Booking Consultant
WHAT IS WEIGHT LOSS &
NUTRITION COUNSELING?
Nutrition counseling is an ongoing process between you and a healthcare professional (an OnPoint nutrition counselor) in which you learn about your dietary needs and identify opportunities to improve your habits and routines to better provide your body with the nutrients and energy it needs. Throughout the counseling process, our nutrition counselors will provide you with educational materials, food/meal planning strategies, encouragement and support, and the accountability that will help you achieve successful weight loss (or other nutrition goal).
Our goal is to help you identify incremental ways for you to make healthier choices every day. Our nutrition counselors do this through focusing on three key areas: nutrition education, active coaching, and long-term success.
NUTRITION EDUCATION
Early in the nutrition counseling process, we help you build an educational foundation in nutrition science. This way, as you progress through your weight loss plan, you understand the science and reasoning behind the changes you make. Among other things, your nutrition counselor teaches you about the major macronutrient categories, how to approach calories and food intake, and how to think through planning and timing your meals.
Our counselors work with you to make the learning process ongoing and iterative. Concepts build upon each other and have practical application. In working with a nutrition counselor, some of the things you will learn include: the science behind building a balanced meal, how to decipher the terms on a nutrition label, and the biological triggers to food cravings and how to overcome them.
We believe that an educational focus is critically important to your long-term success. In developing a working knowledge of nutrition, you will be able to make better choices on your own, and will be better able to problem-solve when faced with food-related predicaments.
NUTRITION EDUCATION
Above all else, your nutrition counselor is your coach. Like an athletics coach, your nutrition counselor will be most helpful when she understands your current habits and tendencies. This learning process begins during your initial consultation discussion, and is further informed by your ongoing food logs.
After working with your nutrition counselor to determine your goal weight, your counselor will work with you to begin brainstorming small changes in your daily routine that can help you achieve 1-2 pounds weight loss each week. In determining appropriate changes, you and your counselor will discuss realistic changes considering your schedule, food preferences, social influences, and other cost and time constraints. Initial changes may include: integrating more snacks into your day, making simple food swaps toward items that have better nutritional value, and improving when you eat your major meals. You will be amazed at how making incremental changes can build into significant lifestyle improvements.
The weight loss process will be challenging, which is why we are here. You will work with your nutrition counselor to set short term goals that are specific, measurable and achievable. Documenting your progress toward these goals will help you stay on track, and allows us to celebrate your successes as you continue to make improvements to your eating decisions. We know you will inevitably encounter moments of frustration and minor setbacks. During these teaching moments, your nutrition counselor will help you frame these minor challenges in the proper prospective, and will provide you with options and choices to help you make better choices in the future.
Your nutrition counselor will wear many hats: cheerleader, teacher, accountability partner. All of these roles are necessary to help you maintain your focus, persevere through plateaus, and maintain a constructive mindset throughout the weight loss journey.
LONG TERM SUCCESS
Our nutrition counselors believe that developing an educational foundation in nutrition and learning how to make incremental improvements to your diet best prepare you for long-term success. Once you have achieved initial weight loss and progressed through normal weight-maintenance, we hope that you will continue to meet with your nutrition counselor to help you plan for special occasions and quickly resolve new dietary and schedule-related challenges. OnPoint provides a great support system for maintaining your improved lifestyle for the long-haul.
