So you want to be a nutrition student?

Today I’m about to get up close and personal with you. I’m going to tell you future nutrition students some things you might not want to hear. Some of the things I say may make you question yourself. But let me make myself 100% clear: despite everything I say today, I couldn’t be happier with my choice to become an RD. So yes, even when I lay out all my frustrations with this field, know that I am content with my choice because it feels 110% right.

Regardless, if you’re thinking about majoring in nutrition in college, considering becoming an RD, or if you’re already in nutrition and debating switching majors, this list might be something for you to take a peek at.

Ten Things You Should Know Before Becoming a Nutrition Student:

1. Everybody else thinks you’re “just studying food so how hard can that be?”
2. If you think you’ll “just be studying food” you might want to reconsider.
3. Justifying that nutrition is science is a daily occurrence.
4. It’s expensive. And I don’t mean just tuition expensive, I mean be prepared to dole out a lot of money between memberships to professional organizations, your internship, and random things your professors want you to have.
5. Oh yeah, that internship. 1200+ hours working for free and slowly dying for 10 months? Sounds fun.
6. Ooh did I mention how competitive this field is? The internship only matches about 50% of its applicants. Good luck! (<– Not sarcasm, I know a lot of you have submitted DICAS recently and I know you’re waiting on pins and needles, so really, good luck!)
7. If you’re becoming an RD (which you should if you want to do anything nutrition-related) get ready to sit for a tough credentialing exam after your internship.
8. All your friends will suddenly stop wanting to eat around you (possibly). Or, they will constantly be looking at your plate and dissecting what you’re eating. You’re a nutrition student and you’re having a cookie? *gasp*
9. This field is so vast it’s so hard to pick what direction you want to go in (which isn’t totally bad).
10. You will doubt yourself and your desire to follow this path. Stay strong because it will be worth it in the end, I promise.

I’m making nutrition sound like a pile of poo, but I promise it’s not. And maybe these don’t apply to every nutrition student out there, and maybe they won’t apply to you, but throughout my time these are some of the things I’ve encountered. Nutrition is a fascinating subject and it opens the doors to being able to help so many people. I don’t regret my choice for a second, but I do wish that I came into it more prepared than I was. Hopefully armed with this short list of sarcastic quips you feel a little bit more prepared for the journey you’re about to embark upon.

Have a wonderful week ya’ll.

❤

Evaluating Your Weight Loss Plan

Hello all! I hope you’re having a productive start to the week. As of today I’m gearing up to head back to school tomorrow (or technically Wednesday since I don’t have classes Tuesday). Come May I’ll officially be done with my DPD coursework (party time!) – and after spending six years in school at that point I’m so ready for the internship and a transition to online learning. It definitely won’t be easier, but being in a classroom has become tiring after all this time.

Happy Birthday ForksandNature!

Guess what everyone? Forksandnature is officially 1 year old [insert sound-maker noises and confetti which I won’t have to clean up here]! I just wanted to celebrate this milestone a little bit, and tell you that despite my hiccup over the last two months, the blog has garnered some attention over the past year. While it still remains small, I’m forever grateful for all of you who have read posts, commented, liked, and enjoyed forksandnature over the past year 🙂 So thank you!

 

 

Over the course of 2016 I’d like to make the blog even better, and I can’t do it without your help! This blog, aside from being enjoyable to me, is something for you too. If there are any topics you’d like covered in the new year, or anything you’d like me to branch out and try, feel free to make suggestions. I’m beginning to plan 2016, and one of my goals is to ensure that I post regularly throughout my next semester even as things get a little crazy.

In other exciting news, I’d like to share with you all that I was officially accepted into a dietetic internship program! My school offers early admission to students currently in their program who have a high GPA and display excellence in many other categories, and I’m so happy and relieved to say that I will definitely be a dietetic intern next year. And, bonus, it also means I don’t have to go through DICAS and Match Day (but don’t worry everyone, I’ll be cheering you all on come April)!

Once again, thank you all for your support this year, I can’t tell you how much it means to me. Now, just to clarify, I’m not going to be able to post daily, but expect them weekly again. I’m looking forward to another year with you all 🙂

❤

So how is ForksandNature doing?!

Hello everybody! Today I wanted to take some time and do a little six-month update for those of you who have been taking time to visit my corner of the web. I thought I might let all of you know how ForksandNature is fairing, what’s up next in the queue, and where I’d like to see us going in the future!

