All about experiments
Understanding Experiments
Our app leverages a Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) approach to help you transform your behaviour through practical, hands-on experimentation. There is no such thing as a “one size fits all” approach to behaviour change. Experiments provide the opportunity for you to collaborate with your registered dietitian to learn what strategies facilitate and sustain your behaviour change goals.
What is an experiment
Experiments allow you to implement a specific behavior change so you can gather data on how it impacts you. By formulating hypotheses and observing, you gain valuable insights into what strategies work best for you, making it easier to develop personalized lasting habits.
How It Works:
- Identify a Behavior: Collaborate with your dietitian to choose a specific aspect of your behaviour you'd like to explore better understand, or modify.
- Formulate a Hypothesis: Predict how changing this behavior might impact you.
- Design the Experiment: Plan the details of how you'll implement the change and decide how you'll measure its effects.
- Implement and Track: Carry out the experiment and use the app to log your experiences, feelings, and any noticeable changes.
- Review and Reflect: Analyze the results with your dietitian to determine if the data supports your hypothesis and to plan your next steps.
Examples:
- Boosting Protein at Breakfast: Add 20 grams of protein to your morning meal to see if it increases fullness and decreases mid-morning hunger.
- Preparing Lunch Ahead: Spend 10 minutes packing your lunch the night before to assess whether it leads to healthier food choices and reduces the temptation of convenience foods.
- Monitoring Hunger and Cravings: Regularly rate your hunger levels and cravings to understand how dietary adjustments, like increased protein intake, influence your appetite throughout the day.
Why Conduct Experiments?
- Personalized Insights: Discover how specific dietary changes uniquely affect you.
- Active Participation: Take control of your health journey by actively testing and refining strategies.
- Effective Habit Formation: Build sustainable eating habits based on evidence from your own experiences.
By engaging in these experiments, you harness the principles of CBT to make informed decisions about your eating behaviors, leading to improved health and well-being.
Accessing experiments
You can view and interact with the day’s experiments from the Home tab via the ‘Today’s Experiments’ card.
- To view past or future experiments, tap the chevron at the card’s top right-hand side, then tap the ‘Today’ header to open the date selector.
Reminders
- You can change the time of the reminder for an experiment.
- You can turn off the reminder if you no longer require it.
Completing experiments
When an experiment is completed, tap the bubble next to it to mark it as complete. Marking experiments as complete lets your registered dietitian know you have completed the experiment.
- Some experiments auto-complete when you track your intake (e.g., the 20 grams of protein at breakfast experiment).
- You can manually mark an experiment as done or incomplete.
- If you mark an experiment incomplete, let your dietitian know why or skip that prompt.
Note
Some experiments autocomplete based on inputted information, such as experiments related to hunger and cravings.