This week’s question comes from my daughter, Emelyn. Emelyn asks: How do I know if I need to see a dietitian?
Excellent question Em, thanks for asking.
There are a couple of big reasons to see a dietitian and lots of small ones too. Here are just a few:
1.) You are feeling confused and frustrated with the many mixed messages floating around regarding “healthy” foods, foods you thought were “healthy” or the latest diet claim.
2.) You have a diagnosis of diabetes, heart disease, GI issues, cancer or food allergies.
3.) You have been diagnosed with an eating disorder, you feel as though you are out of control around food, you obsess about food, or you spend more time thinking about food than you spend thinking about anything else.
4.)You are a serious athlete.
5.) You have a little gut feeling that tells you, “maybe a dietitian could help?”
Dietitians are food and nutrition experts! Want to improve your time for your next marathon? There’s a dietitian for that. Worried about your toddler and their picking eating? There’s a dietitian who specializes in that! Feeling like food is taking over your life? You guessed it, there is a dietitian for that too! There are dietitians around the globe doing everything from helping preemies thrive in the NICU to researching controlling diarrhea in developing nations to helping professional athletes fuel their bodies. It’s a pretty cool field.
So what does this dietitian specialize in… I thought you would never ask!
I specialize in Health at Every Size. That means I am weight neutral. I don’t put people on diets or food plans. I know that dieting and food restricting cause more harm than good. I believe that size is a poor indicator of health and science is on my side.
Did you know that dieting predicts weight gain?
Or that current research is showing that the best predictor of longevity is not body size or BMI but socio- economic status? These facts blew my mind and now it’s my mission to share them with as many people as I can.
Once we take body size off the table, we are free to explore some of the deeper issues around food. We can begin to look at the way and the why we eat as a scientist might, without judgement. We can begin to move our bodies in a way that feels good, not torturous. And guess what, it turns out that movement is far more important than a “healthy” diet and the best exercise is the one we actually do!
The walk you take around the block with your dog is better
than the 5k you never run.
Are you ready to throw away your scale? Ready to take a breath and move towards body acceptance? Reach out and give me a call or shoot me an email!
I can’t wait to chat.