Happy Tuesday Lovelies!

A few weeks ago, I got a wonderful note from a FABULOUS reader in North Carolina (my old stomping ground!)- and she mentioned that she was a nutritionist at East Carolina University.  The light bulb went off in my head – and I thought “How fun would it be to do an interview?!”.   Of course, the lovely Miss Courtney happily obliged – and here’s what we have for you – hope you enjoy!

Hi Courtney!

Allison (GDW): What made you want to get involved in the field of nutrition?

Courtney:  Well, I gained my freshman 30-40 when I came to college. I wasn’t very healthy in high school and I didn’t give it much thought. When I came to college, I carried those bad habits with me. I lived off campus and I ate out ALL the time. My freshman year was full of large portions, no physical activity, and A LOT of eating out of boredom. When I finally realized none of my pants were going to fit anymore, I decided to just start walking and magically the weight started to come off. This positive change caused a series of events that I suppose became my destiny. I started to care what I ate and then realized I really liked food and nutrition. I was one class away from finishing my chemistry degree and I realized this was not what I wanted to do with my life. I asked myself “What do you like? I screamed back at myself: “FOOD!!” I proceeded to march over to my advisors office, change my major, and stayed an extra year to finish my nutrition degree.

GDW: What is your FAVORITE part of your job?

Courtney: My favorite part of my job is definitely the one-on-one counseling with my eating disorder patients. This is definitely an area that some dietitians are not comfortable with, but I had WONDERFUL mentors that really helped me (and continue to help me) along the way. These patients are very challenging and you often take their struggles home with you at night, but when you get to see the recovery process and help someone build a healthy relationship with food-it is the best feeling in the world!!

GDW: Does being young in your field – help, or hinder your ability to influence others?

Courtney: I think it helps when actually working with the college students because they feel I am still young enough to relate with their barriers to eating healthy in college. However, I also work at a private practice a few nights a week and sometimes when I come out to greet the patients you can see the slight hesitation at first. You just have to win people over!!

GDW: What is your #1 favorite tip to give your students?

Courtney: I have a few things that I find myself saying in each session, especially if I am talking to a student about making general healthy changes. I am not a big counter of anything and most college students aren’t either so one of my top tips is always have a fruit or veggie at each meal or snack. This way there is no counting or asking “How many serving of fruits/veggies did I have today?” They just do it and they are better for it!! I also always describe healthy eating or a balanced plate using a simple 1/3 rule: 1/3 whole grain, 1/3 lean protein, 1/3 fruit or veggie. It’s easy and they can apply it in the dining halls. Another tip is exercise. I know most students think the dietitian is going to harp on food but I really push the exercise, especially for those trying to maintain a weight loss. I guess exercise would be my super food!!! (Referring to the question below!)

GDW: Is there one specific super food that you think is necessary in everyone’s diet?

Courtney: Geez, there are so many great foods and I know that every year a new wonder food emerges (Acai, goji berries etc.) and I am certainly not saying they aren’t fantastic, but I guess because of the population I work in, I feel that just having a daily intake of lots of fruits and veggies is the way to go. I like the idea of eating a variety of seasonal fruits and veggies. However, I do have my own personal love affair with dried cranberries and spinach so I push those off on as many takers as I can get!!

GDW: What do you think is the biggest “Health Misconception” out there?

Courtney: The stuff students tell me or ask me about nutrition never ceases to amaze me. As you can imagine I hear about all kinds of misconceptions, but I guess I will focus on dieting. I think a lot of people think that losing weight should be instantaneous or that going on the cabbage soup diet for 2 weeks will not only help them lose but also maintain the weight they lost. I guess we are such a society of give it to me now that we forget that weight loss is a process and a lifestyle change. This can be a really depressing concept for some students to grasp. They want me to give them the magic pill and unfortunately I just can’t do that. I often feel that I am telling them something they should already know when I talk about eating less processed fast food and more whole foods but they look at me like “Wait, I thought I was supposed to buy low fat cookies and not eat after 7pm to lose weight??” I guess getting people to realize that coming to see a dietitian doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to get put on another diet.

GDW:  What is your idea of a perfect meal?

Courtney: Wow, this is a really hard question! I of course love food, but to be honest I have a major sweet tooth so my mind immediately went to what I would want for dessert!! I would say that my perfect meal would definitely include a few things: #1 the company of my husband and my family, #2 fresh grown fruits and veggies from my parents/grandparents garden, #3 a big slice of my grandmother’s homemade chocolate cake. The entrée could be almost anything as long as I had that cake!!

GDW: Being that you work on a college campus – what are your thoughts on alcohol consumption/binge drinking?

Courtney: Well, from a dietary perspective, we know alcohol consumption is a major contributor to weight gain during the college years, but from a general health perspective it can be really damaging as well. I see a lot of students, generally those between 19-21, with really high triglyceride levels and out of whack liver enzymes and it is generally due to the case of beer they drink every night. I believe the old mantra, “Everything in moderation”. Alcohol is no exception to this.

GDW: What is your favorite work out?

Courtney: Running is definitely my favorite work out. As I mentioned earlier, I certainly wasn’t a track star in high school so I really only starting running a few years into college. I have to say it continues to kick my butt and I love it. I recently decided to start doing some races to keep me motivated!

GDW: Soy seems to be the most debated topic if food blogs right now – do you think soy is alright in limited amounts, or do you think it should be cut out entirely?

Courtney: Well, like I mentioned before, I know some foods are better than others and some foods have some controversy behind them, but when it comes to soy it would be hard for me to say to cut it out entirely. I have read quite a bit of research on soy and it is all very conflicting on both sides. Some say it causes cancer, some say it prevents it, some say it reduces cholesterol, some say it has no effect. Let me say this, my views on what I tell people they should or should not eat are really shaped by the populations that I have served. During my dietetic internship I worked with a very low income population and now I work with busy, poor college students with meal plans and students that have very unhealthy relationships with food. I have to pick and choose my battles carefully. My motto remains “All foods in moderation”

GDW: Do food blogs influence your job at all?

Courtney: They certainly do!! I keep a list of blogs that I read (yours included!) and I give it out to students. They are a great learning tool. I make sure to have a variety of blogs so that students can see that different eating styles and habits can be healthy. I also use the blogs to get recipe and meal ideas that I also pass on to students and many times as a recipe for our newsletter here at student health! I always give credit to a blog that I get a recipe or idea from in order to continue to pay it forward for the great information that circulates on the blogs. The blogs are also great for products that we don’t have in our area. (No whole foods or TJ’s in Greenville) I will often order them myself after seeing them on a blog and then recommend them to students.

GDW: Anything else you’d like to share with Green Dog Wine readers?

Courtney: Well, first let me say thank you for the opportunity to do this interview. I hope the readers enjoy it! Also, let me say that I am a young dietitian that loves the fact that nutrition is also a “young” science and I think we have so much more to discover about how we can use food to prevent disease and improve our quality of life. I love the fact that I am in a profession where I am challenged and continue to learn something new every day.

Thank you – Courtney! I really appreciate you taking the time to do this – and for sharing all this extremely valuable information!   The best part (wink wink) of chatting with Courtney – seeing pics of her precious pup – Lacy!

PRECIOUS!!!!! 

Doesn’t she make your heart just melt?!