What To Expect
Expect that regardless of whom you choose, the process of working with an expert in nutrition will likely start before your first session. Many professionals ask their clients to come in with a log of what they have eaten for the past few days. This gives the nutritionist or dietician a good starting point to review your situation and determine how to proceed from there.
Many nutritionists and dieticians will help you come up with balanced meal plans you can follow. The plans should include items from all of the food groups for each meal, and appropriate portion sizes as well.
A Small Time Commitment
Some people only need to meet with a nutrition specialist once and can take the recommendations from there and apply them as needed. But people with related health conditions may need regular, ongoing visits. In fact, people who need to make significant dietary changes may need to see a nutritionist monthly or bi-monthly.
In addition to helping you develop balanced meals, nutritionists and dieticians should also be educating you about making smart choices and understanding the nutritional values of different foods and different forms of food preparation. In addition, some people can learn to control medical issues, such as diabetes and cholesterol, with the right food choices and sometimes without using medication.
If you live in a rural area and don’t have easy access to a trained professional, some nutritionists and dieticians may also be willing to follow up with you via phone, fax or mail. You send them your food logs so they can review them and provide additional advice and tweaking.
What You Can Expect To Spend
Since nutritionists and dieticians bring a varied range of experience to their jobs, the rate they charge for their services can also run the gamut. You can expect to spend more for a dietician than a nutritionist, since a dietician has more education and training. But this is not a hard and fast rule, so in fact you may find an excellent dietician whose rates are less than the nutritionists you are considering.
Rates may also vary depending on whether the nutritionist or dietician runs a private practice or works as part of a healthcare clinic or in some other type of facility or health club setting.
The hourly rate for a private nutitionist or dietician consultation costs from $50 to $175.
Insurance may cover part or all of this expense if you have a health condition that would benefit from a dietary overhaul.
A Cost-Effective Alternative
If you can’t afford the expense of seeing a nutritionist or dietician on an ongoing basis, but still want some to stay on top of your eating habits, you might consider an electronic hand-held “nutritionist” gadget. You can find these at high-end gift stores and online. They cost about $50 and work by prompting you to enter what you eat; they then give you the nutritional content. They also allow you to keep track of your weekly food and calorie consumption.
