rest of your life to eat accordingly with your changes so there’s no need to take it all on board at once.

It would be remiss of me to sign off without reminding you to always leave room for cake!

~Yours, Katie Rainbird

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I cannot thank Katie enough for the time she spent on this series. It has helped so many people. You can see follow up posts on changes readers made here:

But it wasn’t just those who had their day analysed who Katie helped. In the survey this year I asked the following question:

The theme for the blog in 2014 was change. Did you make a change after reading the blog and if so what?

Here is just a small selection of the answers readers left:

Slowly changing diet, taking into account our current food sensitivities. Loved Changing My Plate series!!! Also details of your family food changes.

I also really enjoyed “changing my plate”. There were ideas to incorporate/think about in each of the posts.

I loved the changing my plate series and I am trying to implement recommendations from Katie 180 into my diet.

Consuming full fat dairy after your link to katie180 and her info on this.

Dietary changes from Katie180.

For those of you, like me still working on changing your plate, good luck and follow Katie on her blog Katie180 for more straight talking nutrition advice!