“What’s a Dietitian?”

Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) are food and nutrition experts who have met the following criteria to earn the RDN credential:

• Completed a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at a university approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

• Completed an ACEND-accredited 1200+ hour supervised practice program at health-care facilities, community agencies, schools, private practices, and foodservice corporations

• Passed a national examination

• Completed ongoing continuing professional educational requirements to maintain registration

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“What kind of classes have Registered Dietitians taken before?”

Dietetics students study a variety of subjects, including food and nutrition sciences, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, anatomy, chemistry, foodservice systems, business, pharmacology, culinary arts, behavioral social sciences, and communication.

“What is the difference between a Nutritionist and a Dietitian?”

Dietitians are highly-trained, board-certified, food and nutrition experts who have completed a minimum of 5-8 years of education and experience in the field of nutrition & dietetics. RDs are then qualified to provided evidence-based medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling to individuals to meet their unique needs.

Nutritionists, on the other hand, include anyone who has an interest in food, diet, and nutrition and are not credentialed in ways that have trained them to have an expertise in medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling.

All states are different in how they approach the line between nutritionists and dietitians, but the main takeaway is that RDs have to go through years of rigorous education and real-world experiences in order to become legally licensed to provide safe and evidence-based care to people, while “nutritionist” is more of a broad term that doesn’t imply any credentials, education, experience, and most importantly — safe, evidence-based care.

“What will our meetings with you look like?”

Meetings with me as your dietitian will look like a 3-step funneled process:

Session 1: Client will be asked detailed assessment questions for me to get an idea of where she is at and what she’s wanting to get out of meeting with an RD. This session sets the foundation for all future sessions.

• Client will get a sense of our dietitian-patient dynamic and gain confidence in the process moving forward with a clear picture in her head of what to expect.

Session 2: Focused on asking details of my client’s beliefs with food/body, challenging those when necessary, and getting to the root of her biggest struggles to be able to create the most effective plan together moving forward towards recovery and a healthy relationship with food.

• Client will begin to think deeper about her own food/body image preoccupations and begin to challenge those thoughts as we start coming up with the best meal plan and toolkit to help us move forward to reach food freedom and healthy living without food/weight/body image preoccupation.

Session 3: Discuss the plan for how she and I will tackle her food struggles and work together to find freedom with her food, body, and life again.

• Client will receive a full detailed meal plan and know the tools in her toolbox that she will be using to help overcome her thoughts, fears, and obstacles faced in between sessions.

Session 4-Finish Line: Dedicated to discussing wins, obstacles faced, how to conquer those obstacles in the future, exposure encouragement, accountability, and overall support with our plan. We will challenge distorted thinking about food and weight as well as explore feelings related to hunger and fullness, metabolism, and body image. We will tweak our plan as the client progresses and as life circumstances change.

• Client will receive ongoing support at these sessions. Discussing food and body struggles with a trusted professional and finding concrete ways to jump over those humps and mountains is key to recovery and finding food and body freedom. As the client progresses, she will receive updated meal plans and strategies to overcome new obstacles that come about.