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

Laura, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

To answer this I would have to take you back to 2023 when I was 6 months pregnant with my now 2 year old daughter. I was working for a big tech company at the time, that I had been at for nearly 10 years and getting ready to take maternity leave, closing out projects etc., when the company announced they would be doing lay offs. Not even 1 hour later I was one of 3,000+ employees that had lost their jobs. Shocked, stunned, angry and a huge hit to my ego, I had never felt so lost. I was then put in a strange place of applying to jobs that I knew would not want to hire me with a baby coming in a couple months and felt like the world had been ripped out from under me. That is when I started posting on my instagram about health and wellness, how I was staying active and healthy during my pregnancy, what I was eating throughout the day to provide nutrients to me and my baby and workouts I was doing to stay active. I was pleasantly surprised to see people were genuinely interested in my story and getting motivated by my 3-4 mile walks in the Summer heat. This quickly began something that started as an interest and a hobby and turned into a career move overnight. I truly never thought I would leave corporate America… and one year later I had applied and was accepted into a graduate program for a Masters in Clinical Nutrition (which I will complete next Summer). For me, the risk was all in the unknown. Leaving a world I felt comfortable and confident in, to a world I did not yet know about but one that I LOVED!

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.

About me:
I am a Mom and it is my greatest joy! My daughter turns 2 this Summer (2025) and she is the star of the household. When I am not studying for my graduate degree, I am spending time with my husband, daughter and our German Shepherd Leia, often enjoying time outside at the pool, beach or local state park near our home.

How I got into the industry:
In 2020, in the midst of the Pandemic and isolating indoors, I found myself on a personal mission to cure my headache pain. I stumbled upon “Heal Your Headache” by David Buchholz, M.D., and it changed my life for the better. Buchholz’s approach is simple: eliminate all triggers and live a pain-free life. While it sounds easy, this process is much more complex and involves an elimination diet of all potential headache triggers, especially food triggers. We’re talking all of the good stuff: wine, chocolate, cheese and caffeine (to name a few). What is amazing is that after doing this diet for a few months, I noticed something: my headaches had lessened significantly, I had more energy to do the things I enjoyed and I felt better overall. To be honest, I felt like I had won the jackpot and could enjoy life to the fullest again! This showed me the power nutrition and how diet alone can help us heal and/or better manage certain health conditions. This was a turning point for me in truly wanting to incorporate nutrition into my lifestyle and helping others to do the same to achieve optimal health.

What sets me apart:

While I am still at the beginning of my career, I think what sets me apart from others is that I have experienced first hand the impact nutrition can have on our health, weight, self-esteem, energy levels and overall quality of life. Being able to truly say to my client “I’ve been where you are, I know it’s hard, the journey can be daunting BUT it is possible to reach your goals and be a healthier, happier version of yourself”… that is everything.

The Main thing I want followers to know:
I CARE. After I had my daughter, I was diagnosed with postpartum pre-eclampsia which is a high blood pressure condition. I was back in the hospital for a week, recovering from a c-section (which is major abdominal surgery) and figuring out everything that goes along with becoming a parent and mother for the first time. Talk about overload! This was just yet another experience that taught me I can persevere, I will get healthy again and I will come back a stronger, perhaps different, version of myself. When it comes to my clients, I am there for them every step of the way, coaching them through the easy and tough situations to help them get on the right track. Nutrition is not just following a diet – it is so much more. It is everything we are. It impacts every inch of us which includes our health and longevity, our brains, our skin our moods and can protect us from certain diseases. I believe each individual is different and I take an individualized approach with each client depending on their unique set of needs, goals and health.

I currently offer 1-1 coaching sessions via Zoom!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

It sounds cliche but I truly believe, just being true to yourself if the best thing you can do. I often say, “People buy from people that they like.” When you are yourself and show up for your brand in a way that is unique to you, the right audience follows. With that, not being afraid to take risks and try new things. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but you don’t know if something is going to be effective or the right strategy until you try it.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

You have to walk the talk! That is something I did early on and still continue to do in my business, I share what I’m eating, how I am staying active, how I am managing stress and juggling a work-life balance each and every day on my platform. There isn’t a single piece of nutrition advice that I would give someone that I either haven’t tried myself or that is not backed by evidence. Showing up for your clients is also showing up for yourself, putting the same hard work in that you are coaching them to do. If I sat down on the couch eating a bag of potato chips all day and telling my clients to up their veggie and proteins, they would never want to work with me! Could you blame them? I believe being present and showing my market that is it possible to heal your relationship with food, get steps in every day and eat a balanced diet to fuel your health has made all of the difference with my reputation. This is important to me as I continue to grow my business and clients and something I will continue to stay true to.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauraknutrition.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whole.nutritionist/