Meet Stephanie Rome

We recently connected with Stephanie Rome and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My passion for supporting others to achieve optimal health was ignited by my own health struggles earlier in life. For a handful of years in my 20s, I experienced IBS and amenorrhea (which is the absence of a menstrual cycle). During that few year span, I worked with conventional doctors, as well as alternative and holistic practitioners. I even went to India and lived at an Ayurvedic panchakarma retreat center for a month! Ultimately, with the help of some wonderful holistic-minded clinicians, I was able to identify and then treat the root cause of my hormone and digestive issues using a “food as medicine” approach. I was so inspired by the power of nutrition and the body’s ability to heal itself that I decided to make a career pivot to become a holistic nutritionist and health coach so I could help others optimize their health and improve their lives like I did. I’ve been in practice for 10 years and worked with over 500 clients; I am grateful to feel so passionate about supporting others.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
As a holistic nutritionist, I provide personalized, one-on-one counseling to clients across the country to help them achieve their health goals through nutrition and lifestyle modifications. I work with all types of clients but specialize in women’s health – specifically, resolving hormonal imbalances, managing hormonal conditions, optimizing fertility, and supporting preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum health.

The most exciting and special part of my work is my clients’ success stories. I often have clients who come to me frustrated with the lack of options or solutions they’ve received elsewhere. Since I see a lot of women’s health concerns, this could be things like: being told she needs to take hormonal contraceptives to manage her “period problems” or PCOS symptoms, or being diagnosed with unexplained infertility but she wants to dig deeper for answers. It’s beyond exciting to have a client like this go on to conceive naturally, have a healthy pregnancy, and deliver a healthy baby!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Commitment, Curiosity and Healing Presence

I am deeply committed to supporting others with their health goals. Once I decided to become a nutritionist, I was all in on making it work. In the early days of starting my practice, I was pretty scrappy – doing anything I could to find clients and build a referral network. I feel grateful that my practice is now well established and I don’t have to do much marketing to maintain a steady stream of clients.

My curiosity is a quality that has been impactful on my journey, and it relates to my passion for this work. Even though I am no longer in school, I am still learning as much as I can and trying to stay on top of the current research in my field. My husband makes fun of me for having nutrition textbooks on my nightstand to read before bed!

I believe I have a skill for developing a healing presence with my clients. In college I chose to study psychology; understanding and influencing how people think has always been of interest. How I make my clients feel (e.g. supported, empowered, confident, hopeful, etc.) is a crucial part of catalyzing behavior change and achieving health goals.

The advice I have for practitioners early in their journey is to not let things stand in the way of getting yourself to where you want to be. Starting a private practice from scratch is challenging, but overcoming obstacles will make you stronger and more resolute in your purpose. This work is so rewarding – it’s totally worth it!

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
My ideal client is someone who is truly ready to do the work to change their health (and their life!). Since I specialize in women’s health and fertility, I LOVE getting to work with women who are thinking about trying to conceive within the next 6-12 months. This is the perfect time to focus on optimizing health and preparing the body for a healthy pregnancy, baby, and postpartum recovery. Many people don’t realize that the foods you eat during the 6 months before conception influences your health during pregnancy, as well as baby’s health in utero and even into childhood. What is more motivating than that for getting your health and nutrition super dialed in!

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Image Credits
Kelley Melvin & Blair Horton

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