In the digital world we live in, maintaining a balanced diet and achieving weight loss goals can be a challenging endeavor. Elder et al (2012) stated that there is a positive association between screen time and obesity in children and adults. One of the reasons why this is such a challenge is a lack of information and not knowing how to implement this information into your daily life-style. Nutrition training and education related to lifestyle choices has been found to be an effective way to prevent obesity and overweight (Mousavi et al., 2022). Thanks to the integration of ChatGPT, my journey towards a healthier lifestyle has really transformed and has become easier. In this blog post, I will delve into my personal experience of using ChatGPT as a nutritional guide, and how it has helped me reshape some of my eating habits. This also had a positive effect on my overall well-being. I will also discuss how ChatGPT fits within the broader themes of AI’s role in creating positive change for society.
When I first embarked on my health journey, I was overwhelmed with questions about what to eat and where to start. ChatGPT stepped in as a valuable resource, offering comprehensive nutritional advice. It provided a general understanding of healthy eating habits, helping me grasp the fundamentals of balanced nutrition.
Once I had a solid understanding of nutritional basics, ChatGPT helped me set specific goals. My goals were weight-loss and muscle gain and ChatGPT created personalized diet plans. Understanding the nutritional value of my meals became a key component of my journey. ChatGPT empowered me with the knowledge to make the proper dietary choices. I added these values to a food tracker application on my mobile device. This helped me track calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins in each meal, ensuring that I was meeting my nutritional requirements. It would be even better if there would be a food tracker plugin for ChatGPT.
One of the most exciting aspects of my health journey was exploring new and delicious recipes. ChatGPT offered recommendations on what to eat, provided step-by-step instructions for preparing these dishes, and showed the nutritional values of the dishes. These recipes made healthy eating an enjoyable and sustainable part of my lifestyle. The recipe shown below still is a staple in my day to day diet.
To conclude, the integration of ChatGPT into my life as a nutritional companion has had positive effects. It demonstrates the power of AI to create positive change for individuals seeking improved health and well-being. By offering personalised diet plans, nutritional insights, and nice recipes, ChatGPT has played a key role in my journey to a healthier lifestyle. This personal experience echoes the broader theme of AI’s potential to create positive change in society, one individual at a time. As I continue this journey, I eagerly anticipate the evolving role of AI in promoting well-being and health on a societal level. AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a stepping stone for a healthier world.
I am curious what your suggested recipes will be!!
References:
Elder, C. R., Gullion, C. M., Funk, K. L., DeBar, L. L., Lindberg, N. M., & Stevens, V. J. (2012). Impact of sleep, screen time, depression and stress on weight change in the intensive weight loss phase of the LIFE study. International Journal of Obesity, 36(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2011.60
Mousavi, B., Moradi, F., Vasseifard, F., Mohammad Abadi, F., Mazaheri Habibi, M. R., & Fatemeh, S. (2022). The Effect of Nutrition Training on Knowledge of Students at University of Medical Sciences. Topics in Clinical Nutrition, 37(3), 236–241. https://doi.org/10.1097/TIN.0000000000000290
Very inspiring read! I have the ambition to loose weight for a couple of years now but I am never able to really do it. I work out a lot but my eating habits are hindering me of making any progress. My main issue is exactly the point that you are making: I do not know what is good for me and my commonly used recipes aren’t very healthy. The only thing I wonder is whether ChatGPT can make its advise personal, as every person’s needs and body are different. So I’ve put it to the test and asked ChatGPT to help me create a personal plan based on my needs, body type, physical behaviour and food preferences. Unfortunately, its response was: “I can certainly provide you with some general guidelines and tips for creating a personalized diet and weight loss plan, but keep in mind that it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian for a more tailored and comprehensive plan. They can take into consideration your specific needs, body type, and medical history.” So it seems like for more detailed assistance we still need a human…
Also following the comment of Jakob Kruijer, I agree to his point, that ChatGPT gives general advice ad not personal one.
My metabolism for instance is very high, and I have the opposite issue of gaining weight. In addition, how one’s body absorbs nutrition, like protein, depends on the body. I watched recently an interesting documentary on that, that gives more insights into these guidelines of 0.8g of protein per kg etc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMwf_9wqWY0&t=2374s)
Thanks for your post Koen! I think it was great to read how ChatGPT is helping people setup healthy nutritional plans. I believe it is already capable of providing great tips and starting points how to improve one’s diet. However, ChatGPT is far from being able to give personalised advice, since it still makes a lot of errors. Next to that, a dietician will always (at least for the foreseen future) be able to better put situations into perspective, which is essential in personalisation.
From another angle, I’m also wondering if this means that it will make cookbooks no longer relevant. Since in the long term, ChatGPT could create a personalised cookbook with your preferences, detailed steps, calorie intake, pictures, etc. that perhaps you could download into your own directory to “write your own cookbook”.