Hi and welcome to the Real Life RD, I’m so happy you’re here!
I’m Robyn, a 27-year-old Registered Dietitian and Family Nurse Practitioner overly passionate about hormones and women. I eat cupcakes and kale and both are equally healthy.
In May 2014 I moved from Charlottesville, VA to New York City to begin a graduate nursing program at Columbia University. I graduated in December 2016 and am now finally combining my passion for nutrition with my nursing education to provide comprehensive healthcare to women {and men} of all life stages. If you’d like, you can read more about my journey back to school here and my decision to attend Columbia here!
I started this blog in October of 2012 as a way to gush about about my love for food and hoped people might read it. In a culture flooded with diet fads, unrealistic beauty expectations and irrational ideals of healthy, food has more commonly become the enemy and something to control. When really, we should be finding joy in food as a way to celebrate, love others, and nourish our bodies.
In August 2012, I also started a private nutrition consulting practice, Nutshell Nutrition, to reach more people and spread the message of eating more, not less, and enjoying every bite without shame or guilt. Eating, moving and living intuitively is the healthiest way to live, I ferociously believe that.
A few things you should know…
I wasn’t always where I’m at today. I’ve walked through disordered eating, hypothalamic amenorrhea, lots of crying, weight gain, my fair share of hangovers and many “oh man, I think I ate too much.” moments. Actually I still get some occasional hangovers, streams of tears and overshoot my hunger. It’s okay, I’m not perfect. So if you aren’t perfect either, you’re not alone.
I never thought I’d be working with women who have a disordered relationship with food or hormonal issues. But now I’m more than very passionate about it. I love helping women rediscover themselves apart from food and the scale.
I also am fascinated by the menstrual cycle and could talk to you about how amazing a woman’s body is for a long time. Like…we’d eat three meals together and still need to set up another time to chat. I’m super into helping women regain their period naturally.
I’m really into doughy bread & frosting. You can never eat either too frequently. If someone tells you different, they’re delusional.
I’m also really into Jesus. But I wasn’t until I was 24.
I’m not a superhuman and I don’t do all the things. Much of what I write about on this blog is rooted in my own personal experiences. I’m actually more of a hot mess, just learning as I go and writing about it along the way.
I really like early mornings, exaggerations, eating out, asking questions and anything that gives me an endorphin high – which could be running or eating an awesome burger + fries. And if you hang around me long enough I’ll probably ask you if you’ve seen my ____? I’m functionally disorganized.
Lastly, eat the cupcake. Because if you don’t, you’ll keep thinking about the cupcake and then end up eating five and then you’ll be mad at yourself. And feel guilt and shame. I know it’s complicated but what it boils down to is… Eat what satisfies you and then move on. Food is just food.