Nutrition

 

Nutrition

The West Coast PHO Dietitian Service is here to support people, families or whanau who have one or more of the following:

*Prediabetes (HbA1c 41-49 mmol/L)
*Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk >15%
*High blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnoea, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL) or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
*Type 2 Diabetes that is managed by their primary practice
*Previous diagnosis of gestational diabetes
*Nutrition related concerns such as yo-yo dieting, weight cycling or any eating behaviours that cause distress AND are ready to move from weight loss as a goal to a focus on healthy habits
Families/whānau and youth referred by Registered Health Professional to improve health behaviours

The range of services being offered by the dietitians at the PHO means that there is something to suit everyone, including those living rurally.  All of our services are FREE and are provided by our responsive and qualified team.

If you are ready to make positive lifestyle changes and would like input from a dietitian, you can fill in this form or contact us on 03 768 6182 for more details about what we can offer you  .

Exclusion Criteria

  •  Bowel complaints with no investigations e.g. constipation or diarrhoea (use Health Info/Health Navigator resources)
  • Healthy eating advice & general adult nutrition (use Health Info / Health Navigator resources)
  • Weight reduction
  • Clients taking weight loss medications or very low calorie diets such as Optifast
  • Eating disorders

If you or your client do not meet our criteria, please see the Te Whatu Ora, Te Tai O Poutini criteria 

Services offered by the PHO Dietitians:

*In-person Dietitian Clinic Appointments (held in Greymouth, Hokitika and Buller).

Clients can request a phone or video consult if they live rurally and are not interested in enrolling in our on-line programme, Melon (see below for further details).

*Online Dietitian Support

Melon

Melon is a 16-week digital health program providing peer support, health coaching, engaging resources and tracking tools to help people make positive lifestyle changes.You need to have an email account that they access, a smartphone or computer with the ability to download the Melon application, and be self-motivated to engage with an online programme.

Ideal for those who enjoy using the internet and want a personalised programme that they can use when it suits them without having to go to a clinic.

Click on the video for the information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-1mhyLj3rU

 

*For those on Green Prescription

Clients can be referred through their Green Prescription coordinator for nutrition advice if they have a Green Prescription and meet any of the above criteria.

*Living Well With Diabetes

This is a fun & interactive course for adults with Type 2 diabetes.  The course is designed to make diabetes understandable using the latest interactive visual teaching resources in a supportive group environment.

Supported by a diabetes nurse specialist, pharmacist and expert for foot care.

The sessions are ideal, not only for people newly diagnosed, but also as a refresher for those who have been living with diabetes for many years.

For more information about the programs contact our team on 03 768 6182 or info@westcoastpho.org.nz 

What to expect when seeing a PHO Dietitian:

Our dietetic and nutrition practices are guided by the Health at Every Size® principles and the Non- Diet approach:In a nutshell this means we are dietitians who don’t believe in dieting!

What we do believe in is:

* focusing on your health not your weight. We won’t weigh you or set weight loss goals. We won’t hand you a meal plan and a big list of ‘no, no’s’. Why? Because we know from research and years from working in this area that dieting to lose weight is not helpful and can be harmful. We don’t discount the fact that weight loss may be a desire of yours and we don’t judge you for this.  We’re bombarded with the weight loss message from every angle, so it’s probably going to hang around for a while.  If you feel like you are ready to, we’ll just ask you to put that desire to the side so that we can work on improving your health and wellbeing in the body you have now.  The weight loss desire can come along for the ride as long as it needs to, but it’s not something we’ll be actively engaging in.

 * listening with no judgement. we’ll listen to what’s most concerning you about your health and nutrition.  We’ll discuss your relationship with food and your body, as well as any concerns around managing nutrition-related conditions (e.g. diabetes, high cholesterol, PCOS). We won’t just look at the ‘what’ of your eating patterns - we’ll also be looking at the ‘how’ and the ‘why’.  We’ll ask you lots of questions about your experiences and gently prompt you to reflect on them, because your insight is just as valuable as any advice we could offer you.

* providing guidance. Once we’ve got a good understanding of the ins and outs of what’s most concerning you about your health and nutrition, we’ll guide you through strategies to help you along.  This has no timeline and is not a one size fits all approach.  If you have concerns around your relationship with food and body, it’s likely that during our time working together we’ll cover topics such as hunger and fullness awareness, mindful eating, emotional eating, body acceptance and (if required) nutrition.  If you have a nutrition-related health condition (e.g. diabetes, high cholesterol), we’ll also provide you with individualised support to help you best manage this.

*being human! If something is funny, we’ll laugh about it with you.  If something makes you sad, we’ll pull out the tissues! Working through food and body concerns can be quite the rollercoaster, and we’re in this together. 

If you are a health professional who would like to refer someone to our service here is some simple information you can use to explain what we do.