What Happens During Your First Appointment with a Dietitian?

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If you’ve ever decided to take steps to improve your healthy eating habits, chances are high you have considered working with a dietitian.

Dietitians specialize in nutrition and aid their patients with nutritional information. A dietitianis qualified to answer questions and concerns related to things like nutritional needs, eating habits, and other food and diet-related queries. 

What’s even better is that dietitians are more accessible than ever before — they aren’t exclusive to celebrities or high network individuals. It’s easy to find a dietitian when booking your appointment through Medimap.ca, which allows you to easily locate health care professionals in your area, such as dietitians.

if you are considering a dietitian, learn more about what you can expect when starting the process:

Your First Visit

Your first visit with your dietitian will likely be a consultation to help you both better understand one another. This appointment may be over the phone, in-person, or online via chat or webcam. 

Your dietitian will use this time to better understand your reasons for booking with them, such as a digestive problem, new dietary restrictions due to allergies or conditions like diabetes, and more. Typically, this meeting will be anywhere between 40 minutes to an hour.

Depending on your reason for the meeting, your dietitian may ask you about the following:

• Your typical day-to-day diet
• Your favorite/most eaten type of food
• Any food avoidances due to allergies, culture, or personal preference
• Your cooking abilities
• Your weekly budget on food
• Your personal and family medical history (such as concerns regarding blood pressure, diabetes, heart concerns, etc.)
• Your age, height, and weight, as these all relate to the nutritional amounts an individual may need.
• Your current fitness level (and how often you exercise in general)
• The biggest challenges you are facing when trying to properly adjust to a new diet
• Any medications or supplements you take, such as diet, can interfere with these medications (grapefruit, for example, is a common interference with certain medications)
• Remember that everybody sees a dietitian for a different reason, so it’s important to be honest, and as detailed as possible when consulting with your dietitian. 

Preparing For Your First Meeting

You can do a few things to better prepare for your first meeting with your dietitian. 

Know Your Goals

For starters, know your main purpose or goals for visiting them, as one of the first questions you’re likely to be asked will be, “how can I help you?”

Share Your Medication

Secondly, come prepared with a list of all medications and supplements you currently take. As mentioned above, these can all affect how your dietitian proceeds with their work with you.

Keep a Journal

While not a necessity, it can be very helpful to keep a food and drink journal for at least a few days before you meet with your dietitian. This will help your dietitian notice anything missing in your diet or find things that you should avoid.

It can also be helpful for you to write down any questions you may have for your dietitian as they pop into your head. That way, you won’t have to rack your brain during your consultation when your dietitian asks if you have any questions. 

Remember, this meeting with your dietitian is only your first, and you’re bound to have several follow-up appointments, so don’t stress about fitting everything into your initial appointment!