Tag: greenville sc binge eating

5 Reasons Why You Need A Registered Dietitian On Your Eating Disorder Recovery Team

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Eating disorders are complex diseases that require a multidisciplinary approach to overcome. Research shows that including physical, nutritional, psychological and psychiatric interventions, provides the best chance at a full recovery (1). A dietitian is an important part of this team and provides benefits that other disciples cannot. 

Here are 5 benefits that our clients in our eating disorder and disordered eating program get from working with a Registered Dietitian:

  1. Improved confidence in meeting your individual nutrition needs. We are here to help determine how much you should be eating and provide meal ideas so you aren’t constantly thinking about food and questioning yourself!
  2. Improved relationship with food: We help to debunk common nutrition myths and food rules and aid you in challenging these thoughts when they arrive.
  3. Medical Stability: We help to monitor your food intake, weight, vitals, and labs as well as coordinate care with your physician and therapist to ensure your safety.
  4. Support: We are there to help you through hard times and encourage you through challenges that arise with your food or body image.
  5. Prevention: We help to catch disordered eating before it turns into anything more serious and can help prevent needing higher levels of care.

What does eating disorder nutrition counseling look like?

Nutrition counseling for eating disorders involves:

  • Education on nutrients and how our body uses them
  • Your individual overall nutrition needs
  • Exercise recommendations
  • Supplement recommendations
  • Education on the harmful effects of dieting.
  • Personalized meal plans geared towards your individual needs in order to help those with eating disorders weight restore and/or heal their relationship with food

Dietitians help those with eating disorders navigate nutrition information – helping clients to learn what is true and what is false based on research. They help client’s to reframe their thoughts around food using therapeutic techniques and food exposures. They will monitor your weight and vitals throughout the process to ensure your safety. 

Our dietitians also help with accountability and support through healthie photo + feeling food logging. Clients can log their meals and feelings by taking a picture of their meal and dietitians will respond back weekly (no calorie/macro counting). This allows our dietitians to assess overall food intake, make adjustments to meal plans, and provide support in between sessions.

Lastly, dietitians stay in close contact with your treatment team and support system in order to make sure everyone is on the same page and give you the best chance at recovery. Our dietitians communicate with therapist, psychiatrists, doctors, and caregivers regularly. We even offer joint therapy/nutrition sessions and parent/caregiver sessions!

Want to learn more about how our dietitians have helped clients? Read our testimonials here! 

Still aren’t sure if working with a dietitian is right for you? We offer FREE 15 minute discovery calls to discuss your goals and how we can help. Sign up for a call here!

What’s the difference between a nutritionist and a Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorders?

Education!! Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Our licensed dietitians Allison Pritchett, RD, LD and Anna Jensen, RD, LD have done extensive training in the field of dietetics and eating disorders. Their training is listed below:

Allison Pritchett, RD LD

  • Registered Dietitian with 5+ years of experience working with eating disorders, including higher levels of care
  • Licensed Dietitian in SC, NC, FL, LA, and OH
  • Clemson University – B.S. Food Science with Nutrition and Dietetics Concentration and Minor in Chemistry, Magna Cum Laude – Clemson University
  • Augusta University – ACEND accredited 1500 hour+ dietetic internship
  • Anticipated Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) 2022-2023
  • Additional trainings:
    • Food and Body Image Healers training by Marci Evans
    • Motivational Interviewing
    • Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)
  • Leadership and Awards:
    • Piedmont Dietetic Association Continuing Education Scholarship, 2022
    • Eating Recovery Center Conference Presenter, September 2022
    • Augusta District Dietetic Association Scholarship, May 2017
  • Read more about Allison here!

Anna Jensen, RD LD

  • Registered Dietitian with 2+ years of experience in clinical and eating disorder dietetics with monthly supervision
  • Clemson University – B.S. Food Science with Nutrition and Dietetics Concentration and Minor in Chemistry, Summa Cum Laude
  • BeWell Solutions – ACEND accredited 1500 hour+ dietetic internship
  • Licensed Dietitian in SC
  • Additional trainings:
    • Food and Body Image Healers training by Marci Evans
    • Motivational Interviewing
  • Leadership and Awards:
    • Piedmont Dietetic Association Young Dietitian of the Year, 2022
    • Piedmont Dietetic Association President, 2021 – 2022
    • Piedmont Dietetic Association Scholarship Recipient, 2021
  • Read more about Anna here!

Sources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6732696/#wps20687-bib-0005