It is incredibly important to me that my clients and really anyone reading my posts has an idea of who I am, where I’m coming from and why I do what I do. There are so many different philosophies within the field of nutrition, fitness and wellness, so it is important to follow people who align with your own goals and beliefs.
As for who I am, my name is Erin. I love food, running, reading, travel, and being outside. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a waitress because I always thought they looked cool and how fun would it be to be around food and talk to people all day?! In college, I worked as a waitress and bartender for all four years and it was just as much fun as younger Erin thought it would be. Nutrition and fitness-wise, I am currently a personal trainer and grad student pursuing a Master of Science in Nutrition to eventually become a Registered Dietitian. I began studying nutrition almost ten years ago during my freshman year of college at the University of Vermont. I started my first semester as a business major before quickly realizing it wasn’t for me and changing my major to Nutrition and Food Sciences.
I chose nutrition for so many reasons. I love science and love to cook and bake – I even considered going to culinary school for a bit in high school! I also grew up super active and played every sport you can think of for at least a season. I eventually fell in love with running in high school and in college I had started to realize how the food I ate could influence my performance on runs as well as my recovery afterwards – I definitely wasn’t running my best after a night out… Even with all of this, I had never considered a degree in nutrition as I didn’t really know it existed. It wasn’t until I went through the list of all the majors that UVM offered with my mom that we saw it listed and she said “you’ve always liked the gym, why not look into that?”. Here we are now, with a Bachelors in Nutrition, various nutrition and personal training certificates and soon a Masters degree, and I am still so glad I chose to pursue this path.
Regarding where I come from, my primary experience in the field of nutrition comes from working as a diet tech at a residential eating disorder center. During my two-plus years in this field, I learned and grew so much in my ideas about nutrition and what constitutes a healthy diet. Currently, I no longer work in this capacity, yet much of what I learned follows me in my current nutrition philosophy and coaching style.
From this position, I learned about Body Inclusivity and the Health at Every Size Framework. This all taught me how to separate health from thinness and how to work with individuals to help them unlearn what diet culture teaches us our entire life. All of this remains central to my current coaching style. While my clients no longer consist of those with eating disorders, I believe that a lot of what I learned is helpful for the general population as well. Wellness messaging tends to be contradictory and confusing to the point where you have no idea what to do or think and making health and fitness seem a lot harder and scarier than it really is. My main goal is to combat this.
I work in this field to try and bring fun and joy back to food and fitness for my clients. My biggest takeaway from my education is that none of this is that serious, and it can all be fun! You hate running? Don’t do it! You *need* a diet coke with lunch every day? Fine by me! I’m here to help you add healthy behaviors that will work long term, not to take away the joy from your day. Ultimately, we are born knowing how to move and eat intuitively. We know what feels good and what foods we like and don’t like, as well as what foods we need more of and which ones we don’t need at all. As we grow up, wellness and diet messaging influence us to feel like we have to move and eat a certain way in order to be the best version of ourselves and that just isn’t true. All foods can fit as part of a healthy diet and there is no one “right” or “perfect” dietary pattern or workout routine to follow.
My goal through this site and through my coaching is to help people get back in touch with what they’ve always known. I plan to offer a mix of workout inspiration, grocery shopping tips, nutrition education and recipes that hopefully feel like something you want to do rather than a should or a must do.
If any of this resonates with you, follow along on Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss an update. If you’re ready to take it one step further, reach out via the contact page to set up a free consultation call to see if my coaching would be the right fit.
