We were lucky to catch up with Selina Ramirez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Selina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I had always been afraid of failing and not having the made the right decision to leave my career to pursue nutrition. I had gone through my graduate program, starting my business, and finally talking on clients. A defining moment was when I saw my first client succeed. To actually help someone and see them happy and healthy was truly a great moment. That was when I knew I had made the right decision.

Selina, 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?

Im Selina and I’m the founder of Cualli Nutrition. Starting my own business was quite the ride. The idea formed over several years and a lifetime struggle with my own health. I had a hard time dealing with weight management while I was growing up. I was never comfortable in my own body and never felt as healthy as I should have for my age. Eventually I had enough of never really feeling well. I started to dedicate time to learning about nutrition and how to create healthy eating habits. While attending university, I finally hit my stride. I had been training jiu jitsu, making nutritious choices, and eventually got into weightlifting. After I graduated, I decided to leave a research position with the USDA for education. Watching students struggle the same way I had growing up made me realize how much I wanted to help others. I decided to take the plunge and go back to school for a masters degree in human nutrition.

Currently I am running my own nutritional guidance business, which helps people improve their relationship with food and make healthier lifestyle choices. I wanted to create an atmosphere that took attention away from weight loss and focused on overall health & longterm success. I know what it is like to want to make healthier choices but always feeling like a failure after not being able to commit to a change in lifestyle. Now I am able to help people overcome these challenges and feel confident in living a healthy life.
I pride myself in knowing that everyone has their own individual needs met when they work with me. I take the time to get to know each client and what their day to day life is like. This way I can provide meaningful guidance and set them up for longterm success.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I would love to say that I would have chosen nutrition straight away, but I really do think the experiences I had have shaped me as a nutritionist. My undergraduate degree is in biology with a heavy focus on botany. I learned so much about the ways humans have used plants throughout history. Which really helps to give insight into people’s cultural backgrounds and the foods they may be used to. My time as a teacher helped me to learn how to break down information and individualize it. Being able to learn how people learn, has really helped me to reach each person I work with. I really do believe that my past experiences have helped me become a great nutritionist.

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

Compassion is greatly needed in this field. People have dealt with others making assumptions about them and not understanding what they are going through, probably for their entire lives. I really hope to make people feel comfortable when they are working with me. Being compassionate also provides reassurance and makes the overall experience much more enjoyable for everyone involved.

Contact Info:

• Website: cuallinutrition.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cualli_nutrition?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CualliNutrition?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selina-cualli
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sel525