Your physician recommended you meet with a dietitian, but you have some questions. What is a dietitian, what will they do, why would I need to see one? We are here to help you find the answers to all these questions and more.
What is a Dietitian?
A dietitian is a healthcare provider who specializes in nutrition and food science. They are trained to assess and treat nutrition related problems, as well as manage specific medical conditions through diet. They collaborate with other healthcare professionals in various settings, such as hospitals, clinics, schools, sports organizations, and private practices, to provide patients with holistic guidance on balanced eating, individualized eating plans, and preventative health strategies. Registered Dietitians have completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nutrition or a related field, a supervised internship, and passed a national board exam. Registered Dietitians are licensed professionals required to maintain their credential by completing continued education to ensure they have a high level of knowledge and expertise.
Whether it is your first time meeting with a dietitian or not, the team of RD’s at Avance Care is committed to supporting you in your journey to reaching your health goals. Our dietitians specialize in a wide variety of topics, including Diabetes, Intuitive Eating, eating disorders, gastrointestinal health, pediatrics, and much more. This gives you the opportunity to find the right fit for your specific needs.
What to Expect At Your First Visit
During your first visit, you can expect a thorough and personalized assessment. The dietitian will ask you a variety of questions related to your health needs, lifestyle, goals, and motivations. They will want to know about your health history including (but not limited to) chronic conditions, medications or supplements you currently take, lab work, past exercise routines and/or injuries, and weight and dieting history. The dietitian will also ask questions to gather more information about your eating and exercise habits, as well as your sleep patterns, daily routines, and stress levels to get a more complete picture of your current lifestyle. You’ll discuss your reasons for seeking nutrition counseling, what motivates you to make changes, and start to explore your first steps in reaching your goals. You will work together with the dietitian to start developing a plan that is specific to you. By the end of your first visit, you may have one or even no goals set – that’s okay. A lot of the time may have been focused on gathering information for the RD to help guide you in the right direction and inform recommendations. Throughout your follow up appointments with your RD, you’ll create achievable goals and adjust them based on what works and what doesn’t. This is key to figuring out the sustainable habits that fit your unique needs and lifestyle!
Other topics you may cover during follow-up sessions include:
- Meal and recipe planning
- Navigating dining out
- Disease-specific nutrition therapy (diabetes, high cholesterol, GI conditions, etc. …)
- Stress management and coping
- Food cravings
- Emotional eating
- Grocery shopping tips
- Nutrition strategies for sport or exercise
- Relationship with food and body image
- Intuitive Eating
- Diet trends and popular nutrition topics in media
- And much more!
When working with a dietitian at Avance Care, you can expect:
- Speaking about food and bodies in a positive or neutral way
- A safe space that is free of judgement
- No assumptions about why you are seeking nutrition counseling
- Lots of questions about food, movement/exercise, and your relationship with those things
- Encouragement to set your own goals and objectives – we provide support, accountability, and tools to help you along the way
- Collaborating to come up with achievable steps towards reaching your goals
- Reminders about your successes and progress
- Conversations about weight and body size are driven by you – you tell us how you want these to be involved in your care
- Respect with boundaries around weight, lab work, and interactions between other healthcare providers
- Talking about other life ‘stuff’ – it is not always just about food
- Enthusiastic and passionate teachers of nutrition!
If you have any questions prior to your appointment, please don’t hesitate to contact our nutrition coordinators at 919.237.1337, option 4 or book online today at Avance Care Nutrition Services. We look forward to working with you and supporting you on your health journey!
