Reasons to put your trust in a dietitian:
Picture this, it is your first time mustering up the courage to see a dietitian to help you achieve your health goals.
Your expectations of the consultation conjure up vivid images of clinical–white hallways with artworks of fruit cascading the walls and a superhuman dietitian (who NEVER eats anything unhealthy) prescribing their clients with lacklustre meal plans consisting of water, air, and a stick of celery at best.
When seeing a new health professional for the first time it is completely normal to be a little unsure about what the appointment will entail but I can assure you, it is not as nerve-wracking as the example above.
Despite the misconceptions, dietitians work WITH you to provide evidence-based, best practice nutrition services with the goal of optimising your health. We are not superhumans, but we are pretty cool humans that have specific (often nerdy) interests in nutrition and how it can help or hinder our everyday lives. We are bound to a governing body that proposes strict criteria including the completion of tertiary studies, supervised, and assessed professional practicums and annual professional development for us to become, and hold the status of an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). With a sole focus on scientifically-backed and individualised care, dietitians are one hundred percent worth your trust, and I will explain why.
A dietitian is not your enemy, they are your nutrition ally:
During an initial consultation, your dietitian will systematically conduct an assessment with you which consists of a lot of questions and information gathering to allow a deeper understanding of how to best help you. With this information, we form a diagnosis which helps to formulate our dietary interventions which can include the provision of medical nutrition therapy, education and dietary counselling. In subsequent consultations we will monitor and evaluate our interventions in alignment with your self-efficacy in reaching your goals.
There are no gimmicks when seeing an APD as we tailor our recommendations and advice so that you can make real changes to your eating behaviours to benefit you for a lifetime. In fact, a systematic review that examined the effectiveness of individualised dietetic care found those who consistently attended supportive dietetic consultations saw improvements in glycaemic control, dietary changes and cardiovascular health (1).
We are not the food police (we promise!)
People tend to associate dietitians with the term food police however, just like you, we are human as well. We understand more than other professions that juggling busy schedules, finances, families, work and/or university stressors can impact our dietary intake. A dietitian’s consultation room is therefore a judgement-free zone and there is absolutely no hidden agenda when we are asking you to detail your entire dietary intake to us. Our job is to nutritionally balance out your diet to suit you and to make eating more enjoyable, simpler, and healthier.
It is not to tell you to stop eating your favourite foods or to instruct you to purchase and eat foods that are not feasible for your lifestyle. The overarching goal for us as dietitians is to help you build a more positive relationship with food which, in turn, will help you achieve your own nutrition, weight or lifestyle-related goals.
Seriously though, what will my dietitian say if I am overweight?
Most likely? Nothing. Let me explain. Firstly, dietitians do not make assumptions about diet, lifestyle, or food-related behaviours based solely on appearance. Secondly, we know the emotional connections individuals can hold to their weight status and we would never pass judgement on this.
We also understand that one’s health and their weight are not the same thing. As we are health professionals, our goal of care is always going to be helping you to improve your health and wellbeing, regardless of what you weigh. This means we won’t assume you are seeing us because you are ‘overweight’, and will instead seek to understand how we can help you.
If your concern is your weight, we will unpack this with you to better understand why you feel this way, and what it is that you are actually trying to achieve.
We holistically help you by providing individualised care, without any negative labelling. Being healthy in any sized body is successfully accomplished through habit building across eating healthily, keeping physically active and taking care of yourself through sustainable lifestyle changes. Here are a few simple tips to help ignite that drive:
- Include whole foods across the five major food groups (vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and cereals, low fat dairy and/or dairy alternatives and lean meats and/or alternatives).
- Aim to be active on most days of the week with movement that brings you joy.
- Aim to shift your attitude away from weight loss towards health gain.
If you want individualised support to achieve your goals, book in with a dietitian today!
References:
- Mitchell LJ, Ball LE, Ross LJ, et al. Effectiveness of Dietetic Consultations in Primary Health Care: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017 Dec;117(12):1941-1962. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2017.06.364.
