Why I Refer People to Nourish for Weight Loss Dietitians

I absolutely loved my experience with T. Colin Campbell’s plant-based nutrition program; it provided such a solid background and education for my blog content, clients I’ve worked with previously, and for my own health and well-being. But something I started noticing as I was doing consults with prospective clients was that many of them were either managing a chronic health condition, and/or seeking to lose a significant amount of weight (the latter was often predicated by the former). And while I could help them to an extent as an online health coach, I ultimately came to the conclusion that more clinical support was necessary for some. Now, I refer those people to Nourish for access to their incredible weight loss dietitians as well as RDNs that specialize in a wide array of other health conditions.

Nourish is a virtual registered dietitian network that connects people across the U.S. with RDNs who can provide clinical support to help people meet their specific nutrition and health goals. They have thousands of dietitians, many of whom have experience in supporting patients with weight loss, specific diseases, or chronic health conditions. And the best part is that 94% of Nourish patients are able to pay $0 out-of-pocket to meet with an online dietitian that meets all of their health needs.

While the dietitians at Nourish can support anyone looking for nutrition guidance – from people looking to have a more balanced diet and focus on overall wellness, to people looking for support around navigating food allergies, to those looking for sports nutrition guidance to support their workouts and fitness goals – they also have an abundance of dietitians that can support with a range of clinical areas. Their dietitians can also help with meal prep guidance, which is further supported by the Nourish app that has recipes, meal tracking features, and many more helpful tools to help bring gentle structure to your diet.

So that’s why, as a certified health coach, I started to recognize that there were certain people that came to me that I didn’t feel adequately equipped to support due to the medical conditions they had, or the significant amount of weight they wanted to lose. There is quite literally nothing more important than our health, and when I saw that someone needed more specialized support from a licensed practitioner, I was very confident in referring them to Nourish to find an in-network dietitian.

Many people don’t realize that a health coach or online nutritionist is not a protected or official medical vocation, i.e. you don’t have to be licensed professional to call yourself these things. But all of the providers in the Nourish network are Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs), which means they have completed a Bachelor or Master’s degree in Nutrition, passed a national exam, and complete a number of ongoing continuing education credits every year.

Here’s when I will refer people to Nourish:

• If they have health conditions such as hypertension, significantly elevated cholesterol, diabetes, or heart disease.
• If they have a significant amount of weight to lose (over 25 lb.), I will typically refer them to a Nourish weight loss dietitian.
• If they have disordered eating (and are not working with a mental health practitioner in parallel).
• If they’ve recently undergone bariatric surgery,
• If they have kidney or liver disease.
• If they have cancer.

I’ve chosen to refer these people to Nourish not because I don’t want to – it is actually really hard for me to turn lovely people away – but I just know it wouldn’t be responsible for me to take on clients with more serious medical conditions, so I leave that to the pros.

Types of health conditions that Nourish practitioners can support (in addition to their vast range of weight loss dietitians):

• Autoimmune disease (celiac, lupus, MS)
• Cancer
• Diabetes, prediabetes, or gestational diabetes
• Eating disorders (anorexia, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), bulimia, binge eating)
• Crohn’s disease
• GERD
• IBS
• SIBO
• Ulcerative colitis
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Weight loss, weight gain, weight stabilization
• Bariatric surgery
• GLP-1 support
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease
• Total parenteral nutrition (TPN)
• Tube feeding
• Hyperthyroidism
• Hypothyroidism
• Women’s health concerns (endometriosis, fertility, perimenopause, menopause, PCOS, pre- or postnatal nutrition, UTIs)

My experience with Nourish as an online health coach.

They always say that therapists need their own therapists, doctor’s need their own doctor, and the same applies to anyone practicing health coaching. While I’m doing less health coaching currently, it’s still something I enjoy and will sometimes support friends with when I can. But I am still a total health and wellness junkie, and care a lot about what I’m putting in my own body – so it was such a treat to work with an RDN through Nourish.

I did a full write-up of my experience working with a dietitian here, and was really impressed not only with the quality of the RDN I worked with as well as the sheer number of experienced RDNs in their network, but also with how user-friendly and robust the Nourish app is. It’s the perfect tool to help you stay on top of your goals, track meals and exercise, find recipes, and stay in communication with your dietitian between sessions.

Nourish really is a fantastic way to receive support from dietitians from the comfort of your home – and the fact that insurance covers most people’s sessions is a huge bonus.

If you’re looking for an online dietitian for weight loss, are managing a specific health condition, or are just looking for overall nutrition support, it’s super easy to get started with Nourish.

Head to the Nourish coverage calculator to see if your insurance is accepted as a first step. If your carrier is in their network, Nourish will let you know what your out-of-pocket estimate is (though the majority of Nourish patients pay $0 out-of-pocket). Nourish also handles all insurance claims on its members’ behalf, which is amazing.

If you have any questions about my experience working with Nourish*, feel free to drop me a line in the comments section below.

*There are affiliate links and sponsored content elements in this article that will enable you to get a discount while I’ll earn compensation or a commission. I only accept content sponsorships from brands I’ve personally tried, vetted, and will vouch for. These collaborations allow me to run this blog and keep my in-depth content free of charge for readers like you who want to learn more about vegan living.