Getting Dairy Allergy Support While Conquering Emotional Eating & Weight Loss: Jean’s Story

Jean is a busy professional who often travels for work, with corporate dinners at restaurants making up the bulk of her meals for long stretches of time. When she found out she had a dairy allergy, she knew she needed extra support navigating her new dietary needs—especially when on the road without the flexibility of grocery shopping. Jean began working with Jessica Shapiro, RDN to address not only her dairy intolerance, but also long-standing challenges with weight and emotional eating. 

Read on to hear from Jean on how she found more balance in her life, and the amazing outcomes she achieved!

Challenges Lead to Opportunities

Why did learning of your dairy allergy lead you to seek support from an RD?

When I learned I was dairy-intolerant, I realized that involved eliminating a whole food group—and an entire source of nutrients from my diet. I wanted to make sure I was getting guidance on how to manage this significant change in a smart way. Cooking at home is something I love, so making substitutions in my diet there was more straightforward, but traveling for work so frequently means I often eat out at restaurants. I also was looking for tactics and strategies to help me make healthy decisions and navigate my food intolerances while traveling. 

What was your relationship with food and your body like prior to working with an RD?

I have had a negative relationship with food for the past 20 years of my life. As an emotional eater, I often used food as a reward for difficult and stressful days and situations. I would then feel ashamed of eating so poorly when I knew better, especially as my weight increased, yet I still turned to food as a source of comfort. My body also seemed to crave the sugar, caffeine and fat I so regularly gave it. It ultimately became a vicious cycle of eating unhealthily, followed by those feelings of shame. 

In terms of my body, I’ve probably struggled with my weight since my early twenties. I was diagnosed with PCOS in college, which has made controlling my weight even more difficult. For a while, I was stuck in a yo-yo cycle of dieting then gaining the weight back. Not liking the way I looked or felt affected my self-esteem, and I realized I needed to work on my mindset, in addition to my habits around food. 

Working with a Culina Health Registered Dietitian

What strategies did you and Jessica come up with to meet your goals?

We knew that my care plan had to go beyond just food. Instead, I had to really focus on building healthy habits across the board. I actually used a habit tracker to stay on top of my goals, which included:

• Eliminating dairy from my diet
• Eating fruit once a day
• Eating vegetables once a day
• Getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night
• Walking 10,000 steps per day
• Reading for 60 minutes each day—this may seem weird, but a trigger habit for me is binge-watching TV which always leads to unnecessary snacking.

Once I settled into these habits, and after learning more about what my body needed (such as identifying a gluten allergy and struggling with GERD) I also decided to eliminate gluten, sugar, and processed foods from my diet. I also quit caffeine—this was a big one for me, as I was a huge coffee drinker. Jessica helped guide me through the more difficult parts—for example, making a cheese omelet for breakfast is one of my favorite things. Jessica recommended a dairy-free cheddar that tastes so good, and allows me to enjoy one of my favorite homecooked meals in a way that honors my new dietary needs.

What were some learnings from implementing your new habits?

I learned that I had to reorganize my daily habits, and even my environment, in order to be successful. Simple things, like buying a beautiful bowl so that my fruit was easily accessible and so I saw it daily on my kitchen counter, making me more likely to reach for that as a snack, versus something packaged. Scheduling time each day for a walk which I allowed to be anytime I had a break from work. I used to stress myself out that my exercise had to happen in the morning because I would be too tired later in the day. I worked to change this mindset by getting out for my walk whenever I had a free hour during the day. This allowed me to engrain the habit while working with the realities of my working schedule. 

What were some of the challenges you encountered on this journey, and how did you cope with them?

I knew my busy travel schedule was going to make it difficult to stick to my healthy habits, but I was incredibly committed. In preparation for eating out at restaurants during work trips (and going to social meals out with my friends) Jessica helped me learn how to look for “hidden dairy” on restaurant menus, as well as the right questions to ask servers when ordering at a restaurant. She also taught me so much about healthy snacks I can pack with me for long travel days, and how those will keep me satiated. 

On the emotional side, I think the biggest challenge is that you need to really allow yourself to be vulnerable. Food isn’t just food. For many of us it is a mindset and often an unhealthy relationship. You have to be willing to accept the mistakes you have made in the past and commit to changing your behavior in the future. The biggest challenge people don’t realize is that in order to be healthy it’s not just changing your diet and exercise which are important, but really looking at your mindset and daily habits and systems you have in place that either help or hinder your journey. 

