Why I Became a Nutritionist

I still remember it like it was yesterday. 

My then boyfriend (now husband), Miguel, walked up to me at No Frills, where I was working on cash. (Side note: This was where we met many moons ago… he was the grocery manager and I was a cashier. Cute.)

Anyway, he came up and told me there was a girl doing a demo down by the bread bin, and they had gotten into a pretty interesting conversation (well, he knew it would be interesting to me). I can always rely on his outgoing self to strike up a conversation with anyone and everyone about, well, anything and everything.

So he told me that I had to talk to this girl, that she was attending a school that sounded right up my alley. Hmm, okay!

Off I went to chat her up and I am SO GLAD I did.

She told me all about this school called the Institute of Holistic Nutrition; she was a current student, and she loved it.

Hold. The. Phone. A nutrition school? To become a holistic nutritionist? To help people with their health by educating them about foods, nutrients, supplements and lifestyle upgrades?

HECK YES!

I went home that night, looked it up online, and applied. Yup, I sent in my application to a school mere hours after learning about its existence.

I knew, I just knew it was my calling, and that I would love it. And I did.

But it didn’t actually start there. 

The Actual Beginning

Let’s rewind a bit, right back to after I graduated high school. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do (I was 17, after all… how can you possibly know for sure?). I had always loved the idea of teaching, but I didn’t have enough “university level” classes to apply for university straight away; I’d have to attend college first with the plan to eventually transfer.

One thing that had come up for me a few times throughout high school was becoming an aesthetician, and I thought, hm that’d be fun! (This was actually the reason I didn’t think I needed the university level classes. Oops.)

Well, as it turns out, it was fun, a lot of fun.

But.

I needed something more. As much as I truly did love giving my clients an awesome spa experience, pampering them with pedicures, facials, massages and body treatments… I found that the conversations I had with them was actually my favourite part. These convos often got into health, and I loved sharing with them what little I knew then. (“Oh yeah, I’ve heard free-range chicken is better… yup, coconut oil is definitely the thing to eat… have you heard? Avocado is all the rage.”)

Ya know, those things that I would read in magazines or learn about at the health food store.

The Aha Moment

So, I knew in my bones there was something different out there for me, but I just wasn’t sure what. But I did know that I’d always had an interest in nutrition and health, and now I knew I loved passing on the info that I learned and chatting to anyone who would listen.

Enter demo girl during one of my shifts at No Frills (I kept working there well after becoming an aesthetician). I will always be grateful for our conversation (and Miguel’s outgoing personality which meant that obviously he would strike up a convo with her and find out where she was going to school).

But really, it was a chance meeting that was obviously meant to happen. After all, this is my life now and I. Freakin’. Love it.

How I Did It

After the school received my application, they contacted me to schedule an interview-slash-meeting with the founder, Elizabeth. She was this bright and vibrant personality with a huge smile and a warm disposition, and I immediately fell even more in love with my new school.

I signed up for the full-time program, which would have me attending classes four times per week. It meant that I’d be moving just over an hour away, living there during the week and coming home on the weekends. I started working at my local health food store (Goodness Me! natural food market) and would work there when I was home.

I absolutely loved that whole experience… learning and soaking in as much new information as I could during the week, and getting to use my newfound knowledge as I helped customers with their health questions on the weekends. I couldn’t believe that was an actual job I could have, helping people reduce undesired symptoms while greatly improving their health.

Today, the clients I get to work with are new (or newish) moms who want to know what to eat to have more energy so they can better enjoy motherhood AND how to fit it in to their already busy life. As a mom of two little girls myself, I love sharing my knowledge and experience with other mamas. My very first online course will be launching soon (yippee!), and in the meantime, I’d love for you, mama, to join my community in my private FB group.

The Bottom Line

I became a nutritionist because I realized the importance of eating well and treating the body the way it deserves (after all, it’s the only one we’ve got)… and I was literally itching to teach this to others. 

And thanks to some chance meeting (that was obvi meant to happen), I discovered the pathway I could take to get me there. 

Did you get into your career in a roundabout way? I’d love to hear about it! Let me know in the comments below.

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Laura Lima is a holistic nutritionist, stay-at-home mompreneur, wife to Hamilton Realtor, Miguel Lima, and mama to Cutest Babies Ever, Ellie and Maggie. (Ha.) She loves teaching people that focusing on real foods leads to feeling fantastic and having more energy so women can take on the many calls of mamahood (and life in general). She spends much of her time in her free Facebook group where she teaches how to do just that. Are you a new(ish) mama? She’d love for you to join her there.