Our featured dietitian for the month of November is Jessica A.
Wegener RD, CSSD, LMNT who is owner of Positive Nutrition of Omaha, LLC. She
works with athletes of all levels, from local clubs and high schools and
athletes at the university level to elite level swimming and gymnastics teams.
Her experience extends to those with disorder eating habits. Jessica is also
the nutrition consultant at Athletes Training Centers Sports Performance and
Physical Therapy in Omaha, Nebraska, and she is a sports nutrition guest lecturer
at the University of Omaha.
1. What is your
educational background and how long have you been an RD? Do you have any
additional credentials relevant to your position?
I
have been an RD for 15 years, I have a Bachelors in Nutritional Science and
completed my internship at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. I have had
my CSSD for 8 years.
2.
How did you achieve your position/ how did you get started with
your current position?
I started
this private practice four and a half years ago, while I was also working full
time at Offutt Air Force Base as the RD in the Health and Wellness Center. It
started as a small practice of only one day per week and quickly grew to now
four days per week with 40-50 athletes/clients per week and two to five group
educational talks per month.
3.
What key areas of knowledge/experiences did you need to have
before this job?
I
worked as collegiate sports nutrition graduate assistant the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, then went on the work as an RD at an eating disorder
treatment center in Chandler, Arizona. I then went on to work full time as the
RD at Offutt Air Force Base.
4.
What are the highs and lows of your position?
The
highs of my job are seeing athletes and clients recover from disordered eating
and how this enhances their ability to live a fulfilling life and improve their
sports performance. The lows are seeing clients struggle with their eating or
having to help them navigate nutrition during injury.
5.
What is a typical day for you?
I
typically conduct eight to ten nutrition counseling sessions with athletes and may
do a sports nutrition or corporate wellness lunch and learn. I spend time updating
therapists and parents on the progress of the athlete depending upon their age
and whether or not they have disordered eating habits. I also provide cooking
demos or sampling recipes for social media and the recipe of the week for my
practice.
6.
What advice would you share with an RD (or RD2be) that is
interested in a similar career path?
My
advice would be to make sure you spend some time working with veteran dietitians
and find a mentor to provide supervision for you if you plan to go into eating
disorder treatment.
8.
What is your greatest strength/weakness as a dietitian?
I
believe I am compassionate, but I can be straight forward with my
recommendations. I try to make sure my clients know that I do not expect them
to be perfect, but I do expect them to be honest. My weakness would be
navigating the new world of technology and social media outlets and keeping my
followers updated.
9.
What are some of your interests outside of work?
I enjoy cooking, sewing, art, kickboxing, snow
skiing. I also love anything I can do on the lake such as wakeboarding and
tubing, and of course, I love shopping and walking.
10.
What aspect of sports nutrition (or any other area of dietetics)
interested you to pursue it as a career?
I was a division I collegiate athlete myself,
which is why I became interested in sports nutrition. I had to opportunity to
do graduate work with veteran sports dietitians at University of Nebraska. This
helped me to see how much a difference we can make as sports dietitians.
11.
How do you deal with the daily stresses presented to you in your
career?
I try
to do some type of stress management techniques each day and focus on what
needs to be done daily vs. procrastinating.
12.
Prior to getting your credentials, did you have any experience in
nutrition (ie. food service, volunteering, etc.)?
I was
a graduate assistant at Husker Power performance nutrition program under Dave
Ellis. I also was a server for a catering company throughout college which
exposed me a little bit to the food industry.
13.
What do you love about your career/job?
I
love seeing people improve in their relationship with food and enhance their
sports performance by making nutritional changes. I love the relationships I
have with my clients and athletes and being able to connect, relate, and help
them make changes for optimal health and performance.
14.
Is there a course you took in undergrad or grad school that has
helped you in your current role?
Unfortunately, we did not have any training in
sports nutrition or eating disorders in college. I did learn a lot from Dave
Ellis while working at Husker Power and my supervisor Kim Guenther RD, CEDRD at
my first job as an eating disorder dietitian.
15.
What are some of the unique nutritional considerations you must
consider for the group(s) you work with?
I
have to find the balance between providing sports nutrition recommendations to
enhance performance while preventing triggers for disordered eating patterns. I
work a lot with aesthetic sports, creating a fine line between promoting sports
performance and fostering a healthy life, a healthy relationship with food, and
a healthy body image.
