Allergy Queen

By Kelsey Wright

The emotional connection we have to food

is something to which we all relate.

Food restrictions can easily ruin your mood

and are often difficult to embrace.

Food is often how we relate to others

since we eat when we see family and friends.

Food is how love is shown by our mothers.

If you don’t eat her meals, it could be an offense.

There are many reasons why we change our diet

like for diabetes, Celiac, and weight loss.

Sometimes we just like to cause a riot

when we walk in looking fit and like a boss.

For diets, the beginning is always the worst

because you start off without a formulated plan.

You stare at diet cookbooks with lips pursed

and realize you’re no longer a free man.

Many times, you don’t have to be extreme.

You can eat some foods from time-to-time.

You can still have a little bacon or ice cream

or some of your favorite key lime.

But if you’re even more restricted

and can’t eat those foods no matter what,

it can make you quite conflicted

and can easily put you in a rut.

Today, this is my strategy:

to talk especially to those of you

who have gained food allergies,

mostly if they’re giving you the “allergy blues”.

I’m here to tell you it will improve.

It will seem hard initially,

but you’ll settle into a groove

and become an allergen expert officially.

Here’s a story to which I personally relate

to help give you some hope

that you can and will acclimate

and begin on an upward slope.

Adult-onset food allergies

can truly cause a grown woman to cry.

Especially when she misses cheese

and ice cream… and also pie.

I know a girl who has gone through this

who’s allergic to 12 different foods.

She can’t have pizza, strawberries, or swiss.

Most things at the store, her diet excludes.

She started out by reading every food label,

walking down every grocery aisle,

and finding things to eat if she was able

to help change her lifestyle.

Next, she learned to be creative

and make recipes that were completely new.

Her family became more accommodative

and cooked things that she can eat too.

At her wedding, she had a special cake

and now eats cashew milk ice cream all the time.

She’s learned she really loves to bake

and her favorite sauce is now avocado lime.

‘

Her love of cooking grew with her confidence

and the situation turned out to be ideal.

It’s when she developed patience

that the little sadness inside of her healed.

This is when she gained a mastery over her foe

and slayed the bothersome allergen “serpentine”.

She then sat down in her contentment throne

and dubbed herself the allergy queen.

Nutrition Through Illness/Surgery: A First-Hand Account

By: Rachel Temple

Have you ever been scared out of your mind? I don't mean scary movie marathon scared, I mean life or death situation kind of scared. The kind of fear that stops you dead in your tracks and kind of takes over your life. That’s the kind of fear that I’m talking about because that is what I experienced during my year as a Dietetic Intern. Now, not every intern will have the experience I had as not every intern will be told by their doctor that they have squamous-cell growths on their reproductive system. Not every intern will have to have surgery during Spring Break to remove the un-invited “tumor babies” so that they can be biopsied to find out if they are malignant or not. Not every intern would even survive the stress of that situation, but this intern did (*humble brag*). 

Now, there’s obviously no ideal time to have to try to have a life and to have to deal with a potential cancer diagnosis looming over your head, but it can be managed. People will tell you to stay positive and they will tell you that its ok to cry and others will just ignore what you’re going through and pretend like nothing is wrong and like you have no extra stress on your life. You’ll get stressed and have terrible nights of sleep, but you can still function effectively as you start to realize that you want to have a meaningful impact on people’s lives right now. You’ll be angry and be in a constant state of pain because almost-cancer is kind of painful, and no one warns you about that. But somehow you pull on those professional clothes every day and walk into that hospital with your head up because those patients still need you to try to help them.

Then you have your oncology rotation. Doesn't that just sound lovely to talk to people with cancer as you are waiting to learn if you have cancer? Let me just tell you, you bond with these patients and you take their lessons and bring them home with you, just in case. And seeing them, hearing their stories, and relating to them brings you some of your life back. Almost all of the patients and people that I talked to that were undergoing active treatment had the same thing in common, they cared about their bodies and they took care of themselves in every way possible. And then you get inspired.

