Why You Should See a Nutritionist Now

Nutritionist Toronto Dietitian Toronto

Why You Should See a Nutritionist Now

By: Julie Mancuso, founder of JM Nutrition, nutritional counselling service by registered dietitians and nutritionists. About our team

 

“I don’t need to see a nutritionist; I already know which foods are healthy,” is often what people say when it’s suggested that they see a nutritionist or dietitian.

Visiting a nutritionist can help you in a number of other valuable ways. Here are just some of these.

 

Why You Should See a Nutritionist Now

1. Weight loss

Portions

A qualified nutritionist can help you combine different foods and outline portion sizes—a key element to healthy weight maintenance—so you get the results you desire.

Related: Working with a weight loss nutritionist

Learning what ‘carbs’ are, what constitutes a serving and how much should be consumed at every meal or in a given day are crucial pieces of information that a nutritionist can provide, ones that can make or break your weight goals.

Related: Working with a weight loss coach

Healthy weight loss

Equally important is ensuring you lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way that can serve you well over the long-term. It’s not just about looking better; it’s also important to feel better during the process.

During a nutritional coaching session, a nutritionist or dietitian can certainly guide you in forming well-balanced eating habits by selecting foods that are nutritious and vital for your body. Doing so can help prevent disease, and in turn, make you feel better.

Can’t I get this nutrition information online?

Absolutely.

If you do your research well, consulting the right sources, obtaining this information online is possible.

But who has the time nowadays to do his or her own research?

And, as informative as some online sources are, they are generic. Such generic information cannot be applied to any and every case. Some sources even provide outdated or incorrect information that can potentially make the existing problem worse.

A personalized approach, one specifically designed to meet your individual situation is what is needed because our situations differ. Because each one of us is unique what works for one person may not work for another. A generic remedy, therefore, should not be applied. This is exactly on what our weight loss program focuses.

Read more about unique weight loss obstacles: Why Am I Not Losing Weight? A List of Common Weight Loss Obstacles

Fad diets: avoid pitfalls

Receiving the help of a nutritionist or dietitian can help you avoid the pitfalls associated with many existing fad diets such as the keto diet. In most cases, fad diets bring about immediate changes in the way you look or feel. This is often accompanied by great excitement. Soon after, however, the novelty wears off and the results peter out—a common problem for dieters. 

The short-term fix associated with fad diets is rarely sustainable. Even if it does work over the course of an extended period of time, some people can and do experience nutrient-deficiency as they eliminate certain foods that carry valuable nutrients.

Personalization for sustainability 

Conversely, when you see a nutritionist, he or she can help you create long-term nutrition and lifestyle changes, ensuring you are well on your way to optimum nutrition for the rest of your life and not just for the rest of the month.

Furthermore, a nutritionist can provide you with the following information:

  • When is the optimum time to eat. This is hugely important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is healthy weight maintenance.
  • A meal schedule or meal plan can be designed specifically for you—geared towards your specific lifestyle, food preferences, budget, etc. Remember, lunch does not have to be eaten at noon and dinner at six.
  • You will get an extensive outline of portion sizes—something many people get wrong, as I mentioned above. Paying attention to how much you eat is often overlooked but incredibly important. Extra calories consumed at every meal add up fast and lead to weight gain, amongst other things.
  • A nutritionist or dietitian can even help you implement some meal prepping strategies designed to making the diet and lifestyle changes a little easier. 

 

2. Beat sugar and increase energy

Sugar

Are you craving sweets and sugar, whether in the afternoon, following a meal or late in the evening? Well, you’re not alone.

When you see a nutritionist, or dietitian for that matter, he or she will explain exactly why you feel this need for sweets, helping you overcome these unhealthy and hard to shake-off cravings that can sap your energy, and then introduce healthy substitutions.

Through a careful analysis of your eating habits, together we can determine the root of the problem and find an appropriate remedy.

Energy

Sugar is not your vice? Perhaps you just need more energy upon waking? A common struggle for most of us.

A nutritionist can show you simple ways to overcome this obstacle, avoiding pitfalls and giving you tools to energize your body more naturally. And yes, you can still have your coffee.

To find out more about foods that can provide an energy boost take a look at my article in Vitality Magazine: The Other Energy Crisis.

If you work out, a fitness and sports nutritionist can show you what to eat before and after a work out in order to maximize energy and help with recovery.

I can’t tell you how often I encounter fit and healthy people who frequent the gym for some form of exercise and do not fuel or replenish their bodies properly, either by overeating or not eating proper foods in the right amounts, often sabotaging their health and wellness goals. It’s staggering.

And if building muscle is your key objective, don’t you worry, we can help there, too. 

Related: Nutritionist for strength training, powerlifting & bodybuilding

Nutritionist and personal trainer

3. Digestive problems

Did you know fruit should not be eaten with animal protein?

It’s true.

