The teacher becomes the student

Recently I have experienced a new outlook on diet and diet direction. I have had a family member who has been placed on a salt/fluid restriction. In my daily professional life I have often counseled people on these and other diet restrictions always reassuring them that I know this is a pain but it is for their better health. The new perspective of seeing a family member go through it has changed how I view nutrition and diets in general. As clinicians it is easy for us to give direction and ideas but don't really know the reality of our recommendations, Seeing first hand the challenges of cooking at home with no salt or the amount of consideration it takes when deciding if and where you can go out to eat has made me thought that the best way to continue to treat my patients would be to experience some of the advise that I dole out. The Teacher becomes the student. I often tell patients that to really see how to adjust their diet or where their trouble areas is it is best to keep a 3 day food diary trying to include 2 week days and a weekend day, you often eat differently on weekends than week days. SO I am going to do just this, but take it a step farther, I will do the whole week! I feel that I eat generally pretty healthy but when written down on paper I will be forced to the reality of how many pieces of cake or girl scout cookies I have eaten or how often I truly treat myself or eat out when in my head its only once in a great while. This will be able to give me first hand experience so that I have better educate my patients. Does anyone else give advice for something they haven't had first hand experience in?