Eating a Fish vs. Learning How to Fish

In the ready-to-heat and eat meal sector, many frozen meal solutions are spending their precious resources, time and energy on the right recipes, the right ingredients, and the right flavor profile. Don’t get me wrong, these are all very important. Especially, if you care more about repeat purchase and loyalty.

However, the government does not want nor does it permit vendors to supply chronically ill seniors with 3 square meals a day, 365 days a year. The goal of CMS’s Special Supplemental Benefit for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) is to improve dietary habits. In other words, its mission is to teach seniors “how to fish” as opposed to building consumer brand loyalty (providing the fish).

We at Healthrageous take this mission seriously. We’ve studied the very best meal delivery and disease management programs and have curated the best features from both. And, we’ve studied what we need to avoid. For instance, rewarding behavior with a treat or cash, typically results in the action you are looking for. However, when you stop rewarding, the behavior also stops. If you get paid to lose weight, you will most likely make some money and lose some weight. But when the money stops, the weight comes right back. This type of short-term thinking can be found in almost every “well-intended wellness program” out there.

The Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded to theorists who have examined changing behavior and breaking bad habits. What they discovered may seem obvious. To gain long term change, inevitably, we must buy into the mutual outcome we are seeking. It’s about the end goal, not the means. Vast amounts of research all arrive at this same conclusion, we humans are not rational, economic pragmatists seeking education by following instructions or simply following bread crumbs. We are emotional creatures seeking to fulfill our passions and desires. It’s about what intrinsically motivates us.

So then, why does the healthcare industry, with no shortage of degrees and book smarts, take an educational only approach to behavior change? We know the facts about COVID-19 and vaccine efficacy, yet when we “educate” adults about those facts, they ignore our counsel and advice. Why? Because it’s not about the disease or vaccination. It’s about what those rules mean to us personally.

Returning to the topic at hand, Healthrageous understands and harnesses the power of intrinsic motivation for lasting behavior change. That’s why rather than simply supplying meals, we couple our meal solutions with helpful nudges that appeal to our seniors' intrinsic motivations. After all, it’s better to learn how to eat healthy so you can enjoy life without disease than it is to occasionally eat a healthy meal. That intrinsic motivation to be with loved ones and live a full life is the mutually beneficial end our seniors buy into.

Click HERE to request information to activate your chronically ill Medicare seniors with the convenience of simple choices to eat nutritious, diabetic and cardiac-friendly meals.

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