Denver’s best dietitians

Posted: Sep 16 in Nutrition by Dr. Lazarus

When it comes to losing weight, many individuals I meet with tell me it is the hardest thing they have ever done.

In my opinion, a person’s best resource for a nutritional intervention is a Registered Dietitian (“Dietitian” is the preferred spelling over “Dietician”). Registered dietitians are Denver’s food experts. They have undergone specific nutritional training to learn how to help people not only make the best dietary choices, but to implement behavior changes to turn these choices in to habits. Simply handing somebody a food plan and saying “do this” is not generally helpful. Dietitians are pros at getting to know an individual’s likes and dislikes, and to help them integrate healthy behaviors in their daily lives. (Note – a Registered Dietitian has undergone extensive training on these issues and is a regulated term. A “Nutritionist” or “Certified Nutritionist” has nowhere near this level of training. Read more about the difference between a Registered Dietitian and a certified nutritionist here. Make sure to know the credentials of the individual you are working with!)

When it comes to weight loss, making the types of changes necessary to lose weight and keep it off are challenging because the underlying genetics and the environment (the 2 most important elements in determining a person’s weight) haven’t changed. Yet, most individuals I meet with want to lose a lot of weight and keep it off. If we can’t change the genetics or the environment, how is it possible to lose weight?

A registered dietitian can help an individual develop new habits. In essence, this changes the person’s environment. By focusing on behaviors, an individual can develop routines that favor weight loss instead of weight gain. Note I say “behaviors.” It is NOT just about the food. I have been working with patients in Denver on medical weight loss programs since 2004, and all of my successful patients tell me exactly the same thing: “It’s not about the food. It’s about changing your lifestyle.” A weight loss program that just sells meal replacements can be very effective in helping a person lose weight, but without a proper behavioral program, regain will be inevitable as soon as the meal replacements are stopped.

Instead of following the latest fad diet, cleanse, or commercialized weight loss program, why not consult with Denver’s best weight loss experts? Clinical Nutrition Center’s Registered Dietitians have been helping individuals in Denver with life-long strategies for weight loss for over 35 years. In addition, by combining the best in nutritional therapy with medical supervision by a Doctor skilled in Obesity Medicine, we can optimize the underlying medical situation, use FDA approved weight loss medications (2 new medications have been approved and will be available for long-term use before the end of 2012), and give you all the tools you need for life-long success.