Criticism of Registered Dietitians

Nutrition
41

[quote]BradleyGrunner wrote:
Professor X wrote:
BradleyGrunner wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Angelbutt wrote:
Exactly.

I don’t know how many times I’ve made similar points on these boards.

The field of nutrition is not a walk in the park, partly because it entails so many aspects of feeding and health. Sports nutrition is merely a drop in the bucket of nutrition information, and in my opinion, not even the most interesting.

We should really look beyond your own values when making value judgments.

Some of the most bullshit “info” I have been given came from a dietician with a Phd. She was also VERY overweight. I think, like many professional in the health field, if they have no exposure to exercise, weight lifting or the nutrition surrounding it from PERSONAL experience, you can’t expect them to know a thing about it.

Care to share what this BS info was and what area of nutrition it addressed? I agree with the rest of your post but it did just so happen that the healthcare professional who did give you such BS advice was an RD. Are you criticizing this person as an individual or RDs collectively, which I do see is common on this website.

Some of the BS that pops immediately to mind was, “No one should need more protein than 10% of total daily intake”. There was quite a bit more as sitting in her class involved me biting my lip on ba daily basis, but that was one gem I will never forget. Also, yes, it is even more hilarious when the person giving you this wonderful info could be classified as “obese” and thinks, “those bodybuilders will have kidney problems”. I fail to see how my life is missing something by NOT giving a damn about what skilled nutritionists think. In fact, could you even point out how my life is lacking without forcing me to giggle?

I do not understand your question.
[/quote]

OK, after reading your post a second time, I get your question. I do not see your life lacking by ignoring what many skilled nutrionists say. After all, if you are in good nutritional status and understand how to manipulate your diet to your own needs, then why would you even need to see the information and advice of nutritionists.

Actually I find it the most admirable when an athlete, recreational or competitive finds out what works for him and knows his body the best over anyone else, similar to the breakthrough that Dave Tate has spoken and written about.
I myself, despite being a future RD have come to my current strength levels, and they are pretty good for a recreational lifter, I believe, by having about 1/4 of my diet consisting of pizza, cheeseburgers, lasagna, and cheese omelettes and the occasional serving of fries and ice cream.
I have also liked your posts on training and your instinctive approach. You seemed to have found what works for you. So, I do not see the need to become sarcastic with me since you seem to be one of the less emotional and more knowledgeble posters despite the fact that I think you come across as a know-it-all and a smart alec.

42

The main problem that I have with RDs stem mainly from the fact that I see several quotes in the media from people who don’t have the sport specific training, but feel free to spout off about how athletes don’t really need to eat any differently from anyone else. When I was with the UofC football team, we had an RD come in to give nutritional advice. Her advice to the guys wanting to gain weight? Eat a loaf of whole wheat bread every day on top of a normal diet. Boy, we sure got our money’s worth there, didn’t we?
Congratulations on your choice of career, but as others have already stated, if you’re going to take every negative statement about RDs as a personal attack, then you’re in for a long haul. Hell, I manage a GNC, and I know how 90% of the T-folk here feel about that company. I just do the best job that I can, and I pride myself on helping people get results - primarily by passing on a lot if info that I glean from this site.
I’m not trying to rag on you, but man, just step back and chill.

43

[quote]Northcott wrote:
dr stig wrote:
Brad…if you wanted a more reasoned discussion you should not have approached the delivery of your thread in such a ‘how dare they manner’. You go down the dog pen and kick the dogs and they’ll come after you and bite your ass.

Not to mention the reaction to the responses given. It’s like watching a car accident… where the driver, not content with his flaming wreck, decides to tip over a fuel can to speed things up.

[/quote]

Reaction to responses? My responses to responses are pretty reasonable, I beliebe.

44

[quote]vroom wrote:
Psst, responding to every post is a losing game. ;)[/quote]

Why don’t you inform me of what game I am playing since I did not know I am playing a game.

45

[quote]vroom wrote:
Thanks for not seeing my point in the first place or at least completely overlooking my point.

