What to expect from a Nutritionist consultation
So you have decided that you need to see a nutritionist for health reasons but are not 100% sure what to expect. We have put together this post to help so you will know what to expect from a nutritional therapist consultation. It could be that you are looking to feel better, lose some weight or manage an underlying medical condition. A personalised nutritional plan can be used to help reduce symptoms such as menopause, psoriasis and IBS. Read on for a full list of what a nutritionist can help with.
What to Expect from a Nutritionist Consultation
There are 3 nutrition package options for women’s health, gut health or musculoskeletal health to choose from, all are 12 weeks in duration but with different levels of support.
What To Know Before Seeing A Nutritionist
What actually happens when you have your first consultation?
First of all, you are sent 3 questionnaires to complete which give us some further information on your dietary habits and general health. They are just simple questions about your eating habits and if you followed any specific diets before. The questionnaires will ask about your current weight, whether there are any foods that you dislike completely or that you crave constantly, who does your food shopping, where you shop, and what you buy on a regular basis. There is also a simple tick list of food items that you consume on a weekly basis to give us a better understanding of you.
A Simple Food Diary
We will also ask you to keep a simple food and stool diary for 3 days. Nothing complicated, just what you eat and drink throughout the day. Along with how it was cooked, was it homemade or ready-made.
A Diary example
Breakfast
2 slices of brown toast with butter and marmalade at home
1 mug of coffee with 1 sugar with semi-skimmed milk
Mid-morning
2 glasses of water and 1 cup of tea,
Lunch at Work
pastrami bagel with a latte from the local cafe (eaten at my work desk)
Mid-afternoon snack
2 cups of water, Herbal tea with 3 chocolate digestives
Evening Meal
Ready-made microwaveable cottage pie with steamed broccoli, steamed pudding with cream, 2 glasses of red wine at home
Evening snack
1 coffee, 3 mini muffins
Do this for each day, we are not looking for perfect eating habits, we need you to be honest and upfront about what you eat. It is only then we can make recommendations, and suggest alternatives or changes. There is no judgement on what you eat, we are here to help and suggest sustainable changes. We are keen to work with you to develop a realistic plan that works for you over the long term.
What to Expect from a Nutritionist Consultation
This is where our nutritional therapist will get to know you, understand your symptoms, how these affect you and get to know a little about your lifestyle. You will be asked lots of questions about your general health to provide our Nutritionist with a deep understanding of your presenting issues.
Detailed personalised nutritional plan
This is only brought together once the nutritionist has analysed your questionnaires, your 3-day food and stool diary, your past test results, any current medication along with the notes from the consultation conversation.
These are the benefits of seeing a nutritionist and why it takes a little time to personalise your nutrition plan to be the most effective it can be. This plan is for you, no one else would benefit as much as you from this eating plan because it is tailored just for you and is aimed to address the cause of your problem.
Your nutrition plan explanation call
After you receive your plan you have an option of having a 20-minute call to ask any questions you may have relating to your personalised nutrition plan. It’s a chance to clarify anything you are not sure about or if anything doesn’t make sense to you. Generally, clients ask for recommendations for certain foods or products and advice on how best to implement some suggested changes. Our nutritionist will be able to point you in the right direction and will be on hand to help you throughout the process.
What supplements do we typically recommend?
It depends on multiple factors and recommending supplements is not straightforward. Indeed taking supplements can sometimes actually hinder not help and cause further issues. Our nutritionist will only recommend supplements after taking a full case history, checking interactions between other supplements and any medications you may be taking. Sometimes blood tests will be recommended first to check whether you are deficient before starting to take some supplements.
What Is a nutrient interaction evaluation?
Medications and/or supplements can interact badly with each other which can cause side effects. It is important to check for interactions between all medications and supplements. Our Nutritional therapist will always do this before suggesting to take any supplements
What is functional testing?
Functional laboratory testing highlights the functioning capability of the body. This is useful so the practitioner can tailor your dietary and nutritional choices specifically for you. It can be recommended to give further information on your gut function (advanced stool test or SIBO breath test), food intolerances or genetic testing.
An example of this is a fertility client with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) displaying unbalanced hormones in tests. She followed a hormone-balancing nutritional plan and then retested after several weeks and her markers tested within normal parameters after 6 weeks. She is now pregnant and very happy!
If our nutritional therapist feels that the cause of your symptoms is unclear then they may suggest having a functional test/s to maximise the efficiency of your medical nutrition therapy.
What to expect from a Nutritionist follow-up?
Typically you will follow a plan for 4-6 weeks which is considered the first phase and then this will be reevaluated. You will be asked how you found the plan, whether were there any challenges and whether have you noticed a difference in your symptoms. You will then start the second phase of the plan, maybe with a slightly different focus on your diet or taking different supplements to focus on a different goal.
How many follow-up sessions will you require? Well, that depends on the complexity of your presentation and how well you adhere to and respond to your plans.
Nutritionist Insurance
Is seeing a Nutritional Therapist covered by my Health Insurance? Yes, WPA Health Insurance and CIGNA cover nutritional therapy. We always say to phone your provider first to check if they will cover your sessions through your individual policy to ensure successful reimbursement.