Life As An RD

A funny thing happens when you pass the RD exam…you suddenly go from being a student and intern to a nutrition professional.  Life changed the instant I passed that exam because everything I worked towards in the past 5 years finally came to fruition. Suddenly, I became a Registered Dietitian.  With this change, I thought it would be a great time to provide my readers with a life update.

I’m working full-time!I spent 5 years babysitting, teaching nutrition education, and working part-time nutrition jobs.  They were all great experiences, but I’m really excited to have a cool FULL-TIME job as the Registered Dietitian and Cafe Manager of a corporate cafe. I get to do awesome stuff like write part of the weekly menus, provide nutrition counseling, and create wellness themed marketing.  I also manage 12 people, which is definitely a daily learning experience. No two days are alike and the days fly by, so I’m off to a pretty good start

I’ve been contributing to other websites. Writing makes me happy.  Sharing relevant nutrition information with the masses makes me ecstatic.  That’s why I’ve made a conscious effort to contribute to some other websites, like Spright, The Active Times, Stone Soup, and SCAN.  Because of my RD title, these sites take my nutrition advice seriously and I’m so grateful for that. I’m always striving to share my work with more and more publications, and I excited to continue to grow my portfolio.

I started nutrition counseling.  Nutrition counseling was one area that i felt weak in after my internship.  I didn’t feel like I had enough practice, and I think it’s really difficult to help people change their eating behavior.  Most people who seek nutrition counseling ask about weight loss, which can be one of the most challenge nutrition topics to tackle. But, I’ve been counseling a few people at work and through my website, and I’m really excited at how well it’s been going! I’m able to share my knowledge with others and help them make a difference in their own lives, which is incredibly rewarding. I’ve decided to make an effort to make it more a part of my nutrition work.  If you or anyone you know needs nutrition counseling, please contact me! I offer affordable services in NYC or remotely.  

I’m upping my social media game.  I remember when I started this blog 1.5 years ago, and I didn’t understand why Twitter was important.  Now I’m scheduling tweets, pinning recipes, setting up a facebook page, and I even added Yummly to my share buttons. I’ve come to realize that social media is how people get their information, and I’m thankful that it drives traffic to my blog!

I qualified for the NYC Marathon.  This obviously has nothing to do with my professional life, but it’s worth sharing. New York Road Runners does this awesome program called 9+1.  If you run 9 races and volunteer for 1, you are guaranteed entry into the next year’s marathon.  I just completed the 9+1, and I will be running my first full marathon next year in the best city in the world!

That’s it for the life update.  Next post will go back to sharing nutrition info and healthy delicious recipes.  If there are any nutrition topics or recipes you would like to see, share them here and I might feature them on the blog!