Yeah, I know, but your point was overshadowed by the tone and volume of unnecessary material in your post…[/quote]

Who made you the T-Nation forum police?

46

[quote]BradleyGrunner wrote:
vroom wrote:
Thanks for not seeing my point in the first place or at least completely overlooking my point.

Yeah, I know, but your point was overshadowed by the tone and volume of unnecessary material in your post…

Who made you the T-Nation forum police?
[/quote]

You don’t have to be on the ‘T-Nation forum police’ squad to know the flaws of your argument. In fact, you can be just someone who just knows how to express his opinions clearly, succintly, and professionally!

47

[quote]BradleyGrunner wrote:
vroom wrote:
Psst, responding to every post is a losing game. :wink:

Why don’t you inform me of what game I am playing since I did not know I am playing a game.
[/quote]

He means the “fix the morons” game. It really doesn’t work when you come onto a forum like this one and try to change people’s opinions on any subject at all. Vroom’s been there - he’s pretty prolific on the politics forum. You really just have to accept that 50% of people are below average and move on.

-Dan

48

[quote]achilles2095 wrote:
The main problem that I have with RDs stem mainly from the fact that I see several quotes in the media from people who don’t have the sport specific training, but feel free to spout off about how athletes don’t really need to eat any differently from anyone else. When I was with the UofC football team, we had an RD come in to give nutritional advice. Her advice to the guys wanting to gain weight? Eat a loaf of whole wheat bread every day on top of a normal diet. Boy, we sure got our money’s worth there, didn’t we?
Congratulations on your choice of career, but as others have already stated, if you’re going to take every negative statement about RDs as a personal attack, then you’re in for a long haul. Hell, I manage a GNC, and I know how 90% of the T-folk here feel about that company. I just do the best job that I can, and I pride myself on helping people get results - primarily by passing on a lot if info that I glean from this site.
I’m not trying to rag on you, but man, just step back and chill. [/quote]

Personally, I think it is ridiculous for anyone to say that an athlete should eat in the same manner as a sedentary person.
I too, would be pretty let down if an RD came to speak at my school and all he or she did was tell those who wanted to gain weight to simply eat a loaf of bread on top of my usual caloric intake.
I did not take every negative comment on RDs as a personal attack. I simply was seeing a recurring theme throughout this website, that being that RDs are a bunch of idiots running around “telling people what to eat”, when in fact RDs are involved in much more than this and have varied career paths. Not to mention the fact that there is much criticism of RDs in the area of sports nutrition when RDs are hardly or NEVER trained in this area. Again, why criticize someone for things that they do not deal with or desire to?

If RDs are called on by the media or universities to speak on sports nutrition and they are not skilled in this area, they should take a step back and say “I cannot answer your question since I am not skilled in this area”.

49

[quote]IronDude17 wrote:
BradleyGrunner wrote:
vroom wrote:
Thanks for not seeing my point in the first place or at least completely overlooking my point.

Yeah, I know, but your point was overshadowed by the tone and volume of unnecessary material in your post…

Who made you the T-Nation forum police?

You don’t have to be on the ‘T-Nation forum police’ squad to know the flaws of your argument. In fact, you can be just someone who just knows how to express his opinions clearly, succintly, and professionally!
[/quote]

My argument? I don’t have an argument. I had a thought on an issue and stated it. How was it not stated clearly. I do feel that anyone with half a brain could read my original post and see what my point was and that it was stated clearly.

Also, what are the flaws of this argument? Is there a flaw in stating what an RD does? Explain this to me since, many of the postes on here, including you, read my post and then go off in directions that have nothing to do with my post.
Arguments? Games? Elitism? Problems? I have no idea what these people are stating.

Oh, I was a little sarcastic. So because I felt strongly on something and used sarcasm, similar to what nearly every contributor on this site does in many of their articles, my point is unclear, unsuccinct, and unprofessional. . My sarcasm is not professional. I see how it works here now. Good reasoning. Thank you, Iron Dude.

