Almost two years ago one of the most crucial steps I made, once I started on this journey towards recovery, which I am still on, is that I began to regularly meet with a nutritionist. My trusted therapist recommended that I start visiting with Ryann Collins, a registered dietician and the founder/owner of NourishRX located in Beverly. Ryann is experienced with, and extremely knowledgable of, the issues that patients with eating disorders have and the treatment that they thus require. Prior to our first meeting I was petrified…I was unsure of what she would tell me in regard to how I would have to change my eating habits and also I feared that she would be judgmental of my restrictive and disordered food behaviors. I was so fragile during this time that I couldn’t grasp the possibility that a nutritionist could help me…I wasn’t really listening to anything at this time except for my ED thoughts, which ruled all. In all honesty a big part of me felt like I was too far gone and I could never have a normal relationship with food. However, much to my surprise, I hit it off right away with Ryann. She is such an intelligent and warm person and I could tell from the start that she really had my best interests at heart. She was not condescending at all and I knew right away that she had a ton of experience, along with the skill set, to deal with the sensitive and fragile states’ that eating disorder patients are in when they come to see her. I credit Ryann, along with the rest of my support team, with picking up the pieces I had shattered into and giving me much needed hope. My team pushed me in the right direction towards living a healthier and happier life in recovery and they are still here for me today. They are always in my corner, cheering me on even if I am having a rough time.

I want to share Ryann as a resource with all of you, whatever your struggles might be with nutrition, because she helped me so much. I constantly find myself repeating little phrases she told me when I am having a difficult time. The one I use the most is “fat in food does not equate to fat on the body.” For my own personal issues these words help me get through the meals and snacks that I find most overwhelming.

You can check out her website, like her Facebook page, and also follow her on Pinterest! She is truly an amazing professional and I can’t say enough good things about her and just how much she has helped me on my road to recovery 🙂