communityspotlight Balance by Nutrition by Beth Davis A
fter putting on weight throughout high school and struggling with her body image, Anna Kelske went on a mission to lose weight and start dieting. It was a decision that would impact her life in ways she never could have imag- ined, because what started out as dieting spiraled into an eating disorder. For nearly nine years, Kelske at- tended therapy and nutritional counseling to help her understand her relationship with food and it was not an easy road. “I became fixated on counting calories and obsessively exercising,” she says. “I would sometimes spend two hours on the tread- mill so that I would burn more calories than I had taken in that day.”
It wasn’t long before this obsession turned into bulimia, which she struggled with for seven years. She explains that her battles were literally just one obsession after the next. Fortu- nately, those battles are also ones that she has conquered. Now, Kelske wants to help others win their own battles. In January 2012, she launched Balance by Nutri- tion to help men and women reach both their health and nutritional goals—and build a better relationship with food. “Balance by Nutrition is not just about weight loss but more importantly about being held accountable and making bet- ter choices,” she notes. “I've found that the majority of us know what to eat, but being accountable everyday is the most challenging.”
Anna Kelske
With this in mind, she says it’s impor- tant for individuals to understand that she is not offering a quick fix. “It didn’t take a couple of months to gain the weight or acquire the bad habits, so you shouldn’t expect that significant changes will hap- pen overnight,” she explains. “You have to understand that weight loss doesn’t come without its peaks and valleys.” Each program begins with an initial consultation to understand a client’s health and wellness goals. Although each pro- gram is customized to the individual, five key steps are the core of Balance by Nutri- tion program.
The first is building the nutrition foun- dation, which is focused on cleaning out the non-nutrient calories by evaluating a person’s current diet and removing those food sources that are of little value. This,
too, doesn’t happen overnight. “The idea is to set realistic goals,” explains Kelske. “So maybe we start by simply reduc- ing how many bagels you eat per week rather than cutting them out completely.”
The next step is meal planning—what Kelske believes is the key to success. She helps individuals create healthy meal solutions specific for their needs. The third step is about building new habits and step four is about understanding how the body communicates and awareness in relation to food. The final step is focused on sustaining the new lifestyle clients have built.
To make it easier and more convenient, Balance by Nutrition offers online nutrition coaching along with weekly program design/weight management plans and check-ins. Kelske has found this system makes people more account- able. “We establish manageable goals each week and clients log in to record their results,” she says. “If they are strug- gling, we may decide to do some tweaking—it really is about working together.”
According to Kelske, by building unique and custom- ized programs specific for the needs of each individual, clients gain awareness about areas in their lives—emo- tional, physical and mental—that could be improved. She and her clients then work together to create an action- based plan that will lead to a new way of living—one that is happy, healthy and whole.
Our goal is maintenance and sustainability,” she states. “Once a person has mastered the first four phases of Balance by Nutrition, the goal is to keep up all of the habits they have learned so that they can build a life-long routine of eating well and living whole.”
Her own struggles have certainly given Kelske a unique perspective when it comes to helping her clients. “I know first-hand what it’s like to be an emotional eater,” she says. “But I also know what it’s like to be able to step outside of that. It’s freeing and gives you a new sense of self and a sense of living. To be able to give that to my clients is very rewarding.”
For more information, email
Anna@BalanceByNutrition.com or visit
BalanceByNutrition.com. See ad, page 23.
natural awakenings May 2012
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