There’s a lot that goes into a healthy body, and it isn’t always about mixing kale or chard into every meal possible (although rainbow chard looks quite pretty on a plate). A balanced diet looks different for everyone, and while many fad diets will try to convince you otherwise, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution that will get you to your healthy body.
Luckily, Hancock Health dietitians are here to help. We sat down with Steven Tsaparikos, a licensed and registered dietitian who has been working with Hancock Health for five years, and got the scoop on everything you need to know about how to find the nutrition and fitness plan that works for you.
Q: Could you start by telling us a little bit about what a dietitian at Hancock Health actually does?
A: Of course! I work at Hancock Wellness Center – New Palestine, and every day looks different. I spend most of my time with clients working on creating a healthy lifestyle to reach their nutrition and health goals. After establishing goals, we walk through what they’re currently eating to find what is done well and where we have an opportunity to grow.
Q: How do you build that plan?
A: I outline food substitutions that fit into their eating pattern, provide education on what makes those choices important, and set expectations for progress. Health is more than just nutrition, so we also touch on sleep, exercise, and mental health. My specialty is in sports nutrition, and I love to work with athletes of all ages and sports. The best diet is the one that the patient can maintain, so the goal is to not change everything, but rather, to build a dietary pattern that emphasizes health and doesn’t leave the patient feeling neglected or overly restricted.
Q: That’s great! What factors typically influence a person’s diet and nutrition?
A: They can include age, gender, religion, activity level, food availability, and their financial situation to name a few. To create a dietary pattern that can be maintained, these need to be acknowledged and the diet should be built around their situation. You should have a diet that revolves around your life, not a life that revolves around your diet.
Q: So, how do you help clients understand the difference between a healthy diet, and a dieting fad that might be harmful?
A: There is a time and place to emphasize nutrition and make a push for a healthier lifestyle, and there is a time where we may need to manage other aspects of health. If there is a diet that seems to overly restrict a certain food or food group or an exercise plan that emphasizes rigid consistency with a lot of exercise, these could be detrimental to our health and dig us into a hole. A healthier diet will offer a variety of different food choices, emphasize moderation and serving size control, and gradually guide you into exercise in a healthy manner.
Q: How does exercise play a role in healthy nutrition?
A: Exercise can play a huge role in a nutrition plan. Consistent strength training and maintenance of muscle offers a slew of health benefits, including the ability to maintain a higher metabolic rate and a healthy metabolism to allow for the food freedoms and body composition changes you may want. Mentally, having an exercise plan can also help with nutritional consistency by providing more purpose behind the foods that we eat.
Q: Sounds like a lot of moving parts! What’s the most important thing to remember?
A: It can be! But knowing that you are in control of your health is an amazing feeling and everyone deserves to feel that way. Being in good health looks different for everyone and we all have our very own path to it. My job is to not only educate on what good health can look like for you, but to help guide you to the path that works best for you and your loved ones. If you or someone you know is interested in setting up an appointment to take control of your health, you can have your doctor send a referral for medical nutrition therapy to one of our three wellness centers.
EN 
ES 
DE 
FR 
ZH 
JA