5 tips to get the most out of your dietitian consultation
So you’re ready to talk about what you eat?
An initial consultation is the first step in the journey of working with a dietitian. An initial consultation can range between 60 to 90 minutes and during this time I will complete a full assessment of what you eat and what your lifestyle is like.
You may wonder why I ask about your lifestyle?
Food intersects every part of life. Our lifestyle has a bigger impact on our food choices than most of us realise. The more detail I, as the dietitian can collect during the full assessment, the more I will be able to help you work towards your goals.
Here are my 5 tips to help you get the most out of your next dietitian consultation.
Tip 1: What is your main concern?
An initial consultation cannot address every issue that you have with your nutrition. It is only 60 to 90 minutes and in that time as well as a full assessment, at least one main issue can be selected to work on.
So what is that main concern for you?
You might reel off five or six different things that you want to change or resolve. But what is going to have the most impact in your life if you address it first?
Tip 2: What do you eat and drink on weekdays vs the weekend?
It never ceases to amaze me the look of surprise on people’s faces when I ask them to describe what they eat and drink across the day.
Understanding what you eat is one part of the consultation. From this, we then get into so much more than just the food and drink.
We dive into decision making around food choices, meal preparation methods, cooking methods, routines with food shopping and priorities in the household with other family members.
Before your consultation, take a moment to jot down what you ate in the last 24 hours so you’ve got something on hand to jog your memory and you’re not left scratching your head when it comes to that question
Tip 3: How would you describe your relationship with food?
You know yourself better than anyone else. During the initial consultation it is important that I begin to understand you as a person.
Where have you got to on your journey with food?
What struggles have you had with food over the years?
How do you value food within your life?
It is good to understand your relationship with food, what has shaped it and how it has changed over the years.
Tip 4: What do you have the most confusion about when it comes to food and health?
Question time! In an attempt to wade through the mass of misinformation around food and health across the internet (and just generally in society as a whole) working with a dietitian is your chance to get your questions answered.
I love it when clients come geared with a list of questions that have been troubling them. I also love that they bring these questions to the consultation rather than take them to google.
Tip 5: What is your motivation?
At the end of an initial consultation we will have come up with a plan with some actions that will help you work towards resolving your main concern (from tip 1). However, we also will discuss barriers that will come up along the way.
One thing that can help you with overcoming the barriers is understanding what your motivation is to make a change.
A lot of people say losing weight is their motivation. But where does that motivation go when the number on the scales doesn’t shift? In my experience, losing weight is never the true motivation or driving force behind seeing a dietitian.
More often than not, we need to dig a lot deeper.
I encourage you to take 15-20 minutes of quiet time to really reflect about what it is that motivates you and why your health is important to you.
Once you’ve clarified this, you’re away.