Meet Danielle Southern, MS, RD, LD | Registered Dietitian and Certified Running Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Southern, MS, RD, LD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
After officially becoming a dietitian, there are typically three routes to take: community nutrition, clinical nutrition, or foodservice. For the majority of my career, I took the clinical route. While I enjoyed the challenge of calculating tube feeding rates and feeling like I really made a difference for some patients, the majority of the time, I felt stagnant. There was not long term follow up for most patients to see their progress, and patients frequently did not want to talk about nutrition during that vulnerable time. There was also a lot of weight stigma and shaming in the medical field, where body mass index (BMI) is a key indicator of health, and some disease states are attributed solely on someone’s weight. I created my practice to increase access to respectful, compassionate care regardless of body size. I wanted a space where people could share their nutrition and health concerns without fear of judgement.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
After graduating and becoming a dietitian, I took a non-traditional path where most of my jobs were temporary contract jobs. In a span of 3 years, I had more than 5 jobs. It did not provide a lot of stability, but it taught me to be flexible, and I learned that skills from different roles can overlap. For instance, I am now able to combine clinical knowledge with motivational interviewing to enhance client sessions and ensure they receive effective care. Having all of those roles also taught me what I like and don’t like about running a nutrition practice. Dietitians are often thought of as the food police, and that is not what I wanted. My practice is different because I don’t preach weight loss, which is what is usually expected of us. Diet culture is ingrained in us, and I want to help people break free from food rules and restrictions. Teaching people to make peace with what they eat in a world of diets and demonization of foods can lead them to living a more fulfilling life by enjoying their food and leaving them with the energy to thrive in the other areas of their lives.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
That’s one thing I love about living OTP: it’s 30-60 minutes from so many great attractions. As a nutrition nerd, I usually plan trips around the food, so we would go to many different restaurants. I also love running races, so of course I would try to convince them to start the day with a 5K race. Afterwards, breakfast would be Honeysuckle Biscuits and Bakery in Downtown Kennesaw. For a good dose of Atlanta nostalgia, we would check out the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola. Lunch would hands down be tacos from Taqueria Del Sol at Howell Mill. After shopping and walking around, we would then refuel at the midtown Café Intermezzo for some of the best cheesecake and coffee (peanut butter mocha for me). Later on, hanging out at the Battery and watching a Braves game is a must.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wish I didn’t have to narrow it down because there are so many people who have guided and supported me! My family has always been there to listen and give advice, and my husband, Ryan, has supported me from the very first time I mentioned starting my own practice, years before it came to fruition. I also want to give a shout out to Bethany Wheeler, who is another dietitian. She has been with me since the start of my dietetics journey, before I had even chosen dietetics program. She has answered so many of my questions and has helped shape what kind of dietitian I want to be.

Website: southernnutrition.org

Instagram: traveling_nutrition

Image Credits
Ryan Southern, Caitlin Johnson