Today, we’d like to introduce you to Esosa Osagiede.
Esosa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
How I got into dietetics is unconventional, for sure. I loved reading cookbooks, and I even had a book that explained the different vitamins and minerals in detail and how they were helpful to the body. I knew I didn’t want to be a chef, but I didn’t know of any other career that involved food science. My mother is a Registered Nurse, and one day, she came home and said, “You should look into being a dietitian. There are these women who walk around the hospital going into rooms educating people on diet and nutrition.” That was my senior year in high school, and I decided to take that route going into college. It wasn’t until I was a graduate student about to finish my master’s program that I met my first Black dietitian. While I was going through school and learning about the statistics and health disparities that affected Black and Brown communities, I noticed that the profession of dietetics, which could have the most profound effects on improving these health disparities, lacked diversity.
Becoming a dietitian was so much more than loving nutritional science and exploring how nutrition plays a role in the manifestation of disease; I was driven to change health disparities and truly focus on a community that has been overlooked for generations.
Now, as a Registered Dietitian, the foundation of my approach is changing my client’s mindset in order to change habits plus teaching how to incorporate and honor cultural foods and traditions.
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?
Smooth road? Ha. There were definitely some valleys and hills on that road, and it continues to be like that today. As I was going through school, being the ‘only’ in so many spaces felt daunting and isolating. I have even had a professor who was also in the school of dietetics try to persuade me to go a different route instead of becoming a dietitian. At that moment, I felt devastated, but as I look back today, it’s saddens me that a professor who is over the school of dietetics would do that knowing the lack of diversity in the field.
Plus, nutrition is such a nuanced area. Nutrition is a science that is always evolving, and we have to be abreast of the research. Nutrition is one part of it, but food and diet are different parts. When it comes to food and diet, there’s so much confusion and misconception about what’s healthy and what’s not. Even when I talk to people with different cultural backgrounds, they perceive food and diet differently. So, I must meet them where they are and break down their own misconceptions.
Through my work as a dietitian, I have had clients, who experience breakthroughs from family cycles and the clients who are not ready to do the work necessary to become confident in their food choices. It’s not because they don’t want it, but, dysfunction is comfortable while the unknown is scary. I love being a dietitian, but it definitely takes some thick skin, especially as an entrepreneur as well.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
I created the Nourished Mindset Academy because I’ve noticed a gap in nutrition education among women of color. They want to improve their labs, lose fat while gaining muscle, and feel confident in their food decisions. However, with all the misinformation about good nutrition, societal pressure to perform well in the workplace and at home, they are left with little support in changing their mindset around food. The foundation pillars of the Academy are discipline, mindset, confidence, and community. All four of these pillars are ingredients for long-term change. My goal for my clients when they leave my Academy is to become committed, consistent, and confident in their food choices and to be an example for their families and community.
What sets my program apart from other nutrition services are the frequent check-ins, emphasis on community, and the mindset approach. I truly believe that if we are not fostering a mindset that is based on abundance, all the nutrition education doesn’t matter.
While the Nourished Mindset Academy is a group program, my clients feel as if they received individual care from me throughout. I make sure to take the time to reach out to my clients on a one-on-one basis throughout the program to ensure that their personal needs are met. I have worked with a variety of clients in my academy with conditions such as diabetes, insulin resistance, weight-related issues, hypertension, PCOS, and those who have had bariatric surgery.
The honor code in my Academy is honest, open, and transparent. The community is all about keeping it H.O.T. because, without that, we cannot grow from where we are. The program is virtual, so I’m able to help people all over the country. And now, my Academy accepts insurance in certain states, which I am very excited about.
If this resonates with you, let’s connect! To find out more about the offered services, you can contact me at esosa@yourmelanateddietitian.com or go to https://msha.ke/melanated.dietitian.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I felt like I was a bit more ‘mature’ than my peers growing up. I liked to relax, engage outdoor activities, watch Adult Swim, and be in bed by 10:30 PM while people went out to party. I was and still am someone who spoke out when something wasn’t right and questioned social norms, even if it made others uncomfortable. I was pretty active in school; I was involved in choir, on the swim team, cheer team, and drill team, and even had a job for some spending money while in high school. I don’t need a lot of friends to have fun with, and I can easily do things I enjoy alone but, I was somewhat like a magnet for folks because they felt comfortable talking to me. Many people might assume I am an extrovert based on what they see me doing on social media, but I am an introvert. Being introverted doesn’t mean being shy; I just fill my cup in intimate spaces.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/melanated.dietitian
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your.melanated.dietitian/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YourMelanatedDietitian
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esosaosagiede/
