Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Schultz.
Hi Dan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story started in 2012 while being a sophomore in high school. I was running cross country at the time while running in races, I started to get this strange idea that no eating could help me improve my performance… WRONG! Instead, I developed an eating disorder which got me to my lowest weight in my life. Good thing for a caring mother and a good team of professionals, I was able to start my journey of recovery. Before my eating disorder, veterinarian school was always on my front mind. Then after being in recovery and understanding that eating disorders were a very common thing in our country that no one talked about, I thought that I could do something within the eating disorder field. I just did not know what that looked like for me. Around this same time as my eating disorder diagnosis, my grandmother passed away. This is where things get interesting; my grandmother, after picking herself up after her and my grandfather divorced, she went back to school to become a dietetic technician. So, that was all she wrote; I knew that I could make an impact on the lives of people who struggled with disordered eating and eating disorders as a dietitian. I then got my bachelors in science from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and after graduating in 2018, moved to Dallas, TX, to get my masters in clinical nutrition. I now work as the sole dietitian for the University of Texas at Dallas and do consulting work in my spare time, all within the eating disorder field.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When it comes to my journey, it was not always a smooth ride. During undergraduate school, I was working 3 jobs and taking a full course load. I found myself as a junior in college relapsing back into my eating disorder because of all the stress and the unknowing of what my future held for me. I think I started to control the things that came natural for me; exercising and my food intake. I then was at my PCP for a checkup, and when they mentioned my weight, I was shocked and disheartened that I had let my ED sneak back into my life and the lives of the people around me, who started to get concerned again. I also started to feel like a fraud because how could I start to work with people with eating disorders while I still struggled with my recovery on a day-to-day basis. After a long time going back and forth and taking my nutrition courses, I decided to apply to get my master’s in nutrition out of the state for a change of scenery. As I started to slow down at my other jobs and focusing on my healing and school work, I decided to apply to the University of Texas Medical Center in Dallas, TX, to pursue my master’s in clinical nutrition. Once I was accepted into the program, recovery became very real to me as my life was lining up for me, and I took those feelings and thoughts and ran with them to Dallas where I have thrived and kept on recovering.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a dietitian specializing in eating disorders and disorder eating. I work in higher education as the sole dietitian at UTD, working with all kinds of students from young to old, to all sorts of different ethnicities. Working with this population of students has been an eye-opener for me and my professional career. I have been able to incorporate my knowledge of nutrition and or eating disorders and their culture and faith into ways to make my interactions with them client-centered, which is the most important job as a health professional in my opinion. I also think what sets me apart is the ability to provide active listening and different modalities to help my clients. By listening and building rapport, I gain knowledge of a particular situation that others may not catch on to. When this happens, Motivational interviewing is key to helping the client share their story without feeling judged. My office is a safe place for any and all my clients when they need a break from the real world. Also, I should mention that I am known as the no b*llsh*t dietitian aka the hard a*s. I absolutely love what I do, but in the field of mental health and eating disorders people’s lives are at risk, and I will not play around with that.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am a people person, and I love to make new and long-lasting connections with professionals in my field. Some of the best humans I know work alongside me helping people recover from eating disorders/disorder eating. I am always looking to help a family or friend in need with their eating disorder or disordered eating. There can be a stigma around mental health, eating disorders are not taboo, and we need to make sure we spread awareness not just on eating disorder awareness week (EDAW) but every day. Diet culture and societal norms will tell you what you can and cannot eat and how you should look without any repercussions of the lies they are spewing. I am always looking to connect to more members in the community who work in the mental health field, whether that is sharing clients or just getting coffee for a meet and greet. If you yourself or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or disorder eating or just if someone you know is confused and lost in their nutrition journey, feel free to contact me via email; dan@nourishedsoulcenter.com
Contact Info:
