Is a dietitian the same as a nutritionist?
A dietitian has a dual qualification as a nutritionist but not vice versa. To be qualified and practice as a dietitian in Australia, an individual must have completed an accredited degree in dietetics and be registered with Dietitians Australia. They will have studied clinical nutrition, human nutrition, food service management and medical nutrition therapy under supervision of qualified mentors.
Do I need to have a doctors’ referral to see a dietitian?
No, you do not need a referral. You can book to see a dietitian whenever you like privately. If you don’t have a doctor’s referral then you will not have access to Medicare rebates available through EPC plans.
Will Dietetic Solutions make me weigh myself?
This is a personal choice. Dietetic Solutions take a holistic, non-diet approach to weight loss. We don’t believe in making you judge your worth from your weight, nor your health. After all, what is weight but a number? You could have the perfect diet and lifestyle and still not see a number that you would be happy with. Instead, we focus on how your clothes fit, how your body feels and what your mentality is towards your health and we work on improving diet and lifestyle to support you so that the number on the scales isn’t important.
I want to lose weight, fast. Can you help me with this?
At Dietetic Solutions, we prefer to help clients with goals that are sustainable. We know that sometimes people want quick results – we’re only human after all. However, we know that if we help someone lose a lot of weight in a short period of time that we aren’t actually assisting them with their health goal. In fact, a high proportion of people will go on to regain this weight and can actually end up putting on up to 25% extra weight than what they started with. That wouldn’t make someone feel good or be professionally ethical so we prefer to work with goals that aren’t based on crash or fad diets.
Does my dietitian really understand my problems or is it all based on what they’ve been taught at University only?
Great question. As dietitians, chances are that we have experienced some of the problems that our clients have encountered but probably not all! After all, can you imagine being someone who has experienced every single nutrition or gut related issue in their life from lactose intolerance to Crohn’s Disease to Diabetes? That said, Thea has experienced what most of us deal with in our daily lives: the struggles of balancing time and nutrition, eating foods that make us feel good but may not be as healthy for us, balancing energy intake and expenditure and consistency. Our role as dietitians is never to judge or stigmatise you for your health. If ever you feel like your dietitian isn’t relating to you, tell them. It can only improve the situation and leads to education for both of you.
How often will I need to see the dietitian?
This depends on what you are seeing the dietitian for. For complex health conditions, sometimes more visits are required to manage and control the condition. Rushing through consultations is never a good idea because all the facts, information and details that you provide to them are important to setting attainable and sustainable goals. Some individuals prefer to have regular appointments for maintenance and we think that’s a great idea – our dietary habits change over our lifetimes and the knowledge to match often needs updating as well. Thea will guide you in how often you need to visit and you’re always in control of your sessions.