![]() ![]() I applied for internships, it’s a matching process similar to doctors’ residency programs. Requirements include a Bachelor’s degree, 1200 hours supervised practice in four settings (acute, long-term, community and food service) and passing the national credentialing exam. I took the path to become a Registered Dietitian. I wanted to share this new wealth of knowledge with others in some shape or form (though in today’s world, I prefer to share the plate or macro methods with my clients rather than solely portion control). With that, I learned portion control, the importance of macro and micronutrients and how sleep, self-care and movement also play a role in health. I finally felt confident enough to relearn my hunger cues and follow regular dietary eating patterns. I ended up with another Bachelor’s degree, this time in Nutrition. Courses included anywhere from biochemistry to medical nutrition therapy to the fundamentals of food. My professor, a Berkeley grad, made this course enticing and I wanted IN! The idea of health began to click, how the human body and food worked synergistically. I fell in love with nutrition the first course I took. A few months post-graduation, there I was, back in school. I knew I wanted to help others to the best of my ability (just unsure how) so this was definitely a possibility. He mentioned nutrition and how I have always had interest in it. Luckily, my significant other kept me sane and helped me brainstorm some other career options. I graduated with my degree and felt lost. After interning, I quickly realized this was not my forte. I was studying to be a speech pathologist, my high school dream. I knew I could NOT live like this any longer, it wasn’t sustainable. I was nearly my heaviest and the most uncomfortable I’d ever felt. I truly believed that one of these diets was bound to be my destiny and didn’t have a clue what I was doing to my body (who would? We’re not taught this in school). This cycle continued, after dieting for so long my metabolism was damaged, I couldn’t lose those extra 5-10 pounds anymore and instead my weight increased. I ate nutritious foods and restricted (several) until the weekend when I would “cheat”. I got a job hostessing in the evenings so I could buy my own groceries and work with what I had in the dorms to make palatable meals in the microwave. I encouraged my mom to opt me out of eating in the dining hall for every meal and just eat there once a day. I ended up falling into the pattern of chronic dieting. Living in the dorms was tough, not being able to cook or eat nutritiously all that often. So of course, being a teen with a couple of extra pounds on my body led me to think that I should try each and every diet trend occurring at that point in time. “Try this vegetable-only detox for seven days and lose 10 pounds!”, “The Atkins diet is the ONLY way to lose weight”, or “Count your points with weight watchers, we provide ‘free’ foods!”. ![]() Growing up with a heavy influence from diet culture, I believed what the internet told me. Though I was eating “healthy” foods, turns out my eating patterns were not so healthy at all. When I began my senior year of high school, I started utilizing the gym as my form of exercise. I thought I had a grasp on my health, knowing I needed to be fueled and ate however I thought was “healthy”. I was a cheerleader from Kindergarten until 8th grade, then swam in high school until the end of junior year. She shared recipes and nutrition tips with the world. My grandma was a Director in the field of nutrition and had a cooking show called “Naomi’s Kitchen” back in the 80s. My mom and grandma cooking up delicious meals in their kitchens daily. I had a sense for nutrition from the get go, I loved broccoli as much as cake. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today? Hi Tara, so excited to have you on the platform. Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Moran. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |