The importance of planning to reach a healthy diet

Planning is essential in order to enjoy a healthy diet, to control the intake of salt, fat and sugar and also to lose weight, so from March to November the British Hospital carries out series of workshops led by Maren Torheim , the Graduate Nutritionist. Torheim, who is part of the British Hospital Nutrition Department and Diet therapy, recalled that workshops began in 2003 as an initiative to promote healthy nutrition and then they have been diversifying from members’ initiative itself as well as from users of the institution. The British Hospital systematically renews subjects of interest to its members, as part of its ongoing policy of health education and prevention. The results has proved the positive side of this type of initiatives at a family level and also because of the part of learning to everyday life. It was then that workshops´ attendants started raising concerns mainly related to nutrition of those who for health reasons could not eat salt, fat or sugar, or should lose weight. “Planning as regards nutrition is essential. Planning is what you are going to buy, what you're going to cook, what you are going to eat, "showed Torheim. To the specialist "positive changes" are being processed regarding Uruguayans’ eating habits, as the growing appreciation of the importance of breakfast in the daily diet. “There are things that have changed a lot. What people want to understand is why they should do it, why they should have breakfast or eat vegetables, and once they are informed about it they process the change. There is a positive change in that sense, she explained. Torheim mentioned that “there are three main things to pay attention to: food time, food selection: what I eat and the amounts of it”, and she insisted that the information allows to change or avoid habits which are related to cultural matters. She reminded that salt, fats and sugar are "items that may unbalanced a healthy diet," but at the same time, "are food components” which are even necessary for human health in some cases. Workshops are divided into three issues: “Basic healthy menu planning", “Menu planning low in sodium and cholesterol “and "Menu planning to lose weight". They are developed in three weekly sessions of one hour and a half each and they are aimed at British Hospital members. She acknowledged that when arriving at workshops participants have "the expectation of the menu and recipes" that they will be provided with, but she highlighted that when they know "the evidence, the theoretical context" of the suggestion” an exchange in which we all learn is generated, of everyday life experiences." Torheim investigates the "initial expectations" of the participants and in the last workshop session a final evaluation is performed. "They start with much anxiety and enthusiasm and when the workshop ends they feel empowered with tools to modify those habits which have kept them away from a healthy diet", she said.