So, what exactly will we do when we meet?
Here is an outline of how a typical first appointment will go:
- Establish expectations for discussion (Why are you here?)
- Discuss medical history & health concerns
- Go through a typical day in your life – times you eat, what you eat, your usual schedule, physical activity if applicable, etc…
- General nutrition info – building balanced meals, Medical Nutrition Therapy as appropriate for chronic conditions, like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or others
- Create an “ideal day” with food. We will do this together, based on your schedule and foods that you like.
- Set actionable steps to get you closer to where you want to be
At follow-up appointments, we will discuss what’s going well, what’s not, & new challenges that arise. We will always fine tune and adjust our action plan.
That’s great, Kelly, but… will I lose weight by working with you?
Many people I work with have a weight concern.
I don’t generally focus on weight as an outcome with my clients. There are several reasons for that.
- “Weight loss” is not a behavior. You can’t add it to your to-do list (wake up, brush teeth, lose weight, eat breakfast…). I like to focus on actions that are fully within the client’s control.
- Studies have not shown that there is an effective intervention for long-term weight loss, that works for more than 2-5% of people. In fact, attempted weight loss through dieting is one risk factor for weight gain and increased body weight.
- I can’t tell someone’s health by their weight. If you were to see the clients I meet with on a daily basis, you’d see that I work with people in bodies of all sizes. Someone’s weight doesn’t tell me:
- Their labs
- Their activity level
- How many fruits and vegetables they eat
- If they eat fast food for every meal
- If they eat at all
- Their level of guilt, shame, enjoyment, or flexibility when eating
In my opinion, using weight as the main outcome is unfair to people of all sizes.
For those in larger bodies, it makes assumptions that they don’t take care of their bodies or nourish themselves, which is not true in many cases. It also can encourage drastic and unsustainable behaviors to solely encourage weight loss at the expense of health.
For those in smaller bodies, it makes assumptions that they are “healthy,” which means they might not be tested for lab abnormalities in blood sugar or cholesterol. That gives these diseases time to progress before treatment is prescribed and puts the client at a disadvantage.
That being said, weight may change while we work together and that is okay. I am not anti-weight loss, but I am anti- “lose weight at any cost” and anti- yo-yo diet. Drastic shifts in weight should be discussed, as they may be a result of a health condition.
I help clients improve their health and well-being by nourishing and fueling their bodies.
Through respecting one’s body, we can & should expect to see:
- Improved labs (blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc…)
- Higher energy level so you can do all the things you love
- Decreased guilt & shame with food and eating
- Increased flexibility and variety with food choices
- Take action to get closer to the life you want!