4 tips for finding the right nutrition professional to help with your wellness goals.
I know this topic may seem a bit loaded….as I am one of many nutrition professionals trying to grab your attention. However, my intent is to help you find the best clinician for your specific health needs and honestly, that might not be me, but I still want you to get the results you crave 😘. Also, just so we are on the same page, in this article, I am using the term “nutrition professional” to describe everyone from Registered Dietitians to Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (me) to Health Coaches…all of whom may influence your health through diet but have different qualifications, strengths and limitations (more on this to come).
This topic is fresh on my mind because as of the time of writing I am trying to find the right clinician to help my son with some allergy issues and as I am asking around for referrals, looking at different clinician’s websites, analyzing their methodologies and backgrounds, and setting up discovery calls I realize that I am following some invisible matrix for making decisions which might not be inherent in all of us.
If you don’t posses this internal compass to help navigate the health and wellness space then the overwhelm can be….well….overwhelming. Most people will give up before they ever find the help they need and deserve!
I don’t want that to be you.
So, let’s establish some guidelines that can help guide you towards the best suited nutrition professional to help you meet your goals.
Eh hem, speaking of goals…
STEP 1: Establish clear goals and desired results.
Establish a clear goal about why you are seeking help in the first place and what you are hoping the result will be at the end of the process. Be ready to vocalize both of these to the clinician.
Depending on the nutrition professional you hire you may end up paying a good sum of money so you want to get the best results possible. Depending on the approach of the clinician they may not actually ask you what your goals are. That may sound strange, but how many times has your doctor asked what your health goals are? They usually don’t. You go in complaining of certain symptoms and they may run tests or give referrals to help reach a diagnosis, medications may be prescribed….but almost never are the actual short or long-term goals of the patient discussed….they are assumed. Is it safe to assume that you know the saying about assumptions 😂?
Having a clear goal and desired results will help you find the clinician best suited for getting you from point A to B.
When I do a complimentary discovery call with someone I always ask their goals, not just for a summary of symptoms. Why? Well, the point of the call for me is to gauge whether I am a good fit to help them reach their goal. If their goal is unobtainable within the scope of what I offer, then I try and give a referral to a better suited clinician. For instance, I don’t run any labs in my practice, many other clinicians do, so if I suspect that the success of your goals is hinging on lab work that we can’t easily get with the help of your doctor I will explain my limitations and offer alternate suggestions.
Here are some examples of clear goals and desired results my clients have vocalized over the years (yours will obviously be unique to you):
I want to lose 20 pounds so that I can see if it will help alleviate my knee pain and allow me to walk my dog more easily.
I want to support my digestion through diet and lifestyle so that I am not getting bloated after meals.
I want to nutritionally support my marathon training so I can claim my PR in my next race.
I hope to reduce body pain and fatigue so I can more easily play with my kids and cook meals each night.
STEP 2: Identify possible obstacles that might get in the way of reaching your nutrition & wellness goals.
This is an important question to ask yourself because acknowledgement of your potential obstacles may be the difference between you reaching your goals or not. Obstacles may also help you define the type of clinician you are going to be looking for.
Examples of Obstacles:
Time: Not enough time to attend sessions with an expert or not enough time to do the work needed (shop, meal prep, eat a meal🙄) because of family obligations, work, etc.
If time is your biggest obstacle consider looking for a clinician that is available virtually, then you can do your sessions from anywhere without adding the extra time commitment of a commute and time spent in the waiting room. Also consider additional “time-saving” strategies that may be helpful to keep you on track- like house cleaners, meal prep service, or personal shopper.
do an inventory on your time- What activities are you currently engaging in that can be reduced or dropped all together? Do your kids need to be in 4 sports each, if so do you need to be the only taxi or can you arrange a carpool or for a family member to help? Then, of course there is the issue of social media…according to Statista the average American spends more than 2 hours on social media EACH DAY! Last night I prepped 3 meals for a family of 5 in less than 2.5 hours….just saying😜.
Resources: Not enough money, tools, or support to do the work
If money is your biggest resource obstacle then it becomes important to make a list of all the possible expenses related to the nutrition work you will be doing.
$ direct cost of services- Will insurance cover any of the cost of the work you will be doing? Some clinicians take insurance, some do not! If out-of-pocket pay is totally out of the question then check with your insurance company on what nutrition professionals in your area are covered. Also, check with you employer about your benefits to see if you have a flexible spending plan (FSP) or health savings account (HSA). In some cases you may be able to apply your nutrition work or other related expenses towards that.
