We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Gozy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

A few years ago, a woman reached out after following Nourished with Emily on social media for a while and after her friend had mentioned he was working with us. She had struggled with her weight for years, and was recently on a highly restrictive program that allowed her to have 1 full meal a day and had to eat protein bars and shakes for the remainder of her meals. The program was rigid and unforgiving. She wasn’t allowed to workout because the calorie deficit was too deep, and she had to give up some of her favorite foods, including fruit. While she had lost weight on the program, she knew it wasn’t sustainable or realistic to continue on with long term. Her kids had started to notice that she wasn’t eating what they were eating and this caused problems at meal times. On our first call, we were reviewing her food logs when I realized, she wasn’t getting enough fiber in. We talked about the importance of fiber for her goals, fullness, and digestion, and I offered some recommendations to help her reach her goals. I asked her if she liked fruit and thought she could get some in each day. Upon this recommendation, she started to tear up. She shared that she hasn’t had fruit in years because the previous program told her that it had too much sugar in it and would cause weight gain. She wanted nothing more than to share an apple with peanut butter with her kids or to eat a strawberry that they had picked but hadn’t because she was told they weren’t good for me. Her face lit up, she immediately added fruit to her grocery list, and shared at our next appointment that just adding some small like that made her day. This helped me to realize that it really is the small things and small changes, the dismantling of diet culture and lies, can help to make meals joyful and more satisfying again. This interaction reminds me of why I became a dietitian.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve struggled with my health and nutrition for years, my embattled relationship with food turned into an eating disorder that helped to then inspire me to become a Registered Dietitian.

Through education, counseling, and experience, I realized that I was called to help women break free from the dieting mentality and lose weight and take ahold of their nutrition through building healthy habits that last a lifetime. I don’t want any woman to have to struggle like I did, to feel exhausted all the time, to feel the stress inside and not be able to manage it, and feel lost and confused about our health.

Nutrition shouldn’t be a 30 day challenge or a one and done thing, proper nutrition and healthy habits is a lifestyle you can do forever.

​I want you to feel confident in your own skin, in your kitchen, be empowered to chase your goals, have a sound nutrition foundation through the education we do together and make healthy choices for you and your family for a lifetime. We help our clients inside our Signature Nutrition Coaching Program where men and women work with us closely to help them reach their goals through sustainable nutrition, our membership which offers support from a dietitian in your back-pocket, and through corporate wellness partnerships and presentations.
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I am a graduate of Marywood University’s Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetic Coordinated program, Concordia University’s Master’s in Applied Exercise Science and Sports Nutrition Program and registered through the Commission on Dietetic Registration. Although my main office is located in Syracuse, NY, we help clients all over the US.

When I am not working with our nutrition coaching clients, I am playing with my dog, Mr. Magoo, traveling with my family and husband, Joe, watercolor painting, tending to our garden and koi pond, or trying out a new recipe to share!

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

The ability to express and feel empathy for those you’re working with, as well as being able to listen are huge skills needed to be successful as a dietitian. So much of what we do is helping to problem solve and educate, but we need to know where our clients are coming from in the first place to help build them a path to success that is unique to them. Understanding their struggles, walking in their shoes, and being able to listen help to transfer the usual thought of health and wellness as rigid guidelines to being something that is compassionate and realistic.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your firm or practice?

I started my business completely self-funded, using only my paycheck from my corporate job. I still remember the sales call with my first business coach; we talked through the program details, the potential outcomes, and then came the investment. When he said it would be $1,000 a month, I paused, took a deep breath, and said, “Let’s do it.” I knew I’d have to be intentional about setting aside money from my full-time job to cover the cost. But I reminded myself: the goal of this investment was to build something that could ultimately pay for itself. I trusted that I could figure it out, and I did. Seven years later, my business has continued to grow, and it’s still 100% self-funded. I’ve never taken out a loan to make it happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Nourishedwithemily.com
• Instagram: @nourishedwithemily
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-gozy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nourishedwithemily

Image Credits

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