What is weight inclusive Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT)?

Medical Nutrition Therapy is using evidence-based, individualized nutrition interventions to help manage medical conditions provided by a registered dietitian. It includes reviewing nutrition related behaviors and lifestyle, assessing nutritional status, and coming up with a personalized treatment plan. Providing MNT from a weight inclusive framework is non-stigmatizing towards a person’s weight and body, acknowledging the many other factors that play a part in whole health, and allows the treatment plan to be focused on behavior based actions that are achievable and accessible. As a part of focusing on all aspects of health, I may connect with other members of your care team such as primary care physician, gastroenterologist, APRN, and therapist as applicable to assure clear communication.

What Is Intuitive Eating (IE)?

There are 10 principles to Intuitive Eating. IE is an evidence-based, self-care eating framework which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought. It helps to cultivate attunement to the physical sensations that arise from within one’s body to have both biological and psychological needs met. It also teaches to acknowledge and remove obstacles and barriers to this attunement which usually come from rules, thoughts, and beliefs.

If you don’t focus on weight, what do you focus on?

Whatever your nutrition-based goals are! Weight is not a behavior. Through an initial assessment and nutrition counseling, we can assess your history and past experiences, implement interventions that feel sustainable and achievable, identify what barriers are in place, and ways to nourish all aspects of health by using actionable steps.

I like the idea of not dieting but I don't like my body/don't feel healthy and still want to lose weight. Does that mean you won't work with me?

Part of the focus in our nutrition counseling sessions are acknowledging and validating that it makes total sense to want to pursue weight loss, especially living in a culture that puts value on appearance, weight, body size, and age. Although we will not make weight loss a goal, we absolutely address weight concerns and how your specific life experiences have led you to want to pursue weight loss, and what you are seeking from that weight loss. We can work towards putting trust in our bodies so that once we are eating, moving, and living according to what works for us individually, our bodies will be at where they want to be. This can feel overwhelming if we aren’t used to a non-diet approach and the unlearning doesn’t happen over night.