What can dietitians tell us about our relationship with food?
Some of us need food for comfort, some for energy. Many of my patients are emotional eaters, so they eat for the wrong reasons. You know that expression "I eat to live"? Well, those are people who eat based upon hunger. Other people say that they live to eat, meaning that they love the food: They love the taste of it, the smell of it, the pleasure of cooking, the pleasure of shopping. I think that it's important for us each to find out why we eat the foods that we eat and why we eat in the styles in which we eat. The key is also "What are we eating?" and, very often, seeing a registered dietitian will help you figure that out.
How can you prepare for a visit with a registered dietitian?
It's a good idea to go see your physician and have some basic blood work done: cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, triglycerides. This way, the registered dietitian has more information about you both inside and out, because that would really help him or her to get a better idea about what kinds of program that would be best suited for your particular needs.
You might also want to ask yourself, "Well, what are my eating habits like? Do I stand eating in front of the refrigerator? Am I eating in my car most of the time? Do I eat off my kid's plates? What kind of food am I making for my family? Do I know how to read a label?"
