Depending on what you’re coming to see a dietitian for, you can expect the first session to be a “get to know each other session” where goals and expectations are outlined, but the overall outcome of this session is to understand what it is your seeking from nutritional therapy and what has brought you to this point. The initial session is 60-90 minutes (depending on insurance). Follow up sessions are either 50 minutes or 25 minutes.

Bamboo Nutrition is all about growth and confidence. Change takes time, and there is no quick fix. Sessions can be scheduled weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly based on your dietitian’s recommendation. Each session we will discuss your goals and progress, make a plan for how to continuing striving towards those goals, discuss new interests that arise, and provide you with education on nutritional topics you are most interested in. Lab values can be reviewed together, as well as other medical nutrition complications you may be going through.

Our nutrition and therapy sessions are typically one hour long.

The frequency and duration in which we will meet is completely individualized based on your needs and goals. Typically we begin working with clients on a weekly basis to not only build trust, rapport, and connection with each other, but to lay the foundation. When we begin to space out sessions, you know what to practice on your own and feel confident in being consistent in these challenges and working towards your goals. Meeting every other week is common at this stage. For long-term clients, a monthly check-in is recommended as long as needed until you feel comfortable maintaining your goals and progress. Then we proceed to 2-3month check-ins and the last check in will be 6months after that.

Yes. Bamboo Nutrition personalizes everything to your individual needs, goals, and communication-style.

We provide sessions online and in person depending on your geographical location. You may also choose to do a combination of in person and online depending on what is most convenient for you.

There is nothing you need to prepare or bring with you to your first session. If you struggle to know where to start or what to say, your provider will guide the conversation with questions pertaining to your primary concerns.

We do ask that you complete all the pre-initial paperwork online before your session. You will receive instructions on how to do this once we create your client portal and get you scheduled.

Progress can feel difficult to see sometimes. We ask that you trust our providers’ professional skills as they may be able to identify progress in you and challenge you in other ways to keep you on a trajectory of personal growth to meet your goals.

Goals may also change, and it is common for you and your provide to revisit goals, talk about progress and make adjustments to your treatment plan.

If a provider has a waitlist, we will give you our best approximation on when they will have availability then give you a call as soon as they have an opening.

Thank you for asking this question. We try to be very forthcoming about what we do and how we like to work with our clients at Bamboo Nutrition.

Being a private practice dietitian is much different from being in the hospital or outpatient clinic. We love to get to know our clients more and establish a stronger relationship, similar to a relationship you’d have with your therapist.

Maybe you feel “I don’t need a strong relationship with my dietitian. I just want some questions answered.” If this is the case, we may not be the right fit for you. The clients we work with may have many different things going on in their lives that impact their relationship with food. We do not simply provide a meal plan or provide handouts and see you only 3-4 times per year.

Our clients report strong outcomes and successes in working with us because they take the time to make their nutrition and health a priority. By going deeper in sessions, taking the time to meal plan, grocery plan, think about barriers to follow-through and discuss your history and current relationship with food, you will be more likely to have sustainable, long-term improvements with your health.

Our providers do lead groups and classes from time to time. To see the complete list of current options, please visit our Groups and Classes page.

Groups and classes can be a wonderful idea for additional support or ongoing support if you are looking for a change from individual sessions.

Groups require a different level of effort and can help you to experience more progress by challenging you in different ways than individual sessions can. Talk to your provider to see if group may be a good next step for you.

A registered dietitian is considered an expert in all things nutrition. A dietitian (dietician) is trained in many different areas but specializes in specific forms of treatment. For example, chronic disease, eating disorders, sports, food management, pregnancy, etc. At Bamboo Nutrition, our dietitians specialize in medical nutrition therapy for eating disorders, diabetes, kidney disease, GI disorders, healthful eating, and other chronic disease states. We work closely with our clients in-person and online to ensure you are achieving adequate nutrition and optimal health. Not only do we like to get to know our clients in more than just how and what you like to eat, but we provide you with education and skills that fit your needs, goals and lifestyle. A dietitian has many skills when it comes to food and nutrition and we love to share this with our clients in a meaningful way.

A Nutritionist is not a legal title regulated by states. Nutritionists can come from a diverse background, whether nutrition is learned in an online course, or self-taught. Nutritionists may or may not have a bachelors degree in nutrition.

Registered Dietitian is a legal title that is regulated by your state. You will see the credentials: RD or RDN (Registered Dietitian Nutritionist) followed by LD if they are a licensed dietitian (recognized by your state). Not all states require licensure and it is within these states that there is higher risk for receiving false nutrition information by a nutritionist. A RD earns a bachelors and a masters degree in dietetics and nutrition as well as experiencing a 1200 hour supervised internship where they learn how to implement their skills in a clinical, community, and food management setting.

