When it comes to your health and way of eating, nothing is more valuable than the advice of a licensed nutritionist or dietician. Cookie-cutter diets don’t cut it. No two people have the exact same dietary needs. Nutritional specialists have special knowledge and understanding of how what we put into our bodies has on the way our bodies look, function, and feel.

While there are many reasons why you may be considering a visit to a professional, we have compiled a short list of why it’s beneficial, below.

Weight Loss & Maintenance

Changing your body weight on your own can be challenging. While it may seem appealing to hop on board with every fad diet until one works, putting yourself through the wringer like that can only cause more harm than good.

Many find that even if they lose weight successfully, maintaining that new number can be even more difficult than reaching it in the first place. What’s even worse is that many of the popular diets, crazes, and pills can be dangerous, causing people to drop weight at levels so fast that they put themselves at risk for heart attack or stroke.

Whether you are looking to gain or lose weight, an experienced nutritionist can help you to come up with a plan that is not only effective but healthy and safe as well.

Food allergies, sensitivities, and digestion issues

Digestive issues vary from one person to another, and what one person may love, maybe another’s downfall. People are quick to assume that all food allergies are deadly, and only cause anaphylactic shock,  but most actually affect people relatively mildly or over such long periods of time that they don’t even really notice.

If migraines, hives, or stomach aches that have been affecting you for years may just be the result of a food allergy or sensitivity that you aren’t aware of or haven’t even considered. In addition, some people have digestive systems that are simply more sensitive than others and find that certain foods or types of food are prone to causing discomfort.

Through testing and other methods, a trained knowledgeable nutritionist can help determine what is specifically causing your discomfort, and help you develop a plan for avoiding those foods and working them safely out of your diet.

You have a medical condition that requires a special diet

Everything that you put into your body affects your heart, veins, arteries, and blood sugar levels and an unhealthy diet can easily result in an unhealthy body. If you’ve already been diagnosed with such a condition, then there is no doubt that your physician has encouraged you to make important diet and lifestyle changes. Carrying out these changes can be difficult, especially if you are suddenly forced to live without many of your favorite foods.

A nutritionist can help you manage your condition by recommending the appropriate foods to strengthen your heart and veins while lowering your risk for stroke or heart attack, often recommending healthier alternatives to the foods that you already like.

You want to improve overall health and stave off future health concerns

Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with a diet-related condition, you may be concerned about developing one in the future, and know that prevention is your wisest option. You may even simply want to eat better because you’ve heard that eating healthy can not only improve your appearance but can make you feel better as well both physically and mentally. Many also feel the need to visit a nutritionist simply as they get older and their nutritional needs change, or women as they become pregnant and are thinking about how their diet is affecting their future child. It’s always best to see a nutritionist before there are any problems, and visiting one as a means of prevention can definitely help you to take note of your poor eating habits, and start incorporating healthy ones into your everyday life.

You need motivation and someone to hold you accountable

No matter what your diet goals may be, we all face setbacks along the way and must respond to friends and family members who don’t believe in us. The hardest problems arise, however, when you don’t even believe in yourself or set unrealistic goals and expectations that only set you up for future disappointment when you can’t reach them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with needing a little extra help or encouragement, and your nutritionist is here to provide you with just that. A nutritionist is not here to judge you or make you feel worse about yourself, only to help you come up with achievable goals and plan accordingly to reach them.

If you would like to make an appointment to meet with a Tampa Cardio Nutritionist, please contact Tampa Cardiovascular Associates today, and make an appointment. 813-975-2800. www.tampacardio.com.