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

Alright, Yvonne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us 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 been a nutritionist for almost ten years now. While what I have focused on as a business and sole owner of my private practice has shifted over the years, the best advice I have ever given to a client or patient is to trust where they feel they need to begin. The roadmap is different for each person I see, even if they both have the same autoimmune condition. Starting down the path of feeling better, finding the root cause of what’s going on and healing takes time. For some, it’s starting small and building habits. For others, it’s beginning with some functional lab work and addressing larger issues first. Even if the goral or results are similar healing takes time that is different for one than another.

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?

I started in graphic and UX design in Los Angeles for ten years. I absolutely loved it. But in my late 20’s when I decided to get off birth control after being on it for over 12 years, I was met with debilitating period pain and a face full of acne, which was my original reason for going on the pill originally. It seemed clear to me that synthetic hormones from birth control had not truly helped me get to the root of this issue. It was just a band-aide that only put this issue on hold while depleting me of valuable nutrients, aside from other unwanted side effects. I went from different doctors to others, then then a dermatologist, all of whose only solutions were more medications. Ultimately I found my way to a functional medicine doctor who did some functional lab work on me that included a food allergy test and micronutrient test and put me on my first elimination diet with very little direction. Despite the lack of specific help from her, these tests were valuable at the time and the elimination diet seemed to get me halfway there. It seemed clear to me there was a holistic and natural solution to my issues. My interest peaked and when I ended up moving to Denver Colorado 9 years ago, I took the opportunity to go to nutrition school at Bauman College in Boulder. My mission was only to help me heal my hormonal issues. But I was unprepared for what I would learn there over my 18 months. It was so powerful and healing that I felt like I could not keep it a secret. I felt called to help others in my same capacity feel better faster than it took me! Nearly 10 years later, I have my Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition and Integrative Health. I have become a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN). I am also a certified clinical herbalist. I teach nutrition and herbs in schools across the US. I mentor other potential CNS practitioners, helping them get their 1,000 supervised clinical hours, pass the national board exam and grow a successful business of their own. As a functional nutritionist and herbalist I continue to run my private practice, Nutrition Designed, helping others with their hormones among many other things like sports nutrition, blood sugar regulation, and digestive and gut health.

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

Being a good listener and believing in your clients. Knowledge is great, but it alone does not make change. As practitioners, we can not make someone change. But we can give them the best information, listen to their struggles, help them trust themselves so that they can do the work they need to!

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

Figuring out what type of person and health/nutrition specialty you can help with the most. When you have clients that turn their health around or reverse a condition like type 2 diabetes or infertility, they not only get what they want, but they feel great too. Their success is your success and they will naturally refer you to other amazing people! The other way I found is great for going any business, is networking and building a network of your own of those you trust and can naturally refer back and forth to each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nutrition-designed.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nutritiondesigned/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NutritionDesigned/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonne-matthews-9b26759/