BIG Jim

It is always better to explain to your client the nature of their condition, or ailment if you are a doctor. However as a Nutrition counselor, we must be able to educate our clients on their responsibilities and help them to achieve the goals they are moving toward. In the case below we will assist our client on how to live a healthy lifestyle. Obesity and overweight need to be recognized as chronic and multifaceted conditions. Treatments that are not lifelong or for the long term and that do not address many or all etiologic factors are unlikely to succeed. The approach to obesity should be akin to that of many other chronic health conditions, such as hypertension and CAD. Successful treatment starts with overcoming the perception of futility that has pervaded physicians' attitudes toward obesity in the last few decades. Fewer than 50% of obese adults report being advised by their healthcare provider to lose weight.11 (Reference) This statistic contrasts with the fact that, as with smoking, targeted counseling of even short duration can result in substantial increases in physical activity or attempts to lose weight. Our client is Jim, 47 year old former weight lifter who was injured during his training. This scenario is very common for many folk, we tend to over work ourselves and eventually injure ourselves. Upon meeting Jim we must give a proper assessment. With that we can move on to begin to put the pieces of a good program together for him. Once we gather information from the client we will give him the proper tools and education needed to improve his lifestyle. Because Jim has a BMI of 31, we must inform him of the dangers that come with being overweight. A good example of what some of the risk factors are diabetes, hypertension, and CAD. The stress alone that one puts on their body form being obese can be a severe disadvantage to healthy living and managing a comfortable lifestyle. As we age, our bodies tend to change. It is very important that Jim understands he may find it a little difficult to change certain things about himself. It may have been a while since he last did any form of training and that could appear as a demotivator in most cases. That is were we come in, we are going to help Jim achieve some realistic goals and have a healthier lifestyle. At 47, Jim’s BMI and weight make him a prime candidate for those factors right out of the box. It is important that Jim understand the nature of these diseases and make plans to change his lifestyle. We should note if Jim is taking any multivitamins, or if he is on any physician prescribed medication, by looking into his medical history. It would be also wise to recalculate and record Jim’s BMI for the purpose of progression. The biggest key to all this is the fact that Jim mentioned to us that he “tends to snack on chips lately, and hasn’t been eating fruits and vegetables” is a noteworthy suggestion that Jim may have a poor diet and nutrition program. Having said this we have to steer this person in the right direction and explain the food pyramid to him, as well as how proper exercise along with good nutrition will be in his best interest. The food pyramid is a great guide which can help Jim find what are the right foods to eat and which ones to avoid, fortunately for him the pyramid is readily accessible via internet. We must also ensure that Jim understands the simplest change in his lifestyle for the better, can result in a beneficial long term effect coupled with proper exercise regime!! Knowing that Jim was once a weight lifter gives us some idea of his ability to perform a good exercise regime, now we need to understand the nature of his injury or injuries, and how they affect him working toward a good program. By coupling both programs together, we can help Jim “get it together”. Once we have sat down and explained to Jim all of the factors working against him and ways to change them through healthy living, we could begin putting together a journal which would chronicle Jim’s progress. We need to ensure that we involve Jim in the decision making process throughout each phase of his transformation. Even though we are their every step of the way, ultimately it would fall on Jim to have the motivation to continue forward progression.
References:
Christopher B. Ruser, MD, Daniel G. Federman, MD, and Susan S. Kashaf, MD Dr Ruser and Dr Kashaf
Shiriku Kumanyika
American Dietetic Association
Harvard Health Journal