Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen Martinsen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the best advice you ever gave to a client? How did they benefit / what was the result? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

I have one client story that’s a great example. I will call her Sheila. She was one of my favorite clients to work with because she was brutally honest, fun, and her transformation was so significant.

When she came to me, she was doing all the things we hear that you should do to be healthy. Sheila was working out regularly, mindful of what she was eating, and home cooking most of her meals. She was also recently gluten-free, based on her doctor’s recommendation. But still, her hormones, specifically thyroid, were unbalanced. She’d been on medication for a few years, and it wasn’t making any improvements in how she felt. Like so many women I work with, she was exhausted all the time. She was struggling balancing her demanding career, family life, and taking care of herself. She was only in her early 40’s, but felt older because of how tired she felt, and was using caffeine to survive the day. Sheila wasn’t happy with her weight, her hair was thinning, and she was willing to try just about anything to feel more like herself again.

In our first session together, she was very honest and open, but I could tell she was also a bit skeptical. I think she ended up in my office more out of desperation than choice!

For Sheila, her top goals were improving her energy, losing weight, and addressing her thinning hair that all seemed to noticeably change after her second pregnancy.

At our first session, she was ready for me to give her an ultra-restrictive diet that would make everything better. But instead, I did the opposite.

For Sheila, my advice was to add more food, and workout less. This took Sheila completely off-guard.

Her body had been in hyper-drive for over 2 decades, and she was literally burning herself out. As she gained weight, she would eat less and work out more, which is the opposite of what her body needed. It’s was vicious cycle so many women get trapped in.

During that first session, we discussed adding nutrient dense foods like healthy fats, greens, and colorful vegetables plus adding an afternoon snack rather than trying to curb her hunger with more caffeine. To keep her morning’s simple, we planned a breakfast smoothie packed with fiber, phytonutrients, healthy fats and protein. We also developed a plan that allowed for prioritizing sleep and shorter workouts each day.

Sheila wasn’t initially convinced. Being focused on weight most of her life, eating more, sleeping more, and exercising less sounded insane. But she decided to give it a week to see how it went.

Our next session, Sheila literally seemed like a different person! She was so energized and excited. After just 2 days of trying the new routine, she already noticed improvements in how she felt. And each session from then on, we just continued to build off of what was working,  adding new ways to support her body. During our time together she lost weight, her hair returned to normal, and she finally had energy again.

As a result, Sheila felt empowered knowing her health was in her control and she was still capable of feeling good. For so many years she felt like her body was failing her, and now she knew differently.

Jen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure! I’m a functional nutritionist, women’s health advocate, and owner of Nutrition Bliss in Encinitas, CA. To give a little background, I had worked in the corporate wellness industry for over a decade, and had found myself uninspired and facing personal health concerns that ranged from insomnia, low energy, and acne. Also, as a baby, my youngest son was facing unexplained health issues, which led me down a path looking for answers. What began as a passion project to heal my son, became a whole lot more. I soon realized I wasn’t the only woman confused on how to best support myself, not being understood in doctors’ offices, and struggling to find someone to help. Like my own journey, my education followed my own curiosity and passion for finding solutions.
I quickly discovered there is never just one path to healing your body. This is what lead me to the field of Functional Nutrition, a practice that emphasizes healthful eating and lifestyle strategies, personalized based on your genetics, lifestyle, environment, and unique symptoms. I started Nutrition Bliss is 2017, focusing exclusively on women’s health. I am an Integrative & Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner, Certified Health Coach, and an herbal educator. In my practice, I offer individual consultations, group programs, and my signature program, The IntuitiveMethod ™, that combines nutrition, mindset, lifestyle, and stress reduction skills with listening to your body.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Yes! An important lesson that I’ve had to unlearn is the need to grind to “make things happen” for your business. I spent the first 2 years of my business planning endlessly, paying for extra workshops & coaches, posting daily on social media, writing blogs, and running myself into the ground. I was doing a lot, but I also started to burn myself out. I was going in too many directions, and getting frustrated by what felt like a lack of results.

Since then, I’ve learned that it takes time to build a business, and you need to give it some space to grow. Because nothing happens overnight, no matter how hard you work. I’ve learned to take my time and not force creativity. Some days are less inspired, and that’s okay. Also, I now choose to focus on the quality of content I create over quantity. I initially fell into a trap of needing post daily, release videos weekly, and the idea that if I wasn’t obsessively creating content my business would fail. The pressure was overwhelming. I now only release content I’m proud of and feels important to share.

The last piece was the realization that if I’m taking care of myself and in a good headspace, everything else seems to flow better in my business. When I was grinding, I wouldn’t prioritize myself because I needed get to my to-do list that seemed to keep growing. Taking a walk on the beach helps clarify my priorities more quickly than 2 hours at my computer some days. Grinding isn’t the answer, although a lot of people will try to convince you otherwise.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I had been in business for 3 years, and things were finally starting to come together. My client base was growing. I was finally ready to take the leap and invest in a permanent office space. I was beyond thrilled when I found the perfect spot in Encinitas, working alongside other practitioners. There was even an Open House planned just before my start date. A chance to promote the space, get to know the other practitioners, and meet more people in the community.

The Open House was March 6th, 2020 and my first day in the office was to be March 16th. I think you know where this is going.

It was beyond difficult to spend the past 3 years getting to a certain point in my business, and have it turn completely upside down. I went from making big career plans to home schooling my 2 boys in a matter of days. Speaking engagements canceled. No new clients. My plans for an in-person work environment evaporated. I was devastated. It took a some time to recalibrate, and to mourn the loss of what I had imagined for myself.

The core of my business, individual clients, completely shifted. It made sense, though. When we are collectively in panic mode, that’s not when most people are interested in making lifestyle changes. We were all holding on as tightly as we could. Snacking & drinking more, binging Netflix, surviving each day. Nutrition advice was not top of mind for most women in the Spring of 2020.

My resilience was initially in believing that my business could make it through. I kept doing what I could, and had to be open to how it would evolve. A few months later, I began receiving requests for online corporate workshops. And they just kept coming. For me, it was the perfect opportunity that blended raising awareness about health & functional nutrition, and also allowed flexibility to be available for my family.

Ultimately this became an opportunity that helped grow a new segment of my business. Overall, it resulted in a surprising growth for my business in both 2020 and 2021. Resilience allowed me to be willing to pivot and meet the changing demands of that time was critical. For me, it was a lesson about being true to my mission, rather than true to my idea of what it should look like.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nutritionbliss.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nutrition_bliss_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nutritionbliss
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenmartinsen/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nutrition-bliss-encinitas