If you are considering booking a consultation with a nutritionist, you may be wondering about the procedure – you may even be feeling nervous and apprehensive.
This article, written by a qualified nutritionist, is designed to reassure you that working with a nutritionist is nothing to be nervous about, and to also reassure you that whatever issues you are wanting support with, your nutritionist will very likely have helped other people with similar things.
The procedure will begin with you looking for a nutritionist, and the good news is that nutritionists are now common in all areas. However, with the rise of the Internet, you don’t have to limit yourself to finding a local nutritionist – many, including myself, offer consultations by telephone and eMail and these can be a great way to fit a consultation into your busy life at your own convenience.
Once you have chosen a nutritionist to work with, you will book an initial consultation. This consultation, whether in person, by eMail or by telephone, will be a fact-finding appointment. Some nutritionists will send a questionnaire out to you before the consultation, but I prefer to complete the questionnaire while speaking to the client – this allows me to get a sense of the areas we need to focus on as well as identify any emotional areas that may need to be addressed before the practical nutritional advice can work.
The initial consultation should last around an hour, but you should not be rushed. Your nutritionist should allow for extra time in their schedule. Food can be an incredibly emotional subject, and it is likely that your initial appointment will involve revisiting memories from childhood and discussing attachments to particular food – to have this kind of very personal experience rushed is not helpful for your relationship.
Following this appointment, the practitioner will review all of the information you have given – so it is very important to be completely honest and as detailed as possible. All the information you share will be completely confidential, apart from rare cases where a client who is a child may report incidences of abuse, which the practitioner is of course required to pass on to the relevant authorities.
The nutritionist will prepare a full report detailing their recommendations for you, these will be completely customised – you should not receive any stock or standard advice. This will include recommendations for diet changes (it may or may not include a specific meal plan) and supplements.
You should arrange follow-up appointments; how regular these are will depend on your exact needs.