Just a little bit about me…
I am Annie, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP), Restorative Wellness Practitioner (RWP), and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). I love spending time in the kitchen, practicing handstands on the beach, and traveling. But here are a few little secrets – I am the MESSIEST cook, I fall on my face a lot while trying new yoga poses, and deep down I am a homebody who has embraced the excitement of new adventures!
I have been living a bit of a nomadic lifestyle for the past 2 years. This lifestyle all started when my husband was stationed in Crete, Greece for a year. I packed up all of our belongings and put them in storage and decided to live out of a suitcase so I could spend a year bouncing around between Virginia, Colorado, and Crete! After his time was up in Greece we moved to Denver, Colorado where we decided to continue to leave our belongings in storage and live in a 35 foot Winnebago Adventurer! After a year of exploring Colorado and living the mountain life my husband received orders to San Diego. We are currently living here in sunny California, still in our Winnebago, with a baby girl on the way! This nomadic lifestyle has brought me back to the basics and opened my eyes to new ways of preparing, cooking, and enjoying food. Being on an island that has limited food options and living in a small space with minimal food storage, has encouraged me to focus on using local and seasonal products and has helped me adopt a more simplistic approach to my meals.
How it all started…
My continued desire to learn about the human body has guided me to a different way of living and how I view food. I always felt I had a healthy diet. I ate whole wheat bread with most meals and Jif Peanut Butter by the spoonfuls. My go to snacks were granola bars and pretzels, I only cooked with olive oil, and stayed away from butter. I very rarely got sick and thought I was healthy. I did however always struggle with some underlying digestive issues, but that’s normal right? No, it is not! That discomfort was my body trying to communicate with me. Little did I know, the foods I believed to be healthy were contributing to those issues. It wasn’t until I learned the importance of ingredients that I saw an improvement in my health. I now eat butter at almost every meal and I still enjoy my spoonful of peanut butter, but I make sure the only ingredient is peanuts!
Our bodies are beautifully intelligent and are a fluid reflection of our daily lifestyle. Our food choices directly influence the physiological state of our bodies. Unfortunately, today’s modern diet known as the Standard American Diet, is void in many nutrients and contributes to the development of disease. My goal is to provide individuals with the knowledge to make healthy decisions and feel their best! This means we need to realize discomfort in the body is not normal and the root cause must be addressed.
My Education Background…
I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. My interest in understanding how our bodies work, especially on a cellular level, only grew. Out of curiosity, I began researching certain foods and how they affect the body. I wanted to learn and master the biological and physiological side of nutrition. That is when I discovered the Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA) and immediately felt their mission fell right in line with my philosophy. I graduated from NTA as a Certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner in June 2016.
Then Came Diaita Nutrition!
I started Diaita Nutrition with the desire to empower individuals to make the right nutritional decisions by educating, motivating, and supporting them through their journey to a healthy way of life! During my studies, I discovered the origin of the word diet and it resonated with me. The word diet comes from the greek word diaita, which means a way of life. I would always come back to this idea that our diet was not supposed to be an on and off quick fix program, a one size fits all plan, or a single magic shake or pill. Your diet is your CURRENT LIFESTYLE. Every day I strive to reinvent the word diet – bring it back to its original meaning. I know that I can help you obtain this lifestyle and achieve your goals!
Let me help you reinvent your DIAITA!
