Hi, if you don’t know me yet, my name is Chrissy, I am a university qualified holistic nutritionist who specialises in gut health and correcting vitamin and mineral deficiencies to restore health.
I run a clinic part time from home, I have my own little business. I have been practicing as a nutritionist for almost 2 years part-time and am in the process of growing my business now that all my kids are settled into school. As well as seeing clients, I work part-time on a clinical advisory board for a supplement company where I do a lot of research and writing. I am also slowly working on writing a book.
Some of the most frequently asked questions about my work are: what did I study, how did I get started in my career and what is a typical day like?
Firstly, I studied a short 12-week course on gut health with the university of Colorado to see if I was going to be cut out for studying again after having 3 little ones – a 4-year-old and 18 month old twins. I loved it, and so I went back to university to study a 3-year Bachelor of Food and Nutrition degree online in between looking after my children. Now, this is not a very holistic degree by any means, however I did learn a lot and by that stage I already had years of researching the scientific literature about natural healing, herbs, vitamins, minerals, heavy metals, parasites and detoxification under my belt. I had also made significant progress with my health when about 7 different doctors offered no solutions – just prescription band aids… including antidepressants. It might sound nerdy, but I was sick enough that delving into the research was my hobby. And I knew that my calling was to help others not only get healthier, but have more energy, motivation and inspiration to achieve their hopes and goals. Something many sick people cannot focus on because they are simply not well enough.
In the 3rd year of my degree I started listening to business and entrepreneur podcasts to help me get my business off the ground. I also talked to friends who run businesses and picked their brains on various things. I watched YouTube videos about the many things I didn’t know how to do. Because I have a marketing background, I had skills in building basic websites and SEO etc.
Daily Routine as a Holistic Nutritionist
Although my routine does vary, below is a rough outline of my daily routine. I have also included some of the products that I currently use or have used previously if you want to check them out, as I often get asked this. I’ve only used products from iherb and Amazon as they are accessible to everyone, I do get a small affiliate fee if you did decide to buy something, but you are of course charged the same price as usual.
If you are thinking about becoming a nutritionist, or have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below or email me and I will try my best to answer you.
Please note that not all my days look like this, this is closer to an ideal day for me.
Morning Routine
- Wake Up: I usually wake up at about 6am, I rarely use an alarm. On this day I got 7.5 hours of sleep.
- Hydration: I drink a glass of filtered water with a dash of apple cider vinegar to kickstart my digestion and microbiome, fight inflammation and rehydrate.
- Self-care: After a few stretches, I use my red light therapy dome for skin rejuvenation and to enhance my energy and circadian rhythm. I am 41 years old after all, so I need to make an extra effort to feel my best. After 20 minutes I hop straight into the shower and get ready.
- Skincare: I follow a simple skincare routine using low tox products. I wash my face with a gentle, natural cleanser at the moment I am using this one it’s really affordable with clean ingredients, then I apply the Ordinary zinc and niacinamide serum, which is also really affordable and my skin loves it. I then put on The Ordinary moisturiser. I do wear sunscreen if I know I am going to be out in the sun a lot. I chose a natural zinc one though, as many sunscreen does contain harmful ingredients. I then put on some make up including a mineral based foundation, mascara, and mineral based blush, I believe that healthy skin mainly starts from within, so that is where I spend most of my money – optimising my nutrient intake with supplements and a nutrient rich diet.
- Breakfast: I prepare a smoothie with organic spinach, frozen berries, banana, hemp seeds, coconut yoghurt, ice, water and a scoop of plant-based protein powder. I make enough for the kids too, I use a large family sized Nutribullet blender which gets a workout in our house. It’s a quick way to get essential nutrients and antioxidants on the go.
- Supplements: at the moment I am on a maintenance program so I take my Thorne Advanced Nutrients, Resveratrol complex for gut health and anti-aging support and soil based probiotics.
- School drop off: I get my 3 kids ready for school, do a quick tidy up, wipe down surfaces with a low tox cleaner such as this one, put a load of washing on, and drop the kids off at school.
- Exercise: Usually I exercise 3-4x a week. Today, I do a 40-minute session on the stationary bike, respond to emails, and get up to date with the latest health news and research. I then do 30 minutes of weights for my arms, legs and abs. Movement is essential for both physical and mental health.
Work & Afternoon
- Writing and research: I am on the clinical advisory board for a supplement company and consult part-time for them. I am also in the process of writing an e-book. Today I do research and writing in my part time job for 2 hours and spend 1 hour writing my book.
- Lunch: Today, it’s left-over brown rice and roast beef with some salad veggies and olives, and a olive oil and balsamic dressing. Afterwards I have a cup of chai tea with a bit of honey and a square of dark chocolate.
- Client Consultations: I have one client consultation booked in today, I spend about 15 minutes going through the client’s health history and test results and take some notes prior to the meeting. During the consultation we go through the their mineral and heavy metal status from a HTMA test and I ask them probing questions to get more information. I put together a specific personalised plan according to their nutrient status, goals, lifestyle and preferences. This person is really low in quite a few minerals and has signs of heavy metal accumulation. This is an online consultation with a client I have seen once before.
- Afternoon Snack: I have a handful of organic corn chips and guacamole with extra chilli from the garden.
- I then jump in the car to pick up the kids and then go to their tennis lesson.
Evening Routine
- Dinner: I like to prepare a nourishing dinner that the whole family will eat, tonight we have pan fried wild-caught coral trout fish, broccoli, asparagus, sweet potato chips and organic strawberries. I cook the fish with dill and squeeze fresh lemon on mine, the green veggies have some butter on them, the kids love broccoli with butter.
- Walk: I take the dog and the kids for a short walk around the neighbourhood after dinner.
- I quickly water the veggie patch, make sure the kids are all bathed and read them a book.
- Work: once the kids are in bed, I create an Instagram post, update a bit of SEO on my website and do some admin.
- Wind Down: Before I go to bed, I’m not going to lie, I like to do some scrolling on my phone. I fall asleep at 10:30pm.
So, there you have it, I am missing some bits, but thought it would bore you. I hope you found this information insightful.