$ childcare- do you need to pay a babysitter while you attend nutrition sessions?
$ PTO- if you have appointments during your work day do you still get paid for those hours you are away from the office?
$ supplements- depending on the type of nutrition services you are considering and your overall goals the clinician may suggest supplements. You may spend anywhere from $50- $1000 dollars on supplements alone! Ask your prospective clinician how much money their average client can expect to spend and if you are signing on with a clinician, especially for a higher price, or a longer commitment package, consider asking whether there is a discount option for supplements? Depending on the dispensary the clinician works with they may have a small amount of wiggle room for supplement mark-up. Worth a shot if money is a concern!
$ Food costs- it goes without saying that if you are working with a nutrition professional there is going to be some cost associated with the food they are guiding you towards eating. Expect to spend a little more money for high quality, nutrient dense foods…but the payoff will absolutely be worth it!
try your local farmers market and see if you can get any bulk discounts. In my past life as a farmer our customers could buy 1/4, 1/2, or whole pig for a reduced cost as compared to buying individual cuts.
can you get a membership or volunteer at a local food co-op? When my kids were small I volunteered at the Cambridge Food Co-op and received a lovely discount on my grocery purchases and enjoyed some much needed adult time!
Not enough tools? What physical or intellectual tools will you need to be successful? In some cases you are just handed a list of foods to eat and told “good luck”….but that will only work for some people. Does the clinician provide support in any of these areas?
tutorials/how to’s on kitchen setup, meal prep, grocery shopping, cooking, etc
recommendations for cookbooks, websites, blogs that jive with your food goals
Do you have emotional or logistical support? This often comes down to be open with your loved ones about your overall goals.
Can your partner, best friend, or other family members help with the logistics of everyday life so you can make time for this journey?
How will your family be affected? Will they have to make changes to support your needs? Are they willing to do this?
Would you benefit from a support group (either virtual or live) to help you reach your goals?
The right practitioner may be able to guide you in how to talk with your family about why certain aspects of your nutrition plan are important to have support (for instance a gluten elimination trial can be hard when everyone else is eating toast everyday requiring the whole family to get on board for awhile.)
Mindset: If mindset has been or is currently your obstacle then you are looking for a nutrition professional that also works through mindset issues with their clients. This one is a little harder to identify if it’s you, but before embarking on any wellness journey you must be ready and willing to undergo the transformation. Sometimes folks are too scared of the work it will take to get to the finish line, so they start enthusiastically then walk away the moment things get tough. Is this your pattern? Some people want to feel better but are scared they won’t recognize who they are when they reach their goals (this is common for folks who have lived with their disease or symptoms for a long time, it becomes part of their identity). The clinician can offer their unique support but can’t do the work for you! At a certain point, it doesn’t matter how smart the clinician is or how perfect their suggestions are if you aren’t following through with the advice then you can’t have success!
Some questions you can ask yourself to check in on your mindset include:
What scares me most about making changes?
What excites me most about making changes?
Who will I be without this [disease or symptoms]?
What do I stand to gain if I make these changes?
What do I stand to lose if I don’t make these changes?
Will there ever be a better time to undergo this process?
Have I ever succeeded in reaching this goal or a similar goal? If so, what did I do to make it happen. If not, what obstacles got in my way the last time?
STEP 3: Other personal considerations.
Credentials: Do the credentials of your proposed nutrition expert matter to you? I’m going to be honest, nutrition and wellness certifications are sorta the ‘wild west’ right now. Here’s some things to consider, but please acknowledge that these statements are generalizations and there may be lots of nutrition professionals who don’t fall into these specific molds the way they are described.
Licensed Nutrition Professionals- In general each state has their own set of laws that determine what credentials are required by nutrition professionals to earn the title “nutritionist" and what services are allowed to be performed by this title. Most of these clinicians have a minimum of a bachelors degree or equivalent experience and you can be assured that your nutritionist has met certain standards. Natural Healers has a database that you can search to see what licensed nutrition professionals in your state are called and what training is required for them to earn that title. *Licensed Nutrition Professionals such as Registered Dietician (RD) or Registered Dietician Nutritionist (RDN) are more likely to take insurance which might be important to you.
Certified Nutrition Professionals- This encompasses a large number of the other types of nutrition professionals floating around out there (including me):
Cons- there is not one overarching entity to oversee these professionals- certifications may require anything from a stellar 6 month training program- to a masters degree in holistic nutrition, so from your perspective its hard to say how much knowledge, training or skill the clinician actually has.
