Nutrition Counseling

Hippocrates said, “Let Food By Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food” and he was correct. What you are eating directly affects your health. In our effort to help our patients improve their diets and what’s fueling their bodies, The Wellness Experience provides nutrition counseling.

Some people get nervous about seeing a nutritionist. Don’t be! A nutrition counseling session is actually really interesting and enlightening. Our nutrition counselors will teach you and guide you into good eating habits that you will want to follow. Rest assured there’s no lecturing or scolding. Here at The Wellness Experience, we strive to make nutrition counseling as enjoyable and helpful as possible. We take the time to listen closely and to understand where you are right now in terms of your lifestyle and diet, then work with you to help achieve your goals. Nutrition counseling can be done by a certified nutrition consultant or a registered dietitian (RD). Both nutritionists and RDs are qualified to create individual action plans to help you adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Who Can Benefit from a Nutrition Consult?

Lots of people can benefit from working with a nutritionist, for many different reasons – whether you need a complete diet overhaul, lose weight, are looking to manage a medical condition, want to fine-tune your food choices, or get inspiration for new, healthy recipes. It’s best to book a nutrition consultation after a check-up with your primary care provider. That can help inform whether you have any specific conditions that can be addressed with nutrition, such as elevated blood sugar or cholesterol, or blood pressure issues.

While some patients come in for a nutrition consultation to learn more about how their food choices affect their health, others end up in our office at their doctor’s suggestion. The following are just a few of the conditions that can benefit specifically from dietary interventions:

• Heart disease

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Allergies

• Diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

• Celiac disease

• Obesity or overweight

• Pregnancy

What to Expect During Your First Appointment

Here at The Wellness Experience, we ask you about your goals, objectives, and reasons for wanting to see a nutritionist. We’ll review your medical history, including any medications and supplements you’re currently taking. Then we’ll delve into your lifestyle to get a sense of your stress levels, sleep patterns, energy levels, exercise, and gastrointestinal function. It will be helpful for to you write down everything you ate in the 24 hours prior to the appointment (or better yet, a food diary of two to three days’ worth of meals and snacks). With that guidance, we can begin to discuss your dietary preferences and cooking habits, and identify trouble spots, like skipping breakfast or late-night snacking. From there, we’ll develop some initial pointers to help you start eating healthier.

What Happens Next

Shortly after your first appointment, we’ll send you a follow-up email that includes two quick assignments–a two-to-three-day nutrition and activity journal and a dietary and lifestyle audit that includes some multiple-choice questions. These aren’t required homework, but they will help streamline the process of working together. In that same email, you’ll get a list of recommendations and suggestions for moving forward, based on your initial consult.

How Many Appointments Will I Need?

Most patients come in for two to three sessions. If you’re ready to learn and incorporate some simple changes into your diet and lifestyle, that’s often enough to set you on the right course. But some people like the accountability of setting up monthly consults until they feel in control of–and comfortable with–their new habits. It’s not unusual for patients to schedule a refresher a year or two after the initial consult to review their goals or for help getting back on track.

Will I Have to Stop Eating Everything I Love?

Absolutely not! A nutrition consult is a partnership. Nutritionists don’t just tell you what to do to improve your diet; we can also help you set and achieve your health goals. We work flexibly, starting with changes that will have the most impact, and incorporating the tactics that make the most sense for your lifestyle. The idea is to create a plan that puts you back in the driver’s seat and on the road to better health.

No matter what the issue is that you are dealing with The Wellness Experience has the knowledge, traditional skills and hi-tech equipment to help relieve pain, improve your quality of life and increase your performance!!