CLIENTS

Over the years it has been a joy to see clients improve their lifestyles, and enhance their health. Here are a few of their stories.

At 19, I struggled with orthorexia. I wanted to eat perfectly which limited what I would allow myself to eat, causing severe weight loss and medical complications of malnutrition. When I met Karen I was motivated to get my energy back. She helped me understand what my body needed nutritionally. Together we planned a realistic meal plan (3 meals + 3 snacks). I was glad to learn that fat is an essential nutrient. At first I was so hungry, and needed to eat a lot. Eventually, that leveled out. Now, I'm restored and my goal is to keep my body strong. I honor the cues my body gives me about being hungry. I eat instead of worrying about calories. I am not only full of energy, I'm so much happier. S.W.

I'm a 67 year old woman who is overweight, has diabetes, and fatty liver disease. I was motivated to improve my health, but was struggling to lose weight, and keep my blood sugars in a healthy range. Karen really listened to me, and gave me simple tools such as tuning into my physical hunger and fullness cues so that I can now stop eating sooner, and say "no" to snacks when I'm not hungry. Naturally eating smaller portions, I've been able to lose some weight, improve my blood sugar levels and liver enzymes. I've been doing this for over a year now and I feel so much better. Just a few visits changed my life. V.S.

I was 14 when I met Karen. I was worried about eating too much, but I was underweight. I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and obsessive compulsive disorder. With Karen's help my parents worked to provide me balanced meals with the prescribed portions (exchanges). My eating disorder was loud and it became too much for my family to manage, so I went to a residential program in Denver for eating disorders. I restored my weight there and learned skills, but the real challenge was coming home and staying the course. I checked in with Karen every 1-2 weeks for several years. She supported me in trusting the meal plan and my body, and keeping my weight in a healthy range. I'm in college now, and I'm happy to say I'm doing really well. My meal plan is part of my lifestyle and keeps me in a healthy weight range, but I've also become more flexible in my eating and don't worry about food. C.N.

I'm a 48 year old woman. I went through menopause early; at 38. I was always tall and thin. Suddenly I was gaining weight, and became 30 lbs overweight. I was uncomfortable, and didn't feel like myself. I went to a gym and worked out with machines and weights for an hour 3 times a week for a year. I wasn't able to lose any weight. That's when I found Karen. I was convinced my metabolism was so slow that I'd never lose weight. Karen helped me become more mindful of my eating, and empowered me to decide what changes I could make that would help me eat better more consistently. I decided to limit: my wine intake, eating out and bread (a weakness). Instead of defaulting to eating out, I made time to do food prep most weekends, having chicken and green beans ready for dinner meals. I armed myself with unsalted nuts for office snacks, and I made sure to keep my water bottle filled and near me. Slowly over a year, I lost about 20 lbs. I was shocked! Over the past year between vacations, holidays and stressful times at work, as I'd be less mindful of my eating and my weight would creep up a couple of pounds, I'd check back in with Karen. She'd help me to look at my behaviors and see what's working and what wasn't working. She supported me in setting realistic, specific goals that made a difference in my health behaviors and how I feel about myself. Everyone thinks when you see a dietitian/nutritionist that they are going to hand you a meal plan. Our sessions are more conversations; we process behaviors and set goals. I always leave the session feeling empowered. L.W.