We were lucky to catch up with Becky Bell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Becky, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you ever experienced a times when your entire field felt like it was taking a U-Turn?

When I first became a dietitian over 15 years ago, nutrition professionals were teaching people that calories are king when it comes to weight management. The low carb craze of the 90’s was slowing down, but the predominant narrative was that your calorie intake is what mattered most. If you eat more calories than you burn, you’ll gain weight. If you eat less calories than you burn, you’ll lose weight.

For decades, people have been trying new ways to diet and eat right, but most of these diets have been centered around creative ways to reduce calorie intake. Up to this point in time, most of our studies still show that 95% of diets result in weight re-gain.

In the last decade, we have realized that health, nutrition, and even weight loss are a lot more complicated than calories in vs. calories out. Newer understanding of metabolism has shown us that the human body doesn’t respond well to chronic restriction. We are learning that metabolism is highly impacted by stress, hormones, inflammation, and the health of the microbiome.

There is a massive shift happening in the field of nutrition that is moving away from a focus solely on calorie intake and towards a more comprehensive approach to health. A comprehensive approach to health includes a focus on nourishment instead of restriction, as well has hormone balance and gut health being the foundation to a healthy metabolism and sustainable weight management.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I became a Registered Dietitian because I love good food and I also love that food has power to profoundly impact our health and how we feel in our bodies. I started my career as a dietitian working with chronically ill patients with end stage kidney disease. I spent years working with dialysis patients and organ transplant recipients. My work involved helping my patients manage chronic illness with nutrition, as well as reaching a healthy weight to prepare for organ transplant.

While I loved using nutrition to help people with life threatening illnesses optimize their health, I also longed to work in the preventative side of health. In 2020 I started my own private practice, specializing in gut health, metabolism, and sustainable weight loss.

In my online nutrition practice, I primarily work with women who have tried lots of diets and a ready for a sustainable approach to weight management that doesn’t involve extreme dieting or food restrictions.

I am also trained in functional medicine, which means that I look for root causes of symptoms women are experiencing and address underlying causes of weight loss resistance. I dig in to hormone imbalances, chronic inflammation, and gut health to help women improve their energy and mood, as well as reach a healthy weight.

What I love most is when my clients feel dramatically better in their bodies, and also experience a more peaceful relationship with food after years of chronic dieting.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy I have invested in to grow my practice has been making genuine connections with other practitioners. One thing I’ve learned along the way is that I can’t possibly be an expert in every area of health, and having connections with other amazing practitioners is invaluable.

I have worked to develop relationships with functional medicine practitioners, naturopaths, health coaches, mental health professionals, physical therapists, and fitness trainers. This regularly refer my clients to these professionals as it would benefit my clients, and these professionals trust me with referring their clients to me as well.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the lessons I have had to unlearn is that I need to be diverse in my skillset and be equipped to reach a wide client base. This belief set me up for overwhelm in my business and ultimately held me back from being an excellent practitioner for my clients.

While it felt scary to narrow my focus in my business because, I learned that I can more effectively market my business and serve my clients at a higher level when I am limit the types of clients I see in my practice. This has allowed me to hone my skills and expertise in a specific area, as well as attract my right fit clients with my marketing efforts.

I happily refer clients outside of my specialty to other practitioners and the clients that are within my specialty are attracted to me and trust me with their health because I’m an expert in their particular problem.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rootednutritiontherapies.com
• Instagram: @rooted.dietitian
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rooted.dietitians
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-bell-26982a146/

Image Credits
Chelsea Garner Photography