Honoring our bodies, our hunger, and our intuition through food
Food can be the groundwork for fulfillment and joyous living, or it can be a source of anxiety, stress, and confusion. If the latter is true for you, it may be time to seek some support. As a holistic nutritionist in Portland, I empower, educate, and guide you on your journey to have a positive relationship with food and feel like your best self. I practice from a Health at Every Size, compassionate lens, and aim to help you incorporate evidence-based nutrition information into your day-to-day practices. Eating to make you feel good does not have to be time-consuming, expensive, or scary. I meet you where you are at to help you implement sustainable, joyful, and supportive foundational habits into your unique life.
Your body is wise, let’s listen to it together and learn more about what it needs
Western society has traditionally held one body type above others. This unrealistic and narrow opinion has commonly contributed to a disconnect between the body and the self. For many of us, born out of this construct is an all-or-nothing relationship with dieting to try and force our bodies into a box that does not fit. After time, this habit of dieting and the stress that comes with it has the capacity to quiet our innate ability of listening to our body. Have you ever considered that if we learn to go slow and listen, our body has the profound ability to communicate with us what it needs?
By taking weight out of the equation and focusing on the way we feel, we can turn back on the innate biological wisdom of our bodies! Through helping you listen to yourself while offering education about supportive and nourishing practices, I encourage you in building trust and confidence in yourself. It can truly be a transformative experience!
Nourish yourself and see how your mood and energy reward you
Nourishing ourselves can easily fall through the cracks when living busy and stressful lives, or when we have spent years trying on different diets that aren’t one-size-fits all. The potential effects from these actions can wreak havoc on our bodies due to hormone and blood sugar dysregulation. I help look at the constraints in your individual life to better understand how our internal and external environment can influence our hormone balance, energy levels, and mental state. We then are able to work together to create change that realistically fits into your life. I hope to help you find balance in nourishment for sustained energy!
Let food bring you joy and fulfillment
Gastrointestinal problems have been more of a topic recently due to the realization that our microbiome, which resides primarily in our gut, is connected to the way we
physically feel and interestingly the way we mentally and emotionally feel. The gut and brain are connected- we see signs of this all the time! Have you ever felt butterflies in your stomach when nervous or anxious? That’s the gut and brain communicating with each other! This means that what we eat, and how we eat it, impacts not just how we feel physically, but also how we feel mentally and emotionally! Just like how the way we feel emotionally affects the food and how we eat.
More and more we are also understanding that increased societal levels of stress, poor sleep, a diet low in fiber, and eating foods that we may be sensitive to all have the ability to affect our microbiome on a different level. For this reason, I like to take a step back when these issues arise and look at the entire picture. This helps me get to the root cause, instead of simply putting a band-aid on the problem. Typically, I start with a food and emotion log to see any patterns in where we are physically, emotionally, and mentally when we eat. We can then work together to bring intention into your life when choosing and eating foods that support your body and mind. My goal is to help you eat in an individually supportive way, where you feel fueled and supported, mentally and physically.
Do you find that eating is not pleasurable and fulfilling?
Eating should not be stressful! There is so much information in the world, and people are in a rush to label foods as “good” and “bad”. This easily becomes confusing.
Choosing what to eat then becomes overwhelming, and one may start to feel a sense of guilt when eating foods deemed as “bad”. By separating food from stress or guilt, often we can remove some of the obstacles that prevent us from listening to what our body needs and therefore find joy and fulfillment in our food again.
An important goal in my practice is to take the stress out of eating, whether that be through guidance, education, or redefining your relationship with food. I meet you where you’re at with compassion, in a safe and non-judgmental environment. It’s important to me that you feel listened to and empowered in your food making decisions. Each and every time you show up for yourself is an achievement, and I am honored when I am able to join you on your wellness journey.
Education and Background:
I earned a BA from the University of Oregon in Sociology and an MS in Nutrition from National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, OR. I am currently in the process of becoming a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) and Licensed Dietician (LD) in the state of Oregon. The foundational education I received in social sciences influences my practice in my understanding that every person is an individual with different societal and cultural influences. During my education in Portland, I kept myself busy with an internship in the mental health and nutrition field, a clinical internship, and hours spent pouring over research. I worked various jobs growing food, cooking food, or selling food at farmers markets to be surrounded by people who shared my love of food. Because my education incorporated holistic wellness, Western medical nutrition therapy, and hands on teaching in a nutrition kitchen, I am able to see nutrition from multiple perspectives. I consider myself a lifelong learner and aim to continue learning through experience, research, and listening to the trials and tribulations of those around me.
Contact and Scheduling
To learn more about holistic nutrition services, or to schedule an appointment, please call (503) 956-9396 or email [email protected]. Online scheduling is available for return patients only and not all available appointments may be shown online.
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