There is no amount of psychotherapy, positive thinking, gratitude practice, affirmations, drugs, daily meditation, hours at the gym or puppies in the world that can fix a problem that at its core is due to a nutritional lack. Only identifying and correcting that nutritional problem can do that.
In all honestly sometimes it is that simple and sometimes it’s much more complicated either way it’s your call what it’s worth to you to find out because either way food is more than an optional extra or a luxury, food is essential to life.
When you have the eating for survival part down only then does what you eat become important because after satisfying your biological need for survival what you eat or don’t eat truly has the potential to limit or enhance your capabilities.
And the reason you should pay to see a great dietitian is this…. Drum roll…
You just get this one life as you.
Would you be willing to allow yourself to imagine for a moment what your life would be, who you would be if it worked?
What if you committed to a few change work sessions with me and it worked? What if you got every outcome you’ve ever wanted?
What if you developed an inner sense of unshakeable certainty, guidance and peace to fully back yourself in any and every situation and circumstance? How would that change things for you?
A Dietitian Can Help You Get Clear on What Truly is Best for You to Eat
A dietitian is there for you to choose to work with should you want to get clear on what is best for you to eat in the context of your personal circumstances, preferences and values.
If you didn’t see that coming, I’m not sure how to help you from here.
But seriously why does finding what’s best for me to eat matter?
Well, imagine if you changed a few things you were eating and your hair stopped falling out, you stopped gaining and losing weight, you stopped crying so much, you started enjoying social events, you could focus through a whole day at work, you had the energy to play with your kids, you felt happier and less frustrated and had less fights with your girlfriend, you communicated better, got the promotion and earned more money, felt far less anxious and worried, had greater control over all your emotions and made decisions easier or you prevented what may have turned into cancer, diabetes or a fatal heart attack a few years from now how would any of those scenarios change things for you?
That’s why learning what is best for you to eat matters because while the above may sound a little dramatic it’s all actually true. We may not know everything there is to know about human nutrition and health (as with literally every other field of science) and there are no guarantees but we do know enough to know that what you eat matters and there is no exception to this.
Working as a dietitian more than anything else I have learnt that we’re not all the same and while you’ve probably heard this sentence in its various forms many times that doesn’t make it any less true and whether you choose to use it as a cue to tune out and think “yeah, yeah I know” and continue to follow information meant for others or a cue to go “ok maybe I should go deeper, maybe I should do what it takes to find what works for me” either way it could be one of the turning point moments of your life.
Who Would Benefit From Seeing A Dietitian?
Everyone.
Literally everyone because we all eat and to stay alive you will continue to eat every day for the rest of your life (minus you people who swear by intermittent fasting of course!…) and while what you eat is not the be all and end all of your health it is irrefutably a major determinant because what you eat affects your body 24/7.
Your entire body is made of what you’ve once put into your mouth. This includes the synapses and neurotransmitters within your brain and there is nothing more fundamental to who you are than your brain therefore, to me it’s more than worth it to know how to support your brain in the best possible ways to be the best possible you and part of that will always be nutrition.
Why the Need to See A Dietitian Though Why Not Just Eat Healthy?
Because who the hell has a good grasp of what healthy eating actually is these days?
No one or perhaps a dietitian but that’s about it.
It’s no secret that there is so much nutritional crap (to use the nicest possible word here) out there. I mean I see it and I think thank f*uck I have the nutrition knowledge I have because some of it’s pretty alluring and believable and I can see how people lose a lot of time, energy (and f*cks) getting caught up in it all.
It’s sad but it’s completely understandable because most of the time it’s not a big conspiracy or the “diet industry” trying to prey on your fears and get money out of us because while there’s no denying this is a part of it most of the time I would say it is people trying to share information and products they genuinely believe are useful. Perhaps because they’ve tried it and it’s “worked” for them or more often simply because they’ve heard some very convincing evidence (cough cough YouTube) from someone else and have themselves bought into it and are on a mission to perpetuate it (with the best of intentions).
What Should I Expect When I See A Dietitian?
You can follow any nutritional information you please I’m not here to stop you.
As a dietitian I am here to help you meet the intention you are trying to meet through following that nutrition information in a way that will actually allow you to meet that intention. Sometimes the role of a dietitian is described as translating the science of nutrition into usable every day information but it is also more than this because it is also the ways that will facilitate and empower you to take that information and make it your new reality so that you can gain the healthful effects (because the information alone does nothing!)
In a nutrition and dietetics session it is you and you.
Everything we do is specific, unique and tailored to you. There is no substitute for this, and I honestly believe you only get so far in life as you are willing to be honest with yourself. If you are following someone else idea of “healthy” eating and you know it’s not working for you (you hate it, you find yourself hungry or wanting more after you eat, you’re thinking about food way too often, you are binging on the weekends or any other number of indications it’s not working) and yet you continue to try to make it work by trying to make yourself fit that model you are never, ever going to live the life you want let alone experience the health you are chasing (and actually deserve).
Not A “Diet”
I see people invest in one-million-and-one things before they go to see a dietitian (marketing is so good these days!)
My most common referral is through the GP and mostly people who come to see me have never seen a dietitian before and often have not even heard of a dietitian (so sad). Naturally they think I am going to write out a very specific diet plan for them to take away and follow (or not follow). Nope, I don’t do that (unless it’s with some of my elite athletes in which case we really do get this specific because of their training regimes and very precise goals).
Why not? Because my knowledge will always be updating and by no means would I say I know all there is to know or that I could ever tell you exactly what to eat were you to walk into my office and I wouldn’t want to anyway because the whole purpose of being a dietitian to me is to facilitate and empower you to becoming the expert and authority on you.
Dietitians are not there to judge you, tell you what is best for you or to beg you to change they are there to facilitate you to develop the knowledge, skills and resources to do the actions which are in line with the outcomes you want.
This is pretty simple and straightforward but because of the plethora of quite frankly crazy and damaging nutrition information out there this is more necessary than you probably realise. There are two factors we always have to take into consideration when making big decisions and setting big goals (and what’s a bigger decision or goal then those involving your happiness and long term health?…) and they are 1. The why you’re doing it and 2. The data/information you’re going off. The first has to be meaningful to you and the second has to be accurate to be of any real use.
In a nutshell you can go far on any information you have but if it is the wrong information you’re going far in the wrong direction. It would be a great shame to be doing what you thought was best only to find out in a year, 2 years, 6 years or indeed 40 years that you were all that time acting on the wrong data.
What Exactly Is A Dietitian and What’s the Difference Between an APD and A Dietitian?
A dietitian is someone who’s undertaken 4 years of university studying the science of human nutrition or have completed an undergraduate degree in the sciences and a 2 years Masters degree in Dietetics on top of this.
An APD (Accredited Practicing Dietitian) is a dietitian who is a part of the Australian Dietetics Association (DAA). The equivalent in America would be a registered dietitian (or RD). An APD is considered to be a universally recognised nutrition expert.
Which essentially means they’re the only health professionals qualified to deliver the highly specific care of medial nutrition therapy or the therapeutic treatment of many medical conditions (such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease and so on) through a specifically tailored diet.
Furthermore, APDs are required to be a part of ongoing professional development of so many hours (30hours) a year to maintain their membership and their membership gives clients referred to them from a GP under a chronic disease management plan (CDM) access to Medicare rebates of $53.80/session (in Australia).
Are All APDs/Dietitians created Equally?
No.
Not at all. We all go through similar training but at the end of the day we’re all unique individuals bringing to our work our own values, beliefs, unique life experience, level of self-development and other skills (aka we’re human).
Within dietetics there are incredibly vast and varied niches or areas of expertise for example sports nutrition, paediatric nutrition, diabetes education, oncology, renal, gastrointestinal specialists, eating disorder specialists and then there’s dietitians who consider themselves anti-diet dietitians or health at every size (HAES) practitioners to name just a few!
To know it all is unrealistic but to have a fundamental understanding and be an expert in one or a few areas is reality, therefore, think about what you want and what kind of dietitian may be best for you and your goals.
By all means try us out and see!
You may be surprised by what happens and how things change in ways you couldn’t have imagined possible because that’s the other thing when we don’t know exactly what needs to change we could not have asked for the change or tired to get that change before having experienced it.
Take Home Message
So why should you should see a dietitian? Essentially if you struggle with food, body image, energy levels, mood, productivity, concentration, anger, depression, anxiety, stress, are pregnant, have any health concerns or you are just curious to see how far you can get in business, sports or life in general seeing a dietitian it may just be the difference that makes the difference…
Why should you pay to see a dietitian? because we’ve certainly earned our place as health and nutrition professionals and invested and continue to invest in our ongoing professional and personal development to be the undisputed best in our field.
I’m excited for you and wish you all the best on your first dietitian experience journey. Here’s to a lifetime of happy eating.
With All My Heart I Hope You Found This Information Useful and Inspiring.
Become Great. Live Great.
Bonnie.
