“I’m not a perfect eater.  I don’t have perfect nutrition.” I said to a client who sat across from me with a surprised and confused look on her face.  “But you are a Registered Dietitian!” she said.

There is no PERFECT when it comes to eating or nutrition.  There isn’t just one way of doing it. It’s not my way or the highway.  There are no foods that are better than others or that will cure this or prevent that.  There are many different foods that can be combined in many different ways and frequencies to meet our nutritional needs...and by the way we all have different nutritional needs.        

I consider myself a competent eater who is aware of and can identify my hunger and fullness cues.  I balance putting time, planning and effort into eating while also relying on convenience, taste and availability.  I don’t always eat the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day or always make half of my grains whole.  Sometimes I run out of produce or it’s too expensive to purchase out of season (a downside of living in a land that is frozen half the year!).  Sometimes I eat white rice, white bread and white pasta all in one day because it tastes better to me than whole wheat or it is what’s available, on sale or convenient to make for my family.

At times, I eat when I’m not physically hungry but just because it tastes good.  Other times, I forget my lunch at home and have to deal with the loud sounds of my hungry stomach in session with clients until I have a break to go out and buy lunch.  When I am more stressed or anxious I feel less hungry and fewer foods sound appealing to me-in these times I have to try harder to make sure I get the nutrition I know my body needs.    

I eat at fast food restaurants, buy some organic foods, shop at both discount grocery stores and farmer’s markets.  My smoothies aren’t always green and they are never in a mason jar. No foods are off limits to me. Not much of what I eat is Instagram-worthy, but I’m not trying to impress anyone.

I’m not perfect, I’m a RD.

I don’t beat myself up when I’m too tired to make a home cooked meal and order food instead.  And I don’t expect every meal to have a five star rating, but it is sure tasty when it does. I know my body will digest and metabolize any and all food I give it.  I don’t punish myself for eating past full and I don’t brag about being hungry. I do my best each day but it’s not perfect, it just is.