New Year’s goals: everyone makes them, they’re always a hot topic, and most people forget about them by February. This year is a little special, though. We’re not just starting a new year, but we’re starting a new DECADE and it has everyone on a new level. This year, everyone wants to make sure they really get it right to set them up for the next TEN YEARS, which is exactly why you should work with a dietitian on your 2020 New Year’s goals.
If you have weight loss, fitness, or general health goals, it’s crucial you go to an expert. You wouldn’t consult an Instagram influencer for a cavity, or a broken bone or a hernia, would you??? (Even though I’m sure there are some that will try to sell you a magic oil for that). There are so many pretenders on social media that will sell you help on weight loss, fitness, and nutrition and they haven’t studied it a single day other than their own personal experience (and keep in mind they could still be pretending about that too).
Your time and money are limited, so don’t give it to people that don’t know what the heck they are doing. Or, worse than wasting your time and money, their “help” could actually cause damage. There’s a reason health professionals need education, credentials, state licensing, and liability insurance. It protects the professional and YOU, which brings me to my first point for why you should hire a dietitian:
1. “Dietitian” or “Registered Dietitian” or “Registered Dietitian Nutritionist” is a heavily-protected title to hold
ANYONE can call themselves a nutritionist. Read that again: literally anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Best case scenario, maybe someone calling themselves a “nutritionist” is a health care professional such as a nurse, doctor, or chiropractor that did additional training in nutrition and provides nutrition assistance, or someone that got an undergraduate degree in nutrition and did not complete the next steps to becoming a dietitian.
Worst case scenario, this is someone that took a short training program in nutrition or NO TRAINING AT ALL. Some “nutritionists” simply lost weight on their own, want to sell you their powders and bars, or want to “coach” you with their made-up methods. As I said, there’s no policing around this “title” of nutritionist and anyone can say that they are one. Some may be a little more qualified than others, but a lot are trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
A DIETITIAN has a lot of standards to uphold and it takes YEARS of education and training to become one. You have to get at least a 4-year degree from an accredited institution (now it’s required to get a master’s degree as well), complete a year-long supervised internship (which is also very competitive to get- about a 50% match rate), and pass a registration exam. Then, you must comply with a code of ethics, get continuing education yearly, and be licensed to practice in most states. Don’t get it confused; dietitians ARE nutrition EXPERTS. They eat, sleep, and breathe biochemistry, anatomy, special dietary needs, and most importantly EVIDENCE-BASED nutrition.
2. Every dietitian has a specialization that they have even more training in
Dietitians SPECIALIZE and sometimes really get into a SPECIFIC niche. For example, there are dietitians that specialize in chronic kidney disease, oncology, athletic performance, IBS, PCOS, eating disorders, genetics, and more. For any nutritional issue that you could have, there’s a dietitian that is the perfect expert for you. During our dietetic internships, we get to spend extra time in our chosen specialization, and then there are additional certifications and training we can complete once we become an RD.
During my internship, I specialized in pediatric pulmonary nutrition as part of a Maternal and Child Health traineeship I finished post-internship. Then, I completed additional training for my role in weight loss and a certificate of training in integrative and functional nutrition. AND I just recently finished a nutrition coaching certification for dietitians to improve my coaching skills even more. Dietitians love to learn to help YOU better, but we also stay on top of the latest research in nutrition because it’s constantly changing.
3. Dietitians have struggled just like you
Ask any dietitian why they became a dietitian and they’ll almost always say they had their own struggles with food and wanted to become an expert so they could help others. Dietitians understand that food is cultural, it’s emotional, it’s social, and it is a physiological need. Everyone needs food, but everyone is unique in their nutritional requirements. Dietitians all have their own history with weight gain, eating disorders, hormonal imbalances, performance issues, chronic illness, etc.
They like cookies and pizza too, and they don’t expect you to be perfect because dietitians aren’t perfect either! Dietitians know exactly how to help you reach your goals without asking you to sacrifice your happiness. We treat each person as a unique individual and we get them RESULTS because of that.
I became a dietitian to help women feel their absolute best. I’ve been through the pains of cutting calories, hormonal acne, exercising for hours, and feeling hangry and unsatisfied with food. I’ve tried the “cleanses” and the supplements. Girl, I get you because I’ve been there. I made sure I had all the education I needed to help myself and help YOU. My life goal is to give women the real answers to their nutrition issues and walk alongside them.
Get ready for 2020!!
I’m so excited for this New Year and continuing to help you feel confident and excited about your food and goals. If you have a goal you’d like to share, comment below! If you’d like to know more about my coaching program and see how I could help you crush your 2020 goals, apply here so we can talk more!
I’m also excited to be introducing my facebook community right now before 2020! If you want exclusive and FREE accountability, additional help with nutrition, and a community of women like you, join here!
