PhILOSOPHY

“Good health is like a bank account. You get out of it what you put in, and it’s the small, daily deposits made over time that yield a lifetime of wellbeing. Health is not about austerity. It is about knowing when to save and when to spend and ensuring that your deposits are always in excess of your expenditures.” -Dana

It’s just food, right? A simple matter, three times a day. Then why does it seem so hard?

You want to live better, feel better, and be healthy. Maybe you’ve tried eating better, but it’s not been consistent. Perhaps you’ve relapsed into old, destructive routines. You want to succeed but health feels hard, echoing loss and moping through your mind like sad snacks and small.dinner plates. But you want more energy, less aches and pains, and to walk down the street without being reminded how long since you last exercised. To live well and fully, something must be done.

Everyone experiences needing a restart, even the most health conscious. Maybe you’ve had a celebration, ate and drank royally, and extended that food party far past its expiration date. Or perhaps you’re fully capable of a few nourishing plates, but have yet to master months of these on end. Irregardless of what’s been going on in your days, months and years there’s no doubt you’ve been busy, and there is nothing fighting harder to topple your health success than being busy.

Let’s be clear. You can be healthy. Not the misleading internet version of health, but your own manageable, recognizable, feels-good-to-be-you version of wellbeing. Your busy life may be breathlessly constrained, but there’s still a place for effective, longterm change. No special diet plan, phone app, or membership required.

You claim yourself back one meal, one walk, and one full night of sleep at a time; extra credit for firing up the stove, titrating down the sweet tooth, and second guessing that extra juice or cocktail. An excess of poor behavior leaves a mark, but you can fast track your dietary comeback with a consistent, workable routine that accounts for your personal lifestyle needs. You’ve got to make a plan and it’s got to be your own plan, because in order to succeed you have to recognize yourself on the other side of healthy. So how do you make good health happen with your food, your schedule, and your life? Start by following along right here.

ABOUT
Hi there. Dana here. Wondering what qualifies me to talk about dietary health and nutrition?

Thousands of individuals like you.

Two decades ago I earned a bachelor of science degree in human nutrition and food science at Florida State University. This required years of studying bio- and organic chemistry, human metabolism, physiology, microbiology, food science, etc. After this I completed a didactic internship at Emory University Hospital. This was a five year process of studying and training that culminated in my professional title, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

Early in my career I had a number of interesting experiences like working with HIV and oncology patients at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, overseeing a dietary health data collection for the Navajo Nation in Shiprock, New Mexico, and repping the nutrition arm of a community outreach program at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, California.

I love the science of my work, but even more than that I love the food; how something so delightful as a meal is also critical to how humans both survive and thrive. I’ve held two professional positions in restaurant kitchens over the past two decades, and I’ve worked as a private chef and taught cooking classes.

My biggest concentration of professional effort over the past twenty years has been counseling thousands of individuals like you. I have an intimate understanding of how real people live and eat; their failures, successes, and the critical moments between. Translating complex dietary science into encouraging, digestible education sits at the core of my professional approach.

If I’m not reading, writing, or talking about food, then I’m in my kitchen cooking it for family, friends, or local community programs. When it comes to life, I’m a bit of a one trick pony.

I believe deeply in the transformative power of real food, prepared simply, and enjoyed daily. The benefit of a meal is far greater than the sum of the effort.

But I know it’s not always easy. Let me know if I can help.