I'm just wondering if anyone here has ever met with a dietician or nutritionist. I feel like I do know a lot about nutrition and I know what to do, I just don't apply what I know. I was thinking if I saw someone who could keep me honest, it might help... I tried the weight watchers thing and didn't really feel like it was nearly enough personal attention. Any thoughts/suggestions? I don't want to waste money, but if it works???

Call a local hospital in your area and ask to speak to their patient education department. Ask if they have a dietician on staff. If they do, ask if they have any community education offerings, most of which are free. Or ask if you can have an initial consult with a dietician. Most of the time, they allow your first visit to be free. Also, if you go to your GP (general practitioner) and explain to them that you are seeking better advice about nutrition, they can usually write a referral or an Rx and insurance might cover it as a medical expense.

Speaking to a nutritionist or a dietician is a great idea. I commend you on learning how to be healthier. For more information on healthier eating, visit mypyramid.gov . I have had great luck following the food pyramid.

Best of luck to you in your healthy journey.

I am going to school to be a Registered Dietitian. I would reccommend meeting with someone who has those credentials, anyone can call themself a nutritionist. I think it would be very helpful!!!

I went to a dietician when I found out I have low blood sugar issues. I must say, the woman I saw was terribly unhelpful and unresponsive -- when I told her about a particular issue I was having, she'd write it off. She put me on a diabetic diet, but with even more tightly controlled and limited carb intake..... I went crazy..... I calculated the number of calories I ate when I followed that plan and it barely made 1000 sometimes! I told her about that and she looked at me and said, "Well that can't be true or you'd be losing a lot of weight." Yeah, except I can't exist on under 1000 calories, and wasn't following the plan...... stupid........

ANYway... sorry to be the bad experience post I'm sure if you got a nicer lady or a more people-oriented person it would be very helpful. She just didn't want to teach me anything, she just wanted me to DO stuff. (I asked her about the Glycemic Index, and she said "Don't worry about that, it's too much work." )

Brit - Was she registered?

Oh and even though it doesn't matter, dietitian is spelled like that, not with a c.

Honestly, like you ABakerchick, I feel I know plenty about nutrition and am just not applying it as well as I should. I don't think a dietitian would really help--they're likely only going to tell you what you already know, not help you to figure out why you're not applying it. I actually think a counselor might be better (which is also often covered under insurance if you get a prescription from your Dr.) because if it's just a lack of honesty, willpower, or applying what you already know, then I think you need to figure out why
you're not doing what you know is right...make sense?

I went to see a dietitian when I was in 8th or 9th grade, and she was extremely unhelpful She basically told me to just eat lean meats and veggies, no soda, no restaurant food, no junk...she was not at all willing to work with me regarding my current lifestyle or to help me make gradual healthy changes. For an early teenaged kid, that is NOT a helpful approach (actually, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be helpful to me now as an adult, either ). Unfortunately, LockItUp, being registered doesn't mean being compassionate or having common sense/people skills Even my mother thought she was not at all helpful, and we never went back.

I'm not by any means saying all dietitians would be equally as ineffective as mine and britomart's, but I do have a feeling there are more unhelpful ones than there are helpful. Maybe they get used to seeing the same types of patients all the time and begin treating everyone as cookie-cutter situations? Or maybe they get too many people who are only there because they've been prescribed/ordered to go by another doctor, and they don't really want to be there, so they end up not taking the advice. I'm not sure.

actually dietician and dietitian are both correct.

hmmm... still at odds about what to do... maybe I will re-commit to keeping a food journal... isn't that what they usually have you do at the start anyway??? ugh... I don't want to have to see my MD for a referral... he already knows I'm fat.

Kaplods - Acually in my history of dietetics book (The Profession of Dietetics by June Payne-Palecio and Deborah Canter) the correct spelling is with the t! Both were used up to 1930 and then the proper spelling was decided on.

Jilly - Of course being registered doesn't mean that they have compassion, however it does mean that they got their degree and took a test. Just like being a certified teacher doesn't mean they are going to be a good teacher, but I bet you'd want a teacher with proper credetials teaching your children.

If one knows much about nutrition themselves doesn't mean that they know all the things they should (and it's actually pretty insulting to think that you know everything there is to know about it since there are Assiciates, Bachelors and Masters degrees in nutrition). Also if one knows that the help they need is more mental and spiritual then the help they seek should be more in that area. A dietitian is useless if you aren't willing or rather can't be willing yet to follow what they say, and that's fine, because there can be many steps in the process before changing your eating habits. No, not all that work in the field are going to be helpful, but you should survey whether or not that is the true help you need at this point.

Whoa, chica--no one said they knew everything there is to know No, I don't know what special dietary needs someone who is diabetic may need or someone who only has one functioning kidney or someone who has liver problems or someone with any other number of factors other than a desire to lose weight with an otherwise healthy and properly functioning body. You know better than any of us that studying nutrition/dietetics involves a ton more information beyond what one must do to successfully lose weight. I just feel, as I'm sure many others do, that I already know what I need in order to stay healthy and lose weight--it's just a matter of applying what I already know. Maybe I can't explain the physiological or biological or chemical reasons for why we need certain things or how certain things react in our bodies, but I know what's good and what's bad

Hi Stephanie,

I initially only used spellcheck to make sure I was correct. But before I could concede, I had to doublecheck. So, I did more research, including three of the most reliable online dictionaries.

While one noted that dietitian is the "preferred" spelling in the United States, dietician was listed in all sources as a currently legitimate variant.

So, I still maintain that both are correct.

Oh by the way, my sister just graduated in May with her bachelor's degree in Dietetics. (I had to call her just now, and she also spells it with a "c"). Her degree program didn't penalize her for her spelling, or even mention that dietitian was the preferred spelling. Although in central Illinois where we are from, "c" seems to be the more common spelling.

hi-
i went to a dietit/cian last year for a few sessions. i already knew ALOT about my condition (hypoglycemia) and nutrition in general from reading reputed sites on the internet.

my dietitian was wonderfully compassionate and skipped the super basic info that i already knew. she looked at a lot of my bloodwork (i was kind of anemic) and my food diary. she helped me figure out a basic meal schedule based on my lifestyle (i was commuting to grad school an hour away at that time).

she encouraged i always email or call her with questions. the weight has slowly come off-- and probably would have come off more quickly had i followed her advice a bit more strictly. but i DO have major changes in my energy level and know that the way i eat is nutritionally sound for my situation because it is sanctioned by her.

SO-- in conclusion, i had a good experience. she confirmed a lot of what i already knew-- but i needed to hear it from a professional. in the end you are only accountable to yourself, so if accountability is the problem, a dietician may not necessarily be the solution. if you do start seeing someone, make sure you plan to have followup sessions. and he/she NEEDS to be an RD. try to get refferals from people you know.

kate

I have tried a registered dietician at my local clinic. And it honestly didn't help. I mean, someone can tell you the way you should be eating and calculate up a lot of numbers, educate you on different food types, and give you meal plans...but the bottom line is that it's really up to you personally to make that change.

When I went I heard everything she said...but that didn't mean I actually did it. I found it to be overwhelming, too strict/structured, and the meal plans just weren't realistic for me. All that she was telling me was what is ideal for me...but somehow when I stepped outside into the world it just didn't work.

It's worth a try. But remember most things in life are easier said than done.