FAQ
What is the difference between a Dietitian and a Nutritionist?
The number one query! Do you know? Is it even important? (Yes & MASSIVE difference)
Nutritionist, Registered Nutritionist, Nutritionalist, Dietitian….
What is a Sports Dietitian and how are they different?
Who will You Trust with Your Health?
I’m not an “athlete” can you still work with me?
What defines an “athlete”? For us, it is an individual who trains with purpose and has an intention. So, maybe you signed up for your first ultra - cool, you’re an athlete, maybe you belong to a swim club, or dance part-time - you’re also an athlete, or maybe you’re a regular kind of gym goer and are looking to improve your health - sweet!
It doesn’t matter where you are, or think you are, on the continuum of activity, you can still access professional and trusted nutrition advice. There is so much crap “advice” out there, why not invest some quality time talking to professionals who have been doing this for more than 40 years :)
FREE DOWNLOAD - WHY DIETS FAIL
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FREE DOWNLOAD - WHY DIETS FAIL 〰️
What is the NON-DIET approach?
Our work ethos is based on an approach called Non-Diet (TM) and Health At Every Size (R) or HAES, centred around sustainable health and nutrition behaviours, intuitive eating and mindfulness.
We are weight inclusive and work with all bodies.
Grab our free download here about some truths regarding Weight Loss and Health Outcomes and learn that what you think you know, may not be so…
We do not work with purpose to focus on weight loss to “improve health”. The scientific facts and longterm studies are clear on this; DIETS DON’T WORK to improve health or performance actually - 95% fail rate! And it’s definitely not about people not trying hard enough or not having enough will power.
Instead, we work with health behaviours and eating behaviours to optimise health and performance (the stuff that actually improves health and performance long term!).
This may or may not result in weight loss, but this is not a main outcome measure for our work, or indeed a measure of how healthy you are - prepare to unlearn everything you think you know about this area!
We 100% recognise and get weight concerns in sport. We see this all the time, in many different athletes, from grassroots to World champions. We also know, that pursuing a diet isn’t really going to work, isn’t the solution and isn’t going to achieve those goals, but we also know that, there IS another way to perform at your best, feel more comfortable in your skin, that doesn’t involve negative vibes towards eating, body and mind. It’s pretty bloody awesome and it might be waiting for you…
Interested to know more about Diet Culture in sport? Read this
HOW MANY APPOINTMENTS MIGHT I NEED?
It depends…we rarely see a client for a one-off appointment because there is lots of stuff to talk about and navigate through to assist with the reason(s) an individual is seeking nutrition advice, setting goals and reviewing all of the above.
Whether it’s performance nutrition strategies for race day that need developing, practicing and fine tuning, or clients seeking guidance and help with disordered eating, we will achieve a greater success rate together with more than one appointment.
Plus, you get the support you need when challenges or questions arise!
Can i use health insurance for my appointment?
Probably! Many insurance companies provide cover for a Nutrition Consultation(s) or Appointment(s) with an NZ Registered Dietitian - which we all are.
If you are thinking of making a claim with your insurance company, check your policy details (amount of cover, if you need a referral from another health professional, e.g. GP or Specialist e.g. Sports Physician, etc.) before you book an appointment.
After your appointment we will happily provide the information that your insurance company requires.
ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE ME A meal/DIET plan?
Even though the idea of a Dietitian telling you exactly what to eat on a “meal plan” sounds awesome, in reality it falls short of reaching most people’s goals and long term success.
We’ve been doing this nutrition stuff long enough to know that really truly, meal plans don’t work. We really don’t eat in macro’s and neither do elite athletes.
We enjoy eating real food instead, offer flexibility in your choices, and involve you in all the decision making and a whole lot more :)
We will 100% be offering up ideas, talking about adequate amounts and/or portion sizes for you and your situation, so it’s not a cookie cutter approach.
For our work in Eating Disorders, which requires a more therapeutic nutrition approach, we work with clients for specific areas, such as achieving nutritional adequacy which often requires more of a prescriptive approach.
Read more about why we know this and our approach is different, and actually works.
DO YOU WORK WITH WEIGHT-MAKING SPORTS?
Great question! Yes, we do, but we recommend to book a discovery call and chat it through with us first before booking an appointment.
Because our work is weight-neutral, it can be confusing to understand how we can work in weight-class sports. We take a proper assessment of someone’s goals and whether it is realistic and ethical, to actually offer temporary weight-making strategies to help someone compete at their goal weight. Health should always be prioritised in these situations.
Do I need any blood tests before my appointment?
Maybe, it depends why you are seeking a nutrition appointment.
For concerns like digestive issues, ammenorrhea (no period by age 15, or loss of menstrual cycle for more than 3 months) and other menstrual cycle irregularities, it is important to seek a medical review about this with investigations, including blood tests.
Iron levels are useful to know - athletes and highly active people do have different needs compared to non-active individuals, and we regularly see low and suboptimal levels.
Having these types of results before coming to see us means we can conduct a more detailed assessment and provide further tailored advice.
DO YOU offer GIFT VOUCHERS?
Sure do. A popular choice around Christmas time. You can order a gift voucher on the booking site, with an expiry of 1 year from date of purchase. The voucher code generated can be applied at point of appointment booking online or via correspondence with us.