This weekend we were fortunate to have a grocery shopping extravaganza with Janis Jibrin, co-author of The Best Life Diet and our celebrity nutritionist. Janis took all six of us to grocery stores–both “normal” and “high end”– to demonstrate how you can make good choices in nutrition no matter where you shop. It was an amazing way to spend the day and I left thinking–why doesn’t EVERYONE have access to this information in this manner? To have a one-on-one (well, one-on-six) session with an expert was so practical, allowed for real questions and was as informative and inspiring as you could get. And don’t think it was “health nut” speak…for instance, she told us which ice cream sandwiches she liked better than others and how to sneak in a veggie serving by having a veggie burger instead of a vegetable for those of us who are not as veggie friendly (read: me) …we’re talking real solutions, real food for real people.

So I left with the epiphany that I would always have a nutritionist as a part of my life…when this program is over, that will not be the last time I interact with a nutritionist. It’s hard to imagine when I’ll need more counseling–whether in a maintenance check-up or a new challenge, but for instance, when my children hit puberty and their bodies change, I will definitely have the family meet with a nutritionist to help them understand how important nutrition (and maybe specific nutrients at that time) is at this stage of their life…especially when they may not like to listen to mom and dad around that time. Hearing it from an expert could help the entire family. When I go through menopause, that will be another time I would definitely engage with a nutritionist, as well as my doctors…there will be many times where I think it may be critical in my life to ensure nutrition is re-addressed.

Can I also share my (newfound) rage that healthplans should account for nutritionist consultations to stem off the amazing dollars spent on caring for health issues related to obesity? Seriously…this is preventative care! I could go on for days about this –why not treat the problem vs. the symptoms? If I knew that, through my healthplan (or even Employee Assistance Program) that I could get one or two nutritionist counseling sessions per year–I would absolutely do it…and who knows, maybe my health would have been better earlier on. This has GOT to be a priority with the obesity rate at 30% in this country…including an outrageous childhood obesity rate. Educate the parents on how to feed their families well and prevent countless maladies in the future.

OK..I’m off the soapbox. It’s amazing what a little education can do to you. The GREAT thing about Janis is that her words of wisdom are indeed accessible to the masses through the Best Life Diet book. The Bob Greene/Janis Jabrin combination is amazing…we are all seeing the results with more than 30 collective pounds lost in one month! I can’t say enough good things about Janis and Bob–only that you certainly would not regret learning from them.

Nutrition is underrated and understated–believe me when I say it is now the front page headline in my household! Thank you Janis!