Today we’d like to introduce you to Amani El Dada.
Hi Amani, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am Amani, Founder of Nutrilogic, LLC, a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian in Texas. Originally from Lebanon, a small, beautiful country in the Middle East, where food is a passion for all Lebanese; even tourists can swear by the Lebanese cuisine which inspired me to be a food lover.
After finishing my bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry in Lebanon, I found myself digging toward a new path to help people prevent and treat medical diseases, not from prescribing a pill but from changing their eating habits. I decided to do my master’s degree in nutrition: Dietetics and food service management. After completing 5 years of postgrad education and 1 year of comprehensive internship in clinical and food service management, I started working for a large hospital system in Lebanon in “food service” to discover that food service was not my niche. I started to rethink my real interest but what makes nutrition field special is that you can practice in different areas.
I had the opportunity to move to Saudi Arabia after I received an offer in one of the most luxurious and reputable hospitals in Riyadh to work as “clinical dietitian” in inpatient and outpatient settings. There, I started to find myself fitting in the dietitian career especially when working as outpatient in the weight management and bariatric center. I became known to public, I was invited to be a co-host in a morning show in Rotana FM, I did a nutrition show at the official Saudi Channel, and I was invited to lecture in many Saudi Universities. I was getting busier and busier. My schedule became fully booked in no time. In a matter of a year, I grew an Instagram page to hit over 20k followers. Ultimately, I was promoted to be the quality development officer for multiple bariatric centers in Saudi Arabia.
At that phase, I felt my dream became true, being successful as a dietitian, helping people understand the value of healthy eating habits, seeing the progress of my patients, and also getting the accreditation for the bariatric centers. Nothing but Bingo, right?
When I took the decision to move to Saudi Arabia my career was first, never thought about getting married at this phase of my life. I was blessed to meet at the same hospital someone special, charismatic, a junior doctor who just finished his internship and started working as an ER physician. When he proposed he said: I am a doctor, I have a long path to pursue, and my dream is to do my residency training in the United States.
At that moment I thought about my successful career in Saudi Arabia and my family in Lebanon who will need a 22-hour flight to see me. It was the hardest decision of my life but being in Love with that man made me say Yes without any doubt. We decided to restart our new journey together for a better career and a safe environment for our future family.
We were married and moved to United States in 2014 where he was accepted in a 3-year residency program in New York City. But me? I had to start from almost zero! by attempting to have my credentials accepted.
Fortunately, I was accepted to an accelerated dietetic internship program at City University of New York-Hunter College.
After 9 month of clinical and food service training under guidance of nutrition entrepreneurs and gurus in several NYC hospitals and sites, I passed the Registered Dietitian Exam and became finally registered Dietitian in U.S.
In 2017, my husband received his specialty medical boards. Our small family was blessed with 2 beautiful kids. We decided to move to Dallas, TX. I started my first job in Texas at Carrollton Springs, a psychiatric hospital in Dallas helping patients with medical nutrition therapy and eating disorder which was a total new experience for me.
In 2022, my career took a new turn. I felt it is the right time to start a new dream; to have my own private practice. I founded Nutrilogic, LLC.
Between Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the US, being exposed to different cultures for 12 years helped me to connect the dots, put the puzzle together and invent my way to better understanding the human body and brain! My goal is to help people sustain healthy lifestyle without deprivation (and yes you can eat sweets and carbs!!!), change their eating habits while using motivational interviewing techniques to help learn how to use food to fuel the bodies, empower people with the knowledge to manage medical conditions, and rebuild a healthier relationship with food.
Beside work, I enjoy cooking Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods for family and friends, traveling, and Shopping!!!
“Enjoying delicious food while staying in balance is my passion.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of my biggest challenges was being an established dietitian in a country and starting from ground level in a different country. Rebuilding a new career needs courage and resilience especially if you love that career. The greatest lesson I learned that is nothing is too late. Whatever your dream is, you can do it!
My road was never smooth but from every bump, I learned to be more patient and to be grateful for every successful step I made with the support of my beloved family and friends.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Nutrilogic Nutrition?
NutriLogic provide one-on-one individual counseling sessions and personalized plans to make sustainable dietary and lifestyle changes. Each session is tailored specifically to each patient and dedicated to empowering them to reach their goals!
Our approach is based on Intuitive Eating, Mediterranean Diet and Anti-Inflammatory Diet.
We accept major Insurances and Cash based patients.
We specialize in medical nutrition therapy of:
Weight Management
Diabetes
Pregnancy, Prenatal, Postpartum
Cardiovascular Disease
Food Allergies and Intolerances
Digestive Problems
Anemia
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Anorexia
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge Eating Disorder
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nutrilogicnutrition.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nutrilogic_by_amani/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dietitian.amani/
Image Credits
Nuvo snap photography
