Anyone else been to the dietician?

carsinger86 · August 6

I am going to the dietician next week and I am scared/nervous. The last time I went was a long time ago before my insurance ran out when I was under my dad's insurance. The lady was all "you're only going to eat chicken breast" and I was not having it. Another doctor I see said if I just level with them and tell them my true feelings about food and be honest, I should be ok. I know the first meeting/appointment is an hour long and the rest are half an hour. What should I expect?

neanderthin · August 7

Do you only eat chicken breast?

cmriverside · August 7

You can expect the same thing you'd expect with any professional you are seeing for the first time. You're interviewing them. Tell them what you expect, and then listen.

If you're having weight or health problems due to weight, I'd say they probably know more than you about food.

If you're having trouble eating the right amount to facilitate weight loss, they know more about food.

Eat common sense foods in the right amount and you'll lose weight. That may take more than a Dietician, but it also takes less than a Dietician. I'll send you my bill.

kmp9881 · August 7

I see one, and while I was given a suggested plan to follow, the structure of each meal was more important than following the plan to the letter. They should be open to creating a plan that works for you, because forcing yourself to eat only food you don't like is all but a guarantee that you'll fail.

SafariGalNYC · August 7

Every dietician is different. I’ve been to the dietician - they didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I’d ask myself - Why are you going to the dietician? What’s the goal?

For many they can be useful though.
They should be able to assess your nutritional needs and develop personalized meal plans and speak to medical nutrition therapy if you have any illnesses.

Re: “she told me to eat chicken breast and I wasn’t having it” - did she think you were eating too much processed food and that you needed some protein?

What was she trying to alleviate with that intervention? What would you rather eat?

springlering62 · August 7

I’ve had visits both with the gym staff dietician (gym is owned by a large Level 1 trauma center hospital) and by phone conference with the dietician via my health insuror.

I went armed to the sessions with written questions. When I was first starting and clueless, it was “this is what I eat, what can I do better?” “What replacement snacks do you recommend?” “Are sugar free products safe?” “How can I improve my overall diet?”

That first dietician was the one who recommended MFP.

Session time is too valuable (ie, costly) to waste sitting there chatting randomly or on “umm, uh”.

My most recent session flipped the conversation, was aimed towards relieving potential dietary-related inflammation.

I went in with my MFP app (all the gym dieticians have been extremely familiar with MFP), and she quickly looked at it and immediately said, “do you realize you’re having 8-10 servings a day of sugar free products? Why not back off or cut those out for a while!”.

I found the in person sessions very helpful on many levels, and still occasionally refer back to my questions and the notes I took during them.

The phone convos, not so much. Two different ladies told me I was doing great. One said I was basically wasting her time because I was “too successful”, and one said she felt like I knew more than she did about nutrition, which floored me. I didn’t have a list of questions prepared for those. I was mostly probing them for suggestions to improve, and got the impression they dealt with mostly obese people who were forced kicking and screaming to use their service by their doctor or the insuror. They didn’t know what to do with someone in maintenance, like me. I felt like a white elephant.

Another thing- and I’m going to get slammed on this- I see a lot of chit chat here and elsewhere from dieticians and “nutritionists” who outright say they themselves have a weight and/or food problem of their own. I get it. I was obese. I still have the occasional binge. I still have food issues, eating too much, too little, all junk days. We’re all human.

But I would draw the line at accepting nutrition advice from someone with a problem of their own. IMHO, success breeds success. Share with me what works for you, don’t be sitting there obese and telling me how to improve my own dietary life while ignoring your own needs.

I love what @cmriverside says, that you’re “interviewing” a potential professional. Darn tooting right.

If someone flippantly comes out with “all chicken, all the time”, they darn well better explain their reasoning or I’m moving on.

Having been obese and extremely pig headed about change, I also know that might not have been what she said, but what my grumpy, uncooperative take on it was. You also have the obligation to listen, openly and honestly.

Lying to myself, rationalizing why I was gaining, kept me obese for decades.

You know what? It’s not our destiny to be “just like your mother”.

AnnPT77 · August 7

I had a couple of appointments with a dietitian at my cancer center. In my case, I had rather specific questions, and she was very helpful . . . even with one question for which she didn't have an answer. (She researched the scientific literature between appointments, found that even those sources didn't have a clear answer.)

A lot of your experience will depend on the particular dietitian you see, because they're humans, after all. But probably a bigger part of your experience will depend on YOU.

So: Know what you want to get out of the appointment, and what your doctor wants you to get out of the appointment in addition, if that's relevant and different from your personal goals. Tell the dietitian what those goals are. If it's an option, messaging a basic statement of goals in advance might even be a good plan.

Before the appointment,

Prepare printouts of several typical days' food logs - not exclusively model "I was perfect" days, but truly typical ones - your routine habits
Make a written list, with a copy for both you and the dietitian, of any prescription medications and supplements that you actually take, including any OTC medications you take semi-frequently. For all the medications, include the dosage taken and the frequency.
Make a written list, again copy for both you and the dietitian, of the key questions you hope will be addressed during the appointment, being as specific as practical.

At the appointment, listen actively, taking notes if that helps you. Active listening includes rephrasing something they told you in your own words - whether you agree with it or not - then asking if you got that right, before reacting to it. If you want to record the session, that may or may not be possible: Ask the dietitian before recording.

Be assertive. If the dietitian tells you to eat XYZ, and you don't want to, say so, and say why. Initiate a problem-solving discussion about it - what the alternatives might be, what problems might occur if you don't adopt that advice, that sort of thing. Calm but clear and honest.

