Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Bonano.
Casey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorders, Intuitive Eating, and Health at Every Size. I graduated from Texas Christian University with a degree in Coordinated Dietetics, but going into college, I had no idea that I would be doing what I am doing today. I entered college as a Fashion Merchandising major. I spent two years pursuing that degree, and my heart was not in it. I knew I wanted to do something that had a more direct impact on people and science was always something I was interested in. I looked through TCU’s degrees and thought that nutrition looked interesting, specifically becoming a Registered Dietitian. I was worried about that amount of chemistry course, so I quickly moved on. During my second semester sophomore year I studied abroad in Florence Italy, and while I was there, I decided I needed to make the switch. I switched my major and began the journey, which included classes, but also internships. I hated just about every rotation during my internship, and I was beginning to think I made a huge mistake. My last rotation was with a private practice dietitian who specialized in eating disorder and intuitive eating. I loved this rotation and knew that’s ultimately what I wanted to do. At the time there were not a lot of jobs for dietitians in the field of eating disorders, so I graduated and got a job in clinical nutrition. After working for about a year and a half, I knew this was not ultimately my passion and reached out to my previous preceptor asking if she knew of any opportunities working with eating disorders. Luckily at the time, she was opening a treatment center. I began facilitating night and weekend nutrition groups and eventually she brought me on full time. After a couple of years, I moved to Dallas to work for another treatment center part time and opened my own private practice. I worked part-time for a couple of years while building my practice and eventually went full time on my own.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been relatively smooth, but with any journey, there are always ups and downs. During college, I expressed wanting to open my own practice and several times I was told it was unbelievably hard and that I would never make any money. Luckily my motivation and dreams where bigger than any naysayer. Someone will always tell you why you can’t do something, but if we listen to those people, no one would ever start some of the most brilliant companies out there. A lot of my journey was trial and error and figuring it out as you go. For anyone clinical, don’t let the business side of things scare you. I have learned everything I need to know about business from the real world, podcasts, blog posts, and colleagues. Reach out to those you admire in the field and ask for help, guidance, and support.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Dallas Nutritional Counseling story. Tell us more about the business.
I provide individual, group and family nutritional counseling. I am a CEDRD, which stands for certified eating disorder registered dietitian and I specialize in working with men and women suffering from eating disorders of all kind. My nutrition counseling utilizes an empathetic, Intuitive Eating and non-dieting approach to achieve long-term behavioral change and I work from a Health at Every Size mindset. I am in the business of helping women and men feel more confident in their own skin, no matter what they weigh. I am a body positive advocate and do all I can to draw attention to fat-phobia. So much of my work is about debunking and standing up against diet culture. I am a proud anti-diet dietitian, and I strive to provide the community with realistic nutrition, simple recipes and a bias-free approach to health through my blog and social media handles.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
My favorite book resources are Intuitive Eating, Body Kindness, and Health Food Junkie. My favorite podcasts are Food Psych, Don’t Salt my Game and The Body Love Project. I am a member of iaedp (international association of eating disorders professionals) and will be the president of the local chapter beginning in 2019. I am also a member of IFEDD (international federation of eating disorder dietitians). These organizations allow me to connect to amazing clinicians to learn from, ask questions, and gain support. The main app I use is Recovery Record, which is a great food journaling app that focuses on behavior more than calories or rigid nutrition.
Contact Info:
- Address: 16980 Dallas Parkway Suite 204 Dallas, Texas 75248
- Website: www.dallasnutritionalcounseling.com
- Phone: (817) 454-4801
- Email: caseybonano@gmail.com
- Instagram: dallasnutritionalcounseling
- Facebook: dallasnutritionalcounseling
- Twitter: caseybonanord
Image Credit:
Casey Bonano
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