You want to change the way you eat, but you cannot find the support you are looking for in your own city, your working hours do not fit appointment times, or leaving the house with a small child is a task in itself. Online nutrition counselling removes the distance between you and the dietitian: consultations take place by video call, your plan reaches you digitally and follow-up continues wherever you are.
On this page you will find who an online diet suits, how it works, how to take measurements at home, what to check when choosing an online dietitian and the limits of online counselling.
What is online nutrition counselling?
Online nutrition counselling means carrying out every stage of in-person counselling, that is, assessment, a personal nutrition plan and regular follow-up, by video call. It is not a ready-made diet list downloaded from the internet, nor an automated system that sends everyone the same programme. On the other side of the screen is a dietitian who listens to you, asks questions, reviews your test results and writes the plan around your life.
The only difference is the setting: instead of a chair at the centre, you sit in front of a screen at home or at work.
Who is online counselling suitable for?
- People living outside İzmir: Those who have no dietitian they can see regularly in their own district or city, and those who live far from the dietitian they want to work with.
- People living abroad: Those who want to work with someone who speaks their language and knows their food culture.
- People with busy or irregular schedules: Shift workers, frequent travellers and those who cannot attend appointments because of their working hours.
- New mothers and parents of young children: At times when leaving the house takes planning, the session can be timed to the baby’s nap.
- People who find travel difficult: Those with limited mobility or those who cannot spare the time spent in traffic.
- Clients who start in person and then move: Clients who change city can continue from where they left off.
How does an online diet work?
As with in-person counselling, an online diet starts with getting to know you. In the video call we talk about any chronic conditions you have, your doctor’s recommendations, your daily habits, your pace of life and the foods you like and dislike. The programme is built from this information, with meals you can actually follow and practical recipes you can prepare at home.
Sticking to a plan to the letter every day is rarely possible; invitations, work lunches and holidays are part of life. So between sessions, suitable options for the day are worked out together over WhatsApp. In the online process you keep the measurements and the food record yourself; the next two sections explain how.
How do you take measurements at home?
In online counselling you take the measurements yourself. For them to be comparable, it is enough to keep the same conditions each time.
Scales
Weigh yourself in the morning, after using the toilet, before eating or drinking anything and in similar clothing. Use the same scales each time, on a hard, flat floor. Because the number on the scales can vary by a kilo or two during the day, measurements taken at different times are misleading. You do not need to weigh yourself every day; once a week is enough for most people.
Tape measure
Waist circumference is measured standing, after breathing out normally, at the level of the navel and without pulling the tape tight. Hip circumference is taken at the widest point. Make sure the tape is parallel to the floor and use the same point for every measurement.
Other indicators
How your clothes fit, your energy level, sleep quality, digestion and any follow-up tests requested by your doctor are also signs of progress. If you have home scales that estimate body composition, the results can be used to follow the trend; a single reading is not interpreted as an exact value.
Why is the food diary so important in the online process?
In the online process the dietitian cannot see your table, so the most valuable source of information is the food diary you keep. A good diary is not just a list of what was eaten; it also includes the following:
- Time and place: Whether you ate at the table, in front of a screen or in the car, and how long the gaps between meals were.
- Amount: There is no need to weigh in grams; household measures such as spoon, slice and bowl, or a photograph of the plate, are enough. A photograph is the easiest way to describe a portion.
- Drinks: Water, tea, coffee, fruit juice and alcohol are often left out, yet they can change the picture.
- Hunger and mood: How hungry you were when you sat down, and whether you were tired, tense or bored.
- Complaints: Symptoms such as bloating, sleepiness after meals or headache, and the time they appeared.
A few days of records usually give a clear enough picture; having one of them fall at the weekend shows the difference between weekdays and weekends. Write down the meals where you went off plan too: they show best what needs to change. The more realistic the diary, the more accurate the plan.
What is the difference between an online and an in-person diet?
There is no difference between the two in the scope of the assessment or in the plan being prepared individually. The differences are these:
- Measurements: Online, you take the measurements yourself at home with scales and a tape measure. Taking them under the same conditions each time matters more than which instrument you use.
- Time: With travel and waiting time removed, it becomes easier to keep up sessions without interruption. Continuity affects the outcome far more than the measurement method.
- Setting: When you connect from your own kitchen you can show the products in your cupboard, the oil you use or your serving dishes; this makes it easier to adapt the plan to real life.
- Applications carried out at the centre: Applications such as body contouring and lymphatic drainage are available in person only.
What can online counselling be used for?
All the nutrition counselling services provided at the centre can also be carried out online: weight management, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome, thyroid conditions, digestive complaints, food intolerance, pregnancy and breastfeeding, sports nutrition and work on eating behaviour. Where a medical diagnosis is required, the diagnosis and tests are carried out by your doctor where you live; the nutrition plan is prepared on the basis of that information.
An online dietitian for people living abroad
Two points stand out when working with clients who live abroad. The first is the time difference; session times are set to suit both sides. The second is access to food: the plan is written around the products you can find in the shops of the country you live in and the meal pattern there. For those who want to keep cooking Turkish food, we also discuss how familiar dishes can be prepared with local products. Your tests are requested by your doctor in the country where you live, and the results are reviewed in the session.
What should you check when choosing an online dietitian?
Not everyone giving nutrition advice online is a dietitian. In Türkiye the title of dietitian may be used only by graduates of a university nutrition and dietetics programme. Before you start working online, checking the following makes things easier:
- Title and training: You should be able to see clearly who you will work with, their name and their training. Short certificate courses or “nutrition coaching” do not replace a dietetics degree.
- A list given without knowing you: A ready-made list sent without asking about your medical history, your medicines and your daily routine is not personal.
- Promises of weight and time: Promises such as “this many kilos in this many days” are not realistic; the rate of weight loss varies from person to person.
- Product sales: When counselling is tied to selling a tea, capsule or supplement, the advice is likely shaped around the product rather than around you.
- Advice on medicines: A dietitian does not diagnose, start medicines or tell you to stop yours. Anyone who suggests this is acting outside their remit.
The limits of online counselling
An online session does not replace a medical examination. A dietitian does not diagnose or recommend medicines; in illness, the nutrition plan is prepared in line with the doctor’s diagnosis. In emergencies or situations that need assessment, such as severe abdominal pain, rapid and unexplained weight loss, fainting or chest pain, you should go to a healthcare facility without delay. In severe eating disorders the process should be carried out together with a mental health professional and a doctor, in most cases in person.
The privacy of your personal data
The health information, test results and measurements you share are special category personal data. This information is used only for the purpose of providing nutrition counselling and is not shared with third parties. For more information, see the privacy notice.
Frequently asked questions
Is an online diet as effective as an in-person one?
What determines the outcome is not the setting of the session but how well the plan suits you, regular follow-up and consistency in practice. When these conditions are met, online counselling proceeds in the same way as in-person counselling.
Can I use test results from abroad?
Yes. But some values are reported in different units from country to country: vitamin D may be given in ng/mL by one laboratory and in nmol/L by another, and blood sugar in mg/dL or mmol/L. When you look at a result, read the unit on the report together with the laboratory’s reference range; if the units are mixed up, a normal value can look low or high.
What should I do when there is an invitation or a meal out?
Planning the day in advance is easier than writing it off as “already ruined”. Not skipping the meals before the invitation, starting with protein and vegetables at the table and making the dessert portion smaller instead of banning it are usually enough. In the online process, options for days like these are worked out together over WhatsApp.
