I grew up a very picky child. Aren’t most kids though? Food didn’t excite me. By senior year of high school I began getting curious about how food/nutrition and the body worked. Why were people saying carbohydrates were bad? What was a carbohydrate? I was on a mission to get my answers!
Freshman year of college brought on an extra 10 pounds to my small 5’4” frame. I had done a lot of late night eating, dorm hall cafeteria food, and occasional weekend partying. I had never had a weight issue until the age of 19. I was technically still at a healthy weight, but I wasn’t happy.
That summer I returned home and began exercising for 60-90 minutes at least 5 days a week. I incorporated cardio and weights into my regime. I changed my eating style by watching portion sizes and limiting dining out.
I returned to college that fall trying to keep up with my exercise routine. I tried eating healthier which included Special K bars and juice (what was I thinking?!). My weekend activities kept me from completely keeping the weight off that I lost over the summer.
I slowly began running my sophomore year which slowly increased as my love of it grew. I also began to increase my fruit, vegetable, and oat consumption while I decreased by alcohol and bagel consumption. Late night eating also came to a halt since I began eating a filling breakfast of oats.
And then on day it clicked that I should be eating real food. My excited for food grew as I studied my major, nutrition and dietetics, and began dating a Sicilian boy who by heritage was a foodie.
Then my running became front stage. At a challenging part of my life my senior year of college, I turned to running as therapy. I signed up for a half marathon and the training kept me sane.
I now keep my weight stable through “clean” eating and being active. I have found a balance of the two. I never deprive myself or feel guilty when I indulge in a meal or skip or scheduled workout. My diet and exercise is still slowly evolving. This is a journey after all.
I encourage you to find your happy balance!
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I love you’re blog. I just graduated last year with a B.S. in Dietetics but having a baby put me a little off track. I didn’t even apply for internships but I’m working for DHEC now. You’re blog is very inspirational and has a lot of good information. A lot of students were getting pretty down on my school due to not being matched. There were girls with near perfect GPA who were very involved and still didn’t make it ( I think it was because so many grad students applied, no undergrads got accepted at all). So, that was definitely discouraging. Now, I am trying to increase my chances by taking the DTR exam and working and DHEC. I may even retake some classes if I can afford it haha. However, a lot of girls I graduated with are struggling until they find an internship. It’s sort of depressing! Anyways, your blog is great! I will keep reading it and try to stay positive!!!
Yeah internship matching is so stressful! Build up your experience to increase your matching chances.
Hi Molly! I’ve been lurking for a while, so I thought I’d say “hello.” I’ve been considering a career as an RD and have been really enjoying your blog. Keep it up!
Perfect! I think it’s great to have a resource to really know what a dietitian does on a daily basis. Ask any questions you may have!
Hi Molly,
Your blog rocks, thank you so much for sharing. I’ve been entertaining the idea to pursue a second career as an RD, but after talking to other people and seeing your helpful information on here, I realized that I have been romanticizing this quite a bit. While I see the value in the internship, this creates a huge obstacle for anyone who still needs to maintain a steady income, and from what I hear, no one works while doing the internship, or if you do it would probably have to be part time in the evening which sounds exhausting. Is this even possible?For someone weak in Math and Chemistry, this could also be tumultuous. I just now stumbled across your blog, so I’ll see if you allude to holistic nutrition anywhere, but are the teachings centered around the food pyramid and verge on old school? I’m in CA, so there may be more opportunities opening up for nutritionists, but I was getting a sense that RD’s are in higher demand, earn a bit more money, and may have the opportunity to have a private practice. Many thanks for your time, and all of your helpful information. Blessings
You could try working part-time. Our last intern worked full-time during one of her rotations. I tried working part-time but it was overwhelming. I didn’t even have a family to also take care of.
Don’t worry much about math and chemistry. As long as you dedicate time to it, you’ll do fine. I had to dedicate time to bio and chem classes. I tested out of all math courses in high school, so I have no input there.
I wouldn’t recommend going the nutritionist route. More places are requiring more education and credentials. I heard a few years ago that even WIC is turning towards RDs only rather than nutritionists (people who only have a nutrition degree).
It’s definitely an investment of time and money. You just have to take the leap if you want it.