Frequently Asked Questions
What experience do you have in sport?
Our team have over 20 years of experience working with athletes and active people in improving their nutrition, health and performance. When it comes to sport, we have been involved our whole lives, and we are passionate about sport for health, recreation and enjoyment. If you’d like to specifically know what we have done, check out our individual bios. We have been lucky to work with athletes doing amazing things and have helped many people achieve their sporting goals through practical evidence-based nutrition.
What are your qualifications?
All of the dietitians at Sportsdietitian.com are University-trained and qualified through professional intern placements prior to being accredited as an Accredited Practising Dietitian (Australia) or Registered Dietitian (UK and USA). We are very passionate about being dietitians. We regularly contribute to the dietitian community in Australia and overseas. We love our work and appreciate the privilege of being able to contribute to the world and help other people live their best lives.
How do your App Programs work?
Our digital sports-specific and goal-specific nutrition programs are designed to support you when you need it most. We combine evidence based and practically trialled nutrition with behavioural insights to provide you easily accessible nutrition information and support.
Once you sign up to a program, you will select your start date or event date. From there, you will be able to access your nutrition toolkit which is filled with nutrition resources, recipes and tips to browse when you like. Throughout the program, you will receive new pieces of information, reminders, nudges and SMS notifications.
Our Journal feature allows you to keep track of your goals and get feedback from our dietitians; and, if you’re looking for personalised support, you can upgrade to our Dietitian Coaching service.
Is SportsDietitian.com only for athletes?
We really do love sport. Our main focus is on performance, however, the foundation of performance is good health. This means we see many clients who live active lives that wouldn’t describe themselves as athletes. Some of our clients want advice on how to lose weight with nutrition, and others have a goal to increase their muscle mass. Some of our clients are in it to get a medal on the podium, where others wear their finisher’s medal with equal pride. So, in short – we have likely worked with someone like you before, and open to helping anyone who would benefit from our nutrition advice and support. If you would like to see if there is a fit, book a discovery call.
What is your nutrition philosophy?
Our philosophy is that we are brutally person-centred. As dietitians and scientists, we follow the evidence-base, however we also appreciate, acknowledge and experiment with practice-based knowledge. This means that we may have two clients in a row – one who thrives on a sports nutrition modified keto diet, and the next who thrives on a sports nutrition vegan diet.
We have the skills to be able to decipher and discuss with you what the best approach for you may be, and work this around your lifestyle to provide you the support to execute and implement. We have some clients who do not get an inch of benefit from focussing on their weight, and with these clients we adopt a non-diet approach. We have had other instances where the difference between a few points on body fat % could be career ending, and result in literally millions of dollars lost.
Needless to say, we do not believe in one-size-fits-all, and have seen too many exceptions to the rule over the years to be rigid with our planning. We also have a firm belief that there is no room for righteousness in health and performance, and disagree when someone believes that one eating style or nutrition philosophy should be adopted by the masses.
Do you offer one-off appointments?
We’ve worked with thousands of people, and most people benefit from the nutrition coaching and support more than they do education. Having an understanding of nutrition behaviour and nutrition psychology tells us that a one-off appointment is great for those with a few specific questions, but less helpful for those who have goals to achieve. This is why our only “one-off” appointments are our discovery calls. The stand-alone appointments are delivered with a week of access to direct messaging to your dietitian to clarify information. If you want to achieve results, and have ongoing support, our packages give the greatest value for money. Take a look at our services.
Do you offer Medicare or Private Health rebates?
As our services are performed virtually, there are some private health insurance companies that provide rebates for services. This varies between companies and policies. At this stage, we are unable to support Medicare Chronic Disease Management Plans.
Dietitian or Nutritionist? What's the difference?
While we are passionate about being dietitians, we are also open that there are many nutrition coaches, nutritionists and other experts that may give good advice. In Australia, it can be very confusing to know exactly how to assess whether someone is qualified to give advice . To add to the confusion, the terms “nutritionist” and “dietitians” are often used interchangeably by both people in the field and the media.
In Australia, all dietitians are nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are dietitians. An Accredited Practising Dietitian has either studied a minimum four-year Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics or a Masters degree in Dietetics, which is usually 2 – 3 years post their initial undergraduate qualification. As well as University training, dietitians need to do practice-based learning in the form of an internship covering medical nutrition therapy, clinical and community nutrition and dietetics. The Dietitians Association of Australia is a governing body which dietitians are able to register for status of Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD).
Nutritionists can gain their training through tertiary level education such as a three-year science-based bachelor’s degree in nutrition, or with a short online course. This makes it very difficult for the general population to seek someone with appropriate experience and knowledge. Nutritionists are qualified to provide services within public health nutrition, policy and research, community health, and basic nutrition advice with the appropriate tertiary training.
While qualified dietitians do not have to register with the governing body, APDs undergo mandatory professional development each year to attain their accreditation and keep up-to-date with the latest research and practice guidelines. In addition to the services qualified nutritionists are able to provide, dietitians are able to work within food service management, and practice medical nutrition therapy in clinical settings.
In Australia, dietitians will automatically attain the title of “nutritionist”, however nutritionists are not able to practice as a dietitian without a dietetic qualification.
To be sure that your nutrition professional has the correct qualifications, you are able to search for them on the Dietetics Association of Australia website in the Register of Accredited Practicing Dietitians. Follow the link below to search for your dietitian:
Register of Accredited Practising Dietitians
How is a Sports Dietitian different to a Dietitian?
To become an Accredited Sports Dietitian, an Accredited Practising Dietitian has to complete further specialised study and supervision. You do not have to be an athlete to see an Accredited Sports Dietitian – Sports Dietitians are well equipped to see clients with varying conditions just as an APD would!