Nutrition Therapy Clinic

ABOUT US….

For anyone determined to lose weight, a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist is the best-qualified professional to help them, says Jan Edmonds, principal of Nutrition Therapy Clinic.

A Nutritionist, Jan would like to be thought of as a personal trainer in the areas of weight-loss and ongoing healthy lifestyle. “A Nutritional Coach – if you like!”

“A Dietitian’s/Nutritionist’s special skills are in dealing with diet and nutrition and other facets of lifestyle change like exercise and behavior modification” she says. “So we can do an individual assessment of a patient’s lifestyle and eating patterns and make recommendations that are appropriate and enjoyable and fit in with their day-to-day routine.”

“Everyone has a different reason for being overweight and only a Dietitian or Nutritionist can provide specific guidelines in each case.”

“Our Dietitians have over 30 years clinical experience and it’s that experience that makes us the busiest private clinic in New Zealand.” says Jan In fact the clinic is so busy it opens six days and three evenings a week, serving patients from all over greater Auckland.

When a patient attends the clinic for the first time, their Dietitian or Nutritionist will look at family health history for risk factors, like the incidence of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and such. If the patient’s doctor has already done tests, we will use those for comparison further down the track. “It’s very motivating for the patient to see that their cholesterol levels are improving as they progress with their weight loss,” Jan says.

The patient and the practitioner agree on an appropriate goal weight, then break down into small, achievable steps – what they can achieve in, say, one month – and when that’s reached they decide on the next month’s goal.

“Then,” she says, “we spend a lot of time looking at current eating patterns and we base our personalized food plan for that patient on what they typically do. We encourage small changes towards having a healthy, balanced diet, a regular meal pattern; making eating a pleasurable part of life – so they’re doing this because it’s enjoyable, it’s going to benefit them, it will have a flow-on effect benefiting the whole family.”

“Exercise, or activities, are also an important component of a healthy lifestyle and a major part of weight control, so the clinic helps patients devise programmes to suit their special needs and abilities. We also have good relationships with specialist Gyms and Personal Trainers.”

Jan likes a personal patient to attend her clinic weekly for the first month. They may find this weekly support is what keeps them focused or, “if the Dietitian/Nutritionist is confident the patient is happy, they’re complying, they’re making changes and they’re enjoying it, we can leave them longer – two weeks, three weeks. Then, once they’re down to goal weight and they’re proved they can maintain that goal weight long-term, they might come two, or three-monthly.”

But even if it’s just a case of maintaining contact, she says, “It’s really important to keep up this accountability and support. It helps a patient’s long-term compliance to know they’re still in touch with their Dietitian and they don’t get left to cope on their own.”

Above all, says Jan, patient and practitioner must be on the same wave length.

“After all, the Dietitian/Nutritionist is the person who’s going to educate them, motivate them and keep them heading towards their goal. So the patient must feel comfortable with our practitioners who are really going to support them and do those things for them.”

Trevor Business Consultant

Qualifications: Trevor graduated from Otago University with a BSc in Human Nutrition and a BCom in Accountancy in 1993. In 1997 he gained his CA status. Professional Experience: After graduating, Trevor had the choice of a career in Nutrition Consulting with the Results Clinic with Les Mills. While in the process of recruitment Trevor was offered a position in an Accounting firm and he has continued his Accounting career in the commerce world. To date he has worked in food importing and food manufacturing companies, Progressive Enterprises (Foodtown & Countdown Supermarkets) & other importing and logistic companies. Personal: Trevor’s nutritional interests include organic (& free range) foods and food allergies. After his son was diagnosed with egg and nut allergies, he has had first hand experience of what one goes through to manage the risk of the allergy and what support and information is available. He endeavours to be as active where practical. Long hours at the office and a young child can be demanding. So when possible his week may include gym visits, a swim now and then, either a game of squash/tennis/badminton. He believes cross training motivates physical activity.

We believe anyone on the Xenical or Reductil Weight Management Programme should consider consulting a Dietitian as an essential part of their plan.

“Long-term success with weight-loss is ultimately going to hinge on lifestyle changes….. diet and exercise…. and the best person to provide that personal advice and support is a registered Dietitian or a nutritionist.”

We are immensely proud of the many comments and referrals from happy patients: