Meet Tatum Vedder

We were lucky to catch up with Tatum Vedder recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tatum, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?

During the recovery of my 5th surgery, I was working for a group private practice while assisting the UCSD student athletes. Both were wonderful, full of learning, and the opportunity to guide so many individuals in their health journey. But I was burning out. There will always be peaks and valleys of stressors in life and at this time, I had reached my max due to many personal matters while feeling a little lost career wise. I completed the school year with UCSD and resigned from the group practice to determine which direction to head towards and how I could make my career choices sustainable and filled with more passion.

I pivoted. I used my personal training certification to start teaching group fitness classes and took on a server role at a restaurant. Both positions allowed me to stay relatively within the nutrition space of exercise and food service, allowing me to feel as though I didn’t make a complete exit. What it provided was time to reflect and consider what my next career steps were. I did this for 6 months. I had a small procedure for my sixth and final knee surgery and I got nervous around the lack of security and safety of my physically demanding jobs. I realized I needed to put my studies and credentials to work. While recovering from this surgery, I realized how much I had truly learned about this process, injuries, and the relationship to nutrition. Cue light bulb. Here I realized that I found the space in which I wanted to practice nutrition, who to help, and how to do it.

If I hadn’t taken the time to step back and assess what I wanted and needed, I wouldn’t have had the clarity, drive, and motivation to make a plan and execute it. This was an incredible lesson that I will keep continuing to reflect on and encourage to others who approach a similar situation. Although we are embedded in a hustle culture, some of the most monumental moments of life come from silence and observation. It is never a waste of time to take a break and turn inward.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My private practice, Equilibrium Nutrition, helps active individuals improve their diet and lifestyle after injury. I provide virtual services of counseling, meal plans, and programs tailored to the injured or in recovery from orthopedic surgery, looking to get back to their active lifestyles.

An injury or recovery from surgery commonly causes unwanted weight gain, appetite changes, muscle loss, and emotional eating. I formulate a plan individually tailored to each client to address all these matters and more. I get them back to their fitness goals or even better.

My personal experience recovering from six orthopedic surgeries during a college volleyball injury combined with my thorough nutrition training and education has led me to dedicate my practice to this population. To be able to truly empathize with clients on all the minuscule ailments of this process and experience is something not found in a classroom or online course. Nutrition is a vital component that is often overlooked and undervalued. This is a clear gap in the care process of recovery. My mission is to fill it.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Disordered eating experience: We live in a weight-centric society where aesthetics often outshine knowledge, skill, and unique qualities. My experience working with the disordered eating population framed and molded my nutrition care process. I have had so many clients engage with a “nutritionist” (not the same thing as a dietitian), who has steered them wrong, shaming them for poor choices, labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” worsening their relationship with food. Additionally, we are bombarded with social media influencers and promotion of inaccurate content. The two of these factors combined with a person’s relationship with food from their upbringing, can cultivate a slippery slope for disordered eating habits. My approach is kind, compassionate, and neutral. Allowing the client to mend their relationship with food while still reaching their health goals.

Empathy: My profession is strongly relationship based. I am a supporter, guide, fact-checker, and cheerleader. My clients and I are a team. Clients get a breath of fresh air when they realize I don’t just tell them what to do, scold them for poor habits, praise them for the good behaviors, and tell them right from wrong. We collaborate and agree on the course of action for their needs. When things don’t go as planned, we course correct and discover what options will be better suited for the time and place they are in. I empathize and support.

Exercise-performance based nutrition: I utilize the latest research in the field to improve and enhance health parameters to invigorate the client in their healing journey. I focus on muscle building, blood sugar stabilization, anti-inflammatory rich foods, gut health, and whole-body integrative focuses.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am looking for other professionals to develop a wellness team to collaborate with. I have a few physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons in my network. I am looking to grow this network to include a naturopath, acupuncturist, psychotherapists, Rolfer, strength and conditioning coaches, and sport specific coaches. It takes a team to cultivate a strong community.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Casey Figlewicz Photography

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Where does your self-discipline come from?

One of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. We asked some

Productivity
Tactics & Strategies for Keeping Your Creativity Strong

With the rapid improvements in AI, it’s more important than ever to keep your creativity

Productivity
Working hard in 2025: Keeping Work Ethic Alive

While the media might often make it seem like hard work is dead and that