I have heard some cra-hay-zee things as a dietitian. I am certain of it and I am also certain I can't tell you a single one of those tales. Even if I wanted to share some of the crazy with you, I simply can't remember any of it. I tried to explain this to someone recently who was hesitant to be completely open with me because we run in the same social circle. As a mom, you never show weakness. Just kidding, that was a joke. The never show weakness part, that is.
Anyway, I know that people sometimes hold back when it comes to telling me what they eat (and other personal details about their lives - and let me take this opportunity to say that those personal details make a giant difference when I am trying to help someone. The way we choose to eat is tied to all aspects of our lives. The roots run DEEP when it comes to our feelings about food). I guess clients don't want to tell me that they eat an entire cheesecake every night because I am going to remember that forever and then when I see them at Marie Callendars carrying out a week's supply of cheesecake I am going to instantly judge them and tell everyone in the restaurant all about it. Nothing could be further from the truth. In all honesty, I have somehow cultivated this fabulous skill of "out-of-body assessment and counseling". It is kinda like I am a clairvoyant, actually. People come in to talk to me and even if I know them really well, I can shut off the YO part of me and go into Yo, RD, CDE mode. I will take in everything a client is telling me and know exactly what it is I want them to learn and understand. The second they walk out the door, I re-enter my body as YO and have virtually no recollection of what we just talked about. I don't want to say it is auto-pilot, because I can tell you that I am completely engaged while in Yo, RD, CDE mode. I actually leave consults totally exhausted - emotionally and physically - because I am so thoroughly engaged in my sessions. I think part of the reason I am an RD Clairvoyant is because I have a really horrible memory. I blame it on a lifetime of disturbed sleep, untreated narcolepsy, and a roller blading accident in my 20's. The reason I am thankful for this skill is for self preservation. I could not survive if I wasn't able to shut off the food/nutrition/counseling "stuff" outside my office. I don't WANT to go out to eat with friends and judge what they are eating. Jeezus, I just want us to have a good time. And I SO don't want to run into someone at the grocery store and start telling them to put things back on the shelf. Puh-lease, that is so not my style, it benefits no one, and is most likely going to make the person shrink away in shame and order a big mac to quiet the guilt and self hatred.
Here is the one downside . . . when people ask me a nutrition question in a casual setting I can't go into clairvoyant mode 100%. One issue is that you have those people who don't really want my opinion on what fabulous new supplement they are taking - they just want to tell me all about it, agree with them about it's life changing powers and then agree to sell it for them. It doesn't take but a couple times engaging this type of person in conversation/debate to learn how to politely smile and nod (and then run). The other type of person is the person who I would absolutely love to sit down and talk to about their questions but that would require a long conversation. Every time I try to quickly answer someone's question while loading the kids in the car I end up giving an answer I am not happy with and is definately not complete. Truth of the matter is that I would love to answer their question but only if I can give them 100% and it is impossible to give 100% when you don't have my full, undivided, clairvoyant attention. You are just going to get scattered, unorganized snippets of info. So not how I like to do things.
Meanwhile, since you are probably curious about the weird stuff dietitians hear, you gotta read this RD's list of top 10 . . . uh . . . how shall we say . . . "interesting" food choices. This is the portion of this entry I call "ICK". And mind you I just read the list and the only thing I remember is that they grossed me out!
Eating Right: Quirky eaters share some of their habits NOLA.com
In Health,
Yo
