How I Work
Making nutrition work for you
I know how hard it is to make changes to your diet and lifestyle when you are feeling tired and unwell. When I first saw a nutritional therapist, I was put on a strict diet cutting out gluten, dairy, all types of sugar and yeast. I was so desperate to feel even slightly better, I followed it to the letter, but it was hard going and difficult to think of alternative foods that I could eat.
That is why I want to make nutritional therapy achievable for people. It is no good being given a really strict dietary regime that may well bring you health benefits, but just feels too difficult or complicated to do or makes you feel so miserable that you don’t do it.
Understanding more about you
I draw on the functional medicine model in how I work, so I look for potential triggers to health problems and what factors are driving the condition and allowing it to continue. This approach tries to get to the cause of health problems rather than just addressing the presenting symptoms. It also means getting a detailed picture of how every system in the body is functioning, not just the ones where you may be experiencing symptoms, to get a more holistic picture of any imbalances in the body and how they inter-connect.
I will start by asking you to fill in a food diary and nutrition questionnaire before your appointment. This helps me to get a better understanding of not just your health concerns, but also what your diet is like at the moment, foods you like and dislike and your lifestyle.
During the appointment we will talk in detail about your health concerns, what makes them better and worse and what you have already tried to tackle them, so that we can build on this. We will also talk about the types of food you cook, what you eat out and what level of change feels manageable to you.
Finally, we will also talk about your lifestyle, including your sleep and exercise patterns and what you do to relax. This helps me to get a rounded picture of you and your life and how we could best work together to support you to achieve your health goals. Your first appointment will last for 90 minutes so that you have time to tell your health story to date.
Recommendations tailored to you
I will then start giving you advice on steps you can take to improve your health. I break this down into small, manageable steps and give you plenty of practical tips, recipes and meal plans to help you implement the suggested changes. We will always do this at a pace that suits you.
I may also give you recommendations about any supplements that could support you. If needed, I will refer you back to your GP for any tests that might help to identify the cause of your symptoms and can also suggest private testing if necessary.
Your nutrition plan will be tailored to you as an individual. It will take account of any food likes and dislikes as well as your lifestyle and how much time you have for cooking. Do not be put off from trying nutritional therapy if you do not have much time or energy for cooking – we can adapt to find something that is manageable for you. We will work together to agree a plan that feels achievable for you.
Ongoing support and review
At your next appointment we will review what is working well and build on that. We will also talk about what you are finding more challenging and how we could make it easier. I will continue to make further refinements to the plan and give you ongoing support including further tips and recipes to help you implement the recommendations.
