What Does a Registered Dietitian Do (And Do You Need One)?

Have you ever wondered if working with a Registered Dietitian (RD) could help you reach your health goals and improve your quality of life? Many people turn to dietitians for expert nutrition advice, weight management, gut health, and chronic disease support—but knowing if it is right for you is a personal choice. Read on to learn more about what RDs do, when to see one, and what to expect from your work together. Whether you’re trying to navigate confusing nutrition info or manage a specific condition, working with an RD can be a game-changer for your health.

What Is a Registered Dietitian? 

A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a licensed healthcare professional trained in evidence-based nutrition. Unlike self-proclaimed “nutrition coaches” and social media influencers, RDs must complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nutrition or dietetics, undergo at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice through an accredited program, and pass a national registration exam. They must also complete continuing education to maintain their credentials. RDs provide science-backed, personalized nutrition counseling to support weight loss, gut health, chronic conditions, and overall wellness.

What Can a Registered Dietitian Help With? 

A Registered Dietitian can help you with a wide range of concerns, from chronic conditions to improving lab values and finding ways to have a more balanced diet. The most common concerns we work with include:

• Weight Management: Lose, gain, or maintain weight with sustainable, evidence-based support. 
• Chronic Conditions – Nutrition guidance for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, PCOS, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure
• Gut Health & Digestion – Support for IBS, bloating, constipation, and identifying food sensitivities, to name a few
• Women’s Health – From pregnancy and postpartum to menopause and hormone balance
• Sports & Performance Nutrition – Fueling for endurance, strength, recovery, and body composition goals. 
• Disordered Eating & Relationship with Food – Help navigating emotional eating, food rules, binge eating, and restrictive diets

Whether or not your concerns fit into this list, the RDs at Culina Health are here for you! We are trained to personalize care across a wide range of needs, including food allergies, ADHD, immune health, and more. We can also help you fall back in love with food or learn how to cook for yourself. 

Signs You Might Need a Dietitian 

If any of these sound familiar, it may be worth consulting with a Registered Dietitian to make sure you’re getting the support you need!

• You feel stuck in a cycle of dieting and want a sustainable plan.
• You have digestive issues and can’t pinpoint the cause.
• You were diagnosed with a chronic condition and need nutritional guidance.
• You want to improve your health without cutting out all your favorite foods.
• You want to lose weight without restrictive dieting.
• You’re an athlete or active person who wants to optimize performance or recovery.
• You struggle with emotional eating, food guilt, or binge eating.
• You are overwhelmed by conflicting food advice and unsure of what to eat anymore.

What to Expect from Working with a Registered Dietitian 

While nutrition care is never one-size-fits-all, you can expect some baseline things from your work with a Registered Dietitian. Then, depending on your unique needs, goals, and lifestyle, your RD will tweak their approach to ensure the care is working for you. 

Personalized Nutrition Plan

Your RD will work with you to create a customized nutrition plan aligned with your goals, lifestyle, budget, and health needs. This plan might include specific nutrient targets, meal or recipe ideas, supplement guidance, habit-building strategies, or educational resources to help you reach your goal. While this plan can be tweaked as you go, it’s a helpful starting point to guide your journey. 

Realistic, sustainable guidance 

As Dietitians, we aim to provide solutions and transformative habits you can sustain over your lifetime. This means that we focus on building habits you can stick with—no crash diets, no guilt, or food shaming. We are all about finding what works for *you,* and are laser-focused on making your nutrition journey easy, impactful, and enjoyable.

Education & support

No gatekeeping here—our goal is to help you one day thrive without us. Our goal is to arm you with your knowledge and bolster your education around nutrition to help you understand food and how nutrition works for you. So, rather than telling you what to eat, RDs are here to empower you to understand why it works., 

Accountability & motivation

The nutrition journey is a lifetime one! So, initially, it’s common to need someone to keep you accountable, troubleshoot setbacks and challenges, or stay motivated when things get difficult. A Registered Dietitian can be your cheerleader, accountability buddy, and support system so you can stick with your newfound habits and continue to reap the benefits.

What’s the Difference Between a Dietitian & a Nutritionist? 

There are a few key differences between Registered Dietitians and Nutritionists! RDs are licensed professionals who have completed rigorous education and training, whereas nutritionists are not regulated and are not legally protected in most states, meaning anyone can call themselves one. In contrast, only those who complete a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), 1,000+ supervised practice hours, and pass a national exam can be called a Registered Dietitian. Only RDs can provide medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for conditions like diabetes or IBS, and have their treatment covered by insurance. 

Common Myths About Seeing a Dietitian

Myth:“Dietitians only help people lose weight.”

Fact: RDs focus on overall health and sustainable nutrition, not just weight loss. Your dietitian will listen to you and your concerns and formulate a care plan based on that.

Myth: “They’ll put me on a strict meal plan and I’ll never be able to eat my favorite foods.”

 Fact: RDs work with your lifestyle and preferences, not against them. At Culina Health, we believe that all foods fit and that an overly restrictive diet leads to burnout. We support patients in figuring out what to add to their diet, not take away.

Myth: “I can just figure it out myself. I don’t need a dietitian to do this.”

Fact: Misinformation is everywhere, from social media to the news, and unlicensed influencers selling dubious products and biased advice. An RD helps you cut through the noise, determine where to go for correct information, and support you on the journey to keep you motivated. 

Myth: “It’s too expensive. Nutrition care is just a luxury of the rich.” 

At Culina Health, this is precisely what we’re working to disprove. Our convenient telehealth model makes it easier to fit this work into your life, no matter where you live or your schedule, and over 90% of our patients have their appointments covered by insurance. Furthermore, we meet you where you are, including financially—we’ll provide guidance that fits your unique budget and preferences, not push you into any expensive products or plans.

How to Get Started with a Registered Dietitian

Step 1: Check your coverage!

Figure out what your insurance plan will cover—some cover a certain number of sessions, and sometimes, it depends on whether you have a specific condition. Our insurance page has a handy guide to help you determine what your plan covers.

Step 2: Browse our team of Registered Dietitians to find a specialist who fits your goals – or let us match you! Whether you’re looking for support with weight loss, gut health, women’s health, sports nutrition, or a chronic condition, there is an RD who is right for you!

Step 3: Schedule your initial session to see if it’s a good fit. Culina Health makes it easy to get matched with an expert dietitian for virtual nutrition counseling and take the first step in your nutrition care journey—risk-free. 

If you’re ready to take control of your health with science-backed nutrition guidance, we are ready to serve you! Book your first session with a Culina Health dietitian today and start feeling better with expert, personalized nutrition care. Discover how powerful personalized nutrition care can be.