has anyone gone grocery shopping with clients?
I like going grocery shopping with my clients. I do not believe it is out of my scope of practice by helping a client to learn to eat right. If someone is asking for a food plan, then I suggest recommending a nutritionist. Many times a client comes to you with no knowledge on how to eat, exercise, or make healthy choices. In my experiences with clients, I saw that clients became overwhelmed often with the nutrition aspect which often times led to giving up. Especially if you are teaching them the importance of eating non-gmo and organic.
The first response I get is I can’t afford those type of foods. I use the opportunity to offer that I can go shopping with the client. This is a great way to build a relationship and increase trust with your client. The trip to the grocery store is teaching them that they can eat healthy with a budget. If you aren’t willing to do things like this for your client, then your client isn’t going to see the results they came to you for. Make sure you know your information well, because the client will ask lots of questions. This may well be one of the most enjoyable sessions your client will have.
Hi Robin,
I agree that you can go grocery shopping with a client and stay within your scope of practice.
You may want to get an idea of what exactly your client wants to accomplish in going and keep it general. Reading labels? Picking healthy options and produce? How to store fresh items once they get them home? Shopping the perimeter of the grocery store is a great way to teach buying fresh vs. processed. They just need to know what to do with it!
Also, make sure you stay within your scheduled session time! Even though it may be fun, it’s your time.
Have fun and good luck!
Christine
You can certainly stay within your scope of practice by helping them read labels, pointing out how unhealthy foods are often stocked at eye level or at the end of the aisles, and showing them the variety of produce and lean protein options that they may have overlooked. It can be a great learning experience for you and the client. (I have learned how many nutritional myths some of my clients believed).