What was surprising to you during your nutrition care journey?

How changing small habits daily can have such a huge impact over time. Tracking those small habits each day was very motivating and inspired me to change habits beyond food and diet such as my financial spending. It really made me look at the choices I make across my life very holistically to make better choices for all aspects of my life—nutrition, exercise, finances, self care. If you feel good about these other areas of your life, that also helps you stay on track with your nutrition goals, especially as an emotional eater. 

Results and Achievements

Since working with an RD, what changes to your health and labs have occurred?

Cholesterol:I have always struggled with high cholesterol and after going dairy-free, my cholesterol numbers improved significantly.

A1C: I have also struggled with my A1C being within pre-diabetic range, which is scary since diabetes runs on my mothers side. My A1C is now lower and not even bordering the prediabetic range. 

Weight: Within three months of eliminating dairy, sugar, and processed foods, I had lost 30 pounds which was not only motivating, but showed how much my unhealthy eating habits were sabotaging my health. Since the spring, I’m down 35 pounds total and continue to lose weight. I am now within 20 pounds of my goal weight, a goal I had the negative mindset of believing I could never achieve. I am fitting into clothes I could not wear for years and I have so much more energy when I exercise. 

Energy: Since beginning this journey, I am sleeping better, I feel better throughout the day with more energy, and no crashes from coming down off my morning coffee.

Overall, I’m excited to see how my diet of whole foods the past few months will affect my upcoming bloodwork at my annual physical in January. I’m hopeful my cholesterol numbers will have improved even more and I’m hopeful I will have an even lower A1C. I used to hold the mindset that my weight was just a fact of life and these results have shown that I am in control of my health.

What types of changes to your life and mindset have occurred since working with an RD? 

Eating healthy and exercising daily are now a part of my everyday routine, so ingrained that I don’t even think about it anymore. I’ve increased my walking from 3 miles daily up to 6 miles and have increased my pace from 19 minutes per mile to 16 minutes per mile for all 6 miles. I have also started strength training at the gym. Now I look for additional ways to live a healthy lifestyle and deal with stress with an emphasis on getting enough sleep, eating whole healthy foods and moving my body. I don’t reward myself with food anymore. Instead, the reward is feeling good physically, mentally and emotionally. I even rediscovered my love for fruits and vegetables, and as I ate healthier my body craved the sweets less. 

What would you say to others who might be considering a journey with nutrition? 

We all owe it to ourselves to take the best care of the one body that we have. I believe people should consider their journey with nutrition to be a lifestyle change and be open to changing negative and preconceived notions about themselves. I think they need to allow themselves to be vulnerable so their nutritionist can help them to overcome their unhealthy habits and mindsets. The journey is challenging as you make difficult choices, but the end results are so worth it when your physical, mental and emotional health become stronger by putting yourself and your health first.

Hear Directly From Jessica Shapiro, RDN

What was it like working with Jean on her health goals?

Jean is a truly dedicated and resilient individual who has achieved remarkable success through consistent effort and unwavering commitment to her health. Since starting our journey together, Jean has been navigating multiple health issues whilst developing healthier habits and behaviors at home, and even maintaining them while traveling for work. Some of the lifestyle habits and behaviors that Jean regularly engages in include participating in regular physical activity, making healthier food choices inside and outside out of the home, improving her sleep hygiene for better quality sleep, and focusing on self-care by reading more books. And, believe it or not, this is not an exhaustive list! Jean can inspire others with her journey and demonstrate that sustainable, healthy living is possible through perseverance, and willingness to embrace positive changes in one’s lifestyle.

How can other people get similar support on their own health journeys?

Whether someone is looking for help navigating dietary restrictions, health issues, or just want to develop healthier habits they can sustain for life, book a session with a Culina Health RD today. Our diverse team of providers speak different languages, come from different cultures, have different specialties, and are based in different locations—this allows us to match our patients based on the provider who will best understand them and their needs. Plus, Culina Health is in-network with most major insurance providers, and many of our patients pay as little as $0 out of pocket! There’s really no reason not to.