The Real "About Me." - A Letter to My Community on My Outlook as a Dietitian.
Hi Friends,
I wanted to take this time to reintroduce myself and my company / brand. I have been a dietitian since 2013 and my company is almost half a decade old. I have had a chance to explore the industry, see what kind of clients I click with and what kind of information I want to spread. I have had the ability to make mistakes and have had the achievement of amazing success. I have learned and I have grown, and I continue to learn and grow. I am so excited for what JuliENERGYnutrition, LLC has in store.
If you aren’t familiar with my story, let me share it.
I was that anomaly of a person who had her whole career path figured out and lined up from the young age of 7. I did a project on the nutrition label when I was in second grade and my life was forever changed. I enjoyed learning about it so much that my dad suggested I become a nutritionist when I grew up… so I did. From career days in middle school to college applications, my mind was still on track.
When I was in my senior year of high school. I was about to attend the University of Florida. I was a straight A student, president of my class, a cheerleader, a thespian... I had aspirations to become a registered dietitian and was excited to begin classes. At the time, eating was something I just did every day. I wasn’t super concerned about weight and ate generally anything I wanted when I wanted to eat it. I graduated high school in the spring of 2007 and was eating at an ice cream store with my boyfriend at the time, when my defining moment happened. The owner of the ice cream store warned me that “I shouldn’t eat that ice cream and to be careful because I was going to college, going to gain the Freshman 15 and my boyfriend would break up with me.”… I call that a defining moment. A moment I had and many of my clients have had that impacts us forever.
Well, fast forward to when I got to school, that stupid guy’s words rang in my ears. I was in a new environment, my structured life was gone and I was in charge of my own schedule including food. Clean slate. Making new friends. I had a tough time. The words ringing in my ears became all I could focus on and I made a decision to start restricting food. “Who needs bread?” I thought to myself…. With that decision, combined with the fact that I didn’t know how to shop, plan appropriate meals, structure my day or understand a healthy balance – my world around food became very difficult.
For a bit, I struggled with my relationship with food. I then learned from my classes (go figure) about balanced eating and that many of the foods I had been wanting to restrict were actually good for me (woo olive oil, bread and avocados!). I was also introduced to the Intuitive Eating Program. A program that helps people to heal their relationship with both food and their bodies. From this I learned the dangers of the dieting culture, why all foods need to fit, how to overcome binge eating by ruthlessly accepting (and enjoying!) all foods and respecting my body. The sound nutrition knowledge I gained from classes and my personal experience with intuitive eating make me into the awesome eater and dietitian I am today.
Now, I consider myself to have a very healthy relationship with both food and my body and I am a very "normal" eater. I pride myself on that. I love all foods, no matter the amount of nutritional benefits they have. I am a registered dietitian with a private practice – and I preach the idea that ALL FOODS FIT!
After achieving both my bachelors and masters degrees in dietetics, I became a certified intuitive eating counselor as well. I started my practice seeing anyone and everyone. Like anyone in practice, l’ve learned with every client I have seen. The nutrition industry is saturated. There are mixed philosophies and messages. There is a ton of information circulating. People looking for all kinds of nutrition help. Through all the information and clients I have seen, I am now more clear than ever on my goals, dreams for JuliENERGYnutrition and nutrition philosophy.
My passion is CLEAR.
And that is to:
Educate the community about nutrition. It is important to know how to achieve balanced and satiated eating and how to use food in both an emotionally healthy and physically healthy way. I want to use my message, tips and tools to PREVENT what happened to me and to educate about food in a positive light emphasizing the importance of having a healthy relationship with it.
Help those who are are suffering with their relationships with food. I also LOVE to help the people who weren’t able to prevent it and who are either diagnosed with an eating disorder or who are not diagnosed but noticing unhealthy patterns and food relationships.
Use food to help with and to heal from chronic disease. I do have a passion for being able to use food to help with people suffering from chronic disease and to make the body feel good. Through my just about five years working at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Mount Sinai’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, I have been able to see how food can help heal. I have witnessed using food to help ease the side effects from cancer treatments or even to an extent reduce the severity or even incidence of some chronic diseases. I love to help people who have various medical issues including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease to be able to learn about how food can help them live a happier life.
If you fall in one of these categories, you are a good fit for me. They may seem somewhat diverse, but when you think about it, they are all very similar.
It really comes down to learning how to give the body what it needs.
Using nutrition education and knowledge in a positive and abundant, Health at Every Size, way.
Using the body to direct us and not to provide it with all these rules and regulations.
Using food for fun and pleasure and also for energy and fuel.
Using food to respect the body by nourishing it with food that have health benefits AND ALSO foods that don’t.
I am so excited about my life’s dream of being a dietitian and that I am making it happen.
I am so excited to be a dietitian who is able to deliver messages about food
WITHOUT providing a focus on or promotion of weight loss.
If you want to learn about nutrition, heal your relationship with food, or use food to help your body to manage a chronic disease - I’m your RD.
Thanks for letting me share.
Have a Healthy (relationship with food) Day,
Julie
