What Does the First Visit to a Dietician Look Like?

Your first visit to a dietician is, in a way, a milestone in your transition to healthy eating and a broader healthy lifestyle. Like everything we do for the first time, a visit to a dietitian is often a matter of concern and questions: Is it worth making such an appointment? What will it look like? Do you have to prepare for it in any special way? We will try to dispel all these questions and doubts in this article. Reading this text will not take much time, and it will help you better prepare for the consultation and thus use it more effectively 🙂

The answer is simple – when you want to go on a diet or change your eating habits, and at the same time you want to get professional help, thanks to which you will be sure that your new diet will not hurt you, but will be properly composed and tailored to your needs and goals . People who have already tried to change their diet before, but for some reason did not achieve their goals should decide to visit a dietitian. A professional will be able to spot mistakes made then and direct us on the right path.

The first visit to our clinic lasts an hour. At this first meeting, the dietitian needs to gather detailed information on lifestyle and eating habits, medical topics, such as medications, supplements, and then be able to advise on the best diet therapy and an individual action plan with recommendations for a given person.

The most important thing during the conversation is honesty. Remember that the conversation is confidential, the nutritionist is obliged to keep professional secrecy, and therefore it is best to tell honestly about all aspects related to nutrition, physical activity and health. Only in this way will a dietitian be able to create an optimal diet plan for you and advise you on how to go through the difficult process of changing your habits.

Here are six important issues that you should write down before your first visit:

1. If you have blood tests, please bring them with you to your appointment. Alternatively, if you don’t, you can also send them to the specialist after the meeting.
2. Think about what your day looks like – in terms of what you reach for food, appetite, stress, activity – including how you work (e.g. working at a desk) and how you spend your free time (even seemingly minor activities can be important, e.g. a brisk walk with the dog in the evening).
3. If you are taking medications or dietary supplements, write their name and dosage on a piece of paper.
4. Think about what you like to eat and what you definitely don’t like. This will immediately give the nutritionist a better idea of ​​what the perfect diet might look like for you.
5. It’s a good idea to carefully write down a few days of eating, the so-called food diary. To make such a diary, write down the time, the amount of food consumed, e.g. 9.00 am breakfast, 1 graham bread, 2 slices of sausage, cheese, a slice of cheese, a spoon of butter, 3 slices of tomato, black tea with a spoon of honey. Such a diary makes it very easy for the nutritionist to analyze the nutrition and adjust the nutritional plan.
6. Think about your goal in adopting the diet and what motivates you to change. It’s important for a dietitian to know how to help you stay on course.

Additionally, the dietitian’s questions may concern:

• physical activity (type of activity and the time you spend on it),
• the diseases you struggle with,
• previous attempts to change your diet and their effects.

The first visit is also a good time to ask a specialist questions 🙂 If you want to learn something about dietetics, ask questions!

For all those who, for various reasons, prefer not to come directly to the office, we offer remote consultations with a dietitian – as a video call via one of the messengers or simply as a phone call. It is also possible to obtain a consultation by e-mail.

Thanks to an online visit to a dietitian, we can save the time needed to travel to the office, and we can carry it out from virtually anywhere on Earth, provided we have access to a computer or telephone. This is the perfect solution if you want to save time or prefer not to meet a specialist in person.

Read more: Dietician Online – What Does the Session Look Like?