So you want to be a nutrition student?

Today I’m about to get up close and personal with you. I’m going to tell you future nutrition students some things you might not want to hear. Some of the things I say may make you question yourself. But let me make myself 100% clear: despite everything I say today, I couldn’t be happier with my choice to become an RD. So yes, even when I lay out all my frustrations with this field, know that I am content with my choice because it feels 110% right.

Regardless, if you’re thinking about majoring in nutrition in college, considering becoming an RD, or if you’re already in nutrition and debating switching majors, this list might be something for you to take a peek at.

Ten Things You Should Know Before Becoming a Nutrition Student:

1. Everybody else thinks you’re “just studying food so how hard can that be?”
2. If you think you’ll “just be studying food” you might want to reconsider.
3. Justifying that nutrition is science is a daily occurrence.
4. It’s expensive. And I don’t mean just tuition expensive, I mean be prepared to dole out a lot of money between memberships to professional organizations, your internship, and random things your professors want you to have.
5. Oh yeah, that internship. 1200+ hours working for free and slowly dying for 10 months? Sounds fun.
6. Ooh did I mention how competitive this field is? The internship only matches about 50% of its applicants. Good luck! (<– Not sarcasm, I know a lot of you have submitted DICAS recently and I know you’re waiting on pins and needles, so really, good luck!)
7. If you’re becoming an RD (which you should if you want to do anything nutrition-related) get ready to sit for a tough credentialing exam after your internship.
8. All your friends will suddenly stop wanting to eat around you (possibly). Or, they will constantly be looking at your plate and dissecting what you’re eating. You’re a nutrition student and you’re having a cookie? *gasp*
9. This field is so vast it’s so hard to pick what direction you want to go in (which isn’t totally bad).
10. You will doubt yourself and your desire to follow this path. Stay strong because it will be worth it in the end, I promise.

I’m making nutrition sound like a pile of poo, but I promise it’s not. And maybe these don’t apply to every nutrition student out there, and maybe they won’t apply to you, but throughout my time these are some of the things I’ve encountered. Nutrition is a fascinating subject and it opens the doors to being able to help so many people. I don’t regret my choice for a second, but I do wish that I came into it more prepared than I was. Hopefully armed with this short list of sarcastic quips you feel a little bit more prepared for the journey you’re about to embark upon.

Have a wonderful week ya’ll.

❤

Life Update #1

It’s time to check in and take a little breather.

Hello everyone! I hope you had a splendid weekend full of the magnificent throes of autumn. Halloween’s coming up and it couldn’t be more exciting. Is it weird of me to say Halloween is one of my favorite holidays?

Anyways, all of this autumn excitement aside, I wanted to talk a little bit about what’s going on in my life and explain why I haven’t been showing up as much on social media sites (though I’m happy to say I’ve been fairly regular with my posts despite being super busy). But that’s just the thing, life has been super busy lately. Between taking four classes which are quite heavy in their workload, being the secretary of Nutrition Club, working as a nutrition graduate assistant in the wellness center, and balancing a social life, my life has been a hectic jumble.

With all of this going on I do feel like I haven’t been as much of a presence online, and for now it’s something that might remain simply because of my current schedule (though when I have an available minute I do make every effort to get on Instagram and like all the things). But don’t worry – I’m still here! I haven’t given up on this blog, I’ve simply been swamped with all my nutrition-related things and trying to set myself up on the best possible career path of my choosing (I think I’ve found what I want to do by the way).

So don’t you worry forksofnature readers, I’m still here I just may be a little bit quiet for awhile.

❤

Back to School Lunches (When You’re Cramped on Time)

It’s that time of year again: the schoolbooks, the paper and pens, and those packed lunches for your days!

Hello everybody! Wow, September has rolled around and we’re all quickly settling back into the school year (or maybe not so quickly :P). At the very least we’re entering my favorite time of year – fall! So in lieu of us heading back to the daily grind, especially to school, I thought I’d share some portable, easy lunches to have on hand.

Not all of us have the ability to take a thirty minute lunch break and enjoy an expertly crafted lunch with proper silverware. For some, like myself, you could very well have back-to-back classes during lunch and might only have a ten minute break before you rush off to another commitment. So, you think you only have two options:

1. Skip lunch and go hungry (boo, nobody likes that!)
2. Grab the easiest convenient snack which is not so health-friendly

Top 5 Tips to Avoid the Freshmen 15 (Because it is avoidable!)

You’ve all heard of it: the dreaded “freshmen-15”, but let’s talk about how it’s not a fate written in stone for all of you who are college-bound.

Hello friends! Did you have a wonderful weekend? I hope so! This weekend we were in full on move-in mode (for the last time ever until I get my own apartment somewhere which’ll be a whole different kind of scary/awesome experience altogether) and today I started classes back up! Mondays are super light for me so not too much to complain about really. Just some good ol’ Medical Nutrition Therapy I (maybe I’m a little terrified?).

So I know we’re in the midst of back-to-college season, and I know there are more than a few of you who have heard how challenging it can be to maintain healthy habits when you’re living anywhere but at home. Now this’ll be my sixth year in those circumstances, and while I’ve been living in an apartment for the last few, I did my fair share of time in a dorm room finding sustenance at a less-than-stellar dining hall (naturally it wasn’t until the first year I got an apartment my alma mater decided to step up their game). But, I digress. My point is I’ve been in your shoes and I know how difficult it can be.

Let me take you back to my senior year in high school where I had some unhealthy tendencies shying toward poor body image and overexercising (I have talked briefly about this in a previous post). After I was at my thinnest, I did put weight on in college and it’s taken me some time to find a happy medium. It wasn’t so much the dining hall meals that did me in, rather their dessert spreads, the cafe food on campus, snacking, ordering out, and maybe perhaps getting cookies and having them delivered at 12am (I’m not joking though – you seriously need to try out Insomnia Cookies if you’ve never had it). In the dining hall I got pretty sick of the food they were serving after awhile and ended up sustaining myself on made-to-order sandwiches (which I still sometimes crave haha), whole wheat pasta with Italian dressing, grilled chicken, cooked vegetables, and salads. The sad thing is, this is not a joke.

Let’s talk about how to avoid putting on the pounds and still manage to eat healthily in college, but remember to still take the time to enjoy the college experience because sometimes ordering cookies and midnight is a necessity (aka: studying for finals).

My journey as a nutrition student so far

This year has challenged me in ways I never encountered as a bio major at my undergrad, but I love it.

After all, what’s life without a little challenge right?