I love doing private nutrition counseling and lifestyle coaching with patients because it allows me to truly get a sense of what changes are going to work for you. This is such an important distinction. A cookie cutter plan simply does not work for everyone. We all have different health backgrounds, support systems, preferences in taste, time requirements, etc. Unless these are all taken into consideration, a life long diet and lifestyle change will not occur. It’s not so much about changing everything, but more about making the smallest changes for the biggest effect, while fitting it in and around your lifestyle. Your long term plan needs to make you feel good, get results, continue to support overall health, and be completely manageable.

Another major benefit to working privately is the ability to trouble shoot along the way, which leads to more timely success. Since everyone’s body and life situation is unique, different approaches may be used in a trial and error style to see what combination of changes works best. I primarily work with women between the ages of 30-60 who are struggling with weight loss, and often dealing with many other health issues that may include:

• Blood sugar management and Diabetes (both Types I and II)
• Heart Disease and high cholesterol
• Elevated blood pressure
• Autoimmune diseases including but not limited to Arthritis
• Digestive Disorders (IBS, Colitis, Gastritis, Crohn’s, Celiac, Heart Burn)
• Chronic Fatigue and fibromyalgia
• Food intolerances or allergies

My approach to helping people is holistic in nature. By looking at other aspects that affect health such as stress management, sleep quantity and quality, environmental toxins, exercise, and emotional balance, we can truly elicit lasting improvements from the inside out. My purpose is to get to the root cause of your symptoms and health issues, then fix them.  This approach often leads to uncovering issues that may be outside my scope of practice, and would be better suited for a specialist in that particular field. I work on identifying a need for other practitioners and provide trusted referrals if necessary.

My primary goal is to see your symptoms decrease and disappear, leaving you with a mind, body and spirit that is happy and healthy. Consults start with an in depth health history form, which you will fill out online. This information is sent to me before we meet. This allows me to be as prepared as possible, and gather any materials that will be helpful for you specifically. That may include research on my end, specific recipes or meal ideas, shopping lists, supplement information for your review, pertinent educational articles, etc.   Each person is so very different, which is why my approach always reflects what your particular needs and priorities are currently, and in the future. Often times, figuring out logistics of a food change is most important. I help map out strategies for clients who might have limited cooking knowledge, funds, time, and kitchen resources. Having a clear cut plan lends its self to long lasting change.  Together, we write down and prioritize a few changes to work on for the following week. You take a detailed copy so it’s crystal clear what you are working on each week.

Insurance Coverage 

I am currently contracted with:

• Non-Medicare Blue Cross Blue Shield (Indemnity, HMO Blue, and Blue Care)
• Tufts (Private Plan only)
• Harvard Pilgrim
• Fallon
• GIC
• UniCare
• United
• Cigna
• Health New England (including Mass Health HNE)

Please inquire for self-pay options.

Location for Nutrition Counseling

• Integrated Orthopedic Physical Therapy at 334 College St Amherst, MA 01002. Big white building located right behind Spirit Hause. About 1/2 mile outside of town.