Hello THIH readers! After recovering from my “tastes of the wild“, I’m ready to share with you more about what a registered dietitian does. To bring new readers up to speed: I’ve talked about nutrition research and clinical dietetics, as well as quick looks at food service dietetics and community nutrition with SNAP-Ed. Let continue this series, shall we?
Over the past five weeks, I’ve had the fortune to intern with Maryann Meade, a private practice dietitian in Connecticut. As I discussed in my clinical dietetics post, registered dietitians work in many diverse areas. Maryann not only offers nutritional counseling for a variety of nutritional needs, but also consults for home care agencies, day care organizations, drug and alcohol facilities, workplace wellness programs, and more. She is also involved politically, having held several offices in the American Dietetic Association and currently the office of delegate for business and consultation in the House of Delegates of the American Dietetic Association. She has even taught classes at the University of Connecticut! Diversity in dietetics is not just a rumor, kids.
So, what exactly did I do over the past five weeks? A short summary:
Welcome to the waiting room! You have an appointment with Maryann? Please, sit and get comfortable. Maryann will be with you in just a moment.
I observed and participated in many nutritional counseling sessions during my time with Maryann. We counseled clients with diabetes, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, IBS, anemia, kidney stones, disordered eating, lactose intolerance, acid reflux, nutrition support, and more. We also counseled athletes looking to fuel their performance and individuals who wished to lose weight. I feel like I’ve seen almost everything over the past several weeks – but I know there’s much more out there. I have also met many amazing people who are committed to their nutritional health. Having clients come in and thank us for the help we give them is one of the most rewarding aspects of nutritional counseling – but, not the only one!
Maryann and I also visited some clients in their homes. These visits are particularly fruitful because home visits give us a chance to observe food practices and cooking facilities in the home – for example, if a client is talking about a particular specialty food, he or she can just pull it out of their cabinet and show it to us. Nice. I have also helped Maryann give presentations at a children’s nutrition program for which she consults, as well as attended a meeting of certified diabetes educators.
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes as well. As a nutrition consulting business owner, Maryann establishes and maintains relationships with other health care providers and organizations through marketing and communications. For example, I developed mad skillz in writing assessment letters to physicians and nurses concerning mutual patients/clients. I also learned about billing insurance companies, setting up appointments, and arranging referrals.
Hard at work on the computer. Gotta have a picture of me at the computer for every dietetics-related post.
Dude, where’s my doctor letter??
"What??"
Establishing, growing, and maintaining your own business is not easy!
Don’t forget: registered dietitians need to eat, too! A lunch beneath the tulips:
A mish-mash of veggies, feta, olives, olive oil, and fresh herbs:
Greek yogurt with raspberries and blueberries:
Veggies? Check. Healthy fats from olives? Check. Protein in my yogurt? Check … But, wait, Jessie! This isn’t a balanced meal!
After reviewing these pictures, I realize I had forgotten to add my usual whole grain pasta to my veggies and olives. No whole grains in this meal. Oops. I guess even soon-to-be-RDs make mistakes :) Not every meal is going to be balanced, but that’s ok!
Hanging out with Maryann in her office:
Thanks, Maryann! I had a wonderful time over the past five weeks! :D
If you have any questions about private practice dietetics, please feel free to contact me.
Future plans: Next week, I’m very excited to be working with Marci Anderson, the owner of Marci RD Nutrition Consulting in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Marci is a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer who specializes in eating disorders, body image, emotional eating, and more. Stay tuned!
P.S. The cherry trees are blooming in New Haven! Check it:
Have a great Easter weekend, everyone!
Q: What aspect of dietetics do you find the most interesting so far?
and
Have you ever seen a cherry tree in bloom? Gorgeous!
Hi everyone! LTNT: long time, no type! So what have I been doing the last few weeks instead of blogging? A selection:
(1) Enjoying two smoked Thanksgiving turkeys (yes, TWO) – Peter-prepared, of course. He wanted to compare a turkey smoked in an electrical smoker to a Big Green Egg-smoked turkey. Don’t ask me why. I just know that his Big Green Egg cart is dubbed the “Egg Cartin’” (no, I’m not kidding).
With his remotely-adjusted temperature control device in front.
Check out here, here, and here for other THIH posts featuring the BGE. And no, Gary aka LeQuan‘s Hungry Hubbie, you can’t have the BGE :P
The embroidery on Peter’s “smoking shirt”, a Christmas gift from Peter’s brother (thanks a lot, Dave):
(2) Moving. A few of you have heard about our “adventures” moving to a townhouse down the street: for several reasons, we recently decided to move out of the apartment we’ve lived in for over 1.5 years. Peter and I have moved many times, but it struck me this time how much stuff we’ve accumulated since our last move. I’m not sure when this epiphany occurred – I think it’s a tie between when I hauled the seventh box of kitchenware down to my station wagon and when I saw the same station wagon filled to the brim – with just plants.
