Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Hunt
Hi Jennifer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My mission and passion is to help women with PCOS and Prediabetes optimize nutrition, address the root cause of symptoms and eat with confidence. My career has taken some unexpected twists and turns but the spark that ignited my interest in food, nutrition, and wellness began when I was in high school. My mom decided to go back to school and finish her degree. For several years she was commuting to another city completing classes and she often wasn’t home in the evenings. As the oldest of three I helped my dad in sharing the mealtime responsibilities. I used the skills I knew and allowed creativity, the Food Network and practice to teach me the rest. During that time I fell in love with food- trying new foods, experimenting and learning the science of cooking. Not long after, I started working at a holistic healthcare practice. Those instrumental experiences along with some thought-provoking conversations with my parents and fascinating science courses in college made nutrition and dietetics sound like a really fun career to pursue.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman
I think that is what we are all after, right?! Finding the ‘thing’- the career, hobby, or side hustle that brings life to us and those we serve. We want to live with purpose, IN our purpose, serving others and have fun doing it. I don’t think we are trying to escape the hard but simply want to know that the hard we do is benefiting others and serving a purpose.
Registered Dietitian Nutritionists can work in dozens of different types of jobs and industries but from the beginning, after graduating with honors from Texas Christian University in Nutrition Sciences, I knew that I wanted to help women do three things:
1. Optimize her nutrition and live with vitality
2. Understand how her body works and come to appreciate the amazingness of her body
3. Eat with confidence, knowing that no matter what anyone else is eating, she knows how to eat & care for her body
I worked in private practice and outpatient settings for many early years of my career, serving adults, and even some teens. Those clients taught me so much- about empathy, effective counseling strategies and what good nutrition really looks like in the real world. These were moms and dads with kids that had weeknight sports practices in the middle of dinner time, busy professionals who had weekly catered work meetings, and teens who just wanted to fit in at school without drawing attention to their healthy sack lunch. Unknowingly, these clients forced me to toss out impractical, idyllic ideas of meal plans and get creative in the kitchen, figure out fast meal ideas & know my research so that I could recommend the nutrition strategies that would make the most impact.
We are complex beings. Our behaviors, daily patterns, environment, upbringing, taste preferences, cooking skills, family dynamics, stress resilience, current health, trauma and so much more impact what we eat and why we eat it. And even more factors influence our nutrition and health. What ‘healthy’ looks like for one person may look very different from someone else.
After having my first daughter nine years ago I stepped away from my outpatient job to nurture and love on our growing family. During these years at home I revived my love for cooking, recipe development and even created Curious Kids Cooking & Food Science Camp, a week-long summer cooking and food science adventure for elementary aged kids. Helping my kids and so many others establish a healthy curiosity about all types of whole foods and learning to care for their growing body has been incredibly satisfying and thrilling and to be honest, exhausting and fun! But doing some private practice work on the side, and becoming more educated in functional nutrition rekindled my interest in serving women- women who are looking for answers, want to uncover the root cause and aren’t satisfied with the only option being a medication.
Jennifer Hunt Nutrition, LLC is a virtual private practice that serves women with PCOS and Prediabetes to optimize nutrition, restore period and menstrual function, address metabolic dysfunction and elevated glucose, and give women more food and body confidence. We go deeper and uncover the root cause so that women don’t have to keep chasing temporary solutions. Some women reach out because they have elevated Hgb A1c or blood glucose or lab work, others are looking to restore their period, ovulation and improve fertility and other women are looking for guided nutrition support, healthy habit formation, and a clear nutrition voice in a sea of confusing messages. In all those situations and more, I feel honored and privileged to be invited into someone’s story, even if for a short time, to provide her with the support and nutrition she needs to thrive.
While women work with me for nutrition therapy, I am keenly aware that our months together are an opportunity for me to encourage her with my words. There is a proverb that says, “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose (Proverbs 18:21, MSG).” It’s not uncommon for women to feel tender or vulnerable about their relationship with food, eating, health & her body. In conversations, counseling sessions and messages, I get to speak encouragement and words of life.
Honored- that might be the best word to describe how I feel about the work I get to do. I feel humbled that God would give me the specific gifts He has and honored that women invite me in to serve them for a time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Becoming an entrepreneur and learning how to run a business has been one of hardest things I have ever done. Having gone to school for nutrition science, and not having any business, finance or marketing background, I often found myself lost and frustrated. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Maybe this comes easier for some, but for me it has been an arduous climb. However, the many times I have second-guessed my decision to become an entrepreneur and the moments of insecurity and vulnerability have helped me peel away layers of pride to come back to my heart-driven mission and purpose- to serve women who want to optimize their nutrition, address the root cause of their symptoms and eat with confidence.
There are several tools and resources that I have found along the way that have helped me learn to become a better business owner:
1. Community- Finding other dietitians & therapists that are also entrepreneurs has been incredibly helpful. These specific individuals understand the loneliness that can occur, the unanswered questions that pop up, the lack of an IT department to fix your computer issues and the responsibility we hold in carrying our entire business on our shoulders. I am personally also grateful for my brother-in-law, who also happens to be a business owner and has been such an encouragement to me in the last few years. There are always people in our circle who have knowledge and skills we don’t yet have- and maybe some of these people live under the same roof! My husband has taught me a lot about video production and helped me navigate website challenges.
2. SCORE- A nonprofit organization and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration that has a wealth of resources, webinars, templates and trainings on their website. They also have a mentorship program that I found valuable.
3. Walks- When I am feeling frustrated, stuck, or needing some fresh ideas, a walk outside always helps. I step back inside with a better mood and fresh perspective.
While this is so much easier to write than to live out, the perseverance, courage and grit I have developed through the years is invaluable. There is something about hardship, being stuck, getting stuck again, and experiencing pity parties that requires you to develop mental strength to claw your way back out- the path being lit by a glimmer of hope.
As you know, we’re big fans of Jennifer Hunt Nutrition, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Jennifer Hunt Nutrition, LLC is a virtual nutrition therapy private practice that serves women living with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and Prediabetes throughout the state of South Carolina.
My practice is dedicated to creating a results-driven plan for each individual but I am also committed to empowering women with education and answering her questions so she understands her body better.
Having worked in nutrition and wellness for many years, I am aware that food, diet and nutrition behaviors are connected to one’s mental and emotional health. We always make sure that the plan we create for our client supports her mental health, reduces food anxiety and avoids triggering language or practices so that she can re-establish a healthy relationship with food and her body.
Every woman has different goals and a unique nutrition story but many of my clients will lower health markers including Hemoglobin A1c, cholesterol, triglycerides and liver enzymes, regain their period and menstrual regularity, improve their relationship with food and develop food and lifestyle habits that actually work for her body and life.
It’s really fun to help women make small changes that have a big impact!
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Women interested in working together can set up a discovery call. This gives us fifteen minutes to get to know each other. During this call I get to hear a little bit about her story, frustrations and goals and she can learn more about what to expect from our nutrition therapy sessions and support in-between meetings.
Healthcare Providers and entrepreneurs interested in collaborating, creating a referral network and learning more about my business are welcome to email me. It’s a joy to meet more business owners in the Greenville and surrounding areas with a mission and heart to serve others.
jhunt.nutrition@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jenniferhuntnutrition.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer.hunt.nutrition
