The Balanced Life, Huntsville Alabama

“What is a dietitian?” It’s a question I hear a lot. Most people assume, thanks to the title, that we just make diets for people. While that can be true, dietitians are able to do so much more than create a diet for someone. Registered Dietitian Nutritionists are the food and nutrition experts.

We’ll start with the credentials, Registered Dietitian (RDN) and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) are the same thing--we’re the food and nutrition experts.  We provide science-based nutrition information. We spend our entire undergraduate career learning about everything from cooking and food service management to tube feedings and micronutrient metabolism. After that, we complete a 1200 hour internship working in hospitals, schools, food service, counseling offices, WIC and many other places. Then, we sit for a national credentialing exam--after we pass that, then we can use RD/RDN after our name. Starting in 2024, all entry level dietitians will require a Master’s degree as well. We also have to complete 120 hours of continuing education

So what do dietitians in an outpatient setting do? We can help you with anything from high cholesterol to an eating disorder to how to introduce foods to your infant. While each dietitian’s approach to this is different based on training and personal philosophy, we all use evidence-based nutrition information to help our clients. And, diet means what you eat not a “diet plan” or some restrictive plan for weight loss.

I prefer a balanced approach to nutrition that does not put foods into “good” and “bad” categories. I can help you work through emotions surrounding food and find your motivation to make changes to improve your health and overall wellbeing. There’s so much nutrition information available online with much of it being inaccurate from uneducated sources. Dietitians can help you navigate the world of food and nutrition, while clearing up the confusion you may feel. I’m a big fan of intuitive eating and can help you learn to tune back into your natural hunger cues. Anyone at any size can have healthy habits, and my goal is to create a non-judgemental zone where we can work as a team to improve your relationship with food.

While it might seem odd for a dietitian to join a therapy practice to some, it really is the perfect fit. Not only is there so much emotion involved in weight and eating, but we’re finding out more about the link between gut health and the brain, with links between mood and diet. That’s a blog post for another day because there’s so much interesting research surrounding mental health and diet.

I’m thrilled to be joining The Balanced Life as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and hope to see many of you. Feel free to reach out to see if you and I would be a good fit to work together to accomplish your goals.

chelsea@thebalancedlifellc.com  |  256.258.7777 x 107  |  Book Online: bit.ly/ChelseaRDN