As nutrition professionals in training, you will start to notice that friends, family and people on social media are looking to you for the answer. They want a “yes” or “no” as to whether they should give the latest diet trend a try. In recent years, social media has played a huge role in this. People are able to give their testimony on their recent diet that has given them short-term results and this pushes their viewers to want similar results. The difficult part about social media is that we don’t know the whole picture. Were they only sticking to this one diet? Or were there other weight loss methods involved that aren’t spoken of? This can lead to unhealthy expectations of what our relationship with food should be. Then there is the ultimate uncomfortable situation — What if someone is on a fad diet and they ask us what we think? Or what is our role when people are discussing a diet in a group? Do we say something? Is it our job to have a debate every time nutrition is brought up?

Have no fear! This can be a lot to take in and it is easy to put pressure on yourself to know how to respond to every nutrition discussion. As future RDNs, it is important for us to be confident in our training. As you navigate your way through the dietetics education journey, take a deep breath and focus on these key components.

Be OK with not knowing the immediate answer. Remember, you are a student. Part of being a good practitioner is accepting that you will not know the answer to everything. If you cannot answer on the spot, it is OK. Simply saying “I’m not sure about that, let me do some research and get back to you,” will show that you are committed to knowing the true answer. This will give you time to search for credible sources or even speak to your professors on the subject. Many times other students will have the same questions, so it may make for a great class discussion!

Stick to the science. Part of becoming a registered dietitian nutritionist is learning how to conduct literature and systematic reviews. This is an aspect of our training that allows us to come to conclusions and science-based answers that impact our profession and may provide answers to questions that our friends and family have. Continually improving our research skills will only bolster our profession’s legitimacy and give you and others confidence in your response.

Find the source. Asking where your friend or family member heard about the diet will give more context as to where they are coming from. If they heard about it on social media or from a friend, chances are they don’t know a lot about the diet — just that is has worked for someone else. Asking them where they heard about it will remind them that it is important to get their information from a reliable source. It will also give you more information on where to find the answer. Thank them for coming to you about it —-this means they are looking to a future RDN for nutrition advice!

Remember that food is our friend. Yes, food is our friend. It is meant to nourish us and keep us healthy and strong. Labeling certain foods or food groups as “bad” can create an unnecessary negative relationship with food. Long-term health and wellness can mean enjoying a variety of foods in moderation and focusing on adding color to every meal.

Have confidence in what we do know. We know that diets come and go. They may create quick change, but focusing on life-long health is going to provide the greatest benefit. Challenge your friends and family to think further down the line. Do they think they will stick to this diet forever? If not, guiding them toward a well-rounded, colorful eating pattern that they can keep up long-term is our role as dietetic students in the many diet conversations to come.

Know that it is ultimately your choice to engage. You get to decide what your level of engagement will be during these conversations. Setting boundaries for yourself is important and this means not having to debate every time or even at all. Changing the subject to another interest or just letting them know that you are open to discussing this subject another time is OK, and could actually be a healthy route to go. Whatever route you choose, your role as a future RDN can and will make an impact on the people around you — with or without the debate.

If your goal is to add more veggies to your diet, cut down on processed foods, or just trying to incorporate more home cooked meals, preparing your meals ahead of time is one way to actually make it happen. The concept of meal prep is pretty easy. Just take one day or one afternoon to make your meals for the week! I know, easier said than done, but there are a few ways you can do this. What’s important is knowing yourself and making your goal attainable. If you don’t cook at all, maybe just choose one recipe to conquer a week and focus more on technique to start. If you are comfortable in the kitchen, I challenge you to two or three recipes or branching out to different cultural cuisine that will add flare to your go-to meals.

Before you begin, there are a few things you need:

• Freezer bags or glass containers with lids
• Kitchen essentials for bulk cooking (knives, cutting boards, measuring cups, sheet pans, a slow cooker, etc.) Check your selected recipes beforehand to see if there is anything you need to purchase.
• A recipe or two than can be done in bulk
• List of ingredients for those recipes
• Maybe a friend to help if you are new to this!

5 tips for meal prepping success:

Make a plan. Sitting down and planning out your meals is essential. What day works best for you? What kind of meals do you want and who will be eating them? What are your goals? You can take time here to search for new recipes to try, or stick with old faithful on your first time around. Sit down, grab some coffee and make a plan.

Give yourself more time than you think. With more food cooking at once, things can take much longer. Clean-up for multiple recipes will add time at the end. Don’t worry, this will improve with practice!

Select recipes that freeze well. If you are someone who won’t eat the same thing for lunch every day, you may find yourself getting tired of the meal you prepped. Freezing single servings in bags or containers will save you time later and will reduce food waste. Soups, chili or burritos are a great place to start. Choosing something like a salad, although can be done, will not keep as well, and can’t be frozen.

Start with a recipe you have made before. If you are intimidated at the thought of bulk cooking, go with something easy and familiar. This will give you practice in portioning out meals and knowing what you may need to improve for next week.

Make it fun. Though it does save you time throughout the week, meal prep afternoons can feel long! Invite a friend over, play your new favorite album or throw on a movie to make chopping and cleaning more fun. Remind yourself that not only are you saving time and money, you are creating great food habits for yourself and for your family.