3.1.1. Participant Goals and Expectations
weight loss
Acquire culinary knowledge and skills—Participants in the contemplation stage wanted to acquire knowledge about healthy cooking: “ [to] learn how to cook healthier and more nutritious food, and slowly give all the members of the household more proper eating habits” (SMC34); “My expectations are to learn healthy cooking tips that are both practical and understandable for people who are not good cooks” (SP04); “and learn cooking and baking ways that will be nutritious and varied enough to improve my nutritional lifestyle” (SMC11); “I joined the program to learn to cook properly, so I can lower my high sugar and cholesterol levels” (SMC12).Participants explained they wanted to improve their cooking techniques, which may improve their culinary capacities, for example: “enhance my abilities on cooking” (SP24); “More familiarity with meal prep will reduce time and frustration” (SP18); “to know how to manage the cooking at home” (SMC29).Improve self-regulatory skills—Participants in the contemplation stage desired to learn how to implement new culinary knowledge and skills through improved self-regulation, such as prioritizing, planning, organizing, and time management: “My goals would be to prioritize home cooking more often and expect that I will be able to improve this frequency” (SP07); “I hope I will have a better decision-making process [related to home cooking]” (SP29); planning and organizing: “I love to cook and love healthy food but find it difficult to plan and find the time to cook healthy meals at home. I am hopeful that this program will help me feel more confident in doing this” (SP22); “prep meals ahead of consumption” (SP18); and time management skills: “knowing how to incorporate healthy eating/cooking when life gets busy, and there is not much time” (SP04).Adopt a sustainable change—Participants in the contemplation stage expected their knowledge, skills, and abilities to translate to sustainable, lasting changes in their and their family’s routine and cooking habits: “I know I really want to change my and my children’s eating habits” (SMC21); “I also do not eat enough during the day for meals, and so I snack all night. I would like more routine” (SP11); “Goals—stability and cooking consistent meals (especially dinners)” (SP30B); “expect a substantial change in-home cooking habit” (SMC38).Achieve healthy eating and lifestyle goals—Participants in the contemplation phase wished to apply their understanding of healthy eating and food choices in order to lose weight and improve their health: “I am looking to understand nutrition balance and portion control” (SP18); “raise awareness for a healthy diet” (SMC28); “Hoping to lose weight and to do so in a healthy way” (SP11); “To improve health indicators and also to lose weight” (SMC29); “learn to eat healthy cooked food instead of junk food, and work to promote my health” (SMC25); “My hope is that this program will bring my focus back to nutrition” (SP26). A few participants mentioned exercise together with healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle: “I am interested in joining the program so I can try to change the components of my diet to a healthier diet while incorporating proper exercise” (SMC14).Get guidance and support—Participants in the contemplation stage looked for a framework so they could make a change: “I have made a change however I feel I need to be in some framework that will help me with habits and perseverance” (SMC21); “I decided to try and join something more controlled with the option of more careful support and follow-up” (SMC5). They asked for guidance and supervision from experts: “I have been trying to make healthier lifestyle choices over the last 2 years related to diet and exercise. I think participating in this program and being able to learn tools from experts would help my efforts” (SP07); “ [I expect] guidance for a healthier lifestyle. Close supervision and assistance with weight loss” (SM35); “I love to cook. I think that with your guidance I can get on the ‘king’s road’ and change my poor dietary behavior” (SMC16). Participants also mentioned their expectations for support and encouragement: “Also, having support to help me identify and overcome barriers to cooking” (SP04); “I need someone to accompany me and encourage me to succeed” (SMC9); “I know how to cook but the implementation of actually doing it is challenging. I need someone to steer me in the right direction” (SP17).