De-emphasizing the role of personal choice in dietary counseling for obesity would reduce stigma, but doing so carries the risk of undermining patients' perceived control over their weight loss success. The goal of this commentary is to help dietetics practitioners negotiate this dilemma by presenting a scientifically informed framework that views the personal choices relevant to obesity counseling in terms of three neurobehavioral processes. We argue that applying this framework in dietary counseling can both minimize patient stigma and preserve patients' sense of empowerment.