Category: Uncategorized

Sitting across from me on the blue couch in my office, the mom says- “We wanted to nip this in the bud before it got serious.”   Meanwhile, her listless and pale daughter squirms with anxiety.  After finishing a thorough nutrition assessment, it is evident that their idea of early and my idea of early are […]

Did you know that a multidisciplinary treatment team is the gold standard for eating disorder treatment?  According to medicaldictionary.com a gold standard is “an acknowledged measure of comparison of the superior effectiveness or value of a particular medication or other therapy as compared with that of other drugs or treatments.”   Come again? Basically it’s saying […]

Eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness and require specialized care.  That means just because someone is a doctor (including psychiatrists), counselor, psychologist, dietitian, or any other health provider- it doesn’t mean they know about eating disorders. The sad (and dangerous) reality is that most health professionals are not trained in eating disorders.  Health professionals […]

I am seeing a trend in the area that goes like this: “I have recovered from an eating disorder, therefore I am an eating disorder expert.”   How scary is that?  That’s like saying- I had brain surgery therefore I am an expert in brain surgery, or I had cancer therefore I am an expert in […]

First of all, “I think the term eating disorders is misleading.  An eating disorder is a complex problem and it doesn’t have a simple solution,” said one member of My Signature Nutrition’s Eating Disorders Support Group in Tyler, Texas.  Other members agreed and emphasized that an eating disorder is not about food or weight or […]

It’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week and My Signature Nutrition is partnering with the National Eating Disorder Association to bring awareness about eating disorders to East Texas.  Today’s focus is on the diverse group of people who are affected by eating disorders.  Many people continue to believe that eating disorders only affect young, white women- […]

Take a moment to think about it- are you comfortable with your eating?  How much time do you spend thinking about food or your body? I frequently hear answers like a lot, all the time, most of the time, or more than I would like.  Now think about what you could be doing instead of […]

You’ve probably heard of hangry by now, you know…when you’re so hungry you become angry…where you end up snapping at friends and family and biting someone’s head off because you really need a snack or meal.  Did you know that hangry is not the only emotional response of hunger? It’s not!  Hunger can certainly make […]

I’m tired of all the blogs and articles on surviving the holidays.  It makes what is supposed to be a very exciting, joyous time of the year sound like a horrible experience that you just need to get through while barely hanging on.  People survive cancer, wars, famine, and natural disasters.  How does surviving get […]

As a dietitian many people ask me every year what I give out for Halloween.  I get a lot of- “you probably don’t even give out candy.”  However, let me assure you that I, the dietitian/nutritionist, do give out candy and I even eat it too! I choose to give out candy at Halloween because […]

Whenever I tell people that I specialize in eating disorders I often hear a joke or an inappropriate comment in return such as: America has an eating disorder, it’s called Thanksgiving Day, I have an eating disorder it’s called powdered doughnuts, I wish I had a touch of anorexia, Man I wish I had that […]

Do you know the diet dance?  It goes like this: buy a diet book, buy some supplements, go on a diet, lose five pounds, gain it back, plus 3 pounds more.  Go on another diet, with different rules, lose 10 pounds, gain it back, plus 5 more.  Go on another bigger, stricter, more severe diet, […]

Many of people believe that as a dietitian I am a member of the FPD- the Food Police Department.  A lot people think that dietitians are the food police, going around passing judgment of people and what’s on their plate or in their shopping cart at the grocery store.  Others think we take the joy […]

Recently the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the professional body for Registered Dietitians) announced that dietitians now have the option to use RD or RDN to represent the dietitian credential.  The RDN credential stands for Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and further emphasizes the nutrition aspect of a dietitian’s training and expertise. The RDN credential is optional […]

If you’ve ever looked into special holidays and observances you will know that there is one for practically every day of the year.  Some are respected and traditional holidays while some are silly, strange, or well deserved.  For example, in March there is St. Patrick’s Days but there’s also pi day (3/14), Corn Dog Day […]

According to the National Confectioner’s Association more than 36 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentines Day!  This makes Valentines Day the fourth biggest holiday for candy purchases behind Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. With the increasing research on the benefits of chocolate there is some good news behind all this chocolate […]

Happy 2013!  As we begin the New Year many people resolve to make changes for a better future.  Resolutions can be quite broad but according to research anywhere from 40-80% of Americans make a similar resolution.  I don’t think it takes much guessing to figure out what that resolution is, but if you guessed weight […]

The holidays are approaching and many people are looking forward to joyous celebrations with their friends and family.  For you this may be carving the turkey, dining around the table, finding that perfect gift, wrapping the presents, or decorating the tree.  For many people with this excitement also comes much apprehension. On one hand the […]

Happy Halloween! Halloween is celebrated by millions of people and is a fun time for dressing up and for kids to go door-to-door trick-or-treating resulting in large amounts of candy!  For the kids this is great, for the parents sometimes Halloween can turn into a nutrition nightmare.  As a parent you work all year long […]

I recently attended the professional conference for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in Philadelphia.  This conference, known as the Food & Nutrition Expo and Conference (FNCE), hosts about 10,000 dietitians annually.  This year in Philadelphia it was no different and a large group of dietitians converged on the area for the opportunity to network, […]