Before I share more, I want to let you know that I’m not here to tell you what to do or how to eat. When it comes to what to expect when seeing a dietitian, I hope to empower you to have thoughts on food and body and also make food choices that feel empowering and work for you/your life.
I won’t tell you what to do
Lots of people expect to be told what to eat and how to eat when they schedule an appointment with a dietitian. This thought or expectation is totally understandable.
I used to work in the hospital and other settings where that was my job. To tell people what to eat.
Many of my clients have had similar experiences. Whether it’s from getting referred to a dietitian from their doctor or working with one in an eating treatment facility. It hasn’t worked for my clients, and I hated doing that.
Things have changed A LOT since my hospital days. I’ve realized and learned how unhelpful an eating prescription is, in many instances.
Of course if you’ve got a condition where you have to eat a specific way to reduce pain or symptoms, that can be helpful-to a degree. I’m thinking of my clients with celiac disease-this is one of the instances where it’s helpful.
Not all dietitians are the same, and many still do that, that’s just not my approach.
Whether I’m working with a client to reduce stress from eating, to explore Intuitive Eating, to recover from an eating disorder or explore that, or with a client with celiac disease, I’m not here to tell you what to eat or judge your views on food or behaviors.
I don’t hesitate to refer out
I’ve been a dietitian for over 10 years. Even though I’m always learning, I know enough to know about where my learning, interests, and skills align. I’ve got a good idea about what I can help clients with.
My days of seeing clients with diagnoses I don’t have much knowledge about or know what to help them with are over. That’s securely boxed up with my time working at the hospital. It’s uncomfortable and frustrating for you, and for me. I’m over that.
I highly recommend reaching out to schedule a complimentary discovery call or email/text me to let me know what you’re going through. I can quickly see if I’d be able to help you or not. Of course things come up later, we’ll talk about it then.
I want you to be able to feel comfortable, supported, and working with someone who has the tools to actually help you.
I’ve talked with clients and others who met with a dietitian who didn’t know some basics on how to help them with their eating concerns. Let’s not waste your time or mine in this way.
I won’t judge you
My clients tell me that they feel comfortable being honest with me about their views, thoughts, and behaviors. Honestly, that’s the biggest compliment and I work hard to create a space to foster honesty and openness in my sessions with clients.
If you’ve worked with a dietitian before and felt judged, was told what to do in a way that didn’t feel helpful, or didn’t feel like you could be honest and vulnerable with them, I bet you’re feeling a few feelings about working with another dietitian.
If you’re feeling this way, you’re totally fine feeling that way. Your body and mind are protecting you.
Sometimes it takes a bit to find a dietitian with the tools to help you and who you feel comfortable with and feel like you have the space to explore your own goals and values.
I strive to bring compassion into our sessions
I get it, food and our bodies, and so many things in between are sensitive, confusing, and, well, so many things. Bringing these concerns and experiences up, and being met without connection, or being dismissed about your experiences/beliefs sucks.
Or sharing something vulnerable and feeling judged about it, that also totally sucks. And there’s no place for that in getting support with food/eating.
With that compassion comes TIME. Our beliefs and behaviors surrounding our bodies and food are deep seeded and so complicated. It takes time to address, dissect, and reform those beliefs and behaviors.
I think of time as being a good thing, the faster a change comes along (especially with the work we’re doing), the faster it can go back to what it was before.
Many of my clients want to be recovered from their eating disorder beliefs and behaviors quickly, I get it. But sometimes, (lots of times), taking it one step at a time is protective for our wellbeing and behaviors.
There’s some nuance here, depending on what’s going on, but this is for you and I to discuss, not me to tell you what you have to do or anything.
As I bring compassion for you, I hope that can translate to you increasing compassion (and patience) for yourself.
You know yourself best
I want my clients and prospective clients to know that their goals and values are the highest priority, I’m here to support you along that way. I’m not here to tell you that you’re wrong.
I will ask a few (actually many) questions to open up some exploration for you, so you can dig into why you may be doing certain things, your values and behaviors and see how things align and go from there.
Again, if you’re someone who has met with a dietitian before and it didn’t go well, or you left not feeling confident. If you want support with your eating, someone like me, who is here to help YOU with what you want, not what I want, could be helpful.
Weight is…. complicated
I’m not here to help you lose weight or change your body. I’ve come to realize how narrow a view on health and wellbeing that number on the scale is through working with clients, experiences with past jobs, and learning about Health at Every Size.
I’ve also realized that focusing on one specific number can lead people to participate in behaviors that aren’t helpful to feel comfortable in their bodies, to feel good about themselves, or even to participate in generally healthful behaviors.
Instead, we’ll focus on beliefs and behaviors. See how they align with your values and beliefs. But of course, weight is central to so so many things in life, so please bring in your questions, concerns, and honest opinions about your and others bodies.
I don’t give my clients meal plans
I do not create meal plans for my clients. It’s tedious and I really hate making them.
BUT, what I do like doing, and do with my clients often, is create a meal plan with them in session. We come up with meal ideas, snack ideas, or whatever is needed, but bring in real life, time constraints, cooking desires, and energy needs.
This is fun, and more helpful for my clients than a meal plan that doesn’t take individual preferences or needs into account.
I hope this was helpful for you to get a better idea about what it’s like to work with me, and hopefully other dietitians you may come in contact with.
Of course we’re all very different, but you deserve to be believed in what you’re experiencing, and to have a say (at least) over your care.
If you think I can help you, check out my Nutrition Services, or book an appointment right now.