Another day in the life of a Weight Management Dietitian/Health Coach

I thought I’d do another ‘day in the life’ blog post so people can get an idea of what dietitians do. I work as a health coach/weight management service dietitian at a lifestyle change company. It’s very different to our clinical role but I really enjoy it.

The programme we offer is all digital, and I communicate with people over an app to help them build heathy habits. I coach the groups though various lifestyle aspects like diet, exercise, and stress.

8.30: I start my day by checking my emails and checking in with my team to see how everyone’s doing.

8.45: I send a morning message to all of my groups and respond to all the messages from the night before. I have 12 groups, and some are really chatty!

In one group, a member says they’re going to try the egg diet, which is where you only eat boiled eggs and salad. I explain that while this will lead to quick weight loss, this isn’t sustainable in the long term. It also won’t provide all the nutrients they need, and any weight lost is likely to be regained. I then direct them to our nutrition guidelines, which are based on the balanced plate model.

In another group, a member says they have a step goal of 5000 steps a day but doesn’t always meet it. Before I jump in with some ideas for getting more steps in, I ask the group if anyone has any tips for this member. By throwing the question out to the group, I allow them to share ideas and support each other.

11.45: I have a meeting with my manager. We have 1 to 1 meetings regularly to catch up and talk about challenges I’m facing, or what’s going well.

12.30: Lunch time! I eat my lunch and then go a quick walk to get some fresh air.

1.30: I check with people in the 1 to 1 private chats. While we know that group support is really beneficial, we do offer private chats as well. People tend to be more open here rather than the group chat.

I have a message from someone saying that they’re scared to lose weight as being overweight all they’ve ever known. This is quite common when people first join the programme. This fear can be because they’re scared of failing, worried they’ll embarrass themselves, or scared they’ll lose the comfort of food.

I talk to the member to discover what exactly they’re scared of and help them set a realistic weight loss goal that won’t feel too daunting.

2.00: We have a training session run by our health psychologist. We go through case studies of previous member queries and think of how best to respond to them.

3.00: I spend my afternoon chatting to my groups again and get everyone’s thoughts on the article of the day. I also answer any questions that come up.  

One theme that comes up often is emotional eating. A member says that they’re really stressed and turn to food to comfort. Other members of the group echo the same, with some saying they also eat when bored. I get them to think of other things they can do to relieve stress or boredom, without turning to food. It’s also helpful to identify triggers for emotional eating and plan for it.

In a different group, a member says they don’t have time to cook after work and they’re too tired. I ask if they’ve tried bulk cooking before. This is when you make extra portions of a recipe and store in the fridge or freezer for later. It’s a great way to have healthy meals already prepared when time is short. I also ask the group if anyone else is bulk cooking and what recipes they’re trying.

5.30: I check my emails again, check in with my team and then log off for the day.

And that’s my day. I get lots more messages then the few I spoke about here but thought I’d just touch on some of the common ones.

Let me know if you enjoyed this insight into dietetics! 

Bye for now! 👋