Although there are some nutritionists who can provide helpful tips and resources, their background in nutrition is inconsistent and unregulated. It is up to you to chose how to best spend your time, money and trust. For complicated diagnoses and specific questions pertaining to your health and nutrition, it is best to seek advice from a registered dietitian.

Bamboo Nutrition has a team of dietitians who all specialize in different nutritional needs and have different personalities that make their work a unique experience for every client. Given the different specialty areas and personalities, our admin team will try to pair you with the best fit!

It is important to us that you have a great experience and “click” with the dietitian you work with. From the information you complete in the contact form, we will carefully select who can best meet your needs.

The initial session is a 60-90min session solely designed for your dietitian to get to know you, your personal health goals, and nutrition history. We take the time to ask in depth questions to give us a full picture of your beliefs surrounding nutrition, diet culture, body image, and your daily challenges such as meal planning, grocery shopping, and food-decision making.

If we are not the right fit for you, we may also recognize this early on and will help you to find a dietitian who will best suit your needs in your area. We hope one of our dietitians are the perfect match for you, but we want to do what is best for you and will help you to achieve your goals.

Learn more about our dietitians here.

Health at every size, abbreviated HAES, is a form of practicing healthcare that does not stigmatize or make assumptions of an individual based on their weight and shape. Those who practice HAES see weight as only a number, not a risk factor or health marker. HAES practitioners understand that an individual can be metabolically “healthy” at any weight and shape and serve all their patients with compassion, respect, and sensitivity.

Learn more about Bamboo Nutrition’s approach to health and wellness.

Intuitive Eating is based off of 3 pillars: 1. Emotions 2. Instincts and 3. Thought; Think of this making a triangle. The rational thought can interfere with emotions and with instinct. This is often where diet culture misleads us and causes the rational thought to conflict with instinct and emotion.

If you put all three together, you get the best ability to listen to yourself. You will listen to your instinct to survive, listen to your hunger and fullness signals (the rational part of your brain) and listen to your emotions. Intuitive Eating is more complex than just eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. It is the balance between the three pillars that make up our food decisions.

To learn more about intuitive eating, consider purchasing the book and learning more from the intuitive eating website.

Consider how many times per day you eat, think about food, meal plan, grocery shop, cook, etc. Food impacts your life in many different ways. After you have done some form of movement, you find yourself hungry or thirsty. To improve health you may learn about different nutritional supplements you need to take. As you age, you learn that your body has different nutritional needs. If you go out with friends or family, there is often food involved.

Need I go on? Food impacts every part of our lives, and therefore nutrition therapy bleeds into all areas of your lifestyle and can provide opportunity to make lifestyle improvements in many different areas.

There are topics that dietitians are not trained to explore, such as things pertaining to therapy and mental health. However, dietitians can be helpful when it comes to movement, navigating social situations around food, and body image concerns.

Overall, we hope that by working with our dietitians, you experience overall lifestyle improvement.

Absolutely. We have a large team of dietitians therefore we have the ability to pair you with the person who has the most experience, knowledge and ability to meet your individual needs and goals.

Each session is charged individually. It is impossible to determine how many sessions you will have initially, but you and your provider will make a plan together around goals, outcomes, and progress.

On average, our clients work with us for about 6 months and this may be weekly, or every other week sessions.

Most likely, yes.

We accept all commercial insurances except Medicaid and Medicare. The reason being is these two plans have the most restrictions related to nutrition and are difficult for us to work with.

It does depend on your specific insurance plan. Some plans are more limiting than others. If you would like to use your insurance, please use our benefit check guides:

• Nutrition Therapy for Eating disorders

• Nutrition Therapy for Other Conditions

You may check with us about specials deals such as packages or discounts when you are ready to schedule. We will let you know what is available.

You are welcome to reschedule or cancel appointments.

Our Cancellation policy is 24 business hours. This means, if you have a scheduled appointment at 2pm on Monday, you much cancel before 2pm on Friday, otherwise you will be charged our self pay rate for the cost of the session.

No shows will always be charged.

We are strict about this policy because our providers have limited availability and without enough time we cannot fill that spot with someone else who needs support.

We typically can scheduled individuals within 1-2 weeks. We just need enough time to get paperwork complete before your initial session.

All credit cards, debit cards and HSA cards are accepted. We do not accept cash or checks.

Our self pay rate is the same whether the session is in person or online.

However, if you are using your insurance benefits, it is recommended to check with your insurance representative about whether telehealth sessions cost differently than in person sessions.