Do you know what month it is??

It is National Nutrition Month!!

As many of you know, I am a dietitian (please don't call us 'nutritionists', it is kind of offensive to us, ha). I talk and think about food all day, everyday. And I love it.

Funny thing is, I didn't even know what a dietitian was or what they did when I signed up for my major in college. I was really indecisive (huh imagine that.. me being indecisive) about my major like most freshman in college. I started out in speech pathology which I enjoyed but couldn't see myself doing forever. So, I ventured out and took a nutrition class to see if it was something I could get into. During my first nutrition class, I was really sick and ended up having my gallbladder taken out. Well, the gallbladder malfunction can play a role in how you digest food (I would have not known that if I had not been in class learning about it at that time). So, this sparked my interest to nutrition even more.

I suffered through chemistries, biochemistry (AKA the devil!), and long hours of projects just because I knew it was what God had for me. I learned more about what a dietitian actually does along the way (and found that there are many different positions a dietitian can have other than the hospital). The main thing I love about nutrition is that everyone loves to eat and everyone has to eat.

I love my job because I do so many different things. I see patients that are admitted to the hospital that have a poor nutritional status. These patients include those who are vomiting, have difficulty chewing or swallowing, diabetes, wounds, poor food intake, kidney failure, and unintentional weight loss. I occasionally see patients who are on tube feedings . I see adult patients (mostly elderly) and pediatric patients.

I also see patients that are not in the hospital. I cover Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab. They are the patients who, for the most part, want to change and improve their lifestyle and health. The best part about my job is I get to work with an exercise specialist as part of a weight management team. We have worked together to develop our own program including individualized programs, a weight loss class, and finding creative ways to raise money to provide our participants tools to help them lose weight (we held our first 5k in February, appropriately named Move It to Lose It). It has been such a blessing to be able to work on something and see the results and lives impacted. It is the most rewarding part of my job.

I am so thankful for the opportunities God has given me with my job. I am thankful that I am able to do what I love. I can't imagine being in a job that I did not enjoy.

Happy Nutrition Month! Now go eat some fruits and veggies!! :)