Who am I working with, here?

Most importantly, I’m a busy woman and mom. I’m always working on finding the perfect balance between family, career, and self-care.

I didn’t always have that balance. I used to be under-nourished, over-worked, and maximally stressed. Life puts SO many pressures on women, am I right?!

Thankfully, I’ve found a system that lets me thrive while working full time, raising my boys, and maintaining a totally legit level of sanity. 😉

With that system, get to do all of the things I love: work as a dietitian, chase around my three boys, and have fun date nights with my amazing husband!  We live in California and love to travel.  I spend any free time I have working out and creating delicious new ancestral meals.  The joke in our house is that if you like your dinner you better eat seconds – you’ll never see the same meal twice!

The Details

If you’d like to know more, I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist passionate about increasing access to insurance-based functional medicine through my group practice, Empowered Nutrition. I am also board-certified as a practitioner of Integrative and Functional nutrition by the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy.  I teach other Dietitains how to be amazing at GI-focused functional nutrition at www.siboacademy.com and I have also served on the board of the Dietitians In Integrative and Functional Medicine.

And here’s a book authored by me:

Curious why I work with women?

I used to have a more general practice. Then, I remember the distinct moment when it hit me. I was in a nutrition consult with a male accountant about my age, also with kids. This was during one of my husband’s recent deployments. I asked him about his dinner routine. He said “my wife does all of that”. I thought…..WHAT.

Where’s my wife to grocery shop and cook me dinner after work?!

Or, plan the Christmas cards, buy the teacher gifts, arrange the family trip, manage the sports pick-up/drop-off schedule, etc. etc?!

Or, here’s another thing I’ve noticed at work: I spend my lunch breaks paying for school photos, placing online grocery orders, and replying to teachers about field trips. The guys I work with? Leisurely lunches at the Mexican restaurant! Don’t get me wrong: nothing against men. They’re just doing their thing.

What I have a problem with is that most nutrition advice I hear is best suited to people who are less busy than moms.

For example: meal plans with a lunch recipe! What women has time to cook a special recipe at lunch?!

Ladies, we’re in a tricky spot. We love our spouse and our kids. We love our work, and we also want our home life to rock. We take on SO MUCH. Who’s there to help US keep our nutrition game on point?

Often, no one. And our health starts to suffer. I’ve seen this time and again in my practice:

• The woman that comes to me with an autoimmune disease after a stressful pregnancy, birth, and post-partum period
• The woman who comes to me 40 lbs heavier than when she went back to work…there just hasn’t been time for healthy meals.
• The woman who struggles with major digestive problems after years of exhaustion and stress

Typically, these women have looked online for advice. However, they’ve come up short and so do I. Most of the influencers I find and follow….are men! Why?! The women are too busy getting s&#t done to make a podcast!
Unfortunately, generic advice isn’t well-suited for moms.

Ladies, I’m tired of hearing nutrition expertise from men that’s best suited for men. We’re in such a unique situation with the challenges on our plate and with our distinctly different physiology as women. We need our own community where nutrition science meets real life for US.

So, after looking across the world for that (and not finding it), I’ve decided to create it myself.

Who I Am (Speed Dating Round):

• I’m a Registered Dietitian who has spent years helping busy women achieve their highest level of metabolic, hormonal and digestive health
• I’m a military spouse and veteran
• I’m the mom of 3 crazy young boys
• I’m a total science nerd: I write a research summary for each edition of Paleo Magazine
• I’m an experienced clinician: I work full time at a functional medicine clinic and also have my private practice. In both, I help people find the root of their chronic conditions. I then whip up an individualized plan to improve those problems.
• I’m a respected leader in the world of nutrition: I co-created the SIBO Academy where we train other healthcare pros how to address the most common cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Most importantly, though, I get you.

• My best friend is Jesus. And my husband.
• I look with a mixture of confusion and jealousy and perfectly-curated Instagram feeds of beautiful children.
• I depend heavily on my morning coffee, like….it’s life.
• I pretend to have it all together but sometimes cry in private over the stress of balancing life with work and kids.
• I’ve pumped breast milk in cars, airplanes, tents, and meetings…I’ve even shipped it on dry ice to my baby.
• I love to connect with friends over coffee or a glass of wine but I struggle to ever find time for it.
• I pray for my kids at night, that they’ll be OK even though I work. Although…..from the time I’ve spent as a stay-at-home mom, I know they might be worse off if I didn’t work. 😉

If you can relate, I’m glad you’re here! My goal is to create a place where women can find relatable, reliable, and realistic ways to optimize their wellness through nutrition. The best way to get started is to steal one of my freebies. Enjoy and take care.