FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Licensed Dietitian Nutritionists (LDN) and Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) are food and nutrition experts. An RDN's expertise includes (but not limited to) explaining the role of food and nutrition in your health and counseling clients that may have chronic diseases such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and/or cardiovascular disease. RDNs have a Bachelor’s degree, completed a required internship and passed their national boards. And like any other Licensed Health Care Professionals, LDNs/RDNs must maintain and complete continuing professional education requirements. A Nutritionist might be someone who does or does not hold a degree in Nutrition, did not complete the supervised internship, or it can be someone who has done a short certificate program. In reality, many people call themselves a nutritionist without having any professional training or nutrition related college degree that’s why it is important to check education and credentials to ensure that they have had proper training and education to help you reach your goals.

We will listen to you and hold a conversation with you! Since 2004, Nutrition by Joey has been the leading education resource for people who want to lead a healthier lifestyle. For those who chosen to have bariatric & metabolic surgery, we are the experts. As a practice we value and look at the whole person. Food is only part of the equation that makes you unique. There are other factors like physical activity, coping patterns, lifestyle and culture that effect leading a healthy lifestyle. We base our nutrition plan recommendations on your foundation as a person.

Please call our office at 702-878-Joey (5639). Our caring assistant will ask for a few your details and then send you our “Welcome” email. We have our clients fill out our office forms online and once those are complete, we will be able to move forward with an appointment. We ask for those online forms to be completed so we have all the information we need to check health insurance benefits and provide personalized nutrition care and advice.

It saves an average of 30 minutes in our first consultation together. By providing us with your medical history, eating habits, lab results etc. it gives your Dietitian the needed information to personalize your visits together.

Nutrition by Joey has experience working with a wide variety of conditions and client needs such as: Bariatric surgery, Weight Loss, Emotional Eating, General Healthy Eating, Diabetes, Heart Disease, GI disorders, Food intolerance and allergies, Low FODMAP, High Cholesterol, PCOS and many more!

Absolutely, you can! Nutrition by Joey’s focus is to encourage eating all foods in a more balanced way. YOU will be in charge of your food choices and lifestyle habits, our dietitians will give assistance and education to help you. Some of what we will discuss is a more mindful way of eating, managing emotional eating and much more.

We do not give meal plans to clients to follow as a diet but instead we use them for meal ideas. In our visits you will learn ways to make a balanced meal that you can enjoy and fit in our lifestyle. We want your eating plan to be flexible, doable without feeling deprived.

The initial session is about an hour and we will discuss your diet and medical history, lifestyle, sleep, stress, your schedule and more. Follow ups are typically around 50 minutes where we will check in and build upon your goals and make any changes as needed. At the end of each session we will set about 2-3 goals to focus on.

Nutrition counseling is a very individualized process. Depending on your needs, goals and/or insurance we may see you every 2 weeks, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or yearly. On average, we see patients 3 to 4 times per year.

Phone and HIPAA compliant Zoom appointments are available for our clients.

During our first visit together, your diet, medical, lifestyle history, prescriptions/nutritional supplements and bloodwork results will be evaluated. You will leave with nutrition recommendations based on the nutritional goals we talk about in our visit together.

For an office visit: Please bring copies of any lab work you have had drawn in the past 6 months and your insurance card if you were not able to upload it while doing your online forms. If you have a any questions regarding prescription medications or nutrition supplements you are welcome to bring those bottles in as well.

Absolutely! That is one of the many reasons why we love what we do! We customize and personalize all nutrition recommendations which are based on many factors such as (not limited to) your height/weight, activity level, age, gender and goals. If you are a bariatric client, your needs will also be based on the type of surgery you are having or have had. These personalized recommendations are based on the information provided by you when you filled out your online forms. Recommendations will be adjusted as needed during your follow-up visits.

Nutrition by Joey, LLC welcomes spouses, family members, or significant others to attend consultations, if the client receiving medical nutrition therapy is ok with it. A spouse, family member, or significant other offers a great support system, which can enhance your likeliness to succeed. Our goal is to maximize our time together to achieve the best understanding and success; therefore, we limit whom you can bring to your appointment to one other person.

