When it comes to choosing the right person to help you with a particular issue, deciding on who is that “right person” can be confusing and complicated. Let’s look at a different industry than healthcare and fitness, let’s look at construction or contract work. If you need a window installed in your home, there are several businesses in town that can do it, with some being more expensive than others, some being contracted through your local hardware store and some come referred by a friend of a friend who does that work on the side. Knowing that a window installation isn’t going to be cheap, and knowing that this person will be in your home, how does anyone decide on the “right person” for the job. Most people would agree on the answer, referral, and track record of success. This matters more to us as consumers than a fancy certification, a bunch of letters after a name, and how much it costs.

Now, when it comes to something more complicated, like health and wellness, how should we qualify the “right person”? I would argue that we should use referral and track record of success, but success looks different for every person, so knowing what outcome you want to achieve can help you figure out the right professional for the job. As a Registered Dietitian, the kind of results I get with clients are far more than just weight loss or body recomposition (those things are great but they can often be short-lived due to the nature of weight loss challenges and competing for a singular event). The types of results I get with clients look more like this:

1) Improved relationship with food
Having food freedom/no shame or guilt tied to your nutritional choices. Being able to eat healthily, and enjoy comfort foods or treat foods without judgment (self-inflicted) is a skill that can take time and patience, but is incredibly freeing and stress-reducing.

2) Understanding your unique nutrition needs
Learn about calories and macros based on your physiology and why. Part of the process is helping teach people how their body responds and being able to explain why it changes the way it does. You learn about how your body processes and uses certain nutrients based on your lifestyle and how to adapt your nutrition plan as your lifestyle changes.

3) Better health biomarkers
One of my favorite ways to help people improve is to help them achieve improved blood pressure, better cholesterol numbers, better blood sugar numbers, and management of chronic diseases and prevention of them. These can all be done with nutrition and sometimes lifestyle changes.

4) Better control overweight and body composition
Learn what your body requires in order to gain muscle, lose fat, and feel great. More than just following a plan, being part of the creation of the plan and taking ownership of your nutrition.

5) Sustainable, lasting changes

We do this by building habits and creating the healthy life you want. We work collaboratively on a plan designed for you, no cookie-cutter plans or short-term weight loss challenges. Not just changing macronutrient numbers either, we work to improve the quality and quantity of the foods you eat to have the best impact on your health, physically and mentally.