Pros- many practitioners seeking certifications rather than a license in nutrition are coming from other areas of the wellness industry, which means they may have additional skills and perspectives to add to their offerings, rather than just nutrition knowledge. Some others have landed in the nutrition certification space because of their own health issues which may make them a pretty powerful guide for your own health journey.
Food preferences: Do you have certain food preferences you would like to abide by- such as religious or ethical restrictions around certain foods? For instance, are you vegan and not open to eating any animal foods? Are you Jewish and want to make sure that the clinician you work with respects your decision not to eat pork? Regardless of the situation, you want to make sure that the clinician you choose understands and respects your choices.
Religious or spiritual preferences: Will your religious or spiritual beliefs and practices be important in guiding you through this transformation? If so, it may be important to find a practitioner that shares those same beliefs so you will get the most out of the experience you are seeking.
Gender, age, or experience preferences: Are you a woman who feels more comfortable talking with another woman about your symptoms- such as vaginal discharge or libido- or maybe you would rather talk to a man? Would you find yourself questioning a woman in her 20’s who is educating you on menopause? Is it important to you that your clinician have personal experience dealing with your specific issues or is successful clinical experience enough? There is NO right or wrong answer here- but we all have our comfort zones and inherent biases. It’s better to acknowledge those on the front end before you’ve spent your money, time and energy.
Do you prefer working individually or in groups? In many cases you will find options for both in your area of need and there are pros and cons to each option. Do you thrive by having a community behind you or going it alone? The cost might be more for private services but will often be more unique to your specific needs.
STEP 4: Find yourself the right nutrition professional.
Okay, phew….Now you have a clear goal. You’ve established any potential obstacles or barriers, and identified other considerations that may be important to you…now time to find the right person to help you on your journey.
Referrals: To start- check in with your doctor, your chiropractor, your personal trainer, friends, family, or chat group formed around your specific interest (weight loss groups or groups focusing on PMS or Menopause, etc) to see if they have recommendations that meet your specific needs.
When I was first seeking help for my son I started with his doctor, then called friends who I knew had children with allergy issues, I also called all my mentors in the nutrition field to see who they knew or if they knew of alternative therapies that could support allergies. Just these quick conversations gave me a huge list of people to start researching.
If you prefer staying anonymous or don’t know anyone with similar experiences I recommend going the chat group route. A post in a chat group might look like “Hey everyone, I’m ready to lose these 15 stubborn pounds that I gained during peri-menopause so that I can get back to feeling good in my body and running again without knee pain. I am looking to work with a nutrition professional that can take virtual clients, respects my vegetarian lifestyle, and they don’t necessarily need to take insurance. Have any of you worked with someone you enjoyed and got results with?” Notice how specific this request is? It ensures that any recommendations given have a better chance of meeting your goals.
Internet: If you still have no names at the end of this process than leave it to Google. You can try different search topics by typing in some of the keywords you established as you wrote your goals.
For instance:
‘[virtual or local] nutrition coaching for women who want to lose weight’
‘group programs for weight loss [or insert your disease or symptoms here]’
virtual Christian based nutrition offerings for [anxiety, weight, bloat, etc]
licensed nutritionists near me
health at all sizes weight loss coach
local nutrition for digestive difficulties
support with meal planning and grocery shopping
Social Media: Uggh, if I’m being honest, I would never want any prospective clients to base their desire to work with me on my social media presence….it’s my least favorite thing to do and my least favorite part of running my business (this tells you lots about me😂). Here are some pros and cons to going this route.
Pros:
if you love social media and tend to use it regularly then finding a professional who also loves to engage with his/her audience via social may be a great fit for you
you can sort of “trial” a clinician and their content before ever reaching out
it may give you a sense of feeling connected to your clinician even in between sessions
Cons:
everyone can look good on social media with the right help so it’s hard to suss out which professionals actually have the tools you will need to be successful
decision paralysis- there are so many options on social media it is easy to get caught up in “searching” for the right person and never really taking action
there are really great clinicians out there who are a great fit for you, but haven’t made it a priority to engage properly on social. At the end of the day are you looking for a person that can get you the desired results or a person that posts stories that make you laugh while you are sitting on the toilet? Maybe some of each…but do they have to be the same person? 😂
Okay friends…..this is an abundance of info to consider and I am wishing you the best of luck in finding your perfect nutrition professional. 😘. If i’m lucky enough to have landed somewhere on your list you can book your complimentary discovery call below and ask all the important questions.