My Story
I didn’t set out to become a dietitian.
After high school, I wanted to take a year off. I had no idea what I wanted to do, and jumping straight into college felt… forced. But my parents had other plans: you’re going to college.
So I enrolled in community college at the last minute—meaning I didn’t exactly have my pick of classes. I signed up for whatever was still open.
One of those classes?
Nutrition.
Perfect, I thought.
This will be easy.
Eat your fruits and vegetables. Don’t eat fast food. Done.
Except… it wasn’t that at all.
The Wake-Up Call
At the time, my own eating habits were far from “balanced.”
Think: Domino’s pizza, frozen waffles, ramen noodles, chocolate. Repeat.
Then came an assignment: track everything you eat for three days.
I still remember my professor casually saying,
“Some people realize they haven’t eaten a fruit in three days.”
That person was me.
It was one of those quiet, uncomfortable, eye-opening moments where something just… clicks. Not in a shameful way, but in a huh, I’ve never really thought about this before kind of way.
And from that moment on, I was hooked.
Falling in Love with the Science
What surprised me most wasn’t just what to eat—it was why it mattered.
We weren’t just talking about food rules.
We were diving into vitamins, minerals, deficiencies, and how nutrition impacts the body on a cellular level.
It was complex. It was challenging. And I loved it.
I started taking more science courses—biology, chemistry—without even fully realizing I was building a path forward. Eventually, those classes allowed me to transfer into the nutrition program at the University of Minnesota.
That’s when things became real.
This wasn’t just a class anymore—this was a career.
The Plot Twist
Going into the field, I thought I’d work in clinical nutrition—analyzing labs, collaborating with doctors, solving medical puzzles through nutrition.
And I did experience that during my internship.
But something felt like it was missing.
In clinical settings, I found myself doing the same assessments over and over again. There wasn’t much space to actually help people change their day-to-day relationship with food.
And that’s when it hit me:
Nutrition isn’t just about knowledge.
Most people already know they should eat more fruits and vegetables.
They already know fast food isn’t ideal.
So if knowledge were enough… everyone would already be doing it.
What Actually Creates Change
What I discovered—through experience, not textbooks—is that real change doesn’t come from a handout, a meal plan, or a list of rules.
It comes from:
Understanding behaviors
Exploring your relationship with food
Looking at habits, patterns, and coping mechanisms
And having the support to actually shift them over time
Because change is hard. Way harder than we like to admit.
And it doesn’t happen overnight.
The Work I Do
That realization completely changed the way I practice.
Instead of focusing on restriction—what to cut out, what to eliminate—I focus on something much more powerful:
What can we add?
What can we include to improve your energy?
What can support better sleep?
What helps you feel more grounded, nourished, and consistent?
Because nutrition isn’t about perfection.
It’s about building something sustainable.
Something that actually fits your life.
Why This Matters
I’ve been the person who didn’t eat a fruit for three days.
I’ve been overwhelmed by nutrition information.
And I’ve seen firsthand that knowing what to do isn’t the same as being able to do it.
That’s why my work is rooted in meeting you where you are—without judgment, without rigid rules, and without trying to force you into a one-size-fits-all plan.
Because the goal isn’t just to change how you eat.
It’s to change how you experience food—and how you feel in your life because of it.