50

Are we supposed to be impressed by your undergrad curriculum? Maybe I should post my whole undergrad and graduate classes and also cut/paste a copy of my Ph.D. dissertation too!

51

I understand why you are peeved at other members attacking the validity of your future career, but personally I think the real reason you’re upset is because after four yours of intensive study you’ve discovered the harsh truth.

Dietitians for the most part are nutritional zombies trained by institutions of “higher learning” to go forth and spread the misguided gospel of the American and Canadian food guides. I should know, because my sister is a registered dietitian who has worked in hospitals, sports clinics and for major corporations such as Kraft, which you mentioned in your original post. I mean come on man, Kraft? Also, have your ever stayed in a hospital and eaten the food!? You wanna die faster be my guest.

Look, there are good and bad practitioners in every industry and I know that not all of what you learned is useless. But the best thing you can do is graduate and then study some more to expand your knowledge base even further. Nutrition is such an exciting and constantly evolving field of education that demands you stay current and cutting edge.

52

I train a RD that is overweight. I think the major criticism of RD’s are the lack of applicability of their knowledge to everyday situations. Sure they may now exact toxicity levels of every known mineral but if they dont even really understand a diet that will promote muscle maintenance during weight loss, how qualified are they? At some point RD’s should have knowledge that reflects personal experience too.

53

[quote]BradleyGrunner wrote:
My argument? I don’t have an argument. I had a thought on an issue and stated it. How was it not stated clearly. I do feel that anyone with half a brain could read my original post and see what my point was and that it was stated clearly.

Also, what are the flaws of this argument? Is there a flaw in stating what an RD does? Explain this to me since, many of the postes on here, including you, read my post and then go off in directions that have nothing to do with my post.
Arguments? Games? Elitism? Problems? I have no idea what these people are stating.

Oh, I was a little sarcastic. So because I felt strongly on something and used sarcasm, similar to what nearly every contributor on this site does in many of their articles, my point is unclear, unsuccinct, and unprofessional. Got it! Yes, TC speaking of dicks all day, Charles Poliquin condemning skinny boys to a life of eternal weakness, Chris Shugart being intolerant of obese people because of laziness and sloth, and Alwyn Cosgrove ripping on the gullible masses is all very professional. My sarcasm is not professional. I see how it works here now. Good reasoning. Thank you, Iron Dude.
[/quote]

You do in fact present an argument. It may not be a fight between to people, but you do go on to try to prove something that most people do not accept or know as common knowledge. That is what an argument does. The main flaw in your argument is the way in which you present your evidence. You would not be getting flamed so such if you said: “Hi - This is what RD’s do, this is why I think it’s important for you to see this, this is the present misconception of RD’s, and hopefully you all understand a little bit more about what is usually misunderstood on this site, Thank you.” That would have been great. But instead, it is presented in an environment in which you are not only sarcastic, but unprofessional, threatening, and demeaning. You are assuming the reader does indeed believe all of these misconceptions. Also, it’s about the attutide in which it is written. And, the others on this site who state their opinions . . . . they use light humor to prove their points and are not accusing everyone of not believing their point. It’s all about the voice of the paper. Your welcome!

54

[quote]MODOK wrote:
Before I got my PharmD, I actually received my MS in Nutrition Science. Probably the most dissapointing two years of my life. All the stereotypes that have been discussed are true; nearly all of my professors were overweight women (some of which who smoked and drank like fishes), and I was ostracized from my classmates for my “radical” views on weight control and protein intake. From experience (and a lot of wasted money) I will say I have
learned untold amounts more from independent study than I did in that entire graduate curriculum.The spring before I finished, I started applying to pharmacy schools, where I recceived, what I beleive, my true education on hyperalimentation and clinical nutrition. I am now the director of metabolic/nutrition support at a major hospital and have several RDs working for me. I have no quarrels with RDs at all, they serve a very valuable role for sure in our team and we’d have a hard time getting along without them.I do have to echo this about that curriculum… it squelches independent thought, which is the antithesis of good education, IMO.[/quote]

Independant study is the key, the most extreme example of when this would be most useful would be in a Music or languages course, but in Science its what sets people apart.

