DIET: WHAT ABOUT ONLINE COACHING?

Lasting weight loss is a goal that the vast majority of us do not reach. What solutions today?

Several nutritional coaching sites, the best known, that of Weight Watchers, appeared on the Web in recent years.

What are the advantages of online nutrition coaching compared to diets and dietary counseling programs?

Instructions for use of e-coaching and tips for choosing the right program.

What exactly is meant by coaching online?

Online coaching is a smart nutritional program based on computer expert systems or artificial intelligence systems, which adapts to the patient's specificities as it evolves. Online coaching is very different programs that rely on computer media to deliver nutritional information, most often associated with telephone follow-up. Many of these commercial programs are available, but they have never been scientifically validated and clearly not fit all, as shown by the number of people who attempt the adventure and who drop quickly.

It is in this context that "intelligent" programs have been developed by hospital and university teams. One of them, entitled S.D.O.B.E. (Support Diabetes and Obesity by e-coaching). This program will be subject to rigorous scientific and medical evaluation, as testing any other treatment (medication, dietary supplement ...).

Who is nutritionally e-coaching?

Some predictive factors have been identified. Thus, the online coaching seems particularly speak to people who are used to connect to the Internet every day for one reason or another. Internet is part of their daily lives, they do not have to make an effort to go to connect.

People who also is a medical reason to change their eating habits, especially diabetics, hypertensives and in case of cholesterol, also seem to be more receptive to this method.

Note that there is no real relationship with age, although there is a better efficiency after 40 years (maximum 50 to 70 years). This can be explained by the fact that before 40 years, we have not yet tried every "miracle" diets is only after we return to more reasonable programs. Most young people want a quick and they do not have the same health concerns.

Overall, it would appear that those who meet these criteria have a good chance to join the monitoring and have a significant effect on both weight and risk factors for chronic diseases.

What are the advantages of e-coaching?

The e-coaching fits your changes

The first major advantage is that the intelligent system adapts to your changing (if done well).

An Internet time to spend at his convenience

Time to spend on the Internet to inform its data and follow the recommendations is estimated at an hour to an hour and a half grand per week. This may seem a lot to some, but this time is to balance with the one we would spend part of a traditional face to face program, which is estimated at more than 3 hours on average (taking appointments, return trips, waiting room, working and family planning, etc.). Also note that this computer is to spend time at home, at any time of day or night, at his convenience.

No judgment

There is no value judgment from an outside person could create a disincentive for some people as with tracking face to face. The patient is faced with a computer, it is found not faced with a human being who could judge him.

Namely, in this kind of monitoring, there are still human assistance, but it is only intended to help people better navigate the program and better use the features.

Specifically, what happens during a nutritional e-coaching program?

It usually starts with an evaluation week using food validated computer investigations of the scientific work and needing to fill all food taken with a weekly report.

This provides a first detailed nutritional assessment and already adapted but rather general recommendations that teach a number of nutritional principles adjusted to his case.

Editable menus according to client requirements

Menus are then generated, but they are completely editable. Indeed, the program adapts to changes imposed by the patient himself. It can definitely rule out a food he does not like (a cereal bread replaced by another of food offered) or occasionally introduce a fun food. For example, you can specify that you want to eat fries and the program will handle the rest of the day accordingly.

The menus can be created by the day or by the week, with a shopping list automatically generated.

Always look for food, regular information about what is actually eaten or not, so that the program gradually refines the nutritional advice given. These are always based on THE nutritional codes and objectives are based on official recommendations.

On the slope physical activity as an integral part of the program as well as the nutritional part, the principle is the same. It begins with an initial assessment, followed by gradual recommendations based on the data provided by the patient, that is to say on the type, frequency and regularity of actually performed physical activity.

How to choose the e-coaching?

Note: the e-coaching described above is to be distinguished from many other programs offered on the Internet. We must distinguish between diet programs in which you set yourself a goal in terms of weight. You then get the menus, more or less modifiable, allowing you to set up an often severe restrictive diet. The weight loss program is short and rigid, it does not evolve with you and do not teach you the nutritional rules.

In practice, a site that asks you on the home page how you want to lose weight and offers a loss of more than 5 to 10% of your weight is a site that is not in line with the recommendations of the authorities of health and which is not bonded.

The other big factor to consider is physical activity. Any nutritional program that does not include coaching in physical activity does not allow you to lose weight in the long term.