Not everyone will react the same way, but I’m telling you, the people who have cancer know their stuff when it comes to health. They know what medications their taking, the dosage, how much exercise they need to do, how much water to drink, how to be mentally healthy, and, most importantly, how to eat a well-balanced, healthful diet. Now, the last one might be easy for a dietetic intern to comprehend and to live out. It is, after all, our whole career path. However, when you are tired and sick and in pain, cooking and eating healthy foods are not on the top of your priority list. In fact, eating is not even really on your mind and you certainly don't want to put a lot of effort into cooking when you’re just going to eat a few bites and then move on. But that’s not what we preach to our clients, and for the ones thriving with cancer, they don't recommend living like that either. So, I got my butt into gear and started to shop for more wholesome foods. I focused on getting some good protein sources into my diet so that I could maintain my muscle and have a little bit stored up before surgery so healing would go smoother (and it really worked! I was completely healed up in about 1-2 weeks). I also increased my fiber and probiotic intake so that my gut would have some of those good bacteria to help my body heal and to keep all important processed working well (like regular bowel movements because no one is happy if they’re not regular). I added more antioxidant rich foods to just get all the good nutrients starting to work through my system. Finally, I ate for pleasure. It’s a simple concept, but it’s so important for everyone, whether they’re sick or not, to eat with some pleasure every single day. An ice cream cake isn’t the most healthful thing and it really didn't provide me with any nutrient that I was focusing on, but man did it make me feel good. And it made me start to enjoy my food a little more again, so I ate a little more, and just relaxed. Not much you can do when your body decides to grow tumor babies besides get a little mad at it, but still treat it right anyways. You know, just treat it like real children, but with none of the financial burden of a real kid.

 In the end, I got the surgery, they did the biopsies, and they did not find any malignancies. Just squamous cells hanging out, causing some mischief, but ultimately doing no harm. And as relieving as that was, I felt a little sad that I couldn't get more personal experiences with others that do have cancer. They helped open my eyes up to how I treat my body and how important it is to just pay attention to you and what your body is telling you. No matter what, your body is smarter than you and it will do whatever it wants. So treat it well, show it some love, feed it, and use it to live. And, above all else, stay sexy and don’t grow tumor babies (they’re not as cute as human babies).

My Road to a Positive Self Image

By: J’Laine Stutsman

Deciding to start college in my mid-thirties was not an easy decision, but thanks to the support of my family I was able to begin my journey to becoming an RD. When I first decided to go back to school I was not exactly sure what it was I wanted to do. It wasn’t until my oldest child was having GI complications and had to see a dietitian that I finally decided. I started this path because my son, but the further along I go the more I realize my own complicated relationship with food.

I came from the generation of having to eat everything off of your dinner plate before you could leave the table.  When dinner was complete I was always the last one at the table, while my family gathered in the living room. This eventually led to an absence of fullness, which led to weight gain overtime. Everything came to crashing down when in 6^th grade I was diagnosed with a reproductive disease called endometriosis. The only treatment was hormone therapy, which caused me to transform from a size 8 to a size 18 over one summer. As you can imagine such a large weight gain can be tough for any child. To make matters worse my mother was always trying to “help” me by trying to change things about me in an effort to make me look better. This lead to a feeling of not ever being good enough the way I was. I can’t blame my mother for everything, my grandmother and uncle helped to aide in my insecurities. You see on my mothers’ side I felt like the one that wasn’t as smart or pretty as my sister and the comments they sometimes only amplified my feelings. I spent every summer with my grandma telling me that I was too fat and needed to loose weight among other things. This only strengthened my feelings of not being good enough. Throughout my entire childhood my only saving grace was my father, but that didn’t completely drown out the insecurities.

