A Passion for Nutrition 

by Elaine Murphy, BA, CNC 

I have been in healthcare consulting for over 20 years.  Since the early 1980s I have been interested in nutrition, and in the 1990s I obtained my certifications as a Diet Counselor, Nutrition Educator and Nutrition Consultant from Bauman College. I specialize in health and nutrition education, particularly: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, menopause, weight management, and lifestyle modification.  

I’d like to share my own story, because it relates to who I have become and what has driven my passion for nutrition consulting.  I know that many women have grappled with the same issues. My interest in health began as an adolescent. In my mind’s eye I was just huge!  In reality, I was just a little, well “fluffy” as a good friend termed it. The problem was, the struggle with weight didn’t end until I was almost 40. I felt like I had two personalities; one addicted to large quantities of junk food, the other dieted all the time.  I also had some unrecognized emotional issues that exacerbated the problem.  In my struggle to lose weight, I even seriously considered taking up smoking! Talk about crazy thinking. 

Whereas one personality was addicted to junk food, the other personality was the “perfect” dieter, ate all the “right” foods, measured and weighed everything, counted every calorie, and exercised regularly. However, I never learned about balance.  It was “all or nothing” in my world.  And, it wasn’t about health, only appearance.  It takes some maturity to realize just how much health does matter.  

The good news is that it is hard to diet without learning a little about nutrition. For some reason I always felt better when I chose the “right foods.” Funny thing!  Years later, after having dealt with my emotional issues and realizing there was no magic pill, then and only then, was I finally able to maintain my weight in a more sane way and embrace healthy eating in its own right. I went beyond “dieting” nutrition and sought in-depth nutrition education to enhance health.  

Today, working with clients, I see the same patterns and all their variations over and over again…the same endless frustration, the desperation, the black and white relationship with food, the desire for the weight to be gone RIGHT NOW, and of course dealing with all the misinformation pedaled by the diet industry! This is why we named our company, Weigh To Health. Being overweight is an issue, yes, an issue that if not corrected may lead to heart disease, diabetes and a whole gamut of other related health conditions. Even in my earlier years, I thought that if I could succeed then others could do it too. As a Certified Nutrition Consultant, Certified Diet Counselor, and Certified Nutrition Educator, I am dedicated to helping others achieve their optimum in health.

Elaine can be reached at: WeighToHealth@hotmail.com 

It all Began, When…

By Lauren Walker, BA, CNC

Weight loss has always been an area of special interest to me. As a child, I was affected emotionally by the ramifications of being the “big” kid. As an adolescent, I kept my weight down by being active, although I was still stocky, and heavy.  At that self conscious age particularly, I was influenced by what my peers were thinking, or at least what I was imagining they were thinking.  

Nothing really changed until after college. I was living in Hawaii and not really knowing what to do with my BA in Psychology and more importantly, “what I wanted to do when I grew up.”  Then life handed me one huge challenge and my career in nutrition evolved from there.  While living on Maui, I was waitressing at two jobs and burning calories like crazy, which helped me keep my weight from getting out of control. Then I broke my back while jumping off a fifty foot waterfall! Confined to bed for several weeks and being alone most of my days, all the while being in pain, I ended up eating for comfort. And I ate for more comfort; all extra 30 pounds worth. The pounds really piled on after being so active then suddenly being literally horizontal 24/7.  Physically and emotionally I was hurting; and to top it all off I now had 30 pounds worth of extra weight.

When I realized that my emotional eating was getting out of control I decided right then and there to do something about it.  I wanted to lose the weight (once and for all) and I wanted to heal my body appropriately. I decided to educate myself on proper nutrition. The Zone Diet was popular then and I read the book by Dr. Sears. I got hooked on nutrition and all the body’s amazing biomechanics! The next thing I knew I was back at the book store buying all the fascinating nutrition books available. I had plenty of time to read, and I couldn’t put them down. I knew I finally had found my passion, and what I wanted to do with my life.  

I started eating whole foods, and took regular walks on the beautiful shores of Maui. Even though the weight was coming off, I was more focused on continuing to create a healthy lifestyle for myself.  Once my back was well enough, I initiated more rigorous physical activity and went back to work waiting tables. A few months later, I returned to the mainland and that is when I started school at Bauman College in Capitola, for my formal nutrition education.  My areas of expertise are weight management, digestion, and allergy control.

Today I see similar patterns of people gaining weight, not knowing how to make the right choices to fuel their bodies adequately, or eating for comfort, or for whatever reason. I can relate. I also see how this kind of lifestyle translates into so many of the numerous diseases that are killing us. By maintaining these unhealthy eating habits, we become the walking wounded by not operating in a state of optimum health and vibrancy.  This is why we named our company Weigh To Health. By eating healthfully, exercising our bodies and addressing our emotional needs adequately, we attain the optimum health we are meant to have. As a Certified Nutrition Consultant, Certified Diet Counselor, and Certified Nutrition Educator it is my aspiration to help others achieve their own optimum health.

Lauren can be reached at: WeighToHealth@gmail.com 

Read Elaine's weight loss blog on nutritiondata.com.  Click here!