From vegetable hater to food obsessed to balanced and thriving…
Hi, I’m Gillian
Currently, I’m healthy, happy and feel pretty good about my body… but it’s been a long road to get here. Until I was about 20 years old, I hated exercising, LOVED candy and soda, and refused to eat vegetables.
I had a pretty terrible relationship with food and my body growing up.
I was obsessed with snacks – the artificial, packaged, sugary snacks that are typical in an American household. However, since my family didn’t allow them at home, I would hoard them at friends houses… and hide my secret snack obsession from my family.
For years I genuinely HATED anything green, and my attempts at exercising lasted a few days, at best.
I had NO IDEA how to change my diet or start exercising in a way that I actually liked!
After a couple of years of heavy drinking and partying, my pants didn’t fit and I felt terrible.
In college, I finally started to change my habits, bit by bit. Slowly, I started incorporating more vegetables and less processed food into my diet and I added in a day or two at the gym. I stopped smoking, and reduced my alcohol intake. Little by little, I transformed my life, my body and my habits.
My issues with disordered eating
For most of my life, I was self conscious about my body. I wanted to look like ‘the pretty girls’ and I felt like if I was just skinnier or fitter, life would be better.
And then I got abs, and instead of BETTER, things got worse. Instead of all my insecurities going away, I was just MORE focused on my body than ever.
I was competing in Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit, and tracking macros VERY precisely. Though I saw the results I was originally looking for, I was also completely obsessed with weighing- both myself AND all the food I put in my mouth.
I went from loving eating out with friends and travelling, to stressing over hitting my macros perfectly, and obsessively weighing myself to make sure I was ‘on track’. Even though I knew exactly what to do in my nutrition, I was miserable and my body confidence was at an all time low.
Out of a stroke of luck, I was introduced to the concepts of Mindful and Intuitive Eating, and as I started to incorporate them into my own life, I also saw the impact they could have on the lives of my clients.
My style of coaching uses principles of motivational interviewing, intuitive and mindful eating, and a holistic coaching approach to changing your habits for good.
believe that YOU as the client should be involved in making decisions about your own body.
I started Bite Size Nutrition in 2016 to help women drop the struggle with food and their bodies, and finally eat in a way that supports their physical AND mental wellbeing.
My coaching journey
I started studying nutrition in 2011 with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, after graduating from UCSD with a degree in anthropology.
In 2016 I started Bite Size Nutrition, and have since participated in education courses and certifications ranging from sports nutrition to therapy techniques and motivational interviewing.
My coaching style combines nutrition science, psychology and mindfulness to help my clients get in touch with their bodies and transform their mindset and relationship with food.
Currently, I am certified as a Precision Nutrition L1 coach, an Institute for Integrative Nutrition health coach, a Level 3 CrossFit trainer, and I hold a certificate in Sports Nutrition from ANEF in Barcelona. I hold certificates in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy techniques and Motivational Interviewing. In 2022 I completed professional trainings on Body Image and Binge Eating.
With me, you’ll break your all or nothing patterns, and learn how to create balance in your eating habits.
What you can expect from Bite Size Nutrition
- Evidence backed nutrition, mindful eating and body image education.
- A framework for healthy eating that makes it EASIER, not harder.
- Tools to change your all or nothing mindset and improve self-talk.
- Ongoing support, communication and transparency.
- NO off limits foods, ‘bad’ foods or cheat meal mentality.
- A supportive community and a coach who actually LISTENS to you
- A coaching style that supports YOUR core values, priorities and life goals
- (Some of my clients say) a combination of nutrition coaching and LIFE coaching.
- Habit formation strategies and a framework for breaking old patterns with food + exercise FOR GOOD
Let's get started!
Professional Education
– 2022
– 2022
– 2021
– 2020
Sports Nutrition
2016 – 2017
ANEF BCN – Fitness Professionals Academy
L1 Certified Coach
2018
Precision Nutrition – Nutrition Academy
I have extensive experience as a CrossFit trainer ™, Kettlebells and Fitness Bootcamps programs for all levels