That's what I'd suggest. You mention previously being under your dad's insurance, but not so anymore. That implies to me that you may still be fairly young, not as experienced with solo handling your own medical interventions such as the dietitian. Some of the things above are what I've learned from my medical appointments over a period of time . . . specifically what I learned from not consistently handling them very well at first. 😆😉

I have gotten much more out of appointments, in less session time, from doing things like the above: Pre-planning, written material, active listening, being calm but assertive.

Best wishes!

neanderthin · August 7

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48717780#Comment_48717780

I took it that the OP was eating nothing but chicken and the dietitian was surprised by the statement. I mean what dietitian and I mean even one that is totally incompetent would ever just say to eat a lean protein exclusively, I could be wrong but that's the way I took that statement.

tulips_and_tea · August 7

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48717821#Comment_48717821

But the OP said that the dietician said, "You're only GOING to eat chicken breast." I took that to mean that that was the "advice". However, it may be a bit exaggerated by the OP, given that they said their first experience wasn't ideal.

Anyway, OP, definitely do your research on this person and see how they respond to you before just blindly taking advice. It's the same thing as hiring a personal trainer: they work for you. Yes, they know more about fitness, but not everything is applicable to your specific situation.

yakkystuff · August 7

Have been going regularly all year and have been exploring several things. How much is enough. Food categories/swappables like bread, rice, cereal swaps. Choosing foods that nourish our body and may help our health.

The registered dietician has suggested many different ideas, including ways to prepare/cook to help food taste good - in healthy ways

And has helped with food choices for specific medical issues.

Keep what helps. Forget the rest.

— for example we tried a 'ghost pepper soup' — way too hot for us. Ghost pepper is off the table.

— we tried canned diced (sweet) red peppers — those are a new all time favorite that 1 spoonful adds flavor to so many of our regular foods.

I figure getting healthier and losing weight is about finding food we like — that also likes our body — and understanding how much is enough and stopping there instead of eating too much... there will always be more, later, when our body needs more.

Hope your experience turns out great too :)

carsinger86 · August 16

Just an update, I did go and did not have a bad time at the dietician. She wants me to focus on getting more fiber, like good fiber so I'll be full (if that makes sense). She didn't weigh me because she feels it's impolite to weigh someone before she met them (she said we could weigh at the end of the session). And I'm not on any kind of real meal plan. She did want me at about 1700 calories a day, which will be hard because I'm used to getting close to 2000 calories a day. I brough up my concerns (binge eating as I've had issues with that in the past) and perhaps eating separate from what my husband eats for dinner, and just being overwhelmed by the change. She wants me to focus on thinking positively. Thanks for everyone who wrote back!

carsinger86 · August 16

No. The first dietician I went to focused a lot, if not all, of the meals on chicken breast. The new dietician thought this was weird.

yakkystuff · August 16

Glad it went well :)

Bingeing/overeating can become entwined with all sorts of snarled up triggers/reasons we eat in the initial moment...

Good/positive - it's mealtime, celebration time with family and physically our body needs food.

There are lots of other reasons - when we group studied, we snacked and later, when I did paperwork, snacked...movies, snack. Go to beach, snack. A whole lot of extra snacks.

Then there's the mad, bad, sad, tired, just because I like it, the free food samples, it's on sale...

I just started with looking at fitting food into meals/snacks that would help my body.… that I also liked.

When my brain started demanding the other reasons, I started looking at those - especially suggestions from tv ads trigger me when i am tired at night...

And decided, I could.… eat anything anytime, no rules, but also asked what helps my body?... what if I shoot for maintenance calories when struggling/on a bad day,...

Days I am feeling ok? Able to do 1700, do that, but don't fret, tomorrow is new day, new chance with more choices.

I ended up breaking my maintenance cals into 4 larger meals and when I am not struggling, I eat less...

As I started asking what helps my body, that i also enjoy - i often choose some foods hubby doesn't like, and we fix food for both of us...

I think the freeing thought for me was... I am an adult and free to choose - so what should I choose... and began to explore that. No guilt.

I hope as you explore yours, you will begin to feel relaxed and comfortable amd empowered to make choices...

I think as we explore and learn and practice stable, healthy eating choices — and work to take care of the non-food reasons in non-food ways... then the binge/extra eating will ease off over time - be less often, shorter episodes, less intense, maybe a with a bad burp or too, but evolve better…

Hang in!

— appreciated the update and hope to hear how you're doing again. :)

elisa123gal · August 16

There is no need to be nervous. It isn't a binding contract. It is just getting objective professional skilled help with food. My husband goes to one he loves..and he is doing great.

No doubt, there are lousy dietitians too. So.. it is a two way street.. go.. and give it a chance..and if you don't vibe with him or her.. you can always switch. But also.. don't run just because you don't hear what you want to hear.

TiffyTipp · August 19

I use the Fay app and see my dietitian remotely. She loves that I take pictures of everything I eat and drink. I showed her and told her the foods I like and don't like. I had goals in mind prior to starting. I needed more protein and fiber in my diet, and I stressed that I would like to work on these challenges. Also, by sending her pictures of what I am eating, she is telling me when I might not have mixed the best options together. It has been super helpful. Dietitians are like any other doctor or therapist, keeping trying until you find one that fits you and your needs. She also sends me recipes or helps suggest new foods to try.

I would have goals in my mind before going, and write them down. Don't be nervous, and make sure they are listening to you, not just giving you orders. Also, leave if all they tell you to eat is Chicken.

springlering62 · August 19

@sparklingriver929

I hadn’t heard of sending plate photos to a dietician. That’s just…..brilliant!

Anyone else been to the dietician?

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