Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mallory Choate. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mallory, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)
The best advice I have given to so many of my clients, is to focus on what you can ADD to your plate, not what you need to take away. Nutrition can get to a restrictive place incredibly quickly once we start eliminating foods or full food groups. It leaves you feeling deprived, deeated, and definitely sad over all of the foods, events, and experiences you now have to miss out on after incorporating those food rules. What I pose for my clients is this: what can you add to your plate or your day to make it more balanced? Feeling jittery after drinking a full fruit smoothie ot juice? Try adding protein and fiber to balance your blood sugar. Hungry 20 minutes after you finish that all gree salad? Try adding carbs and protein to fill you up and give your body energy. Only having coffee for breakfast? Add some food to your morning, even something quick is better than nothing at all! This mindset shift around building balanced meals and snacks has been a complete game changer for so many of my clients, friends, and yes, even for me!
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
Hi! My name is Mallory Choate and I am a Registered Dietitian and nutrition coach in Denver, Colorado. My nutrition story starts in the 20+ years of ballet and dance training that showed me how manipulative and dangerous a struggling body image and relationship with food can be. I received a Bachelor’s of Science from Colorado State Univeristy, and a Master of Science from Central Michigan University, both in Nutrition and Food Science. My career as an RD has brought me from working in skilled nursing and rehabilitation throughout the COVID 19 pandemic, to nutrition and fitness coaching, working with triathletes, dancers, and women who are just looking to find peace with their plates. I am incredibly passionate about making nutrition and wellness fit for everyone’s lifestyle, no matter how busy. After spending the majority of my 20’s in total burnout, always working two jobs, or in school full time on top of working, I have learned the improtance that balance plays in our lives, and how different that actually looks versus what the wellness industry or media tells us. My mission is to help other women build balanced eating habits to support their busy lives to enable them to thrive through what life brings, rather than just hoping to survive. When I’m not talking about food and nerding out on nutrition, I am incredibly active in the Denver dance scene as well as the Colorado trails. I am a 8 time marathon finisher, 3 time Pikes Peak Marathon finisher, and have been a finalist for the Denver Broncos Cheerleader 3 times as well. I believe in making busy work for you, not against you and embracing a multi-passionate life.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My journey feels like one FULL of resilience tales. I have always been an extremely hard worker and will give my all to the things that I want in my life. One example is my career as a Registered Dietitian. The process to become an RD is a lengthy one, even if you hit every milestone one after another. You need to complete a bachelor’s degree, a year long unpaid internship, and pass a national board exam to obtain your license for practice. For me it looked a little different and took a lot longer. I spent 5 years finishing my undergrad degree, another 4 years applying for my dietetic internship before I was finally matched into a program, starting my masters program, and then capping it off with finally getting my license. Overall it took me about 10 years of hard work, dedication, and drive to get me from my initial dream of working in nutrition, to actually seeing that RD credential behind my name. In the moments when it felt defeating to hear, “no” so many times from my dream career, the most improtant thing I told myself was that hard work pays off, and everything happens exactly when it is meant to. Now reaching my 5th year in practice as an RD, I’m so incredibly thankful for the lessons I learned along the way, and still believe in the path I am on.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think the most valuable piece of my work and practice that has built my reputation is my honesty and simplistic approach, making me incredibly relatable as a practitioner. I aim to bring my clients and my audience realistic, tangiable, wellness hacks and habits that actually help them feel their absolute best. I am completely candid and open about my history with disordered eating, navigating the nutrition space to find the best habits that work for my life, and use myself almost like a case study for my clients. It’s an “if I can do it, so can you,” kind of moment. I think the challenges we face make us better as people in the long run, and I try to share as much of my journey with my audience as I can. I feel like if they can see or hear even a piece of their own story when I am sharing mine, then they can see the possibility in themselves to make change, feel great, and build a healthy, happy relationship with food and their body.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nutritionbymallory.com
- Instagram: @nutritionbymallory
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mallory.choate.rd
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallory-choate-20766211b/
Image Credits
Kira Whitney Photography