by Mike Critelli,
A Shift in Focus: From Additives to AI
Over the last few blogs, we have talked about unhealthy food additives and preservatives, excessive food consumption because some of these additives, like added sugar, sodium and fats, are designed to be addictive and succeed in doing so.
We are going to take what, at first glance, will seem to be a detour, but is a powerful opportunity to use AI as a thought partner in helping manage our eating and drinking habits.
The Social Side of Eating
Although all of us intuitively would understand this, research scientists Dr. Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler published a book whose theme is described in its title: Connections: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Change Our Lives in 2010.
They summarized and analyzed extensive research on the social influences on our health, particularly what and how much we eat. People who are overweight or obese will tend to associate with others who are also overweight or obese.
They patronize the same restaurants or cafes, shop in the same parts of stores, are mostly likely to go to movie theaters and consume the biggest popcorn bucket or 40-ounce sugary soda.
So, What Do We Do?
If conquering our bad eating habits is less driven by higher will power and more driven by better daily living habits, how do we manage the situations in which we are invited to restaurants with friends and family that traffic in foods with unhealthy additives and preservatives and excessively large portion sizes of unhealthy foods?
In those settings, many of us do not want to stand out as someone whose habits diverge too much from those of our family members and closest friends.
The good news is that there is a healthy eating strategy enabled by AI that can be implemented at virtually every restaurant.
AI as a Thought Partner
Today, using the best combinations of AI tools, which we are enhancing in anticipation of a browser-based product launch in the next several months, we make our AI platform your thought partner to help you plan for those uncomfortable occasions.
Even today, with primitive AI tools, you can query an AI large language model this way:
“I am going to the Don Tequila restaurant. I want appetizers and entrees with no additives that are as healthy as possible. What do you recommend that I order?”
You will get a reasonably good answer that enables you to order something healthy from the Don Tequila’s menu, enjoy your meal, and not stand out from the group.
This is equally true if the restaurant is Italian, Greek, Chinese, Indian, or Latin American fusion cuisine.
The AI large language model will even provide you a credible rationale for why you have ordered that item.
Who knows? One of your friends who normally eats the least healthy item on the menu may even follow your lead.
The Alcohol Question
At Pitney Bowes, our nurse practitioners were certified in the Mayo Clinic motivational interviewing program. They learned to ask people struggling to lose weight when and why they gorged on unhealthy foods.
One frequent answer was that their resistance to a poor menu choice dissipated after one or more alcoholic drinks.
The most difficult and awkward social encounter is how to decline to drink. A friend may love a particular wine and urge us to drink a glass or two. He or she may even propose a toast.
I have a primary, backup and last ditch set of strategies to avoid getting caught up in this situation.
Sometimes I can get away with saying:
“I am the designated driver tonight.”
When that is not the case and it is a dinner gathering, I credibly say:
“I have an early morning commitment tomorrow. Drinking causes me to wake up and not be able to get back to sleep.”
My last ditch strategy is to order a small glass, take a few sips and then just do not finish it.
Leading by Quiet Example
As Pitney Bowes’ CEO, I stopped drinking alcohol completely at events.
Having been the chief HR officer and having befriended some of the most renowned psychologists trained in helping people overcome alcohol addiction, I always knew that some event attendees privately struggled to avoid drinking because they were battling an addiction.
They did not want others to infer that they had an uncontrollable problem because of their abstinence.
Both during my CEO tenure and after I retired, some of them or their loved ones or close friends would thank me for giving these individuals the air cover to decline to drink an alcoholic beverage.
My abstinence did not become the new norm, but it insulated those who wanted to abstain from awkwardness.
Comments That Cross the Line
The other difficult situation, which has happened many times to me, and it happens all too often in minority or ethnic communities, is a remark like this by someone who is often overweight:
“Are you ok? You have lost weight and don’t look healthy.”
The AI large language model will give you many alternative responses from which you can choose one or a modified version of one.
This is my response:
“Thank you for inquiring and caring about my health, but this is the weight at which my doctor and I agree that I am most comfortable, energetic, productive and healthy.”
Navigating Real-Life Challenges with Tools That Help
When we give you great health management tools, we recognize that so much of what makes health-related habits easier or more difficult is how we navigate a wide variety of social situations.
We want a tool that you can use all the time, preferably in advance of an awkward social situation.
Stay tuned!