Psychodietetics – what is it?

Psychodietetics is a specialization in the field of dietetics and psychology that combines knowledge about the ways of nutrition with the knowledge of the human psyche. Psychodietetics offers help in the field of weight loss and proper nutrition.

What does psychodietics do?

Psychodietetics is an interdisciplinary field of knowledge that has been operating under this name for quite a short time. It combines elements of psychology, dietetics and medicine, and is aimed at helping patients with eating problems such as anorexia, bulimia or obesity.

Psychodietetics it is based on the observation of human eating behavior and certain patterns of this behavior. Based on these observations psychodietician draws generalized conclusions and proposes solutions to specific problems that, after slight modifications, may be useful for individual patients classified into a given group or type. Work psychodietetics it consists in proposing a strategy for changing eating habits based on an interview with the patient and learning about his psychological conditions. The goal is to achieve your optimal weight and improve your health by changing your diet.

Psychodietetics is a multidisciplinary approach, assuming that a person is a whole, not just a body, that can be slimmed down by reducing food rations and exercise.

Psychodietetics it is also called weight loss psychology; this discipline emphasizes the psychological basis of eating problems, especially compulsive overeating or starvation. Contrary to psychiatry or psychology, however, it also helps patients in the form of developing a balanced diet based on an interview.

What and who can psychodietics help?

Visit to the office psychodietetics it is indispensable at times. This is the case, for example, in the case of obese people who have used many weight loss diets and have not been able to lose unnecessary kilograms. Psychodietician will help them discover the root cause of their problem, which may lie much deeper than the eating disorder. Most often, problems with eating and maintaining a proper weight are of a psychological nature, which usually remains unrealized. The patient, colloquially speaking, eats problems or starves himself for reasons determined by psychological factors. Psychodietetics combines a psychological approach (searching for the cause of the problem and treating it with psychotherapy) and knowledge in the field of dietetics. Psychodietician it will therefore also help to develop the optimal diet for a given person.

A visit to a psychodietician it will also be helpful for people who need motivation to change (bad) eating habits. The first step is to become aware of the problem and its consequences, the next step is to compose an appropriate menu, tailored to the individual needs of a given person. Visits to a psychodietician they will act on the basis of motivation, inspiration and testing the effects of own work (i.e. the durability of changing habits and its effects). They will help people with anxiety disorders, insecure themselves and those who have experienced the yo-yo effect.

What does a visit to a psychodietician look like?

A visit to the psychodietician’s office looks similar to a visit to a psychologist’s office. The therapist asks the right questions and listens carefully to what the patient says. He gets acquainted with the current course of slimming treatments (if any were taken by the patient) and analyzes their results (weight loss and re-gain). Asks questions aimed at revealing the circumstances and situations in which a patient develops weight management and eating problems. He analyzes his eating habits and determines when they are adversely changed. During the meetings, the patient discovers the deeper causes of his eating problems and tries together psychodietician find a solution for them. Knowledge in the field of dietetics allows the psychodietician to develop patient-specific nutritional program. Knowledge in the field of medicine allows him to determine whether the problems faced by the patient are not caused by somatic ailments (for example, improper functioning of the endocrine system). All these data and skills give the psychodietician the possibility of helping the patient in a complementary way, treating not only the symptoms of eating disorders, but also their causes.

Psychodietician should help the patient understand emotional conditioning his eating problems, advise him of a method of maintaining an appropriate weight in his case, and present him with a nutritional program tailored to his needs. The motivation of visits to patients is also important psychodietetics. Many people are disturbed by the lack of willpower and permanent stress. Psychodietician he should also propose ways of coping with such situations.

However, it should be remembered that in the case of eating disorders that are truly life-threatening (bulimia, anorexia, morbid obesity), consultations with a psychiatrist are also necessary.

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