You May Not Agree, But I Formed a Partnership

I have formed a partnership.  It might be controversial to some.  It was not a hasty decision, or one that I took lightly.

As a Registered Dietitian, I was taught in school that everyone should be able to get all the nutrients that they need from a well-planned, healthy diet.  There is really no need for supplements.  And then I entered real life.  The kind of real life where people do not always follow a well-planned, healthy diet.

Then I made calorie level, dietitian-planned diets.  We were taught in school that a diet providing less than 1200 Calories generally did not supply all of the day's needs for vitamins and minerals (with the assumption that a diet with more calories than that would be adequate).  When I made well-balanced calorie level meal plans and analyzed them, the 1600 Calorie diet did not provide adequate vitamins and minerals.  Hmmm, maybe some people do need supplements.  But that was just vitamins and minerals!

Other experiences in my life have shown me the importance of other supplements for some people - including me!  I struggle with chronic headaches, and when I run out of certain supplements my headaches are worse.  Fatigue becomes a problem as well.  Medical skepticism of herbal supplements stems from two things: 1) research is lacking on many supplements because there is not financial incentive to doing research on them, and 2) regulations on supplements are not as tight, so supplements can vary greatly from brand to brand.  So, instead of recognizing that there is a place for many of them, the Western medical community (including many dietitian training programs) ignores supplements.

So, after literally a year of contemplating the decision, I partnered with Beachbody.  There are a few things that went into this decision:

I believe in their products.  There are a variety of exercise programs, and literally something for everyone.  Even if you have not been exercising and are completely "out of shape," there is a program that you can do.
When I first started using Shakeology, I took the package to my doctor and had her tell me what she thought.  As a naturopathic physician, she is more educated than I am about supplements (remember, education about supplements is greatly lacking in traditional dietetics programs).  She had very favorable things to say about the ingredients.  For me personally, drinking Shakeology for breakfast helps to control my hunger through the day.  I also have avoided some illnesses that my daughter and husband have had recently (and if you know me at all, you will know that is amazing - I catch everything that comes within 15 feet of me).

Insurance reimbursement for dietitians is getting better, but it is still not where it "should" be.  I did some private practice nutrition counseling a few years ago, and I never received payment from the insurance companies, even though I was contracted with them.  By partnering with Beachbody, I can get paid for doing what I enjoy doing - helping people make healthier choices.

Some people may think that I am compromising myself by joining with an organization like this.  One thing that really held me back for some time was the nutritional information that I received in Beachbody emails.  Beachbody seems to really like the Paleo diet.  I don't.  However, when one of my online students was promoting Paleo, I decided to do a nutritional analysis of the typical day diet on Paleo to show how "bad" this diet was.  Do you know what I found out?  It was not as inadequate in vitamins and minerals as I thought.  It really wasn't that bad.  I still don't think that it is the "best" or "right" way to eat, but I also do not think it is the worst.

Another criticism that people may have about Beachbody is that they have people who are not nutrition professionals spouting out nutrition information.  However, if that were the only criteria for avoiding things, then people should not go to gyms, GNC and other vitamin stores, or Facebook and other social media.  At least I know that what I am teaching is sound nutrition information.  And if I do grow a team of people, I can help teach them to do the same.

Because I am a registered dietitian, I can still do "traditional" nutritional counseling - at traditional billing rates.  So, I am just expanding the ways that I can help people!