I used to get R’s (referrals) in my MSc assignments, when people with far less knowledge were getting distinctions.

When I approached the lecturers / professors they would say things like, you got an R because I don’t understand it. (meaning they had no idea what I on about), although it was all referenced.

55

[quote]PublickStews wrote:
Are we supposed to be impressed by your undergrad curriculum? Maybe I should post my whole undergrad and graduate classes and also cut/paste a copy of my Ph.D. dissertation too![/quote]

Some of these courses are offering modules from anything from Nutrition to brain surgery.

I did statistics ar degree level as a module. Do I know anything about statistical analysis. No I don’t know a goddamn thing, yet I still passed the module.

56

[quote]vroom wrote:
Psst, responding to every post is a losing game. :wink:

Bardley Grundle replied:
Why don’t you inform me of what game I am playing since I did not know I am playing a game.
[/quote]

BG, the “game” you are playing is that of someone that is “too attached” to the topic.

I’ll offer some advice that you probably don’t want and probably won’t listen to (and that’s fine). Many people, myself included, finish our education thinking we know much more than other people… we know how something works in some field like nobody else.

If you walk out into the real world, also known as the working world, with that attitude, you may be scoffed at. Reality and experience has a way of trumping education if you play your cards too forcefully.

57

[quote]PublickStews wrote:
Are we supposed to be impressed by your undergrad curriculum? Maybe I should post my whole undergrad and graduate classes and also cut/paste a copy of my Ph.D. dissertation too![/quote]

Are you SUPPOSED to? I do not know. It depends on what point you are trying to make.

58

[quote]dr stig wrote:
PublickStews wrote:
Are we supposed to be impressed by your undergrad curriculum? Maybe I should post my whole undergrad and graduate classes and also cut/paste a copy of my Ph.D. dissertation too!

Some of these courses are offering modules from anything from Nutrition to brain surgery.

I did statistics ar degree level as a module. Do I know anything about statistical analysis. No I don’t know a goddamn thing, yet I still passed the module.
[/quote]

Good for you.

59

Hey guys,

“Bradley” is also “Guttus Gumptious” who’s written an article or two on Dave Tate’s site where he slams T-Nation writers.

He clearly has some self-esteem problems, as noted by his numerous posts using multiple identities, his plaintive cry for respect, and his whiny responses to posts on this thread.

Really, don’t waste your time responding to him.

60

[quote]vroom wrote:
vroom wrote:
Psst, responding to every post is a losing game. :wink:

Bardley Grundle replied:
Why don’t you inform me of what game I am playing since I did not know I am playing a game.

BG, the “game” you are playing is that of someone that is “too attached” to the topic.

I’ll offer some advice that you probably don’t want and probably won’t listen to (and that’s fine). Many people, myself included, finish our education thinking we know much more than other people… we know how something works in some field like nobody else.

If you walk out into the real world, also known as the working world, with that attitude, you may be scoffed at. Reality and experience has a way of trumping education if you play your cards too forcefully.[/quote]

I thank you for this advice and insight (NO sarcasm here). However, I am already aware of this. I honestly believe that I have not even touched the tip of the iceberg in my understanding of metabolism and nutrition. It almost seems that people such as Lonnie Lowery (RD) and John Berardi are literally light years ahead of me in their understanding of and competence in nutrition and metabolism.

And yes, there are the stereotypical fat, boring RDs who do not know a thing or two about body composition or sports who can run circles around in me in some areas of dietetics simply because they have more experience than me and have been exposed to material (continuing education seminars and symposia, books, etc.) that I have not been exposed to. Heck, some of them might even be more intelligent than I.

Finally, I AM attached to this topic. I do not know why I would not be. Why would I not want to set an example, maybe for my own personal reward and integrity, to show that someone such as myself will not be a couch potato RD and one who actually knows about fitness and effective weight loss; one who, in practice, will not offer the same low protein, carbohydrate laden meal plans. Also, one who will not simply say: exercise; one who actually states the details of what an effective exercise program looks like.