Nutrition/Dietary Services
What to expect when meeting with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Synergos?
You may hear the word “dietitian” and automatically think of “diet”, but our Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) adopt an “anti-diet” perspective to nutrition support. Rather than focusing on how to eat less, or what not to eat, we will work with you to heal your relationship with food. This includes adding more nourishing foods into your day as well as challenging negative beliefs you have held about food and as it relates to body size. We focus on your overall health and wellness rather than the number on the scale. We do this by utilizing the principles of Intuitive Eating (IE) and Health at Every Size (HAES), which we will teach you to use and are summarized briefly below. RDNs at Synergos will work with you to dismantle and challenge diet culture that perpetuates a negative relationship between food and your body.
During your nutrition intake appointment, your RDN will go over your health history, including any medical diagnoses and medications/supplements. They will confirm your mental health history, including any history of eating disorder treatment or behaviors (i.e.. binge eating, purging, excessive exercise, etc), Additionally, they will review your historical and current relationship with food, eating, body image, goals for treatment, and more. Over the first few sessions, you and your RDN will discuss recommendations for frequency and intensity of sessions (i.e., weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc). Please check your health plan to assure you have dietitian/nutrition benefits if you are wanting to use insurance. We also work closely with our counseling providers as well as outside treatment teams. As a team, Synergos providers learn about each others approaches to wellness and how to share those goals with our clients.
We may recommend that clients with eating concerns work alongside a dietitian at the same time as their work with an eating disorder trained counselor because the work you are doing with one provider complements the work you are doing with the other provider. This recommendation also supports our holistic care approach. For instance, if your dietitian recommends a meal plan or food exposure that may feel daunting, your counselor will be able to help you process possible distress and build the coping strategies necessary to follow through on this goal. By waiting to be able to start services with both providers at the same time, it ensures you will have the proper level of support needed to be successful.
Intuitive Eating (IE) is an evidenced-based, mind-body health approach, created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995.
Health at Every Size (HAES) is a framework of care that is centered around the principles of weight inclusivity, respectful care, and health enhancement.
During your nutrition intake appointment, your RDN will go over your health history, including any medical diagnoses and medications/supplements. They will confirm your mental health history, including any history of eating disorder treatment or behaviors (i.e.. binge eating, purging, excessive exercise, etc), Additionally, they will review your historical and current relationship with food, eating, body image, goals for treatment, and more. Over the first few sessions, you and your RDN will discuss recommendations for frequency and intensity of sessions (i.e., weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc). Please check your health plan to assure you have dietitian/nutrition benefits if you are wanting to use insurance. We also work closely with our counseling providers as well as outside treatment teams. As a team, Synergos providers learn about each others approaches to wellness and how to share those goals with our clients.
We may recommend that clients with eating concerns work alongside a dietitian at the same time as their work with an eating disorder trained counselor because the work you are doing with one provider complements the work you are doing with the other provider. This recommendation also supports our holistic care approach. For instance, if your dietitian recommends a meal plan or food exposure that may feel daunting, your counselor will be able to help you process possible distress and build the coping strategies necessary to follow through on this goal. By waiting to be able to start services with both providers at the same time, it ensures you will have the proper level of support needed to be successful.
Intuitive Eating (IE) is an evidenced-based, mind-body health approach, created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995.
- It is a weight-neutral model, meaning that it takes the focus of eating away from controlling one’s body weight or achieving intentional weight loss.
- This approach consists of ten principles that cover topics to improve attunement with internal hunger and fullness cues, assist in filtering out judgment and noise that stems from diet culture’s influence, and supports clients in identifying and responding to our body’s emotional and physical needs.
Health at Every Size (HAES) is a framework of care that is centered around the principles of weight inclusivity, respectful care, and health enhancement.
- It respects the diversity of body sizes and rejects the pathologizing of specific weights.
- It acknowledges the negative impact of weight stigma and works to end weight based discrimination as well as other inequities and oppressive forces that impact health and access to health care.
- It supports the notion that health promoting behaviors can make a positive impact on one’s health independent of weight loss.
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