Some clients are referred by physicians and others come on their own. A very few health insurance companies require a physician referral to use the nutrition coverage on your plan. If you are using your health insurance, we will let you know if your health insurance requires a referral or not once we call to check your benefits. You may also call your health insurance company and see if you have medical nutrition therapy as a covered benefit.

Nutrition by Joey is contracted with many health insurance companies such as: As a courtesy to all our clients who want to use their health insurance, we call the health insurance company to verify your health insurance benefits. If a client is liable for any amount (copay, co-insurance, deductible) we call the client to let them know the amount they are liable to pay. If you would like to call your insurance provider, there is a phone number on the back of your insurance card. We know dealing with insurance companies can be confusing and frustrating therefore please use this Insurance Script as a guide to ask the appropriate questions.

Yes, we do! We accept American Express, Discover, MasterCard, VISA and health savings cards. When you fill out your online forms you have the option to save your health savings card, debit or credit card to your file to pay for your visits if needed. You can also go to www.nutritionbyjoey.com and to make any payments.

An Initial Consultation is offered for $125 for those not using health insurance or if their health insurance does not pay for nutrition counseling. Follow up visits are typically 30 minutes and the investment is $60.

Monday - Friday depending on your Dietitian’s schedule.

This depends on each person! In the beginning we may meet every two to three weeks to begin making changes. From there we can decrease or increase appointments depending on your progress and goals.

Please call our office at 702-878-Joey (5639). Our caring assistant will ask for a few your details and then send you our “Welcome” email. We have our clients fill out our office forms online and once those are complete, we will be able to move forward with an appointment. We ask for those online forms to be completed so we have all the information we need to check health insurance benefits and provide personalized nutrition care and advice.

Nutrition by Joey requires a 24 hour notice prior to your appointment time for cancelling an appointment.

Nutrition by Joey has several nutritional tests that may enhance or help you meet your nutrition and health goals easier and/or quicker:

• Testing your resting metabolic rate test (RMR) is suggested because there is no way to know with certainty how many calories a person burns just by looking at them or even doing a calculation. By having your own personalized RMR we can then customize your caloric intake needs and then further personalize your macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat). The RMR test can be taken more than once and is recommended every three to six months and if you have experienced significant weight loss, with or without bariatric surgery.
• The Nutrigenomix (nutrition DNA) test results will give you and your dietitian additional information (nutrient metabolism, heart health, food intolerances, eating habits, if a high protein eating plan is best for weight loss etc.) based on your DNA to further customize your nutrition plan.
• The ALCAT (food sensitivity) test may be suggested to help you feel better. Whether you are having migraines, gastrointestinal issues (gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, pain) etc. finding out which foods you are reacting to may be the key to help decrease your symptoms.

The only test where you will need to come into the office for is the Resting Metabolic Test. The Nutrigenomix (Nutrition DNA) Test and the ALCAT (food sensitivity) Test kits can be dropped shipped (additional fees may apply) to your home. In additional to kit shipment, a mobile blood draw would be scheduled for the ALCAT Test (additional fees may apply).

Yes, there is a protocol for the Resting Metabolic Test, Nutrigenomix (Nutrition DNA) Test and the ALCAT (food sensitivity) Tests.The protocol is recommended to be followed so the test results are accurate.

The protocol for each test as follows:

• • Resting Metabolic Test (RMR) - clients are encouraged to come to the appointment fasting for at least three hours for accurate results, avoid exercising before the test and drink plenty of water to be properly hydrated. We typically recommend resting metabolic tests to be done in the morning.
  • Nutrigenomix (Nutrition DNA) Test - The test uses is a cheek swab so it is best to not drink or eat anything 30 minutes before your swab. The protocol is also given to you with your test kit.
  • ALCAT (food sensitivity) Test - Since this is a blood draw from a phlebotomist, you will want to be very well hydrated and you do not need to be fasting.