Nutrition and lifestyle clinic

Most people know what they should eat. The problem rarely lies in knowledge – more often it lies in the schedule, in shift work, in the fact that the first meal happens at two in the afternoon, and in meal plans from the internet that were written for someone else. Advice at the nutrition and lifestyle clinic starts from your personal schedule, not from an ideal week.

You can book an appointment when you want to manage your body weight, when a doctor has advised you, because of test results, to lose weight or change your eating habits (for example with raised cholesterol, raised blood sugar or high blood pressure), when you have digestive problems, or when you want to know how to adapt your diet to physical activity and demands.

If you have no laboratory results and want a more complete assessment, Redni servis can be a starting point: an in-depth preventive check-up that also includes blood and urine tests. With the results it is then easier to decide what we need to pay attention to in the nutrition plan.

The advice is for adults. For children and adolescents, talk to a paediatrician before the visit, as for them any change to diet is tied to growth and development.

The first consultation is mainly a conversation and an overview of your situation. We want to know what and when you eat, how satisfied you are with your sleep, how much you move, which medicines you take, which illnesses run in your family and what you have already tried. It is often this last question that tells us most – the pattern of unsuccessful attempts reveals where things actually get stuck.

Body weight, height and waist circumference are measured and, if needed, any laboratory results you bring are reviewed. If you do not have results, we may suggest you get them before continuing, as some dietary measures make no sense without them.

It helps if, before the first visit, you write down for a few days what you ate and drank, including the weekend. Keeping a record is not a test and is not meant for judging you. Without it, the conversation relies on memory, and memory systematically underestimates quantities when it comes to food.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all meal plan, you get a plan tailored to your schedule, your taste, your state of health and what you are actually prepared to do. A change you cannot keep up for three months does not count in practice.

Changes are introduced gradually, in steps you agree on together with the specialist. At follow-up visits you review any obstacles together and adjust the plan if needed. Ups and downs and breaks are an expected part of the process, not a sign of failure.

Besides diet, the consultation also touches on physical activity, sleep and managing stress. These factors affect appetite and metabolism, so they are hard to deal with separately.

Weight loss that happens without you intending it is a sign that needs to be explained. The same applies to marked tiredness, recurring digestive problems, blood in the stool, difficulty swallowing or a sudden change in appetite. In these cases, first book an examination with your family doctor.

If you have a feeling of losing control over food, compulsive restriction, vomiting after eating or severe distress around the subject of your body and weight, these are problems where psychiatric or psychological care is also important. Care can begin with a conversation with us, and the further path continues in cooperation with the psychiatry and psychotherapy clinic.