My Journey
Hi there I’m Jamie! Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and founder of Sidebar Nutrition. There was a time when I approached healthy eating as something that I had to do. My focus was on eating only “clean” foods, working out 6x a week and pushing myself to the limit. There was this self inflicted pressure to eat perfectly, making healthy eating an obsession which felt overwhelming. I found myself having cravings, preoccupied with eating “bad” foods and shaming myself for not being able to stick to my unrealistic expectations.
Deep down, I always felt like it shouldn’t have to be this challenging to eat well. I wanted to feel my best and take care of my health. I was determined to find a better option.
So as a nutrition student, I immersed myself in the literature, behavioral approaches and methods for behavior change. Mindfulness in particular resonated with me since I was already exposed to it from my yoga practice.
It felt natural to apply the mindfulness principles to my nutrition and beyond—from what and how I ate, to how I moved my body, to my career and my close relationships. Eating in the NEW way was still challenging at first. I doubted, denied and thought maybe a mindful approach to eating isn’t for me? Then I realized something else needed my attention…