Nancy's philosophy
Nancy finding a great spot for a good cup of decaf in Ireland.
Nancy King, founder of Your Life Nutrition, meets her clients where they’re at and views her relationships with her clients as a partnership where both parties have agency in the client’s nutrition journey. Additionally, Nancy values building relationships with her clients and allowing them to make their own discoveries that move them toward their nutrition goals.
Nancy recalls one client she worked with early on in her career, a young girl who’s Anorexia Nervosa pervaded all aspects of her life. Through their work together and extended contact throughout the client’s enrollment in inpatient care, Nancy learned that “logic has limited value when somebody is really struggling with mental and emotional barriers.” Nutritionists need to take steps with clients at the client’s pace, even if logic is suggesting that treatment should or could go faster. Ultimately, Nancy values that she was able to witness her client’s transformation into an adult, who, through recovery, was able to have her body, once paralyzed by an eating disorder, serve amazing functions, such as practicing medicine and birthing a healthy baby into the world.
In the years since working with that client, Nancy has become attuned to common thoughts and beliefs around healing one’s relationship with food. Nancy acknowledges that, “sometimes people are reluctant to ask for help because they don't see how anything could be any different... or, they don't want to be judged or feel less than. Sometimes it's a scary thing to change.” Especially when one believes that RDNs serve to give moral labels to food as a way to categorize what people should and shouldn’t eat.
That is simply not the case.
Nancy enjoying YLN’s dog-friendly office.
Instead, Nancy believes that RDNs serve to “take the morality out of food, the good bad, right wrong” and instead look at food as it's meant to be: “nourishing and enjoyable, connecting, and sometimes just fuel to get from one part of your day to the next, and that's okay too.”
Nancy believes it is essential to understand that, “it's not like, when you get your relationship with food, exercise and body size and shape solved you're going to be a more valuable human being. You are probably going to have greater mental bandwidth and energy to put towards other things that are important to you. But whether you are struggling in those areas or not, is not what makes you valuable.”
When clients work with Nancy it is not their value as a human being that is on the table; it is their ability to be a full participant in their life.
Click here to learn more about Nancy.