We recently connected with Sandy Brikho and have shared our conversation below.

Sandy, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A defining moment, for me, took place at a previous job where I counseled clients for weight loss and many other nutrition-related diseases in an outpatient setting. While working there, one of my repeat clients was seeing results almost every session we had. Her goal was to lose about 150lbs. She was really motivated to reach her goal, made the changes we discussed during our sessions, and was honest about her challenges/ obstacles if she experienced any in between sessions. As a result, we were able to create a realistic weight loss plan customized to her, her lifestyle, her challenges/ obstacles, and goals at each session, which led her to losing almost 100 lbs in about 14 months. As she was losing weight, she was going out again, hanging out with friends, wasn’t afraid to eat out anymore, bought the fun and flirty clothes she was always terrified to wear, and was able to go on hikes without stopping halfway up the mountain. She told me she got her life back and that was when I realized I loved helping women get their life back and I began working on establishing my private practice, The Dish On Nutrition.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, I’m Sandy, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist that specializes in weight loss.
I started my private practice to make weight loss as easy and achievable as possible. I was able to lose 25 lbs WITHOUT dieting and I created a Weight Loss Program to show my clients how to do the very same thing!

Before I became a Registered Dietitian, I struggled with body image after gaining 25 lbs. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin and it took a toll on my self-confidence. I was motivated to make changes, but I felt frustrated because nothing seemed to work long term and I felt confused about what foods to eat.

Trying to lose weight, I began skipping meals, avoiding entire food groups, following strict meal plans, going on fad diets, and running for hours daily with no sign of weight loss. I felt discouraged after trying so many different things and working so hard only to end up right where I had started.

I wanted to find something that would work for me, and finally I did.

While getting my Bachelors in nutrition at San Diego State University, I realized that dieting was NOT the answer. I was doing it all wrong! My mindset towards weight loss completely shifted. I created a weight loss program that was fun, flexible, balanced, and easy-to-follow. As a result, I lost 25 lbs WITHOUT dieting.

As I began pursuing my Masters, I was determined to help women who are struggling with their weight loss, just as I had. As a Registered Dietitian, I began an online private practice called The Dish On Nutrition in 2019 where I help women go from where they are now to achieving their weight loss goals in a fun, sustainable, and easy way so that they can finally feel confident in their own skin! In October, we celebrate our 4 year anniversary and have helped over 120 clients in that time.

The Dish On Nutrition is a private practice that provides virtual one-on-one and group nutrition coaching sessions so that we can help many more clients regardless of their location. We currently offer nutrition coaching programs that are customized to you, your weight loss struggles, your goals, and your lifestyle to ensure you have all the resources to successfully reach your goal. Based on high demand, I have been working on developing an online weight loss course and membership program, and I am excited to say that it is coming soon!

The thing that sets me and my business apart most is my weight loss method. I teach women how to lose weight WITHOUT dieting. I show them how to reach their goals WHILE eating their favorite foods. My clients do not go on diets, they do not cut out any of their favorite foods, and they do not feel miserable while on their weight loss journey. When they are done with my program, they feel confident with how to see weight loss results that works best for them, they know how to incorporate their favorite foods while staying on track, they know how to eat out the right way, they love what they eat, and they not only lose the weight but keep it off.

As the founder of The Dish On Nutrition, it is so fulfilling to watch clients reach their goals, feel confident in their own skin, and live life again!

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I think that other than training and knowledge, the most helpful factors to drive success is loving what you do, being open to feedback from clients, and always searching for innovative ways to meet the needs of clients. When you love what you do, the rest is exciting and work doesn’t feel like work. I love seeing the smile on my clients’ faces, hearing the excitement in their voices when they tell me about their results and progress, and seeing them regain their confidence to go out and do all the things they felt they couldn’t do because of their weight. If you love what you do, your clients will be that much more successful.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think there were a few things that helped build my reputation within my market: being honest, transparent, delivering results, and meeting client expectations. I believe that honesty and transparency in the weight loss industry is so important. A lot of clients have told me about other programs or services they have used for weight loss that just didn’t work for them. I am open and honest with clients about the results they can realistically expect to see while in my program. My clients lose weight slowly because the slower you lose weight, the longer you can keep it off, so I am sure to mention that if they are expecting faster or more significant weight loss in a short period of time. My program is designed for clients to see results and if they aren’t for whatever reason, then we change course and alter their weight loss plan so that they do see weight loss results. My goal is to help clients reach their goals and my clients see that, which is why I have built my practice from referrals from past clients that were happy with their results.

Contact Info:

• Website: thedishonnutrition.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedishonnutrition/?hl=en
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-dish-on-nutrition-san-diego