Nutrition Counseling
in Washington, DC

Nutrition counseling helps us discover how what you eat, how you feel, your health history, and your lifestyle all work together. Your gut health, daily routine, and weight goals are part of the picture too. At Gut Theory Total Digestive Care, our personalized nutrition counseling membership goes beyond a one-size-fits-all diet. We help you understand what works for your body and build realistic strategies that fit your health goals and your life.

Who May Benefit From Nutrition Counseling?

Nutrition counseling may be a good fit for you if you:

• Want a personalized nutrition plan that works in real life, not just on paper.
• Are working toward weight loss or want support maintaining the weight you have lost.
• Feel like you know what to do, but need guidance, accountability, and support putting it into practice.
• Want to better understand how your food choices may be affecting your gut health or digestive symptoms.
• Are preparing for or adjusting to life after an endoscopic weight-loss procedure.
• Are taking or considering weight-management medications and want to make sure you are getting the nutrition your body needs.
• Need practical strategies for eating well while balancing work, family, travel, social events, and a busy schedule.
• Want to improve your overall nutrition, even if weight loss is not your primary goal.

A personal consultation allows our Gut Theory team to better understand your needs, goals, and challenges so we can recommend the right plan of care for you

Your first in-person visit is designed to help us understand the whole picture, including where you are today, where you want to go, and what may have made it difficult to get there in the past.

We will review your health history, current eating patterns, digestive symptoms, previous weight-loss attempts, medications and supplements, sleep, physical activity, lifestyle, and the real-life barriers that may be affecting your progress.

We also use objective health data to better understand your body and metabolic health. This typically includes a body-composition analysis that looks beyond the number on the scale and measures:

• Basal metabolic rate
• Skeletal muscle mass
• Visceral fat
• Body fat percentage

We will also review recent laboratory results and, when appropriate, recommend additional testing based on your health history and individual needs.

Once we have the complete picture, we create a personalized plan with specific, realistic goals. Rather than trying to change everything at once, we focus on achievable steps that we can build on over time.

Your plan is not meant to be static. As you make progress, we continue to assess what is working, identify challenges, and adjust your plan along the way.

Your Personalized Plan

We believe good nutrition is not about being handed a list of foods you are “allowed” to eat. It is about understanding what works for your body, your health, and your lifestyle, and learning how to make choices you can realistically maintain over time.

How We Build Your Nutritional Plan

We are not interested in making you afraid of food or giving you an unrealistic plan that only works for two weeks. We want to teach you how to make better choices, understand how those choices affect your body, and build habits you can continue long after your first visit.

We start by asking a few questions, such as:

Your answers help us identify what may be getting in the way and where we can make meaningful changes. We use that information to build a plan around your health, your goals, and your real life, so the changes we recommend are realistic enough to maintain over time

At Gut Theory Total Digestive Care, we understand that nutrition, gut health, and weight management are often connected. Rather than treating each concern separately, we look at how they may be working together and affecting your overall health.

Dr. Janese Laster-Butler is quadruple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Obesity Medicine, and as a Physician Nutrition Specialist. This unique combination of expertise allows us to look beyond what you eat and consider your digestive health, medical history, metabolic health, medications, and weight goals when developing your plan.

For some patients, nutrition counseling may be the primary focus. For others, it may be one part of a more comprehensive plan that includes evaluation and treatment of digestive symptoms, laboratory testing, weight-management medications, or an endoscopic weight-loss procedure.

There is no single approach that is right for everyone. Having these services available in one practice allows us to consider the different tools that may be appropriate for you and personalize your care as your needs change.

How Do You Know The Plan That Is Best For You?

Your weight can be one measure of progress, but we also watch for other signs and will want to know:

• Are you less bloated?
• Are your bowel movements more regular?
• Do you have more energy?
• Are you staying full longer?
• Are you snacking less?
• Are you sleeping better?
• Are you getting stronger?
• Are you losing fat while protecting muscle?
• Do you finally feel like you understand what your body needs?
• Are clothes fitting better?
• Is your skin clearer?
• Are your cycles more regular?
• Less food noise?
• Feeling more like yourself?

You do not need another restrictive diet or another plan that does not fit your life. Start with an individualized nutrition counseling designed to help us understand your health, your goals, and the challenges that may be getting in your way.

Together, we can identify a path forward and determine which Gut Theory approach is right for you.