After high school I fell into a tailspin of mentally abusive relationships. When the boyfriend I was living with cheated on me, of course it couldn’t have been him- I wasn’t good enough. I stopped eating in an effort to make myself more attractive. When the relationship ended I once again turned to food, but this time it was my comfort. It seemed like everything was back on track when at 22 I got pregnant with my first child and gained 100 pounds. Given my history I didn’t expect much from the man I was seeing who would later become my husband. He would become my second saving grace. No matter how many times I tried to push him away he never budged. He is the one that encouraged me to pursue school and has kept encouraging me with every bump and doubt throughout. My insecurities specifically body image is still something I struggle with. After 17 years of marriage and 3 kids I still sometimes feel uncomfortable when my husband wraps his arms around me. I may never be completely comfortable in my own skin, but I feel stronger every day.

Those that really know me know that I am not the type of person to share such intimate details into my life. I am sharing my story because I think it’s important for us to understand our own personal relationship with food if we are truly to help others with theirs.

Increasing Women’s Market Share at the Top

How do we cultivate ambitious, leadership-oriented dietitians of the future?

By Katharine Rug

Temperatures warm and flowers bloom, there is no doubt that spring has arrived in St. Louis. The change in temperatures and vegetation mark the beginning of a new season, as well as a signal that the dietetic internship is coming to a close. Just as the bees buzz with excitement for spring, many interns dream of entering into a field they love and paying bills with the compensation they receive. Saint Louis University dietetic interns joined with other local internships on March 26th for “career day.” We received instruction on resume development, interviewing, and even some words of wisdom from professionals in the field. Questions were posed, questions were answered, but leaving career day I felt as if one day could not possibly be enough to equip young professionals with the tools to navigate a saturated job market.

Nonetheless I pondered the words of wisdom we received. Words shared included; job satisfaction above compensation,get your foot in the door, be persistent, and my personal favorite “be fearless.” I thought about the term fearless and the related character attributes of confidence, risk taking, and at times a willingness to “fly by the seat of your pants.” Like a good dietetic intern, I took the inspiration of the day and dove into the research. Some of the questions I want to answer through this post include: What does the employment marketplace look like for women, especially at the senior-executive level management sectors? What factors influence women’s aspirations to become leaders? Are there gender differences and or perceived gender differences that add additional challenges for women entering the c-suite? Finally, tying all these factors together, what areas of professional development can the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics focus on to increase the propensity for dietitians to assume executive leadership roles?

What does the labor marketplace look like for women, especially at the senior and executive management levels?

According to the Center for American Progress women are responsible for earning 60% of undergraduate and master’s degrees, 47% of law degrees and 48% of medical degrees. In totality women compromise 47% of the U.S. labor force and 49% of the college-educated workforce. Though women are now steady stakeholders of the employment and collegiate marketplaces, only 25% of women are executive- or senior-level officials and managers, 20% are board-members, and most importantly only 6% of CEOs are women.

If my fellow interns assigned me a superlative it would state  “person most likely to quote a recent NPR article, show, or podcast and/or person most likely to bring up campaign finance issues in a public setting,” but nevertheless the point is that in a recent NPR series of Freakanomics Radio titled The Secret Life of CEOs, host Stephen Dunbar explored what it takes to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. One particular expert titled After the Glass Ceiling, a Glass Cliff examined the phenomenon that occurs when the 5-6% of women actually do become CEOs. This phenomena is referred to as the Glass Cliff, meaning female CEOs are significantly more likely to be given the job if the ship is sinking (After the Glass Ceiling, a Glass Cliff). The episode concluded that women in leadership are subjected to greater critique from shareholders, frequent challenges to their authority, as well as less praise for saving the ship from total destruction. Psychologists and CEOs featured in the episode point to the natural tendency for women to be risk averse, lack self-confidence, and the fact that women are held to significantly higher standards as compared to their male counterparts as reasoning to why women do not rise to the top of the employment pyramid. Several female CEOs, including the likes of Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi and Ex-CEO for Yahoo, Carol Burtz, also pointed to the “old boys club” infrastructure of middle and upper management and the blockade it often puts in place for the elevation of female leaders.

What factors influence women’s aspirations to become leaders?

A 2017 report by Egon Zehnder titled Leaders & Daughters: Cultivating the Next Generation identified that 74% of young female respondents aspired to reach executive level leadership. Of the greatest influencers for professional development, women ranked mothers as one of the key components of success, as well as the influence and support of fathers and husbands. This relationship between mothers and daughters also appears to be strengthening in the younger generation of respondents. Additionally, this study examined the role of mentorship as a provision of support to women. 55% of women reported having a senior mentor or manager acting as an advocate for their professional growth instilled a sense of confidence. Though providing maternal figures is not currently part of the Academy’s member benefits, providing platforms for mentorship, as well as advocating for work-life balance for women seeking leadership and family-life has the potential to impact current and future dietitians.

Are there gender differences and or perceived gender differences that add additional challenges for women entering the c-suite?

If you weren’t aware, there are significant gender discrepancies in risk taking behaviors, as well as confidence ratings between men and women. Men are significantly more likely to take part in risk-related behaviors in the domains of health/safety, financial, recreational and ethical decision making as compared to females (Harris, Jenkins,& Glaser, 2006). Along with being risk averse, a recent Harvard study demonstrated that women are less confident than men in their ability to answer questions accurately and women are also less likely to provide answers that strongly agree or disagree (Sarsons & Xu, 2015). In this case, acknowledgment is power and helping women to understand these potential challenges (whether innate or socially constructed) can equip women with the tools to propel themselves forward into the executive levels that they desire.

What areas of professional development can the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietetic Internships focus on to increase the propensity for dietitians to assume executive leadership roles?

1.       Increase student awareness of the Academy’s mentoring program. The Academy offers students and professionals with the opportunity to network and gain a mentor/mentee relationship by matching individuals based on area of practice, interests, and aspirations.

2.       Utilize the Academy’s Diversity Mentoring Toolkit. Did you know that of the 100,000 RDs/RDNs in the United States, 76% are white, 11% are unreported or prefer not to disclose, and 9% are individuals of color? It’s 2018, increasing racial diversity is good for our profession, it’s great for our patients, and it’s what we need to move forward.

3.       Think outside of clinicals. Though dietetic internships are a combination of community, food service, and clinical rotations the largest emphasis always seems to fall on clinical nutrition. Perhaps it is the allure of the white coat or the fact that we spend a lot of time committing ourselves to clinical practice, but the world of leadership and dietetics is much broader than hospital walls. Providing dietetic interns with the opportunity to see what the profession looks like in executive leadership roles could provide young professionals with inspiration to create a path to the C-suite.

4.       Leadership skills are not developed through PowerPoint presentations. Academia has a propensity to utilize class presentations as a means to develop “leadership skills.” I am a firm believer in the use of such presentations to increase an individual’s comfort in front of an audience, but true leadership skills require the development of critical thinking, confidence, and risk taking behaviors (most often under pressure). Therefore….

5.       Role playing isn’t just for practicing patient interactions. Role playing future employment conversations such as goal setting, self-advocacy for increase responsibility, and salary negotiations are just a few scenarios that could be worked through with dietetic interns or young professionals seeking advancement in their field.

As a final point to ponder, I would like to take a minute to acknowledge that this fight for leadership has been long fought by the women that have come before me. Many women have endured bias, harassment, disrespect, and much more. While the fight continues, I would also like to put a final spotlight on women of color. Women of color share the smallest portion of leadership roles in our employment marketplace, despite numerous studies pointing to the importance and benefits of both gender and racial diversity in the workforce. As we march forward together, let us continue the movement towards the top, making sure to advocate for all women and call out discrimination in all forms. I love this profession and I believe that the capabilities of the women in this field are endless. To that end, I believe that a profession comprised of 95% female members should work tirelessly to insure that women are able to elevate themselves to the level of leadership they desire.

References

EgonZehnder (2017). Leaders & Daughters Global Survey 2017

Jenkins, M., Harris, C., & Glaser, D. (2006). Gender Differences in Risk Assessment: Why do women take fewer risks than men?. Judgement and Decision Making 1(1). 

