My interest in nutrition grew organically. First – I’m from Louisiana, and food is life! I love GOOD food. I love what food does to elevate the time we spend with our family and friends. I love that certain foods remind us of memories with our favorite people. I love the way healthy food makes me feel. I love making food for myself and people I care about. But I wasn’t always confident about what I should be eating, and especially how I was supposed to make it work in my life.
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I realized how little I really understood about this thing we all need to do a few times a day. I had some basics from my family, but I didn’t know how to cook – like at all. I didn’t really understand how to put a meal together. Then I kept thinking, if I don’t know this stuff, how many others are struggling with the same thing? Why aren’t we taught any of this in school (really, who needs calculus anyway)? There’s so much conflicting information out there, what should I believe?
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I decided to go back to school and earn a degree in nutrition and dietetics while I continued to work in biotech sales. After that, I completed my dietetic internship through Vanderbilt University Medical Center with concentrations in disease management and health promotion. I recognized quickly that I loved being in the outpatient setting where you could work with people on an ongoing basis and see the amazing progress they made with their health through nutrition.
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I went on to work for several years at the Vanderbilt Weight Loss Center as part of the surgical and medical weight loss teams. While weight loss is the obvious reason people sought our help, most didn’t have weight loss as their ultimate goal. They wanted to take less medication. They wanted to improve or eliminate their diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver damage or joint pain. They wanted to be eligible to have a much needed hip or knee replacement or get on an organ transplant list. They wanted to be able to play with kids and grandkids, ride roller coasters, LIVE LONGER. I love being a part of these journeys and empowering people with the nutrition knowledge and skills to achieve these goals.
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I look forward to working with you and hope to see you soon!
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If you are ready to improve your health through nutrition, but aren’t sure where to start, feel stuck, or just want to make sure you are maximizing your well-being, please reach out to see how we can help.
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