Top 10 Reasons...

Top 10 reasons to take advantage of being a SCAN member and plug your information into the Find a SCAN RD section of the SCAN website (Thanks to Jenna Bell, PhD, RD, CSSD).

You may think that you don't want to be found, but think again...here are the top 10 reasons to add your info NOW:

10. Consumers need your advice and they don't sell RDs at the supermarket.
9. Athletes need you to help them perform better.
8. Coaches are confused by nutrition.
7. A professional organization wants YOU to speak at their next conference.
6. A publication wants to quote you for their next great piece.
5. Magazines and newsletters want you to write for them.
4. Doctors don't know where to find dietitians.
3. Fitness clubs have their personal trainers do nutrition because you're no where to be found!
2. A company wants your services to help them with their latest product.
1. SOMEONE WANTS TO PAY YOU FOR YOUR EXPERTISE!

I've posted instructions below for changing the information that shows on your Find a SCAN RD profile. For those of you who DO NOT want to be listed in the Find a SCAN RD feature, there is an option for opting out. Just a reminder, if you make any changes be sure to click on the SAVE button.

Have you been contacted through the Find a SCAN RD feature? If so, you might want to write about your experiences by posting a comment to this blog. Best, Marie

Marie Dunford, PhD, RD

SCAN's Volunteer Web Editor

To update MyProfile (the place to change your Find a SCAN RD profile, opt out of Find a SCAN RD, and sign up for a subunit):

Sign in as a member on the SCAN website

Click on My Profile (located to the right of where it says Welcome [your name])

Note: There are three green EDIT buttons on this page

To edit General Information, Contact Information or Membership Details:

Click on the green edit button located directly above Member Profile (you may have to scroll down)

If you want your address, city, state, email, etc. to be public and show in FIND a SCAN RD, click on the Is Public box next to the ones you want public. For privacy reasons, only you can make your contact info public.

If you want an active link to your website, put your URL in the website field, located under Fax Number

If you want an area of expertise to show up in Find a SCAN RD, click on the box(es)

If you want to join one or more of the subunits, click on the appropriate box(es)

You may specify services offered (e.g., individual and group counseling)

If you DO NOT want to be listed in the Find a SCAN RD feature, click on the Exclude from Find a SCAN RD Search box

If you make ANY changes be sure to click on the SAVE button

To edit Member Profile (This is the About Me section on Find a SCAN RD):

Click on the green edit button located right under Member Profile

A yellow shaded box comes up and you can add written info there

If you make ANY changes be sure to click on the SAVE button

To add/edit a picture or image:

To add or edit a picture or an image (personal photo, logo, etc.,) click on Change (located under the image box)

Select a file to upload (a dialog box appears)

To add/edit your social networking information:

Click on the green edit button located under Blogger:

If you want to add social networking sites, enter the full URL for any of your social networks

If you make ANY changes be sure to click on the SAVE button

Tip: Once you make changes to MyProfile, go to Find a SCAN RD, enter your zip code, and view the changes that you made.

SCAN Symposium keynote speakers were on fire!

The SCAN Symposium keynote speakers certainly lived up to their top billing.

Louise Burke (far left) opened the 2011 symposium on Friday with her presentation, Fueling Athletes with Carbs: From Research to Practice. What I love about hearing Louise speak is that first and foremost she is evidenced-based. However, so many aspects of sports nutrition have not been studied extensively (or at all). Faced with that void, she gives thought to what we might tell athletes now. No one does research to practice better than Dr. Burke. One take home message: match intake to functionality. A sliding scale for carbohydrate intake based on intensity and duration of training makes sense.

On Saturday, Michael Roizen, MD from the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute gave an interesting presentation that got the audience thinking and talking. One message was that moderation doesn't work. He told the crowd about being in the green room prior to an appearance on a morning TV show in Canada. Another of the show's guests was there and reached for a donut. Dr. Roizen described grabbing his arm, grabbing the donut, throwing it on the floor and stepping on it. It got me to wondering--if dietitians took this approach would we be praised for our passion or be scorned and scolded as being diet police?

The Sunday keynote speaker did not disappoint. Dr. John Hawley gave a brilliant presentation titled, How Low Can You Go? Training-Nutrient Periodization for Endurance Performance. I wish I had the ability to present information so clearly and precisely. The talk was humorous and engaging, particularly appreciated since we'd all lost an hour with the time change. He too suggested the benefit of a sliding scale for carbohydrate intake that is closely matched to the athlete's training and recovery schedule. Dr. Hawley reviewed some of the evidence in support of low carbohydrate availability and the promotion of endurance training adaptations. Of course, more research is needed to determine if these manipulations and adaptations result in improved endurance performance. To translate the research to practice, we'll look to his wife and colleague, Dr. Burke.

If you have a comment about any of the sessions, please feel free to post. Best, Marie

Marie Dunford, PhD, RD

SCAN's volunteer web editor

SCAN symposium gathers champions

This year at the SCAN symposium in Chicago I noticed a few new things about the professionals surrounding me:

1. The traditional dietitian is becoming increasingly diverse and specialized, which shows that adaptability is a valuable skill set for all nutrition professionals. Whether it be working for the US military or a high school soccer coach there is no telling where your career may lead you.

2. As much as I enjoy the larger FNCE meeting, this trip in particular I was very motivated to connect in a different way. I spent time talking to interested SCAN'ers at the Member Cafe who signed up for volunteering opportunities and shared stories of their journeys to the present. I walked away feeling more inspired and positive about the association that we all share with SCAN.

3. In Louise Burke's presentation she ended with the thought that "we have gone where the research has led us, we should be asking the questions first and then going out to do the research". Who better to come up with those hypothesis than the dietitians working with patients, athletes and community members? It's an empowering message and this audience in particular is primed to lead research of this kind into action.

4. Lastly, it was refreshing to be in easy to navigate, peaceful enviroment. From the silent auction to the healthy snacking sponsored breaks to morning exercises, I appreciated that thought was put into how attendees were feeling as well as learning.

Thank you to the SCAN Symposium committee members for creating a wonderful meeting!

A Bag of Goodies From SCAN Symposium

SCAN Symposium is a bag of goodies--literally and figurately.

Upon check in each attendee received a big purple bag FILLED with goodies.

There's Gatorade 02 Perform, 03 Recover, and 01 Prime energy bites...Ironman Perform and two enegry bars from PowerBar...Rockin' Refuel...Detour bar...Tera's Whey and BiPro whey supplements...Omega-3 soft gels.

Other goodies include: Welch's grape juice, CALIFORNIA almonds, dried cherries, cheerios (regular and honey nut)and Lipton tea. Lip balm from rkteamnutrition.net saved my life as I had forgotten to bring mine (still in the pocket of my tennis bag).

A nice surprise was the measuring cups (from Unilever) and measuring spoons (from Canola). I was on a cooking frenzy before I left and I found myself thinking I needed more measuring cups and spoons. Voila, they appeared in my SCAN bag and will make their way home to my kitchen.

And then there are the inserts! Coupons for Yoplait Greek Yogurt and POM Wonderful. Info from CALIFORNIA walnuts and Washington red raspberries, Eating Recovery Center, Subway, and much more. There's a copy of Today's Dietitian for the plane ride home.

Now off to the real goodies---the sessions.

From Chicago...Best, Marie

Marie Dunford, PhD, RD
SCAN's volunteer web editor