Sarsons, H.,& Xu, G. (2015) Confidence Men? Gender and Confidence: Evidence among Top Economists.

Infographics & Photos

3 Barriers: Center for Creative Leadership

Breakdown of RDs & RDNs by Race: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Commission of Dietetic Registration

We Can Do It: http://www.alinaanjum.com/2017/08/16/an-inferiority-complex/

Stand Up For Your Profession

By Allison Scherer

It’s match day and you matched. Congrats! The stress is over. You have yourself a celebratory drink with friends as a feeling of extreme pride now washes over you. You beat the competitive 50/50 odds of even being placed and are on your way towards becoming a registered dietitian. This credential is something you’ve been studying for, volunteering for, (maybe) brown-nosing (a bit), and gaining every experience you possibly could for four (or more) straight years.

Fast-forward to your first clinical rotation: Walking through those hospital doors proudly wearing your freshly pressed white lab coat, and your food-themed badge reel on your lapel, you can’t help but exude confidence, especially when people accidentally mistake you for a doctor or speech pathologist or endocrinologist. Feelings of excitement and nervousness make their appearances as you are about to meet your preceptor – and those feelings become even stronger as you now are about to see your first patient. Mid-diabetes education, there’s a knock on the door. In walks the doctor who says: “I’m sure what you have to say is important and all, but I’m going to talk to the patient now”.  Welp. Those feelings of excitement and nervousness and pride turn into shame, embarrassment, and anger. Mind you, this doctor was there to confirm the patient’s discharge – not how to nutritionally manage their type 1 diabetes on their own which is something entirely foreign and extremely important for the newly diagnosed patient who’s yet to have any information on carbohydrate counting, insulin injections, or medications at all.

            Sadly, these encounters happen to dietetic interns and dietitians more often than you think but is a topic that hardly comes into conversation when you begin this RD journey. I entered into this profession knowing the importance nutrition plays in preventing life-debilitating diseases…and assuming everyone else knew that as well and held it to the same importance that I did - or at least could be educated by the influential impact the registered dietitian makes. Now, these situations may not happen to every body but they sure aren’t anything new to those in the clinical nutrition field. And I praise those who have never lost sight of who they are as a dietitian or felt feelings of being lost. However, it truly is discouraging when during your whole undergraduate life, dietitians were respected just the same as every other licensed health professional with some sort of higher level education (just as you) who walks through those hospital halls only to be treated as if your major is laughable compared to that of the MD.

Many rotations have passed since the interaction above however, these feelings of unimportance in the health field have continued from site to site and at one point I even dreaded going back through those hospital doors. I’ve gotten used to the fact that our professional opinions are often dismissed or stepped upon by those with reversed credential from our own – “DR” rather than “RD” – and have let myself succumb to thoughts of changing my major or wishing my internship time was over because only then with those two letters behind my name will I feel better. However, instead of continuing to entertain thoughts of changing my major, I decided to change my outlook.

            We have miles to go in the journey of having the clinical dietitian be welcomed and respected as a member of the healthcare team. And while it may take extra effort on our end today, the reality where dietitians are equal members will be realized tomorrow. Advocating for yourself and your profession is vital not only in the clinical realm but in the community, foodservice, athletics, infectious disease, agriculture, policy - anything and everywhere. RD’s are backed with scientific knowledge and rigorous training in how a variety of wholesome, nutritious foods prevents disease and grants some pretty beneficial rewards: lower morbidity and mortality rates, less incidences of chronic disease, lower risk of cancer, weight management, better quality of life, longevity, reversal of inflammation, just to name a few. WE as dietitians understand this – and RDs truly believe the public knows this about but has a hard time accepting it.

            Entering back into the room of the newly diagnosed diabetes patient when I was so rudely interrupted by the doctor, I wanted to respond with “Why yes, it is very important for his health as he heads on home without your invaluable care there to guide him along the way. Give me two minutes to finish up and I’ll be done. Thanks”. But really responded with, “Not a problem, I can come back in a couple minutes”. Maybe I shouldn’t have walked out. Or maybe I should’ve stayed and continued on as he finished up and taught him a little bit about nutrition as he listened. But don’t get frustrated when the patient is back through those ER doors sporting some awful black and green toes and an amputation on the way because he wasn’t educated on how to manage his carbs.

