Nutrition

Between busy schedules, family meals and conflicting advice, it can be difficult to know what to eat and where to start making changes. Perhaps you want to manage your weight, adapt your diet to a health condition or simply understand your habits better. A nutritional assessment can help identify your needs and define changes suited to your situation.

What is a nutrition consultation?

A nutrition consultation explores the relationship between food, health, habits and each person’s goals. It goes beyond choosing foods or following a diet: it aims to understand what you eat, how you organise your meals and the difficulties you face in everyday life.

Nutritional needs vary with age, physical activity, health and stage of life. This is why there is no single plan that suits everyone, and weight alone does not explain a person’s overall nutritional status.

When should you seek a consultation?

At Clinimed, Dr Natacha Nascimento sees children, adolescents, adults and older people, including those seeking guidance to:

• Manage their weight and improve their eating habits.
• Adapt their diet to conditions such as diabetes or high cholesterol.
• Understand their nutritional needs during pregnancy.
• Plan their diet around food allergies or intolerances.
• Follow a balanced vegetarian diet.
• Address difficulties related to eating behaviour.

You do not need to want to lose weight to seek support. Questions about food or difficulty fitting recommendations into your routine can also be reasons to have an assessment.

What happens at the first consultation?

The first consultation includes a conversation about your medical history, eating habits and routine, as well as weight and height measurements and an assessment of body composition — information about the different components of the body, such as body fat and muscle mass.

This assessment helps build an understanding of your situation before nutritional guidance is agreed. The more relevant information you bring about your current and past health, the better your needs can be understood in context. Previous test results and information about illnesses, treatments and medication may be useful for this conversation.

What if you have already tried to change your diet without success?

If you are worried about receiving recommendations that are difficult to follow, giving up foods you enjoy or feeling frustrated again, share these concerns during your consultation. Your difficulties are part of what needs to be understood.

In a nutrition consultation, your schedule, food preferences, budget and family meals are the starting point for a plan tailored to you. Book your consultation and discover how to improve your diet with practical changes suited to your everyday life.