Personal Nutrition
Nutrition Counseling • Metabolism Testing • Body Fat Testing
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Nutrition Counseling
I offer individual and family dietary counseling in the following areas:
Adult & Pediatric Weight Loss
Bariatric Surgery
Diabetes
Food Allergies & Intolerances
GI Disorders
(Including Crohn’s Disease, Colitis, IBS, Gastroparesis)
Heart Disease, High Cholesterol & High Blood Pressure
Metabolic Syndrome
Pre-Diabetes
Preventative Health & Wellness
Sports Performance
Weight Gain
* Note – I am no longer accepting NEW eating disorder patients.
What to Expect From Your 60 Minute Initial Meeting
During your 60 minute initial visit, we discuss all aspects of your lifestyle that contribute your overall health. This includes your day-day diet, as well as your social and medical history. We often visit your past diet attempts to see what worked and what didn’t. Generally in the first session, I do provide a modest amount education based on your underlying medical condition and/or goals. However, the majority of the session is dedicated to gathering the information I need to fully comprehend your current dietary issues, establish why they exist and how I can effectively work with you to resolve them.
When requested, a basic meal plan may be provided. However, due to the brevity of this initial encounter we use future sessions to further customize this meal plan around the foods you love and enjoy.
Also during this session, we aim to set short-term and long-term goals based on your personal dietary needs to ensure we have a successful game plan.
Believe it or not, your health insurance will OFTEN cover your nutrition visit (as well as your follow-up visits). To read more about using health insurance for your visits click here.
If your insurance will not cover your nutrition visit or you have a health insurance which Amy does not participate with – the cost of the initial 60-minute visit is $180.00 and each 30 –minute follow up visit is $80.00.
Amy offers discounted packages for follow-up sessions depending on the number of sessions purchased. To see these discounted rates click here.
What to Expect From Your Follow Up Visits
At the end of our first visit (with your help, of course!), I will determine the projected frequency of your follow-up appointments. Follow-up visits allow for 30 minutes of my time. While most people prefer to come in every 2-3 weeks, I have patients who come in weekly, as well as those who come in every 2-3 months. Everyone’s nutritional situation is SO unique that without meeting you it is difficult for me to determine how many follow-up visits you may require as well as with what frequency.
I use follow-up visits to review your progress, address your questions and any obstacles you are struggling with. Below are just a couple (and I mean couple!) examples of what might be covered in a 30-minute follow-up session:
For a patient with high cholesterol, we may spend a session discussing ways to bump up the fiber in your diet. You might leave the session armed with a whole new set of high-fiber meals and snack ideas as well as a handout on the fiber content of various foods.
For someone with PCOS, we may use the session to learn how to correctly read a food label and identify nutrients to include in your diet as well as those to include. We also spend time discussing the impact of your medications on weight loss, fertility, and overall health.
For someone with irritable bowel disease, we might spend a follow-up session discussing the pro’s and con’s of a FODmaps diet. I might collect your food preferences and then in a future session might provide you with a customized FODmap meal plan based on these individualized food preferences.
As time goes on, the sessions become more individualized potentially adding exercise, sleep and stress management goals to the mix. As you imagine, the topics for the follow-up sessions are truly endless.
Insurance often covers these visits and if they don’t I provide discounted rates based on the number of visits you purchase. To read more about using and verifying your health insurance for your visits click here. An initial self-pay initial visit (60-minutes) is $180.00 and a self-pay follow visit (30 minutes) is $80.
Is there anything I should do to prepare for my initial nutrition visit?
- Verify your insurance benefits with your insurance company. It is 100 percent your responsibility to know what your nutrition counseling policy entails. For more information about insurance verification please click HERE.
- Schedule an appointment to set up your 60-minute initial visit.
- Please call or email me with any questions (203) 671-3392 or amy.plano@yahoo.com
Metabolism Testing
I use the BodyGem to test metabolism. The Bodygem measures metabolism by indirect calorimeter ultimately determining your resting metabolic rate (RMR). This device has a 97% accuracy! It is really an amazing resource and I really cannot explain how cool it really is. By knowing your RMR you can better understand the exact amount of calories your body needs to meet your dietary goals. The device (along with some fancy software!) will provide us with the specific number of calories you need to lose, gain, or maintain your weight.
RMR varies from person-to-person. Current methods of estimating RMR are inaccurate for many individuals. This leads to ineffective weight management plans. In addition, each individual’s metabolism will change over time as a result of weight loss, caloric restriction, age, exercise, or change in body composition. Frequent measurement provides valuable information required to adjust your client’s health and fitness plans.
This non-invasive, breathing test is best performed first thing in the morning. It takes around 10-15 minutes depending on the consistency of your breathing. You need to be fasted (no food!), without exercise, caffeine, and nicotine for at least 4 hours prior to the test. Don’t worry you can drink plenty of non-calorie beverages without it impacting the result of the test.
Unfortunately, insurance does not cover the cost of metabolism testing. The cost of the test is $150.00 and includes a print-out of your metabolic parameters.
Body Fat Testing
The scale is only one gauge of success! Body fat testing can be especially useful for athletes or those engaging in a regular strength training program. I use the Skyndex calipers for body fat testing. Body fat testing is used as an assessment of changes in body composition due to diet, athletic training, and body weight changes. Periodic body fat testing will help determine your ideal body fat level. All body fat testing is performed with skinfold calipers, which is the most widely used and most convenient technique available.
Unfortunately, like metabolism testing insurance does not cover the cost of body fat testing. The cost of each test is $15.00.