Registered dietitian, RD, RDN, dietetic intern, doctor of food, the “Real Deal” – whatever you call yourself; keep on keeping on, hold your head high, and your nutrition morals strong, because one day we will be the ones educating those MDs who thought chocolate was a vegetable.

Merging Health and Body Positivity:

The Role of the RDN [and Dietetic Intern]

By Hailey Rausch

We live in a world of extremes and hard lines.

All in or all out.

Left or right.

Yes or no.

Fad diet or eating without a care in the world.

We tend to care too much or care far too little. Like many other problems this world faces, this type of mentality leads to detrimental impacts. Current and future registered dietitians face great difficulty when promoting and educating nutrition while maintaining body positivity – two areas of concern that I believe don’t belong as two separate entities, but ought to be united. So, how do we merge these two concepts?

Shifting the frame from weight to health. Yes, we have heard the facts time and time again regarding weight status, BMI, waist circumference, etc. and its impact on our health – but healthy looks different on everyone and it’s about time we embrace it. I know what you’re thinking, what about the people who are indeed embracing body positivity (as they should) but don’t have a clear understanding of what healthy is. This is where it gets a bit challenging. To combat this, eating nutritious food and being active can be promoted and taught in a way that showcases the myriad of health benefits that accompany them regardless of weight status. By taking a step back from the numbers talk, we can start eliminating the harsh extremes of all or none and start practicing moderation – which I believe will not only make us more approachable to obtain nutrition information from, but also will lead to more people wanting to embrace nutrition.

 Practicing mindfulness. Throughout my internship, I have found that even a little mindfulness can go a long way. Be mindful of the fact that what healthy looks like is going to be different from person to person. It is easy to revert to the “move more, eat less” regime, but this is yet again another extreme oversimplification. Additionally, we have been taught that there are no “bad” foods, but it took me a long time to realize that many less healthful foods are marketed in a way to resemble just that: “sinful brownies”. I even catch myself saying things like “dark chocolate is my guilty pleasure”. But why does eating a brownie, or dark chocolate, or whatever it may be, have to have any guilt attached to it? It doesn’t and that’s where we come in. Recognizing that what and how we promote nutrition and provide nutrition education or even how we talk about our own eating habits, whether it be in the hospital or on social media, greatly impacts not only the way others see our profession, but also the way others see themselves.

“It’s hard to do the hard thing. That’s why they call it the hard thing… Working on my ability to consciously be having a positive effect on myself and also on the people and the world around me is really important and I always want to be driving towards that.”

-         Hank Green

Passion for the emerging field in nutrition and dietetics. The thing is, none of this is easy. Shifting the frame from weight to health is going to take a lot of time and work on our part. And being mindful? Well it takes a heck of a lot more brain power. I do believe we can make this shift and work towards uniting the concepts of nutrition, health and body positivity if we do so together. I think it is safe to say that we are all in this profession because we care about people and we care about nutrition. I encourage all of us to let our passion for nutrition and dietetics to fuel our practice, to learn more, to do better and to be better.

Common Misconceptions about Dietitians

By: Alyce Reichenbacher

I love being a part of the dietetics profession and I cannot wait to one day have MS, RD at the end of my name. However, sometimes others make assumptions about my nutritional choices due to my association with dietetics. For example, I will be in line at a buffet and the person in front of me says “don’t judge me, I know it’s bad” as they reach for the chocolate chip cookie at the end of the table. Or I walk into a patient’s room and they refer to me as the “food police.” Or I order boneless buffalo wings with ranch instead of the house salad when I’m out to dinner with friends and get a look from them like wait you eat THAT, I thought you were in dietetics. I’ve started to feel like the average person perceives dietitians as judgemental fitness freaks that force you to eat kale and quinoa for each meal.

