Page 173 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

This tastes good is a positive cognition.
Source: US Department of Agriculture.

Counseling is based on the hypothesis that people’s feelings and behaviors are influenced not by events, but
by their perception of events or situations.1 The perception is often expressed in an internal dialogue or self-
talk that influences subsequent feelings, behaviors, and even physiologic responses. For example, someone
who has lost 5 lb on a new eating plan (event) may be thinking that dieting is difficult (thought), is not worth
the effort (thought), and is feeling deprived and hungry (feelings). Having successfully lost the weight is not as
influential as the perceptions that it is difficult or not worth the effort, resulting in psychological feelings of
deprivation and physiologic feelings of hunger. As a result, the individual may abandon plans for further
weight loss even though successful at losing weight.

“I’m going to get a college degree so I’ll have a successful career.”
“I need to get up earlier tomorrow so I’ll arrive on time.”
“It’s the holidays so I’m going to eat whatever I want.”
“My New Year’s resolution is to get more exercise.”
“I’d be in better health if I lost some weight, but it’s hard to do.”

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