Meet Stacy O’Brien

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stacy O’Brien. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stacy below.

Stacy, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

First, I called a good friend who had already started her own private practice for nutrition counseling long before I was ready to start mine. She flat out said to me “you will make mistakes, but you’ll learn from it” She was completely right! I think I needed that permission to not know everything I MIGHT need to know.

Then, I prepared myself as best as I could. I met with other solo RD practitioners, researched the business side of things. If I could be confident I knew how to RUN my business then any doubt about knowledge would be the only worry. In this way it made the worry over imposter syndrome less overwhelming.
After that I just simply got started scheduling clients! I reminded myself that those initial clients were scheduling nutrition counseling appointments with me because they saw my qualifications for the job. Once I started working with clients the imposter syndrome started fading pretty quickly. Of course I didn’t know everything, and I still don’t! Who does?? But I am straightforward. If I don’t know the answer I won’t pretend otherwise. In the beginning I would even let clients know that I planned to consult with a mentor on their case.

The last thing that helped me to get over imposter syndrome was hiring a mentor on an as needed basis, 30-60 minutes at a time. By consulting with mentors I could not only learn something new, but I was often validated that thought process and recommendations were solid.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

In my private practice for nutrition counseling, I work one on one with my clients.

I help many clients with weight loss, lowering cholesterol levels, pre-diabetes, general wellness check-ins, lowering inflammation, migraines, etc. We look at more than just diet since other factors impact health. I always look at bloodwork results, sleep, stress, etc. Then I work on recommendations that will help a client to choose their goals each appointment. I look at everybody has a whole person- not compartmentalized pieces. So much is connected that we don’t even realize, but when we consider the whole picture more potential solutions come to light.

My specialty, however, is nutrition for gut health. This includes working with those that have Celiac Disease, IBS, SIBO, Parasites, Colitis, food sensitivities and more. I also help clients who have lots of aggravating GI symptoms (such as bloating, diarrhea, constipation, food sensitivities) but have no official diagnosis.
For the really difficult GI cases, I am really thorough, almost like a detective. I will ask a lot of questions to fully understand symptoms, diagnoses, goals, as well each client’s lifestyle. When we’re trying to figure out the source of GI symptoms, we’ll review all of the adverse symptoms occurring, not just the ones that led to the appointment! I can get so many clues when we look at the whole picture of somebody’s health. My goal for each initial assessment is to provide recommendations for the next step. When we can find the root of the GI problem, that’s where we can really get those key long term improvements.

When needed, I can order various tests for my clients (SIBO, stool testing to look at the gut microbiome, parasite testing, etc.). I also often recommend bloodwork that can be ordered by a client’s medical provider. There is often a test of some kind that hasn’t been done that proves really useful for a client, and if I can help provide that missing piece it truly is exciting.

I absolutely love helping people to meet their health goals because I know the value of health and nutrition. I also want my GI clients to feel better because I know firsthand how it feels to have food sensitivities, to have IBS type symptoms, to have SIBO! I even know what it’s like to be dismissed by doctors who can’t find anything wrong when I knew something was wrong. The relief at figuring out what is wrong so that it can be fixed is truly life changing. It is always bittersweet when a client no longer needs to book follow up appointments with me!

A lot of people with IBS are told to try a low FODMAP diet. And so I created my own affordable Low FODMAP course to help people with both phases of the low FODMAP diet. I created food lists, a 7 day sample menu, restaurant tips, and tools to help track the reintroduction process. This easy to follow course can be purchased directly on my website.

Potential clients are able to see my upcoming availability and book appointments straight from my website.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Be brave! It is never too late to make a change, whether that’s a change to your own health, diet, lifestyle, or a life change. I left a career I was not satisfied, returned to school and got a second bachelor’s degree. I’m so glad I took the plunge of quitting my career in finance to study nutrition. Since I have always been interested in nutrition and I knew I could make a positive impact in other people’s health, I knew it would be worth it.

Perseverance has served me well. It wasn’t easy to go back to school to study nutrition. It wasn’t easy to quit a traditional full time job and start my own practice. It wasn’t easy to make the jump into the functional or integrative nutrition world. But I persevered against all of the challenges that came my way and I am stronger for it. If you want something, remind yourself that you CAN do it!

Be prepared! Talk to others who are doing the thing you want to do. While you don’t need to follow somebody else’s path, there are usually bits of helpful information you can find that might apply to your own journey.
Learning about the potential paths will help you come up with your own questions to ask yourself and goals to set. Speaking to others and researching in advance can help you have a realistic expectation of results you can expect to have, how long it might take to reach your goal, and what resources might help you along the way.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I’m always looking for excellent mental health professionals and Gastroenterologists to network with!

I often recommend my clients seek therapy, or other form of support for mental health. With all clients I pay attention to clues that they may need to seek a mental health professional. The brain and the gut are connected! I value those professionals that understand this and can help my GI clients as I work with them to expand their diets, figure out what is going on, etc. It can be a long journey for some to resolve GI issues and extra support goes a long way.

I am always looking for Gastrointestinal doctors and related prescribing providers that understand the connection between nutrition and GI diagnoses. Often times clients get the best results when their medical provider sees the value added of working with me in conjunction with the medical provider.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sonutritiousllc.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonutritiousllc/

Image Credits

Dina Drew Duva (only for the 2 outdoor pictures of me)