What to Expect from Nutrition Counseling
Wondering what it's like to meet with a registered dietitian? Nutrition counseling is personalized to you, your health history, your goals, and your everyday life. Here's what you can expect before, during, and after your nutrition counseling appointments at AMS Nutrition Counseling.
Before Your Appointment
Before your first appointment, one of our staff members will contact you with information about where to go and what to bring. Our staff will also verify your insurance benefits for nutrition counseling and let you know about any expected copay or coinsurance. Most of our patients pay $0!
Initial Nutrition Counseling Appointment
Most initial sessions at AMS Nutrition Counseling are 60 minutes or longer. Your dietitian will ask you a lot of questions - and we mean A LOT. This helps us get to know you, your health history, your lifestyle, and your goals, so we can provide recommendations that are specific to your needs and conditions. That is what makes working with a dietitian different from simply searching for nutrition information online.
Your dietitian will ask you about your medical history, what medications and supplements you take, what you eat, your exercise routine, and what your goals are. If labs are available, these will be reviewed as well. If you have diabetes, you and your dietitian will talk about your blood sugar readings, CGM data, and/or insulin pump, depending on your diabetes management.
Your dietitian will provide the nutrition education that's most relevant to your needs and work with you to develop specific goals to work on between appointments. These will be actionable and developed together by you and your dietitian.
After that, you and your dietitian will decide how often you would like to meet. Some people want to follow up every 1-2 weeks in the beginning, to stay on track, while others may only check in once every 2-3 months. Follow up frequency is very individualized, and may change as you continue to work together.
Support People are Welcome
You are always welcome to bring someone else to your appointments with you. Some patients bring a spouse, significant other, parent, child, or other trusted person to some or all of their appointments. It can be nice to have a second set of ears to listen to the conversation, especially at the first appointment where so much is discussed. If someone else in your household does the food shopping and/or preparation, it may make sense to bring them to the appointment.
Realize that intimate and personal health information may be discussed during these appointments (medical history, weight, feelings about food and body, bowel habits, etc.), so choose someone who helps you feel comfortable and supported.
Please keep in mind that appointments are for the patient. We aren't able to provide individualized nutrition education or counseling to support people who aren't patients of the practice.
In-Person vs Telehealth
Whether you meet with your dietitian in person or through telehealth, your appointment will follow a similar process. Our telehealth appointments are conducted by secure audio and video rather than by phone, so you can see and talk with your dietitian face-to-face. Your dietitian can also share handouts, educational materials, and other visuals directly on your screen.
Ready to Meet with a WNY Dietitian?
Give us a call, or schedule online here: online scheduling
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