Latest / Nutrition Connection by Dr. Kristen Hicks-Roof / 70: Stacey Woodson MS, RDN - ENTREPRENUER/MEDIA
Transcript
- Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Welcome back to the Nutrition Connection Podcast, the show where science meets storytelling. I'm your host, Dr. Kristen Hicksroof, dietitian, researcher, and lifelong advocate of the role of nutrition, health, and wellness. Each episode, I get a sit down with dietitians and nutrition experts all across the food and healthcare landscape, leaders whose work touches nearly every aspect of our lives. The views, thoughts, and comments on this podcast do not reflect those of my employer nor the employers of my guests. So let's go ahead and get connected. I'm really excited to bring on today's guest who is a somewhat new connection, but we found out before we start recording that we actually do know each other s through the mentorship program. So we have Stacy Woodson. She is a media dietitian and author, and she owns her own private practice, Stacy Woodson L L C. Welcome to the show, Stacy. Stacey Woodson: Thank you so much for having me. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: So I always love when I see names and I'm like, I know that name. I don't know where I know that name, but I know it. And then when we were talking, I was like, you were a mentor in our RD mentorship program. So thank you for being a mentor and giving back to the profession, because it really is so important to help to really guide and nurture that next generation of dietitians where we were years ago. I don't know when you started. Stacey Woodson: Yes. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: So let's Stacey Woodson: Yeah. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: bring it from the beginning though, Stacy. What really inspired you and made you want to become a nutrition professional? Stacey Woodson: So that's an interesting story and an interesting journey. I was actually interested in becoming a doctor and I was interviewing for medical school. And I read an article about nutrition. So I didn't know what dietitians were. Okay. I'm first generation college. I just, you know, had my my head down. I'm going to medical school. I want to help people. I want to improve people's health. And I read this article about nutrition. And specifically, what got me was about calories. Like I'd always cared about what I put in my body, but never really thought about like the quantity. And so this article mentioned calories, and it was never my intent to count calories, but I just became more mindful. And so I I started portioning what I was eating and I started losing weight, right? And significant a significant amount that people would walk up to me and be like, What are you doing? that and I had also graduated from undergrad. and I was working at the University of Pennsylvania. I l I live in Philadelphia. I was working at the University of Pennsylvania and parking is terrible, it's even worse now, but it was terrible and I was just like, I'm just gonna walk to work. So I would walk to work my Walk home a mile. So I was walking two miles and eating less food. Same food, just less food. And if I had to guess, I probably lost about 20 pounds. But once again, that Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Wow, that is a lot. Stacey Woodson: yeah. And I don't know exactly because once again it was never my intention. I wasn't I wasn't un unhappy with my size before. And that's when it clicked. I was like, this nutrition thing is like kind of big. and I can still do a lot of the thing same things that I wanted to do as a doctor. I can still see patients, I can still improve health outcomes. And I thought to myself, like, hmm, this is a lot cheaper and a lot shorter. If I don't like it, I can always go back to medical school. Medical school's not going anywhere, but my youth and my money are. So I found myself going back to school. And I are my original degree was in biology. So I ended up going to La Salle, which is also in Philadelphia, and just doing the classes that I needed to to be able to be eligible for internships. So I ended up with two bachelors, one in biology, one in in dietetics. And then I went on and did a coordinated master's program. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Now, do you feel like that biology background? I mean, you see that a lot for pre-med, right? It's biology, physiology, anatomy. Do you think the biology background would help you more in dietetics too? Or did was it really that article that like was that turning point? Stacey Woodson: I think it I definitely think it was was beneficial. Like I said, I probably had to take like maybe eight classes and I had a whole nother degree because I had so much of the sciences done already. the thing that I really stands out to biology that I had to do with my biology degree is all the stuff that I don't use right now, like zoology, plant fizz, like things like that. And I was just like, what is happening? But all the sciences, Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: It's funny. Stacey Woodson: the the organic chemistry, all that, you know, I would have had to take anyway. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Well, it's funny because I'm actually a double degree in nutrition and microbiology. And so I that's why I was curious because the microbiology side of me, I mean, I'm in research now. And I mean, I've been in research for a long time, but that really, that microbiology background really helps me to understand, you know, of the microbiome and the gut gut metabolism and like a lot of that. So I was curious if you saw some of the like learnings, but I see what you're saying. Like I remember my biology class and I'm like, how applicable is this to human health? I don't know. so so what kind of like, let's talk through your journey a little bit. What sort of positions have you held after you ended up deciding that you were gonna become a dietitian? What jobs have you held leading up to you starting your own company? Cause that is not easy, especially right out the gates. Stacey Woodson: Yes. So my very first job as a dietitian, I came back to this area and I worked in Horsham PA. In LA weight loss, the corporate office of LA weight loss, they buckled almost as soon as I got there. So I worked there for like five or six months. I really didn't enjoy it anyway, so I wasn't completely devastated. but during that time, I've always had my hands in all these different like things. That's one of the things I love about dietetics, it's it's so expansive. And like when I look back, I'm like, this this was just you doing what you do. But while I was working in the corporate office at LA Weight Loss. I also started doing some adjunct teaching at Gwen and Mercy University. So I did that for a few semesters. And then I got another full-time job as a dietitian in OB office. So with Drexel College of Medicine. So that was the job that I had the longest, like the full-time job that I had the longest traditional job as a dietitian. I actually had all of my kids why I work there. And then I was just like, I really kind of just want to be a mom. and so at this point, like once I had my first baby, I was just like, I can't teach anymore. It was it's too far from my house, and you know, time becomes valuable. So I was working there, and once I had my third baby, I left that job, did the stay-at-home mom thing for a while, and Meanwhile, I had been like dibbling and dabbling in entrepreneurship because of my children. So it first started off where my oldest daughter had eczema. And I'd always considered myself to like a product junkie. Like I would spend a lot of money on like going to Sephora and spend a lot of money on like products. And then I went down like this YouTube rabbit hole and I saw somebody making like body butter. and I decided to do it and make it for my daughter, and it worked amazing and I was just like well what else can I make and then I'm sure you can appreciate this what you put on your body matters just as much as what you put in your body. So then when I started thinking about that whole new lens I started making all this body care stuff and I was just making it for our house but then people were like you should sell it. And it wasn't until I started having multiple children that I'm like, I kind of need a side hustle. So that that was my first like kind of step towards entrepreneurship. I had a few other things that I ended up selling. and then my second daughter inspired me to write a children's book. So the the original children's book is called The Princess of Picky Eating, Tries New Foods, because she was just a very interesting eater. So I remember thinking I have multiple degrees in nutrition and I can't get my kid to eat. What are other people in the world experiencing? I should write a story about this. I didn't know how to write a story at the time, but eventually all those pieces fell into place. And so then I started like doing author visits and and things like that. that and I had always been doing like side gigs like I worked for this diabetes education company so we teach like diabetes education classes in a group setting on like Saturdays so we're still doing a little bit of that and I've always loved teaching like workshops and so you know I would do workshops every now and again lunch and learns and as I started to go back into like the kids started to get a little bit older and I wanted to do a little bit more I kind of just started like doing more of those things and like putting them together. So now I'm doing author visits and talking about nutrition to kids and now I'm doing garden workshops because I'd also in this time really started to garden. I'd never done that before and I absolutely loved it. And eventually I'm just like okay wait all these things kind of interconnect. and Instead of thinking them in in different categories, like what can I do to kind of mesh them all together? And that's where I came up with I am the earth-centered dietitian. Like all of my work points back to the earth. I'm a storyteller, so I love to tell the story of food from seed to how it ends up on your plate. And I do that in different ways. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Yeah, and you you remind me when you were talking in the beginning, it was like having kids brought out my like crunchy status. I was like, I found myself and I still I make my own laundry, so because you're right, Stacey Woodson: Yeah. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: it was kind of like you start to really look at things and you're like, what what is causing that? Right. And rather than the band-aid approach of, well, I'm just gonna take a medication to fix the problem. I my brain kind of thinks similar, like, well, what is the problem? Like, what is the trigger that is causing that reaction? Because my kids, I also, they also suffer with some eczema. And so I think it's just it's cool that, you know, in a women-dominated profession of nutrition, we can also still have our passions and things that we love doing. And s you can start small, right? Like with things that you enjoy doing that Help you and or your family, both personally and potentially financially. And then slowly it can turn into, you know, blossoming into something bigger. So I just think that's inspiring that you talk about that. And I just I related so much when you were talking about that because I've had my own little entrepreneur endeavors. I didn't think many dietitians are kind of this like wear many hats because we We love agriculture and we love food and we love helping people and we love to cook and we love to do photography and you know it's kind of like how do we do all these things at the same time rather than just choosing Stacey Woodson: Yeah. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: one? Stacey Woodson: Yep. So just throw all together. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: So talk to me about like what is your day to day look as a business owner. And I would love for you to talk because you had someone on your media team reach out to me to be on the podcast, which I would love. I know people who are interested in like getting agents and getting support to help landing gigs. So I would love to learn more about how do you manage and, you know, get some of your business with different companies. I just think that's really an interesting learning for people who are listening. Stacey Woodson: Yeah, so I will say I'm still a work in progress. but and every day looks so different. And that's one of the things that I love about what I do. Like when I wake up, who knows what's gonna happen. so I could see clients, I that's what I do the least of. but one-on-ones, I usually see maybe six a week, if that. So let's just think about yesterday. I was on a a radio show. I saw two clients. I had a in person meeting with health system locally about doing another food is medicine cohort, like a a program one that we had done. and I feel like I did one other thing. I gave a I gave a webinar in the evening to a group of early child care Educators. So like that's a example of like it really just depends on the day. Today is a lot more lax. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: And how do you and how do you navigate that? Because like some days will be busier than others. How do you manage that like personal workload? Stacey Woodson: and I actually want to weave in the question that you asked me before. So I do have a virtual assistant, and I've found that like all the outreach was really hard for me to keep up with if I'm like building, whether it's pitches or proposals. So I'm building it, then executing it. I'm just like, how do I have time to do outreach? So kind of outsourcing that. One of the things that's been insanely helpful for me is I still love a physical like planner. And I started thinking about what I need to do per week because I would do it like per day. Like I would be like, okay, I have these tasks, these are the things that I want to do. Then I would never get through my list and I would always feel defeated. So now I do a like every week I look at all the tasks that need to be done, whether they're urgent or just they would be nice. And I kind of put them in a A, B and C category. So A's are things like top priority must get done. B's are like they're they're important, but they don't have to be done this week. And then C's are like the dreams, like, I would love to sit down and think about this or I would love to And as they get knocked off, Bs become A's. C's might stay C's for a while. sometimes they might become B's. So that that is how I kind of found that I manage myself. And it works so much better because in the course of the week I know I can get certain things done opposed day-to-day. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: When I love that you talked about a virtual assistant, and I was curious if you did because when I've been working, you know, we've been running the RD mentorship program for like 10 years. It's just a free program. but oftentimes we've seen that the mentees actually get hired on as virtual assistants. and I've seen on LinkedIn and Facebook dietitian groups that people are often looking for virtual assistants. So if you are one of those high achievers or you have just so many different things going on. That is a great resource for you to be able to help to offset some of those responsibilities. So I really liked how you talked about that. And yeah, it's just really cool to say, like, I I kind of do my to-do list very similar. I start a new to-do list every two days, two or three days. Stacey Woodson: Mm-hmm. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: And then I just put everything I want to do. And then every two days, I just, you know, rewrite a new list. And I do that because I get personal satisfaction of crossing things off. Stacey Woodson: Yes. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: And so, like sometimes I'll be like, email this person. Like, I'll put it on my list. And then I'm like, okay, look, like I have so many things crossed off for today. but I think that's that's a tactic that's also work for me. so really cool. I love how the day-to-day is different. I know many people who are interested or maybe doing private practice media work, like every day is different, which is exciting for many people, but It's a little scary for some people, r right, like Stacey Woodson: Yeah. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: the consistency. Do you want to talk about that? Stacey Woodson: It it could be And so talking about like the scary and being able to maintain your income, that is why I still do one on ones to know that I have something. and I tried I try my best 'cause I also realize the older I get that I don't love transitions, which is really funny 'cause my days are sometimes just big transitions. But I try my best to to minimize transitions. Yesterday just happened to be one of those days where it just didn't didn't work out. But In my mind, like I have administrative days, so I'm just like, okay, I'm gonna handle all the administrative stuff on these days. And on these days are client days, and on these days, these are days where like I dream and I think of pitches and proposals and so in my mind that's what happens. It doesn't actually happen that way all the time, but I think that that is a nice way to think about it for people that do a lot of different things to kind of segment them so your brain isn't Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Well Stacey Woodson: always shifting. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: totally. And the transitions are hard. And I I see that a lot as a parent. Like when I transition from work to kids and then, you know, a lot of times I'll work on my podcast at night. And it's like that is it's a difficult transition to like get just get your mindset in it and like yeah, mentally, physically. So so how does you know, while you're doing so many different types of communication, whether that's a one-on-one or it's media or it's classes or it's programming, how does like science and evidence how is that part of your day to day? Stacey Woodson: So I this also gets written into my week and sometimes this Cs, but particularly if I have a a topic that I'm not so it's not like my thing that I do every day, I love to go and look at some of the research, right? Whether it's intend a webinar, like actually I have a webinar tonight I want to attend. I'm gonna be starting working with some expectant moms in the fall. So it was like, I want to brush up on that. Like I used to do it all the time when I worked in the OBG YN office, but so I love a good webinar. I love conferences. Actually I didn't mention that. I do a lot of speaking at conferences. so that's usually how I keep up to date. with with the research. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: That's awesome. Well, and I think if if people haven't heard, Beck McDorman, she was one of my per earlier guests. She does like a weekly CEU roundup with a bunch of free webinars. I love it. If you've never seen it, make sure you subscribe. It's her if you go to her episode, it's on there. but it's a free thing where you like there's webinars of all different types and styles. And if you're doing a webinar, you can send it to her and she'll put it on their listserv too. So it's a really good connection point. I always love to shout her out. so I'm I'm the same. I love attending webinars and I mean conferences are some of my favorite because I love talking with people, which is also why I love the podcast. so going to those in person events can really be meaningful. What you know, you've had a a very diverse career, I would say. Like you've had some of the clinical, and then now in your private practice, I mean. Which by the way, your website is beautiful when I was kind of scooping you out before you came on the show. which is a whole nother thing that you have to learn and do. but what's been your favorite or something you're most proud of so far in your career? Stacey Woodson: I think my favorite is weaving like agriculture into into the story. I love storytelling. I realized very early on that you can tell people what they should be eating or suggest, it's important but when they understand the story behind it there's this additional touch point and it makes it resonate with them. and so sometimes I call it it depending on the audience, but I always say, like, I want you to think about food like a a scientist, so like us. I want you to think about food like a chef, could be a home chef. And I want you to think about a a food like you were a farmer or a home gardener. Right. And so all of these things, you know, there's they're all have touch points to the food, but the way that they're thinking about it, the stories that they would tell about food are all very different. But also where do they where do they, you know, come together? And once you can start to see that, like, this is why we do fill in the blank. Like you see people's eyes like light up and now they're really invested and involved. So I love being able to storytell around food and get in the garden. I love telling people. One of my favorite things that I do is trying to get people to eat flowers. I I that is like if you're ever in the garden with me, I'm gonna find all the edible flowers and I'm gonna be like, please eat them, they're rich in antioxidants, and I'll tell you the story about why and all that. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: That's awesome. My friend Julie F Stefansky, who was also on the podcast in an earlier episode, she did a a news station segment on edible flowers. And I have, I mean, I love to garden too. I have never done that. And so she was talking about, and I watched the station. I always love watching what other people are doing, right? In the news and communications. And she talked about lavender. And so I actually bought lavender. At the grocery store and I started adding it to like the pancakes or some of our waters and stuff like that. And you're right, there is there's like a whole nother area. And maybe this is where your biology cu background comes in on botany and you know, really the interest in the systems of how we grow the food to nourish the human, to then go back into the ground to nourish the soil, right? Like it's like very cyclical. so I think that is really cool and I feel like there is the more you can show people and not just educate them. I think we get so so much education, right? Whether it's on social media or news or whatever. It's like, what if we did beyond educating? What if we gave them like practical skills? Like we taught them how to use a knife. We taught them how to create a planting schedule. We work with them. on planting a garden. Like what if your sessions were actually practice based versus just knowledge? and I was just, you know, earlier this year I wrote a whole, you know, write-up after American Society for Nutrition conference on on like immersion and how we can do better in taking science, which is really complex, and like stop just giving people knowledge. Cause knowledge does not change behaviors. We know that. Stacey Woodson: You know. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Right. And so like how do you do that? I mean, you said like storytelling is really key, but how do you also link that in like you talked about your food as medicine workshops? Like, how do you link the knowledge to behavior change? Stacey Woodson: So I think the story that pops into my mind when as you were talking is I I don't even remember what herb it was, but let's just say we're talking about mint and we all know mint is great for relaxation and stomach related issues and we're in the garden setting. So I I do spend a lot of space in gardens, like teaching gardens, and so I also do garden programming, whether it's teaching people how to use what they've grown, or teaching people how to grow, whatever it is, I spent a lot of space in gardens and we were doing some type of programming and one of the attendees, she had come a little late, but we had harvested a a herb, boiled some water, and we were drinking our homemade tea. And so she's looking at it and she's just like, this is so good, but w like where's the tea? And we're like, It it's it's this. Like we're showing her like the green matter and she's like, No, no, no, the tea. Like the water is brown. Like, where is the tea that you use to make and it'll look We kept going over like this is it. And she it took so long for her to understand that when you boil the leaves, you're pulling out those clan plant compounds and then that is the tea that you were used to. But like when it finally clicked, you could see her be like, my gosh. So I love I love doing stuff like that. Or in Yeah. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Me too. Well, and to me, when I've done that, like when I was an educator, right? Like, yes, I could just teach at students all day. It barely goes anywhere, especially in the AI technology. But like, how do you actually teach them tangibly, right? Whether it's using their hands, it's cooking, it's like thinking about a patient that you would have to help with complexities or maybe lack of knowledge. And so yeah, I love that kind of thing because when you see that light bulb. It makes everything worth it. Even if you only helped one person and you're just like, that was it. Like that was the practice that now they'll go and change behavior because Stacey Woodson: Yeah. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: they were able to like they weren't just getting more information. Stacey Woodson: Right. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: So so you know, speaking of all the things that you do, what suggestions or tips would you have for someone who's interested in a career like yours, really balancing all these different types of activities from seeing patients to in the media to writing to pitching, so on and so forth? Stacey Woodson: Wow, that's a great question. I would definitely say get yourself a good mentor. because there's so many things that you have no idea that you don't know. And it'll make kind of transitioning from these different avenues so so much easier. I would also say You know, there's probably something that you love that you're just like, like it's just me. No, there's somebody else that will love it. Figure out how you can bring your passions into your practice. and just just keep going. Like as far as some as someone that sends out a ton of proposals, you're gonna get lots of no's. Celebrate the no's because that means you're you're just one step closer to your yeses. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Yeah. No, and I I think it's r it's a challenge, especially for people, you know, they hear stories of successful people in the media and that have their own practice and it's like, I wanna get there making, you know, six figures, but that doesn't happen right away. It takes a lot of grit. It takes a lot of putting yourself out there, saying yes to opportunities. Trying and trying and trying again, even though you may not even get an email back. Like I know it's really disheartening. And I think a lot of people, you kind of gotta brace yourself. And I think your tip of a mentor really comes into play there because that mentor can help to guide you and say, like, no, it this isn't this is a normal feeling. Like it's okay Stacey Woodson: Right. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: to have imposter syndrome. It's okay to feel like you've been rejected for the past month. Like it is okay to embrace those feelings. Because you're right, it's just right down the street is your next opportunity. So don't give Stacey Woodson: Absolutely. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: up on that. Okay, my favorite question, Stacey, I love to ask this with everyone. If you had a crystal ball, what do you think is coming next in nutrition? Stacey Woodson: Ooh. I think We are going to see definitely talking more about food as medicine, but specifically a focus on local food systems like farmers markets, and there'll be more dietitians and nutrition professionals really reaching out and making these these connections because the the public they don't know what's going on anymore with outbreaks and recalls and I see that being a big thing. I know here in Philadelphia we are. Trying to really have farmers markets be a big part of how people connect with their produce. so I think people are going to be interested. People are gonna be interested in growing their own food, people are gonna be interested in knowing their local farmers. and I continue to think people are getting more and more interested in using food as medicine. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: I I also see that momentum. My curiosity, and maybe you have an input here, is how do dietitians pull themselves a seat at the table? Right? Like there's a lot of programming happening at the community level with different entrepreneurial organizations, but how do dietitians get into the system? Like how did you get into the food is medicine programming that you're involved in? Did you have connections? Did they reach out to you? How do you think that dietitians can bridge that gap? Stacey Woodson: So I think once again I'm coming from like different lanes. Like so I got into this space because I am an urban grower. So I hang out with a lot of urban growers. So I'm just like, what's going on? Who's who's hosting what? And then from there, being able to be that credentialed expert, I'm just like, hey, if you ever need, you know, a workshop, if you ever need this, that's kind of where I started to build connections. But what I will tell you as somebody that is is an urban grower. Or urban farmer, if you will, small farmer. we love to talk about produce. So I would go to the farmer's market. I'd be like, hey, do you ever do farm tours? Like, I have clients that I would love to be able to bring and do a field trip, kind of like what we were just talking about, like that tangible stuff. going to community gardens, especially elders who have a little bit more time, they would love to chat with you. So I really think reaching out to your community, talking to people that are growing your food, find out where food is being grown, there's so many different opportunities. It's kind of where where I would start. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: I think your example of reaching out into them and saying, Hey, I am a credentials expert. If you're ever looking for maybe that's media or maybe that's a a spokesperson or maybe that's a, you know, a farm tour. I think that's a really good easy step that someone can take. because I used to teach this way back in my interprofessional research of like, it's so fascinating because in my interprofessional research I found that. Many health professionals on health teams don't know who dietitians are or what they do. And you know the biggest way to make that break that cycle, introduce yourself. Literally, Stacey Woodson: Exactly. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: hi, my name is Kristen. I'm the dietitian on your team. I can help with any nutrition services or medical nutrition therapy. Like, boom, it was a 10-second introduction, and you can do the same. at a far farmer's market with a grower, with you know, any audience that you want to talk to, introduce yourself. So I'm glad you said that because it happens across every niche and space in nutrition. I mean, I can't tell you how many brands or people that I brought on the podcast that are like, I just reached out to them and said, I'm a credential expert, like if you need need someone. And then all of a sudden it's a part time gig and then it's a full time gig and then it's speaking engagements. Stacey Woodson: Right. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: And So on and so forth. So Stacey Woodson: Yeah, or or sometimes it'll be not right now, and then they'll come back to you in two years. Right? 'Cause they they remember Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: yeah. Stacey Woodson: that inner introduction. Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN: Exactly. Yeah, the introduction can go so far. So thanks so much, Stacy, for coming on the show and sharing your story and really giving some awesome feedback and advice for people who are interested in kind of breaking into this space. So if you like the show, make sure you like, subscribe, leave a review. But most importantly, check out the next episode because every episode I bring on a different dietitian and nutrition expert to share their story and give you tips and advice on how to be successful.