Nutrition Counseling Paper

Nutrition counseling is a process to help people with eating disorders understand how to gain the proper nutrition from the food they eat and to gain optimal health as well as a healthy weight. Nutritional counseling is usually done by a registered dietitian or nutritionist, who is there to help the patient to understand the importance of healthy eating habits and how to incorporate them into their everyday life. (Smith, M., & Segal, J. 2015).
The dietitian will start with an assessment to ‘identify nutrition diagnoses and develop a plan for resolution” (The American Dietetic Association, 2011). First they will obtain weight and body measurements of the patient and talk to him or her to assess what their overall nutritional attitude is. The dietitian will subsequently use the knowledge they gained from the assessment to form a customized plan for the patient that will address and heal any nutrition deficiencies and help the patient reach the ultimate goal of optimal health and weight. (The American Dietetic Association, 2011). …show more content…
The first goal is meal planning. The dietitian along with the patient choosing from the food groups which he or she will eat and decide what number servings of each food group the patient will consume in a day so the meal plan will meet the nutritional needs of the patient. “A food history may be more practical than laboratory test” in determining nutrient deficiencies (The American Dietetic Association, 2011). . They will also educate the patient on why these food choices are important. The dietitian will encourage the patient to set regular eating times and make it a part of their healthy eating plan, this goal will help ensure the patient success by forming beneficial habits. (The American Dietetic Association,