Nowadays, anyone dares to do diets or give dietary recommendations, but not all are qualified professionals and that can cost you very much

Can you trust your dietitian? It is very likely that at some time in your life you have followed a diet or have tried to lose weight with different methods (they will probably all sound miraculous), but it is more difficult to bet that you have done it with a qualified dietician-nutritionist. I do not blame you, it is not your thing since today, even the town shoemaker is able to recommend a diet, that diet that worked for the cousin of his wife’s brother-in-law. And it is so. We dare to recommend and give diets left and right without thinking further, without thinking that it may involve a risk to the health of those who will do it. But even worse is the one who accepts it, since he believes in that diet, resource, pill, method or miracle to lose weight and does not know that he is putting his health in danger.

With this post, what I want is to give you the tools so that you can identify whether or not a diet is miraculous and, in the same way, if the (supposed) professional is qualified to do it. So let’s go in parts:

The nutrition professional

Nutrition is a science and as such it is studied. There are two study options with which to practice the profession, to be a dietician-nutritionist (DN) or to be a superior technician in dietetics (TSD). Both can work in the sector but I think it is important to highlight the differences between them, which are mainly three:

• Level of training: One of the most notable differences between dietitian-nutritionist and TSD is the level of training required to achieve this qualification. In Spain, the dietician-nutritionist must have completed university studies in the form of a bachelor’s or degree in Nutrition and Dietetics or have specialized in this branch during medical studies. With regard to TSD, their training tends to be of shorter duration, taking FP modules in Dietetics that qualify them as a technician in this area.
• Type of patient:  The most common is that the reason for going to the dietician-nutritionist is to lose weight or to stay in shape but with an optimal state of health. Patients who could be cared for by both a DN and a TSD. On the other hand, if the person in addition to seeking to lose weight or stay in shape has an associated pathology, you could no longer be treated by the TSD, only by the DN. For example, people with heart problems, pregnancies, diabetes, psychiatric problems or chronic drug use that can cause severe alterations if combined with certain foods should turn to a dietitian-nutritionist.
• Assignment to the general health system . In Spain it is the figure of the dietitian-nutritionist who is considered to be part of the National Health System. Since his training is more specialized and allows him to face counseling and intervention in cases of pathology.

So this makes it clear to us that if you only want to lose weight, you can go to a DN or a TSD, instead if you suffer from any disease, are pregnant or have health problems, you should go to a registered or graduated dietitian nutritionist.

Who shouldn’t go on a diet?

On the contrary, you should know who not to go to. So let’s see who shouldn’t diet you, give you recommendations or treat your diet. For this reason, I am going to briefly summarize where we can find diets or who can make us a dietary treatment without being qualified for it, and therefore, putting our health at risk. It should be said that there are those who do it without profit, such as certain doctors or health professionals, although that exempts them from guilt.

• Doctors and other healthcare professionals. Many doctors, such as cardiologists or endocrinologists, give their patients diets (the typical non-personalized drawer diet) and even if they do not do it for profit, I believe that they should not get into a field that they do not dominate. Just as I do not recommend cardiovascular or endocrine treatments, they should not guide diets. The same happens in the field of nursing. And for me it is the worst case because “the doctor told me, how could I be wrong”. So shoemaker, to your shoes.
• Diet service in pharmacies. Yes, there may be pharmacies that have a qualified dietetic service run by a DN but it is rare, since it is not entirely legal. If you find a red coat, or a supposed dietitian that accompanies that diet of pills or sachets, run away.
• Nutritional coach. This is funny to say the least. Now there is a coach for everything, they call themselves that, it is a moderate technicality with which they take the license to do dietary treatments. Flees.
• People with a diet course. Below I explain the training that a person must have to be able to exercise, but I have already told you that taking a healthy diet or healthy eating course does not give you the authority to treat anyone.
• Diets that circulate on the internet or among acquaintances. It is as easy as putting “diet to lose weight” on the internet. 90% of the results (if not 100%) will be to flee.
• Companies that sell supplements or dietary supplements. Clearly, they seek benefit at the cost of your health.
• Qualified professionals (dietitians-nutritionists or senior dietetic technicians) with a conflict of interest. They are people who would know how to treat you but who are immersed in a conflict of interest and because of this they give you supplements, supplements, envelopes, pills, shakes … and they make you restrictive diets or that simply endanger your health. The Catalan saying already says it: paying, San Pedro sings .

Considering what has been seen, the fact that the person is titled, qualified or trained to treat you is not enough to know whether or not we are in good hands, since there may be a conflict of interest, that the person is not updated or simply that he is not follow a healthy methodology. So let’s see now what diets are not adequate, healthy or take care of your health.

How to Identify a Miracle Diet

As I explain in the diaita course , there are 9 signs that will help you identify a miracle diet:

1. They promise fast results.
2. They prophesy amazing, magical results.
3. They prohibit the consumption of a food or food group.
4. They contain lists of good and bad foods.
5. They exaggerate or distort the scientific reality of a nutrient.
6. They include or are based on the consumption of preparations that, coincidentally, are sold by those who promote dietary treatment.
7. Preparations (diet products or similar) are very expensive compared to the cost of common foods, which will report the same results.
8. Include stories, stories, or testimonials to add credibility.
9. They contain statements that contradict the scientific community.

In case you need more clues, the most popular miracle diets are: crash or progressive diets based on products, fasts or semi-fasts to detoxify or lose weight, diets according to blood, dissociated diets, macrobiotic diet (yin and yan ), toxic diets, organic, ecological, natural and “healthy” diet, anti-candida diet, the right drawer diet, the “but it worked for me” and any other absurd diet.

So if you go to a professional and they give you a diet that meets these descriptions or is named after some of those named, I advise you to turn around.

How do I know if I can trust my dietitian?

Finally, I want to give you some recommendations so that while in the consultation you can identify if the person and the proposed diet are adequate and they will look only for your interests and health:

1. You have to know who you have in front of you. Normally the professional has in view his graduate diploma (or diploma) from the university or training cycle. If not, you should know that you have the full right to ask to see it.
2. That there are no commercial interests. Make sure that you do not try to accompany the diet with shakes, sachets, pills or other supplements before paying. Find out without obligation.
3. That they worry about your health in general, and not just about losing weight or something similar. The main objective should be your health, that you gain health. To do this, he must teach you to eat, that you are comfortable with the diet plan, that it is pleasant for you … not only that you lose weight.
4. Make the objectives sensible. The loss estimate is 5-10% of the weight in a minimum period of 6 months. Anything outside of these parameters will be unwise.
5. That the method is based on verifiable data. Always contrast information.

And who am I?

After reading this, I hope you are wondering who I am. Whether or not I am a qualified professional and I use a healthy weight loss method, if not, you have not understood anything. So that you know me a little better I will leave you a brief summary about me and I will explain my working method. I do not diet but I treat people. I work on dietary treatment to lose weight in a personalized way, including the elaboration of a dietary plan, the internalization of new habits, nutritional education and motivational work with nutritional coaching. What I want you to think is: “I’m not on a diet, I’m learning to eat.