Introduction
I remember so clearly standing at my open fridge at 2 pm, shoveling cold spaghetti into my mouth right from the tupperware container because I’d realized I hadn’t eaten anything all day. The baby was crying, my boobs were leaking, and it dawned on me the true depths that new-motherhood exhaustion had on me. This would not be my last time to abandon my own needs for those of my beautiful children that I helped create.
Fast forward 9.5 years and 2 more kids later, I know which child would only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, every day for a year. I know who likes their apples peeled and who likes to eat them whole. I know that one of my children will eat three tacos at home, but will refuse to eat one packed in their lunch because tacos are a “home food.” I know it would be really easy to skip breakfast in lieu of coffee, but by 10:30am, I’ll be hangry and won’t be in a position to make good food choices. As mothers, we can bend over backwards for our children’s nutrition, and take what’s left for our own.
Motherhood asks a lot of us. It asks for our time, our patience, our bodies, our sleep. And most of us give it willingly. Gladly, even! These children are our own flesh and blood, pieces of our own heart walking outside of our bodies. But somewhere between packing lunches and remembering everyone’s shoe sizes, we quietly move ourselves to the bottom of the list — especially when it comes to food.
What I eventually realized is this: motherhood isn’t just emotionally demanding. It’s physiologically demanding. And our nutrition has to match that reality. Unfortunately, most of us grew up in the era of “eat less, move more,” which is really counter-productive to feeling our best in motherhood, especially when overstimulation can be worsened by insufficient nutrient status and milk-supply suffers when we’re in a caloric deficit. When we were taught “low-fat” is better for our figure, but we actually need fats to support adequate hormone function. We’ve been taught to (and then find ourselves in this motherhood role that) disregards our nutrition, and then wonder why we feel overstimulated, underfueled, and barely hanging on until bedtime. Since that bone-tired day staring at the back of my refrigerator during my impromptu “spaghetti lun-ner for one,” I’ve found a passion for helping others recognize how much better they can feel, physically, mentally, and emotionally, through food. I’ve built a growing nutrition practice to help women to identify the gaps in their nutrition, unpack decades of feeling like their bodies are not good enough, that they have to eat less to be “more,” and instead help them learn how to nourish themselves, to respect the amazing vessel they’ve been given, and guide them on their health journey towards healing.
What inspired you to start your business?
The short of it: I have always held a fascination with how the body works. There’s very little we do more of that has a greater impact on our health than eating three times a day. What started with an interest in how dandelions can support our liver, turned into learning how so many different foods offer functional effects for our bodies.
The long of it: is too long to include here, but I have a series on my social media sharing what led me to my private practice today.
What types of services do you offer?
I offer one-on-one medical nutritional therapy sessions with clients, both private pay and through insurance. I work with clients to create a personalized approach to nutrition for prevention, treatment, and root-cause analysis towards your optimal health. We focus on food, movement, sleep and stress for a full-body approach to health. We also dive into our relationship with food and our body, unpack the toxic tendencies we can have in that relationship with ourselves, and learn to repack that relationship with kindness and compassion.
I also offer functional lab testing where we get an inside peek into the microbiome, hormone analysis, mold exposure, nutrient absorption & utilization, and more. I regularly hold free classes for our local community on a variety of topics related to health and nutrition. Past classes have covered topics like gut health, sugar, intuitive eating, and more.
How do you manage your time as a parent and business owner?
Being a mom is my first-and-foremost role, so I’ve been blessed enough to structure my client-facing hours around my children’s school schedule, with help from grandmoms, which allows me to see clients one evening a week as well.
I hate that getting up before my kids actually does give me the time and space to fill my cup before pouring into theirs (on the mornings they don’t also wake up early). I am a better mother, a better wife, and a better nutritionist when I am able to focus on movement and meditation before the rest of my house wakes up. I keep “working hours” as best I can in the evenings so I can be a present parent in my home with family dinners, regular movie nights, and bedtime lullabies. And I couldn’t have done any of it without the support and encouragement of my husband, and a faith that helps me remember where my strength really comes from.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on my next community class on Stress & Nutrition, located at The Vine Natural Health Center in Forest Hill. I host classes there regularly throughout the year. Most classes are free to attend with a Q&A and Meet & Greet.
I’m working on a group class on Intuitive Eating, where we spend 10 weeks in a group format learning the principles of Intuitive Eating and working through unpacking a lot of our learned patterns and behaviors while improving our relationship with our bodies and our food.
I’m working on expanding my scope to include telehealth across the US. Medical Nutrition Therapy licensure differs state to state, so between matching socks and running a business, I’m exploring how to expand nationally.
I’m working on expanding my insurance contracts. I used to not accept insurance, but realized that created a barrier to accessible care; why should learning how to nourish ourselves be limited to those with the cash flow to afford it when health insurance can cover most (if not all) of the cost of our time together?
How can people get in touch/learn more?
For those who might be interested in working together, you can book a free discovery call right from my website. This is usually a 10-minute call where we chat about what it would look like to work together and see if I’m the right fit for you.
You can find me on socials and the web at:
● Facebook: Devon Ragan, Licensed Clinical Nutritionist
● Instagram: @devon.ragan.nutritionist
● Website: www.devonragan.com
