Hiring a Nutritionist

Tashmayes
Tashmayes Posts: 244 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone here hired a nutritionist and did it help? I'm down 80 lbs from my highest weight and I'm finding that what I'm eating just isn't working for me anymore. I cycle between 1200 calories and 1600. If I stay at 1600 I find I don't lose to much. Just curious if it's helped anyone.

Replies

  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    You want to look for a Registered Dietitian, not a nutritionist. Just about anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but you have to have a licence to be an RD.
  • Lorleee
    Lorleee Posts: 369 Member
    You want to look for a Registered Dietitian, not a nutritionist. Just about anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but you have to have a licence to be an RD.

    Ditto this. An RD is the way to go. Worked for me!
  • Tashmayes
    Tashmayes Posts: 244 Member
    Great! Thank you! I'm just so confused about how many calories I should be consuming! Too much info overload out there!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    I've worked with a Registered Dietitian on two separate occasions. I was able to get insurance to pay for a few visits each time. It was helpful and I wish I'd been able to pay for more sessions out of pocket.

    There's no substitute for having someone look at your specific eating habits and preferences.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    I've never used an RD but I did go to a nutritionist a few times last year and I can honestly say that she was useless. She didn't even know how to read the label on a bag of microwave popcorn. Stick with the RD if others have had luck there because nutritionists won't tell you anything you haven't already read here or found out for yourself.
  • pallypunch
    pallypunch Posts: 28
    I am going to start seeing a nutritionist next week. I scheduled the official session after attending a training lead by her. I thought that she, in particular, would be a good fit for me.

    She provides customized, easy to make/easy to prepare recipes & goes over them with you in your own home (this was crucial for me because I don't cook and don't know how to- and I don't drive); she has a cerebral, advocacy approach to food & is very knowledgeable about food justice, access & equality issues, community gardens- and about eating locally & supporting local farmers & food producers (I am a social justice nerd in the Bay Area so anyone who leads with this has my attention- this probably doesn't directly impact my health, but it will keep me interested & makes me feel good); and her food tasted good, REALLY GOOD- and she did a great job explaining her choices of ingredients & when one should eat what items.

    I just need to learn how to eat healthier and how to prepare healthier meals.

    She was very clear with educational background and philosophy toward food (she does not focus too much on caloric intake and focuses on eating a LARGE variety of natural, organic foods that taste good & allow one to get all of the veggies, vitamins and other essentials in)- and has worked with pre-diabetic people, people who are self-proclaimed "sugar-addicts"- and gluten-free folks. And didn't make any false promises and didn't claim to be the end all, be all expert on nutrition. Her approach was more this is my philosophy we will try a few things and we will see how your body responds and adjust/update/modify as necessary.

    For our initial session, she has asked for 7-day food activity form, an HAQ and a general health intake form and recommends that one goes through the program for at least 6 months.

    In general, you should get referrals and make sure that the nutritionist you have selected is upfront with his/her training, background, philosophies & what can be accomplished with the appointments. You should also set goals and expectations and be clear about why you have reached out him/her. In turn, he/she should be honest with you about what can be done and if you should really see a dietician or not.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    When I saw my RD I asked her if she was going to have a problem advising someone who weighed in the low 100s about weight loss. I didn't want someone who was going to read off a card and automatically decide that I was underweight or had an ED. Surprisingly, even some doctors are incapable of understanding an individual's needs.

    My main takeaway was to reduce my intake of diet soda and even healthy drinks like sweetened cranberry juice because it was too high in calories.
  • sportygurl0206
    sportygurl0206 Posts: 1 Member
    Where is a good place to start looking for Registered Dietitians?
  • rmdaly
    rmdaly Posts: 250 Member
    www.eatright.org

    Button at the top for "Find a registered dietician"

    I think this is mainly for the US.
  • michael300891
    michael300891 Posts: 275
    Has anyone here hired a nutritionist and did it help? I'm down 80 lbs from my highest weight and I'm finding that what I'm eating just isn't working for me anymore. I cycle between 1200 calories and 1600. If I stay at 1600 I find I don't lose to much. Just curious if it's helped anyone.

    Whilst I have no problem with nutritionists, you have to remember that they are no different to personal trainers: In that they are only a tool. The only person who can actually achieve your goals is you.

    You sound like you already know that you need to reduce your calorie intake a little more. Do you really need a nutritionist to tell you this?

    Even if they do tell you, will that somehow make a difference to what your consuming?

    As I said, no problem with using them, but their role is probably more important for complex situations - metabolic conditions, severe obesity, elite athletes etc.
  • threefancy
    threefancy Posts: 93 Member
    I saw a RD once, but I didn't get much out of it. She started from the premise that I knew absolutely nothing about nutrition and started from the beginning - bringing out the plastic food, showing me what a 3 oz serving looks like, etc. It seemed like she had a prepared speech that she uses with all clients and couldn't be swayed from it. In the end I didn't hear anything that I didn't already know. Not all RD's are created equal, so you might need to shop around to find the right fit for you.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I saw an RD once. Absiolute waste of time. She didn't ask me a single question and told my kid to eat what he's already eating. Ummm... thanks. Good thing my insurance paid for it or I would have been pissed.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Where is a good place to start looking for Registered Dietitians?

    If you're using insurance then call them to find out who is a perferred provider. The one I was planning to see was at the same clinic as a lot of preferred providers for my insurance but that exact person wasn't allowed so they found another one for me. Was glad I checked first otherwise I would have been stuck paying.

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