Orlando Dietitian Megan Ware: Forget the Scale. Measure Confidence.

Megan Ware of Nutrition Awareness isn’t your average nutritionist. She won’t ask you to step on a scale. She won’t create a meal plan for you. And she certainly won’t encourage you to go on a diet.

Instead, Megan encourages you by asking about your confidence level and how food makes you feel. She guides you in making positive changes that will help you in the long run.

“The whole goal here is for you to be positive, comfortable in your own skin, and to be happy,” Megan said.

Studying Nutrition

Before Megan studied nutrition, she considered a completely different career path in college: serving as a senator. She grew up in a small town and attended Ohio State University.

Megan’s friends knew she was interested in nutrition. She always reviewed nutrition labels and played sports in high school, but she considered nutrition as a hobby.

 

 

As Megan ran marathons, she noticed her energy fluctuated. Her coach encouraged her to think about how the food she ate made her feel.

“That was the first time anyone related food to how you feel, to me,” Megan said.

Many kids, including Megan, ate something quick and easy between sports practice and games.

“There were days when I would eat nachos and a cookie, and by the time 4 o’clock came around, I wasn’t really energetic, and I didn’t have a good practice,” she said.

Megan’s mentality was, we’re born with our bodies, and that’s it. She later learned she could manipulate the body with nutrition, to improve her energy levels and muscle gain.

 

 

Fast-forward to her college years – Megan learned she could really make a career out of nutrition.

Her college counselor guided her in switching her major to focus on a nutrition program. “That was a good experience, figuring out that you actually can do this as a career.”

With the support of her counselor, her coach, and many more, Megan gained the confidence to turn her passion into a career.

Hospitals provided real-world experience

Now a registered dietitian nutritionist and licensed dietitian, Megan graduated with a bachelors of science degree in dietetics. Her internship at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing gave her hands-on learning, and she later worked with hospital patients at Florida Hospital Orlando.

Megan loved working in different areas within the hospital system. “Now I feel like I’m well-equipped to deal with that because you see everything in the hospital.”

She specialized in gastrointestinal disorders, such as stomach ulcers and digestive disorders, and this was a high priority job in the hospital. This area involves the nutritionists feeding patients, bypassing the stomach and going straight to the intestines.

“I liked it because they need you there,” Megan said. “Nutritionists are required to nurse those patients back to health, and it’s a very carefully skilled job. Doctors look to nutritionists to take care of the patients, and they need the nutritionists.”

Moving forward in her career

While Megan enjoyed learning at the hospital, she yearned to accomplish more in the nutrition industry as time went on. “This is not going to excite me for very much longer. I needed a new challenge.”

Hospital patients asked Megan to continue treating them outside of the hospital. She eventually grew tired of saying “no,” and researched how to start her own business.

“After that, I just stopped saying no to people.”

 

 

Since Megan didn’t have an office at the time, she met clients in person, in public places. She interviewed clients to learn about their lifestyles and guided them in their nutrition goals.

Megan bought the website domain for “Orlando dietitian,” formed her company Nutrition Awareness – a clever play on her last name – and built her clientele from there.

Growing a business around the country.

Throughout the years, Megan and her now-fiance moved around the country for job-related reasons. From Orlando to Dallas, to Houston and back to Orlando, she supported her fiance, and brought her business with her.

She worked at a few different places during her travels – from a weight loss resort to waitressing, and working one-on-one with clients to educate them in nutrition.

“I met a lot of people just through being a waitress,” Megan said. “I built it up there, figured out the website, started taking classes online.”

 

 

Once they moved back to Orlando, Megan opened her own office to build strong client relationships. She asked her fiance to stay in the city for at least 5 years. “I need to not have to recreate…these relationships and these networks.”

Previous clients were easily transitioned to phone calls and video calls, while Megan guided other clients get to a point where they could take care of their own nutrition needs.

Building relationships face-to-face

Now with her permanent office, Megan enjoys meeting with clients in a place she’s made her own. “Once you get your own space…I can put up something that says, ‘Kale yeah,'” Megan laughed.

Megan enjoys helping people save money and spending time thinking about how food makes them feel. She reminds us that we don’t need $99 supplements – we have multi vitamins and information at our fingertips.

“It’s enticing for people to think that, that’s what’s going to work for me.”

Media advertisements, glossy before and after after photos might paint an unrealistic picture. “Dispelling nutrition myths is something I like doing.”

To stay consistent, Megan reminds clients about their goals with a conversational approach. When they talk about those goals, “[People] are more likely to hit those goals, more likely to be motivated.”

 

Forget the scale. Measure confidence.

Megan asks clients to rate their confidence level, checking in with them at different points in the nutrition programs. She holds them accountable by keeping the conversation going.

“I’m trying to teach people we’re not looking at a scale,” Megan said. “We’re looking at your energy levels, your sleep, your confidence level, how are you feeling.”

Eating less and exercising more is not the answer. This method equates to less energy and not enough calories to build muscle. Megan experienced this in her own nutrition journey because she wasn’t eating the right foods, and she didn’t feel good.

“That’s my favorite client to help them get out of that metabolic damage,” Megan said. “I was there. I know the science behind this, and I’ve been where you’ve been. You can get out of this.”

Setting realistic nutrition goals

Megan teaches us how food interacts with our bodies physically and mentally.

“It’s a different experience,” Megan said. “That’s why I think being in person gives people the ability to feel comfortable and share these things,”

If friends invite us to chow down on the best BBQ in town, Megan says go for it. She reminds us not to get wrapped up in the numbers on the scale, or the numbers on our clothing tags. That number is in our heads.

The mentality of “Once I get to this size…I’ll be happy” sets unrealistic expectations. Instead, Megan says, “Fit and size doesn’t matter – I’m enjoying life, I’m happy, I’m gonna go and have fun with friends and eat. It’s not worth it being one less size.”

 

 

“You losing weight isn’t going to get you to the point where you’re happy,” she reminds us.

Megan encourages us to look at the big picture of what’s going on our lives, our routines, and the people in our lives.

“I try to get [clients] to direct…instead of me saying, ‘do this, do this, do this,'” she said. “There’s a lot of mental counseling that’s happening. A lot of listening.”

Nutrition Awareness in the community

What does Megan look forward to in the future? Nutrition in the community. Megan wants to take nutrition on the road, biking to local venues to speak with the community. “I want people to still enjoy eating,” Megan said.

“I definitely get energy and those creative juices flowing being in a room with people that are interested in learning about that too.”

Megan says, “It’s not about being restricting yourself and me being the food police. I love it when it’s more about me serving as that expert to be a health and wellness ambassador in some way.”

Follow Megan’s journey and learn about her services on her website, Nutrition Awareness.