Nutritionists do more than weight loss
I often get asked about what I do, and people are usually surprised by the number of things that a Nutritionist can help you with. Weight loss is just a small part of my job. The second question I get asked is “how many times will someone come to see you?”. The answer to that is “it depends”. There are lots of situations where one or two appointments with a Nutritionist can be really beneficial. There are also clients with bigger weight loss goals who need follow up and support for much longer.
So here is a list, that is by no means comprehensive, of some of the things I can help you with:
Weight loss: This is the one we all know. Sometimes its about having a partner to keep you accountable, support and encourage you. Sometimes its because you might have tried everything and just don’t know what to do anymore. In these appointments we might discuss your goals, how you arrived at that particular goal – because if I think that your goal weight is not realistic I will be honest with you. And we will talk about other ways of tracking your progress that aren’t just about a number on a scale. Because we know that good health is about far more than that.
Sport and exercise: Whether you’re competing with others or just trying to set a personal best, the way you fuel your body can completely change your training and competition. Often you’re already putting in everything you can and chatting with a Nutritionist is the single factor that completely changes everything for you.
Injury and recovery: No one likes being out of action. But if you give your body the building blocks it needs to repair itself, your recovery will be significantly quicker. This includes surgery. Often people walk into the hospital for a surgery and expect their recovery to begin after their surgeon places the last suture. Actually, your recovery has begun before you’ve even walked into the hospital. I can walk you through pre and post surgical nutrition, and will partner with your surgeon to give you the very best outcome.
General health and wellbeing: I love prevention. What if we all knew how to read nutrition labels? Or had an occasional reality check on our dietary habits? What if we had someone who could pick the facts from the fiction as it flashes up in our newsfeeds? Or maybe your iron is low or cholesterol is high – would you know what to eat so that you don’t have to take supplements? An occasional check in with a Nutritionist can help you make sure that your health is on track.
Food intolerances: Something just doesn’t feel right. Your neighbour told you to avoid gluten. Most of the time that helps but you’re still bloated and you don’t know why. Or you’ve just never found your digestion is quite right and you’re finally sick of it and want to know how to enjoy your meals without consequence. There can be many reasons you are having digestive issues – it could be an intolerance, it could just be that we just need to tweak a few things in your diet. Or maybe you already know you have irritable bowel. These are all things that you could see a Nutritionist about.
Written by Miriam Pollak, CCHN Nutritionist