As nutrition coaches, we have the privilege of building close relationships with our clients as we help guide them towards their goals - be those related to aesthetics or fat loss goals, performance goals, or goals of optimal health. Along the way, as we work on building a better relationship with food and our habits, we get to share parts of our stories that are relevant to our coaching styles. We’re taking time this year to share more about us, our nutrition journeys and transformations, our road to becoming nutrition coaches and educators, and the amazing clients we have the privilege of working with. 

We all have to eat. Each of our bodies require nutrition to function and, in today’s world, there is more confusion and overwhelm than sound, qualified nutrition advice. 

HOW I BECAME A NUTRITION COACH

A few years back, I made a career-changing decision to go back to school in pursuit of becoming a Registered Dietitian, both to empower and educate myself on the best ways to support my body with the foods I give it AND to pass along that education, serving others in their own personal nutrition journeys. 

Along the way, about two years into my dietetics degree, I met Kate. We are like-minded nutrition nerds who just want to serve the public by reclaiming connections to their own bodies and feel their best no matter their nutrition goals. Kate gave me the incredible opportunity to join her KLN coaching team, where I have been for the last 2.5 years. 

In May 2023, I will graduate with my Bachelor’s in Dietetics, when I can then go on to complete a 1,000-hour internship followed by the Registered Dietician exam. It’s been an incredible life journey in recent years getting to work with clients on a wide variety of nutrition-related and performance goals, while also taking my own education to an even higher level. 

Working one-on-one with clients is truly a life-giving honor for me.

I get to know people intimately, I get to see them dismantle old self-limiting beliefs and help them step into their own ideas about nutrition that are based on fact and experience vs. fear

MY FAVORITE PART OF BEING A NUTRITION COACH

If I HAD to choose a favorite aspect of coaching it would be the moment I witnessed a client step out of fear surrounding food. For most, this happens little by little. There have been years or even lifetimes spent creating certain belief systems and deeply ingrained thought patterns about food, with a diet culture forcefully working to perpetuate “good vs. bad” and quick-fix diet approaches.

MY NUTRITION JOURNEY

I think back to my own nutrition journey and prior to committing to understanding my body and educating myself on my nutrition, fear was absolutely a component of my decision-making with food choices. Carbs were scary, low-fat choices were always better, and treats were something I had to earn through workouts. It’s a process to work through fear when it’s all we have known and it’s a commitment to continue uncovering and combating fears as they surface. But our allies are always: education, experience, and time. They will always be part of the solution.

It’s a beautiful thing to see nutrition becoming a support to life rather than something that controls or is ever-present in clients' thoughts — an evolution I’m grateful to embrace in my own life. Today, I get to see clients reconnect with their own bodies and what those bodies tell them, really deciding for themselves what works according to their lifestyle. And I get to help people EAT enough to reclaim energy, the ability to manage all the stressors life can bring, and ENJOYMENT in food settings that don’t have guilt and shame attached to them. It’s the greatest. 

MEET MY CLIENT MARISSA

Marissa K. 29 years old
Goal: Improve performance

A powerful story comes from my work with a client named Marissa, who initially sought the help of a nutrition coach to help her fuel her body adequately for performance settings, specifically in the realm of long-distance running and competitive ultra-racing. When our work together began, Marissa had a few months of distance building to complete prior to her 50k race day, so we had lots of time to really create a solid foundation for day-to-day nutrition, as well as learning the ropes of how to adequately fuel during her training sessions, while having such a high run volume each week and ultimately on race day itself. 

Coming into our coaching relationship, Marissa knew that she wanted to become more confident in fueling her body properly and really understanding her body’s demands for her highly active lifestyle. As we really dug in and she became consistent with an increased intake, some underlying fears about food began to rear their heads.

But do I really need this much food?
Why do I feel guilty when I eat certain things?
Why are some foods acceptable to me and others not?
What about my intake on rest days?
Why am I struggling to TAKE rest days? 

Always willing and always communicative about those thoughts and fears, not only have Marissa and I been able to empower her body physically to perform better than ever in race settings (1st in her age group in her last 50k, smashing her goal time by a long shot and recovering beautifully!), we have also been able to work in baby steps to improve her underlying relationship with food. Because if the way we FEEL about our food choices and our deservingness to receive consistent nourishment are out of whack, what’s really the point in any of it? 

Marissa has worked diligently to dig into her thoughts and take action toward her goals, even when her brain may initially present fear. We have often talked about peeling back the layers of an onion and how that’s really what a healing relationship between food and body is. Maybe it’s a work in progress, always. 

Maybe we just keep learning and watching those thoughts, combating and dismantling them as they arise. The differences that reveal themselves are their frequency, differences in our levels of freedom FROM fear day to day, and our ability to look at the gaps we have created from where we once were and where we stand now. 

This example with Marissa can and does translate to so many experiences with clients. We start with a goal and while working towards whatever that goal may be, other fears may arise. And that’s not because we are bad or broken, it’s because we are human and very complex. It’s because we have spent years creating a definition of nutrition that may have stopped serving us or left us feeling confused and overwhelmed. The goal may be fat loss, the goal may be improving a food relationship, or working towards optimal health. Whatever the goal is, Marissa’s example shows that when we really get honest and look deep at ourselves, we want to let go of anything that’s holding us back. Marissa’s example is that goals are often just a starting point and the result can be so much more.

Grab our free guide on Fueling for Performance to learn how to optimize both your nutrition and your time in and out of the gym. 

We are committed coaches who work with committed clients and love nothing more than helping our clients find a sustainable approach to nutrition that allows them to work towards their goals without white-knuckling their way through yo-yo diets. Learn more about our KLN team here!