Are Dietitians the food police?

I think it is a common misconception that dietitians are going to make you cut out all your favourite foods and replace them with unappetising “healthy foods”. Generally speaking this isn’t the case with most dietitians. Instead we are the opposite, we help those that may struggle with fear of restriction or have been yo-yo dieting their whole life which has led to being confused with their relationship with food in the gutter.

Overcoming the fear of food

With the amount of misinformation and fear mongering in the nutrition space at the moment it means that people are more fearful and confused than ever on what they should and shouldn’t be eating. Working with a dietitian will help you understand your relationship with food and develop personalised strategies to overcome fears that you may have surrounding food. 

Personalised Approach 

Your average fitness/health influencer that is promoting a fad diet or approach that has worked for them but may not be the best for you. note* (there are good influencers in the space and finding the right ones is another thing a dietitian can help you with) Where as a dietitian will gather all your past experiences, your preferences, your lifestyle and current habits to develop a personalised nutrition plan for you that takes into consideration all these things not just a “one size fits all approach” which most diets are. This allows the plan to be sustainable and will set you up for life not just a quick fix.   

Education and Empowerment

How good is the feeling when you get praise and encouragement for something that you have worked hard on? Well that's what you are going to get when you work with a dietitian; you achieve one of your goals, we will tell you how much hard work you have put in and praise you for it. Maybe you get stuck and aren’t seeing the progress you would like, we will be able to tell you why you aren’t seeing the progress you want through education on how to overcome your challenge or even helping you set realistic expectations for yourself because you may have been setting the bar too high. A dietitian will be your no.1 fan and your coach on your health journey  helping you overcome challenges and praising you when you achieve your goals. 

If you take anything from this it is that if you are looking for any support in achieving your health goals you should consider seeing a dietitian because I don’t think you will regret it.