Intuitive eating as developed by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch is a framework for breaking free from the diet mentality that pulls us away from our ability to trust our internal cues to guide choices around food. Through intuitive eating, you can reconnect with signals of hunger and fullness, develop the confidence to make satisfying and nourishing choices, and reclaim the brain space that was previously overtaken by food rules, food guilt, and diet culture noise.

Read more about Intuitive Eating

A Registered Dietitian is a credentialed, licensed nutrition professional who has completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in nutrition science, as well as 1,200 hours of supervised practice, before passing a national board exam and acquiring continuing education credits throughout their career. These requirements guarantee that a Registered Dietitian has had extensive training and education. On the other hand, a “nutritionist” is not a licensed designation, meaning anyone can call themselves a nutritionist or nutrition coach. All dietitians can be called nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are dietitians.

A ‘non-diet’ or ‘anti-diet’ dietitian does not recommend intentional weight loss or reinforce the messages of diet culture. We provide nutrition counseling via practices that are evidence based, and research has found that dieting will fail over 90% of the time and is not a practice that is sustainable for the human body.

We believe that using rules to ‘control’ food causes harm both mentally and physically rather than actually enhancing health as it is often portrayed. Dieting not only damages one’s relationship with food and body, but it also contributes to weight cycling (initial loss followed by weight regain), eating disorders, and disordered eating patterns. You can expect your non-diet dietitian to support your health and wellness goals without promoting behaviors that may sacrifice ultimate wellbeing.

It is important that we develop a relationship founded on mutual trust and understanding. With this in mind, we will spend at least some time in the first session just getting to know each other to see if working together feels right for you. Also during the first session, we can dive into how your food, movement, and body relationships have changed over your life and how this has informed the challenges you are navigating today. We will discuss your goals for working with a dietitian, and we will identify what areas of nutrition support will be most suited moving forward. From there, we will make a unique plan to support your needs and decide on how often we will be meeting. In our follow-up sessions, we will dial in on topics of interest, areas where you are facing current challenges with food, movement, or body image, and/or how to navigate barriers as you make the changes you are hoping for. Every individual’s journey looks so different, and it is my role to honor your concerns, celebrate your accomplishments, and navigate challenges with you.

As a ‘non-diet’ dietitian, I will provide you with tools and support to improve your well-being without the food rules or restrictive recommendations found in typical diet plans. I promote the principles of Intuitive Eating and learning to trust your body's cues and cravings. For this reason, I do not provide meal plans as you may think of them, but rather, an individualized approach to sustainable, normalized food behaviors.

Do you feel distressed about how your body looks or feels? Does the way you feel about your body change how or what you eat? Do social situations involving food cause anxiety? Do you ever feel guilt or shame around eating? Are you constantly thinking about your next meal? Do you have a history of dieting? These are just a few questions that could flag a disordered relationship with food. If you said yes to any of the above, or if you are still unsure of if this is the support you need, please reach out!

In a culture that normalizes dieting and disordered eating, it is easy to feel as if you do not have ‘enough of a problem’ to seek out nutrition support for disordered eating or an eating disorder. If you or someone who cares for you has concerns about your behaviors with food or exercise - you deserve support. You do not need a doctor’s diagnosis to reach out. The sooner you take this step toward healing your food-body relationship, the better. I am open to working with all genders and all ages. If you are under the age of 18, your primary caregivers may be included as an integral part of our work together.

Therapeutic nutrition support for intuitive eating is not prescriptive nor transactional. It is founded on building a trusting relationship with your dietitian, and the length of time it takes to establish freedom and flexibility with food and movement will vary from person to person depending on many variables unique to you. Throughout our work together, we will consistently assess your progress to determine how frequently we will need to meet. Generally, regular and consistent sessions are helpful as you get started, but eventually, we will titrate down to biweekly, monthly, and/or ‘as needed’ sessions.

Having your own support system in your life is extremely valuable, and working with an anti-diet registered dietitian can complement the support you already have. I am to provide a safe, non-judgemental space for you to process emotional and sometimes vulnerable experiences around food, exercise, and your body that you may not feel comfortable sharing with others.

You may have been prescribed a certain diet as a means of managing diabetes, IBS, Celiac Disease, hypertension, or a number of other health conditions. I can provide medical nutrition therapy aligned with intuitive eating for disease management in a compassionate, weight-neutral manner.

I am not in-network with insurance companies at this time. As an out-of-network provider, you will be expected to pay for sessions at the time of service. For those in the state of Maryland and a few other states (including Virginia) receiving nutrition counseling services, I can provide you with a “superbill” at the end of each month which may be submitted to your insurance company for potential reimbursement. You may call your insurance company to inquire about your out-of-network benefits.

For an overview of service fees, visit the Specialties and Services page.

After connecting with me using the contact form, you will be given step-by-step instructions via email on how to request a nutrition appointment in the client portal. After your appointment time is confirmed, you will be sent the intake paperwork through the client portal. Intake paperwork must be completed prior to your first appointment. 48 hours before your appointment, you will receive an appointment reminder via email and/or text message with the link to join the secure, HIPAA-compliant, telehealth platform for your session. Please ensure that you have a secure wifi connection before the session begins. If you have any difficulty joining the virtual session, you may reach out to me via email or phone for technical support.