Services

Table of Contents:

• Overview of services
• What will you get from a consultation?
• What to expect on your first consultation
• What to expect from the nutrition intervention
• Consultation topics

Overview of services

• Individual menu planning
• Group nutrition education
• Corporate health assessment
• Corporate nutrition evaluation
• Corporate nutrition instruction
• Corporate nutrition counseling
• Public presentations
• Media presentations

All services available in English and Spanish
Handouts and instruction available in English and Spanish

What will you get from a consultation?

When you come to the dietitian expect the best. The dietitian will only give you good news. That is, how to help you to improve your health. Regardless of the way you eat, be assured, the dietitian will work with you to help you find the way to correct the imbalances in your daily intake of foods. Make sure to inform the dietitian about your eating habits. A 2-week food record detailing what you ate and drink will give you a tremendous advantage in diagnosing your problem. Providing these data is important for the purpose of a nutritional assessment. Only then, the RD will be effectively developing a meal plan that will work for you.

What to expect on your first consultation:

1. Assessment of your nutritional problem or concern.
2. Diagnosis of the main nutritional problem.
3. Assessment of your body mass index to determine the adequacy of your current weight.
4. If you have a medical problem, explanation of the nutritional guidelines to help correct it.
5. If no medical problem, you will have in detail the changes needed to achieve your nutritional goal.
6. Body requirements: total calories, protein, carbohydrates according to your height and weight.
7. Explanation of your daily servings using food models.
8. Instruction of food groups.
9. Menu ideas according to your preferences and taste.
10. If you drink, guidelines for alcohol intake.
11. Review of your food records and explanation of findings.
12. Review of your blood tests to be used as a baseline.
13. How to build meal variety to assure intake of all nutrients needed.

Once the dietitian has made a solid assessment of your individualized nutritional problem, she/he will develop an intervention plan. In this plan you will be instructed on the needed changes to improve your health and nutrition. An assessment of possible barriers and solutions will be explained to you as well.

What to expect from the nutrition intervention:

1. Specified steps to help you change your eating habits.
2. Basic nutrition instruction: ex. Protein functions, how vitamin C and other antioxidants protect your body, why is fiber important, etc. This instruction is individualized and pertains to your particular situation.
3. How to overcome barriers that prevent you from reaching your goals. You are not alone. You will have the support, encouragement, and a review of the progress achieved.
4. Interpretation of your food records. Recording your intake of foods is essential for your treatment. You can objectively see if you really are obtaining the expected results.
5. Planning of meals and menus. The RD may dedicate an entire session on meal planning if necessary. If you often eat out because of frequent traveling, or you just don’t cook, the RD will guide you to choose the correct choices.
6. Monitoring of the appropriate nutritional parameter. Ex: your blood glucose if you have diabetes; your lipid profile for dislipidemia, your weight for overweight and obesity; etc.
7. Examination of factors that positively or negatively influence your behavior towards achieving your goals. You need these in order to raise awareness and respond appropriately when exhibiting such behaviors.
8. Reset goals: if you are taking very small steps, the RD will do a reassessment and brainstorming of the situation to determine the causes for the slow progress, if any.
9. Self-monitoring log: monitoring situations that may adversely affect your plans, i.e., peer pressure, lack of schedule, traveling, lack of motivation, self indulgence, stress, emotional problems, excess work load, etc.

Consultation topics

Nutrition instruction topics include, but are not limited to:

Disease prevention

Heart health: how to eat to maintain adequate levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. Fiber, types of fats, recommended fat amounts. Diabetes prevention, diabetes nutrition, controlling blood glucose, prevention of diverticulosis, hypertension, cancer, weight control/obesity and others.

Adequate nutrition

Eating for good health, meal planning, grocery shopping, good fats, bad fats, food portions, individual daily requirements, body mass index, daily calorie needs, wholesome meals, types of foods to include in menus, food sources of vitamins/minerals, phytochemicals and their influence on health, maintaining body weight, importance of food records, keeping a meal schedule

Holiday/Vacation eating

How to avoid eating in excess and maintain your weight during holydays and vacations, types of restaurants to use, how to overcome cravings, grazing; what to do if you overeat, dangers of overeating/food restriction, avoiding entertaining with food; fat accumulation with alcohol consumption, controlled drinking, etc.