Nutrition counselling usually begins with an interview in which the counsellor asks questions about a person's typical food intake. Nutrition counsellors use different methods to assess typical food intake.

The 24-hour recall method is a listing of all the foods and beverages a person consumed within the previous 24-hour period. The nutrition counsellor may ask a person to recall the first thing he or she ate or drank the previous morning. The counsellor then records the estimated amounts of all the foods and beverages the person consumed the rest of the day. The 24-hour food recall can be used to provide an estimate of energy and nutrient intake. However, people tend to over- or underestimate intake of certain foods, and food intake on one day may not accurately represent typical food intake.

A food frequency questionnaire can sometimes provide a more accurate picture of a person's typical eating patterns. The nutrition counsellor may ask the client how often he or she consumes certain food groups. For example, the counsellor may ask a person how many servings of dairy products, fruits, vegetables, grains and cereals, meats, or fats he or she consumes in a typical day, week, or month.

This process involves

• Assessing Body Weight
• Identifying Changes Needed
• Identify the barriers to be changed
• Setting goals
• Finding Support
• Maintaining Changes