No fear, I am here to squash those misconceptions of Registered Dietitians (RDs) and bring some truth to the profession. Here is a list of five commonly faulty thoughts about dietitians.

1. Dietitians eat healthy 100% of the time and think you should too
1. Not everyone is perfect! We all deserve to treat ourselves once in a while and I am a firm believer that we need to feed our body and our soul. Depriving ourselves of things we love is not only torture, but it will most likely force us to binge later on. As dietitians, it is our job to help our clients and patients still eat the foods they love while keeping their body healthy. That advice goes for us, health professionals, as well. I most certainly do not eat healthy for every single meal. What is life without chocolate peanut butter ice cream or a barbeque chicken pizza every once in a while? The most important advice we can give you is to enjoy everything in moderation. When it comes time to have that special treat, appreciate it! Take pleasure in treating yourself to a favorite food on occasion.
2. We know everything when it comes to food
1. As much as I would like to say that statement is true... it is not. Especially as a Dietetic Intern, I feel like I have only scratched the surface on food and nutrition. It is such a vast subject and I have so much more to learn. That being said, eventually we all find our niche. It is common for RDs to specialize in a certain area which can cause them to not stay as up-to-date on information in other areas. For example, a RD who works in an eating disorder facility is not always up to speed on the most recent recommendations in sports nutrition. Because it is such a dense field, we may not be able to answer a specific question right off the bat if it is in an area we are not as familiar with. However, we often know where to find science-based answers or can direct you to someone who can!
3. Our field is “black and white”
1. Is red meat bad for me? Will intermittent fasting help me lose weight? Should I take a multivitamin? Sometimes I struggle when people ask me questions and the answer is often “it depends.” There are so many aspects of a person’s health that you have to consider when talking about nutrition. Every client has different dietary needs, goals, lifestyles, and food preferences. What works for one person most likely will not work for the next. In addition, each RD has their own beliefs and backgrounds. Luckily, we are trained on how to tailor unique advice for every individual using evidence-based research.
4. Dietitians are the same as Nutritionists
1. Registered Dietitian, Nutritionist, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist? It’s confusing to know which term is correct. If someone claims to be a Nutritionist, he/she could be a qualified professional but they could also be someone who took a class or two on health and wellness. There really is no accreditation for being a nutritionist and there is no regulation on who can call themselves nutritionists. Registered Dietitian, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, RD, RDN, and Dietitian are all ways of saying the same thing. An RDN is someone who has completed a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics, completed an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program (fancy way of saying internship) where we accomplished at least 1,200 hours of supervised practice, and passed a national examination often referred to as the RD exam or CDR. 
5. All we do is meal plan and get people to lose weight
1. That is the same as saying all photographers do is point and shoot; when really, there are countless things that need to happen. The photographer has to find the correct lighting, backgrounds, and position characters the way that best suits how the shot needs to be captured etc. In fact, most dietitians do not create meal plans for their clients. This is because meal plans can be a temporary and unrealistic way of fitting a person’s lifestyle long-term. Our goal is to make life changing and sustaining tweaks to your diet and/or lifestyle in a way that is healthy, maintainable, and individualized to you. Not to mention, RDs work in a vast array of settings. Weight loss is only one area in which they specialize in. Other careers in dietetics can include working in a cancer center helping patients maintain good nutrition to keep fighting, in a children’s hospital calculating tube feedings for kiddos who are too ill to eat, in a private practice setting delivering corporate wellness speeches to big companies, in a food service operation as a chef or menu designer, in a diabetes clinic teaching those newly diagnosed how to work their pumps and count carbohydrates, in a nursing home working to keep the geriatric population happy and healthy, in a OBGYN office providing women with prenatal nutrition, and the list goes on and on. We often wear many hats and our days consist of so much more than typing up meal plans and telling people calories in equals calories out.

I hope these few points help to clear your mind about dietitians and can also allow you see how expansive this profession really is! We are non-judgemental, pro-quality of life individuals just trying to make the world a healthier place, one whole food at a time!