My journey as a nutrition student so far

This year has challenged me in ways I never encountered as a bio major at my undergrad, but I love it.

After all, what’s life without a little challenge right?

What do Dietitians Do?

It’s a lot more than just working in a hospital.

Hello again! I hope everyone’s Monday is going great. It’s already the last week of February – can you believe it?! I know I can’t, but I’m happy to see it go. One less month of winter! Those in the northeast US know what I’m talking about.

Anyways, in today’s post I wanted to branch into the dietetics profession because some of you may be curious as to what RD’s or RDN’s do for jobs. Even today I’m still finding new avenues I could potentially walk as my career blooms. So let’s talk a little bit about what working in the profession is like.

When someone thinks of a dietitian they often picture somebody in a white coat walking through a hospital, creating diet plans for patients, and generally being responsible for overseeing anything to do with the hospital’s food. Yes, you can go this route, and yes you will find plenty of dietitians filling these clinical shoes. A rather large chunk of your dietetic intern hours will be spent in clinical as well. It’s a fantastic jumping off point for a plethora of other opportunities that are available in the field, but most importantly going into clinical is not something you have to do.

Feeling the Pressure

When I say the word “dietitian” what kind of person do you imagine?

What happens when you go into a dietitian’s office and they don’t “look the part”? You know what I’m talking about. Fit, healthy, slender, etc. What if they’re overweight? As a client looking to lose weight, what would you think?

How Do You Become a Dietitian?

It’s going to take a lot, if you’re up for the challenge.

Hi again! I hope you’ve all been having a great week. In this post I wanted to talk a little bit more about the path to become a dietitian because it can get quite complicated. My particular path is slightly more complex than what I’m going to detail today, but don’t worry. We’ll get into that in my next post.

And without further ado, let’s talk about what it takes to become a registered dietitian (RD) or registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).

First thing to do: enroll in a nutrition program that has been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). If you check out the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) website you can find accredited programs across the nation that fit your specific criteria for college. They are handily found under the “Become an RD/DTR” tab.

It’s imperative that you enroll in an accredited program. There are a number of core competencies and fundamentals that must be met through the various nutrition courses and supporting science courses you will take. This is otherwise known as the didactic program in dietetics (DPD – there sure are a lot of acronyms aren’t there?).

Once you’ve toiled away through your program, the DPD director will issue you a verification statement. This is necessary to participate in the dietetic internship (DI); the practical experience portion of your dietetic path that culminates to 1200 hours or more. You have to apply to various programs that best suit your specifications and perhaps what you’re interested in practicing as a dietitian. Again, the Academy’s website has a whole list of accredited programs you can access. I’ve heard that application time is one of the most stressful times on this path (not to mention the wait to hear back from the programs you’ve applied to). While it will be challenging, it will also be rewarding. There’s only so much you can gain from the classroom; practical experience shapes you in such a way that you’ll feel completely confident about becoming a licensed dietitian. That’s me throwing a bone, but I can only imagine it to be true.

Ok, you’ve gotten accepted to your internship program (yes!), you complete your program (even better!), now you’re finally (finally!) ready to sit and take your exam. With luck on your side and a bit (or a lot) of studying – you’re a dietitian!

Some of you may be wondering what the difference is between a nutritionist and a dietitian – the answer is simply what I’ve explained. A dietitian is credentialed (look for the RD or RDN after their name). They’ve gone through this rigorous program to achieve their end goal. And, even after the years of college and training, they have to stay up to date and maintain continuing education credits. They never stop learning about the best ways to help others live healthy lives. This is one of the reasons I love the field.

I’m not bad-mouthing nutritionists, but there are more than a few who call themselves such and have absolutely no training to back up what they claim. You’ll find what irritates most dietitians is that for every credentialed individual giving advice and trying to help others become healthy through diet and exercise, there’s dozens who are quacks touting miracle products and unhealthy diets. That being said, not every nutritionist is a quack. In fact, some dietitians choose to call themselves nutritionists because it’s a term recognized by the public. Something a recent professor told me:

“Every dietitian is a nutritionist, but not every nutritionist is a dietitian.”

Basically, if you’re looking for sound nutrition advice, ask the individual about their credentials.

Because I don’t want to make this post too long, look for next week’s where I’m going to talk about how the path of becoming an RD can happen at any phase of life. There are ways to do it. So if you, like me, decided late in the game that you wanted to become a dietitian, I’ll tell you all about how it will be alright.

Question of the week: when you think of a dietitian, what are the first thoughts that come to mind?