When eaten alone, the nutrients in fruit are processed and absorbed more easily by your body. If eaten with animal protein, it can sit in the stomach longer, unprocessed, causing fermentation. Fermentation can result in bloating, gas and cramping.

Many of my existing clients incessantly complain about these symptoms and feel they are just unable to get rid of them no matter what they do.

Digestive health help

Both, a digestive health dietitian, can promptly help you discover that wholesome, nutrient-filled meals, perhaps aided by supplementation, play an enormous role in controlling and even resolving these unpleasant symptoms.

At times, it’s just a matter of eliminating certain foods or food combinations, and you begin to feel better. On other occasions, the process is more drawn out and requires tweaking and tampering to get to the root of the problem. 

Specific remedies to curb these digestive problems can be swiftly recommended. My extensive personal struggles in this area make me especially sympathetic and qualified to help you feel better.

And I assure you that the vast majority of our clients see improvement in their digestive health, often soon after following our recommendations. This applies to those who seek Crohn’s and Colitis support, the management of IBS, diverticulitis support, the management of acid reflux, and more.

To help you get started read this post:

Hard to Digest Foods: Are You Ready for Some Surprises?

 

4. Specialty diets

Unfortunately, allergies and sensitivities are common today. Dealing with these afflictions is part and parcel of daily life for many people around the world, their children and their families. I fall under that category as well.

When you see a nutritionist or dietitian, he or she can guide you in creating meal plans that ensure you obtain all the nutrients, minerals and vitamins, while avoiding all those ingredients that may potentially irritate and upset your digestive system, leading you to feel unwell.

Some of the allergens are obvious and people know to avoid them. Other ingredients and substances, on the other hand, may appear harmless but can certainly wreak havoc on your system.

Worse still, some products contain trace amounts of allergens, which you may be consuming unknowingly. A nutritionist can certainly help you sort this out over time.

If you’re looking for help with a gluten-free diet, vegetarian diet support, the establishment of a vegan diet plan, or just want to eat a low-carbohydrate diet, a nutritionist specializing in specialty diets can certainly provide guidance here as well.

 

5. Help overcoming and avoiding plateaus

So you’ve been eating healthy, working out and now you’ve reached this dreadful thing called a plateau. You stall, get stuck and the desired goals seem unreachable.

What do you do?

You can always do your own research and make your own adjustments to get you back on track. This approach works for some and not for others.

Through the power of a trained and experienced eye, a nutritionist can help you make small tweaks and changes in order to help you kickstart a move upward towards your goal, guiding you along the way, helping you avoid certain pitfalls that lead to health and fitness plateaus.

 

6. Mood and sleep 

Lack of sleep and its side effects (bags and circles under the eyes, yawning, lethargy, caffeine-cravings, etc.) can be an incredible nuisance for all of us, both in terms of how we feel and how we look.

Read more on beauty and nutrition in a Viva Magazine article, Beauty Foods: The Secret to Beauty Rests with Nutrition.

But did you know that a shortage of sleep can cause weight gain and sugar cravings?

Yes, diet indeed impacts a person’s sleep and, in turn, mood. For instance, eating too close to bedtime can adversely affect sleep in a number of ways: heartburn, indigestion et al. 

When you see a nutritionist, he or she can first show you how this happens, which is significant because you need to have basic knowledge so you can take the necessary preventative measures. Next, appropriate remedies designed to combat lack of sleep, insomnia and anxiety can be recommended.

Related: Dietitian for brain health and mental health

Nutrition support for sleep

 

7. Guidelines: travel, alcohol, parties, portions, kids’ snacks

A nutritionist can also provide you with a few important guidelines which can help you navigate tricky situations:

 

8. Immune system support 

Yes, a nutritionist can also help you support your immune system.

The first course of action—should this be your goal—is to create a meal plan which consists of foods aimed at helping your system regain a balance, strengthening it in the process. A nutritionist can also point out a number of inflammatory foods which you should avoid and still get all the nutrients your body needs. Learn more: Nutritionist and Dietitian for Anti-Inflammatory Diet

The second course of action calls for working in conjunction with other health practitioners to give you the best, most well-rounded service possible, ensuring your immune system gets the help it needs.

 

9. Help lowering cholesterol 

Those who subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on social media will already know that in the last several weeks three of my clients managed to significantly reduce their bad cholesterol via their meal plans, which we co-created during our counselling sessions.

Cholesterol can no doubt be lowered via diet. This can be done in conjunction with medication or entirely on its own. Even doctors are increasingly recommending the help of nutritionists and dieticians to reduce bad cholesterol and for general heart health support. As always, I recommend you seek the help and guidance of medical professionals when dealing with serious medical conditions.

But the fact remains that more and more people are putting a much greater emphasis on prevention and see nutrition as an effective preventative measure.

For this reason you can never discount seeking the help of a nutritionist or dietitian. Related: Dietitian for cholesterol

10. Help dealing with stress eating or emotional eating

Stress eating or emotional eating seems to be on the rise in recent years. More and more people appear to be making impulsive, unhealthy food choices that are directly tied to their emotional state. A nutritionist or a dietitian who specializes in disordered eating, perhaps with the help of a qualified counsellor, can certainly assist those in need of guidance in this area.

Growing levels of stress have created massive needs for indulgence and relaxation. Because we experience extremely high levels of stress, we feel we need to overcome these with high levels of indulgence: sweets, junk food, highly refined carbs, alcohol, drugs, etc.

A qualified professional can point these instances out, helping you become aware of triggers and pitfalls, scaffolding you in the process.

Learn more about how to reduce cortisol and stress via nutrition.

 

11. Help change behaviour associated with unhealthy food selections

A nutritionist can certainly help make you aware of certain counter-productive or self-sabotaging behaviours related to food selection.

Essentially, this calls for the reprogramming of your brain. For example, it’s important to retrain the brain to stop eating when you’re no longer hungry, instead of stopping only when you’re full. This serves many ‘leaner’ cultures well, preventing weight gain.

Another example of the brain retrain centres around coming to terms with the fact that many of the habits have been learned from our parents. This includes the bad habits. A nutritionist can help identify some of these habits and introduce good ones, providing guidance and support all along.

 

12. Women’s and children’s health

Armed with a great deal of knowledge how the foods we eat affect our bodies, a nutritionist or dietitian can help with a variety of women’s health matters. This includes pregnancy and postnatal nutrition, fertility, hormonal imbalances, PMS and menopause support, nutritional support for thyroid, as well as matters related to the management of PCOS.

Because many of today’s women have become keen observers of how food consumption affects their bodies, they are increasingly seeking a healthier lifestyle for themselves via nutrition. Equally important in this regard is nutritional guidance for children. A nutritionist can no doubt help here as well.

 

13. Help stop dieting

Because our media is saturated with all types of reports pertaining to dieting and weight loss, many people feel compelled to try fad diets such as the keto diet in hopes of finding a quick-fix to their weight ‘problem’. As with most diets, however, the results are fleeting, leading to a great deal of deflation and disappointment down the road.

A nutritionist can help you realize that weight loss is not a sprint but a jog. It also needs to be looked at from all angles and carried out in a healthy way without any form of starvation, deprivation and denial.

 

14. Disease management

Furthermore, a nutritionist or dietitian can be equally effective in helping you manage various chronic diseases. Support for diabetes, cardiovascular health, kidney disease management, liver disease support, obesity management and more, are all possible via nutritional interventions.

 

15. Accountability

I write about this one last, but truth of the matter is that accountability can be just as important as any other step in the journey to better overall health, wellness and nutrition.

There is a reason why accountability has been imbedded deep into the fibre of every successful organization. Because it works.

Accountability strengthens execution. It pushes you when you need to be pushed, and pulls you when you need to be pulled–establishing trust, leading to empowerment.

What’s more, it makes sure you take ownership of your goals and stick to your action plan. Accountability is often the difference maker, even with an online nutritionist.

Throughout our lives, we place a great deal of trust in professionals and their expertise to help us reach our desired goals with the least amount of resistance possible. The case is much the same with seeing a nutritionist or dietitian. 

 

Conclusion 

So what now?

You have two options. One, you lead extensive research online independently, sift through a vast amount of information, determine what is reliable, and then devise your own plan to help you reach your goals.

Does this work?

Sometimes, yes.

Some people—the resourceful, self-sufficient types blessed with time on their hands—can certainly improve their nutrition and health independently.

Most of the time, however, doing so is a tall order. Too tall, in fact. Finding the time is a problem. As mentioned earlier, the vast majority of us also need accountability, guidance, support and someone to monitor the process. 

Option two centres around seeing a qualified, registered nutritionist or dietitian who will save you a great deal of time and guide you on your way to a better, healthier life—something we all want deep down inside. The choice is yours.

If you require personalized nutrition services, contact us for an appointment or book a free consultation with a nutritionist and dietitian

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Our nutrition blog has been named one of the Top 100 Nutrition Blogs, Websites and Newsletters to Follow in 2020 by Feedspot.

JM Nutrition is a nutritional counselling service by registered dietitians and nutritionists in Canada. Main area of service: JM Nutrition servicing Ontario, primary office: nutritionist services Toronto. We offer in-person appointments and online nutrition services

Author: Julie Mancuso

Julie Mancuso

admin@julienutrition.com

Julie Mancuso is a graduate of the University of Toronto, founder and owner of JM Nutrition, a nutritional counselling service by registered dietitians and nutritionists. For 15+ years, JM Nutrition has helped thousands reach their health, wellness and nutrition goals. Julie and her team regularly lend their expertise to a variety of health publications such as Reader's Digest, Livestrong, Business Insider, Food Network, Today's Parent, MyFitnessPal, Toronto Star, Elle Magazine, Best Life, Weight Watchers and many more.