About Janet

The Lie About You and Your Body

From a young age I bought in to the cultural value that weight and body shape meant I was desirable, worthy, and powerful. In my mind, I was never “enough” — thin enough, smart enough, cool enough, ultimately successful enough… my life orbited around how the jeans fit, how much food I did or didn’t eat, how much exercise I needed to chase my caloric intake, whether or not my disordered eating and dieting efforts would finally reward me with a sense of adequacy.

It is easy to understand how important, at the time, it was to please everyone around me and live their version of my life….the friends, coworkers, boyfriends, and the list goes on….. Of course, to cope with the stress of leaving my integrity behind, I had to control something — my food and weight — which never worked. Instead, I overate/underate/purged/ to push down the shame, and food and how my clothes fit (or didn’t) were on my mind, day and night. The disappointments were daunting and the vicious cycle had no end in sight. I was obsessed with food, people pleasing, controlling my body, and my soul was bankrupt.

Life Lessons

My life, like many of yours, has had its share of highs, lows and bottoms. Whether it was relationship disappointments, medical surprises, job layoffs, cross-country moves, saying goodbye to good friends, and everything in between, the chance to connect with inner wisdom/build character has been abundant.

Along the way I had glimpses of clarity where my true self wanted to be seen, heard and felt. Yet, my personal culture and beliefs still competed with photo-shopped models, self-induced pressures to perform, and the freight train of perfectionism that wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t break free from the facade of a half-lived life at any cost.

I am thankful for my first experiences with other women who also had a food addiction or eating disorder, the 12 step meetings, nutritional recovery, therapy and the healing process. I heard my own story over and over as I opened up about my struggles.

One day in a women’s meeting for codependency, we all read an affirmation from a list, and mine was “I am enough.” Time stopped as I read it out loud and considered, for the first time, the possibility of “enough”. Time stopped as I connected to my wisdom center, my intuition, and found the felt sense that would guide me in years to come.

Leaning In to Myself

Today, the guidance of body wisdom, spiritual principles, and a healthy food and body relationship are the recurrent motifs of my life. I make it a point to encourage others to know the same for themselves.

The fog has cleared and I now live with authenticity and the confidence that I and my values matter. I am surrounded by people in my life that understand and accept me for who I am.  Food makes sense, the body is off the hook and there is a lot more energy for living a full life.

What I Stand Behind in My Work

Many of my clients, like me, have struggled with trying to be “the best” and never knowing what is enough….enough exercise, calories, weight loss, people-pleasing..…and the list goes on…. They are done with feeling “ fat” and living in the shame spiral of what they eat and don’t eat. Their diet failures, eating disorders, food addiction, and body hatred have taken a toll on their energy and health, drained their mental and spiritual life, and hijacked their dreams.

Through our work together, they can gradually connect with their true selves, let their intuition and nutrition knowledge guide their decision making, and stand behind it without apology. Finally, they learn to eat food in an authentic way, and no longer avoid living with integrity. I have been there too.

How does this all happen? We work together to apply a nutrition approach that makes sense for the situation, uncover the true inner nutritionist , recover intuition to guide them toward their personal food and weight culture, and slowly build the skills, strategies and conviction to stand behind an authentic life.

The food addiction unravels, nutrition, weight knowledge and personal preferences prevail, the body gets off the hook, disordered eating recovers. They rewrite their story and have permission to live it their way. Without apology.

Give me a call, schedule an appointment. You are enough.

If You are Wondering About My Training and Experience…

I have been in the eating disorders and addiction field for over twenty years. These issues are close to my heart and life experience. For me, this is not a J-O-B. It is one of my big life pursuits and I appreciate the chance to help whomever wants it.

  • My undergraduate degree is in Clinical Nutrition from Cornell University.
  • I am a Certified Eating Disorders RD with the International Association of Disordered Eating Professionals (IAEDP)
  • I am an Active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and I am a very happy member of the following sub-groups:
    • Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine-
    • Weight Management
    • Dietitians in Behavioral Health
  • I have written numerous articles for popular magazines, newspapers and WEB sites and have appeared on television and radio, both in Charlotte, NC and Los Angeles, CA. If you have any questions about my media experience, please contact me.

When I am not helping others in recovery, I am usually doing things like hiking, yoga or meditation, cooking, hanging out with my family or friends or discovering some new adventure that is creative or out in nature. Traveling and road trips are pretty fun, too!

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."


-E.E. Cummings

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