(3) Playing with Peter’s dad’s DSLR camera. I had a few successful shots:
Dave:
Peter:
Bonnie:
Maddies, pre-bath:
… and, some not-so-successful photos:
(4) Finally, I’ve been enjoying a good book:
Remember my FNCE encounter? I finally had the chance to sit down with the new edition of “Fueling the Teen Machine” and I’m so glad I did! As I wrote in the FNCE post, Ellen Shanley and Colleen Thompson are two University of Connecticut dietetics professors. Ellen is also a member of the American Dietetic Association‘s Nominating Committee and Colleen is the president of the Connecticut Dietetic Association. Talk about experts in their field!
Colleen signing my copy:
Ellen:
Displaying my very own signed copy at FNCE!
(Before I begin, I want to emphasize that I am not being paid to write a review – you know, free will and all that :) )
“Fueling the Teen Machine” is an excellent resource for teens AND parents. Colleen and Ellen take teens seriously: they refuse to talk down to their readers, instead providing practical information in a fun and engaging manner.
The book begins with an overview of the basics: food groups, physical activity, and weight management. Next up are chapters with intriguing titles, such as “Find Your Fuel”, “Vitamins and Minerals”, and “Let’s Move” – all written with the modern teen in mind. They offer up-to-date suggestions for healthy living, such as texting to help encourage exercise and mobile phone apps for everything from meal tracking to activity-logging. Did you know you can even download a pedometer app to keep track of the number of steps you take per day? I particularly liked their charts that condense info into bite-sized portions: for example, the many “to do” and “top ten” lists offer a lot of info in a short time, which is perfect for busy teens. I know I’ll be using their “10 Ways to Stay Motivated to Move” list!
The book has a helpful BMI chart on page 55 that requires no calculations: all you do find your weight and trace your finger up to your height to estimate your BMI. Ellen and Colleen emphasize the fact that a teen’s healthy weight may be different than his or her friends’ healthy weights or the healthy weights of other people they know. This section is great for teens who often compare themselves to others and may help with self-acceptance. In addition, they emphasize that even if a teen’s BMI is high, he or she may be at healthy weight if, for example, he or she is muscular (great for student athletes!). It’s not all about the numbers, folks!
Colleen and Ellen also do a great job talking about special issues for teens, such as body fat and adolescent girls, and athletes who want to “make weight” (and who might harm their bodies at the same time!). In their “Eating Disorders” chapter, they give clear explanations of different eating disorders, ways to identify them, and where to get help. I love the term “Twinkie vegetarian” in the “Vegetarianism” chapter – you’ll just have to read the book to find out what it means! ;)
Athletes will enjoy the “Sports Nutrition” chapter and its guide on what to eat before, during, and after exercise, as well as the section on performance supplements, like creatine and sports bars. The book even has a “Funky Foods” chapter about herbal remedies, superfoods, and functional foods, including the dos and don’ts of using herbal remedies (which are increasingly popular these days). Check out the chart of functional foods (such as carrots, oats, broccoli, and yogurt) and their health benefits on pages 121-122.
The “Fast Facts on Fast Foods” chapter is important for teens who often eat out at fast food places. Instead of swearing off fast food, which is unrealistic for many teens, the authors help teens make healthy choices when they go out to eat. The chart on page 128 gives healthy choices at specific fast food joints, like McDonald’s and Wendy’s. By giving them knowledge, Collen and Ellen empower teens to make their own choices.
The book ends with chapters on meal planning and cooking that offer quick meal suggestions, as well as break down the Nutrition Facts label. The book contains a concise Food Label Terms chart on page 161, explaining what terms like “low-calorie” and “high fiber” actually mean. There’s even a section on food safety – a subject that I knew very little about until I started studying nutrition! Finally, the book gives nearly 75 pages of simple healthy recipes for teens and adults. How many teen nutrition guides have a whole cookbook in them?
“Fueling the Teen Machine” is a great for everyone, even adults! It offers a helpful overview of everything you wanted to know about nutrition, including what to eat and how to move. I can see teens using the book as a jumping off point to read more about the topics in which they are most interested. If you’re looking for a fun, informative nutrition and physical activity book for your teen, check this book out! You can buy the book on Amazon here.
Until next time, have a great week!
Q: What’s the most interesting thing you did over the past few weeks?
