Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessi Haggerty.
Jessi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Like many professionals in the field of nutrition and fitness, my research started as “MEsearch.” When I entered high school, like unfortunately many girls do, I fell prey to the societal pressures to diet, exercise, and ‘control’ my body at all costs. I used my body like a lab rat, experimenting with different diets and workout routines and of course, was praised by friends, family, and perfect strangers about my incredible, shrinking body.
In an effort to learn as much as I could about nutrition and fitness, I went to school to become a dietitian, and started working as a personal trainer. Always with an entrepreneurial spirit, I started by private practice a few years after graduation from college.
As I started to grow the business I slowly but surely realized that a staggering number of women (including myself!) were participating in my private and group coaching programs because they hated their bodies. Their disdain for their bodies was what was motivating them to want to lose weight in the first place, and even though I wasn’t selling a specific “diet”, my focus on weight loss was still perpetuating that cycle.
As I began to dig deeper into the research, I found to really help my clients achieve health from the inside-out, I had to take the promise of weight-loss off the table and had to take a Health at Every Size® (HAES®) Approach to wellness while helping clients focus more on listening to their body’s internal cues, rather than external (such as a prescribed diet or meal plan) through the practice of Intuitive Eating.
Now, almost 12 years later, I’ve evolved to use my expertise in nutrition and functional movement to develop a more therapeutic approach to wellness. One that goes beyond just lowering the number on the scale to help women understand and strengthen their relationship with food, and start making friends with their hips, thighs, arms, and belly, so they can focus on what really matters: ruling the world.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
If any entrepreneur says it’s been a “smooth road”… they’re lying! There’s been a lot of struggles, but my desire to be of service, and to be my own boss has always overpowered many of the obstacles. Fear and insecurity can bubble up daily (or hourly) when you’re running the show and a lot of time can be spent worrying about doing things “the right way”. I don’t know if that ever goes away completely, but it certainly gets better with time!
Please tell us about Jessi Haggerty Nutrition & Movement Therapy.
In a nutshell, I help women improve their relationship with food and their body using a customized, therapeutic, non-diet approach that combines nutrition and movement therapy. I’m a registered dietitian, certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, and certified personal trainer.
The bulk of my business is one-on-one counseling, where I work with primarily women, but people of all genders, to build skills to overall feel more comfortable in their own skin. I think what makes me most proud, and what sets me apart is that over the past few years I’ve really committed to taking a truly non-diet and weight-neutral approach towards wellness. There is no scale in my office, no measuring tape, no crazy body-fat calipers. We’re in the trenches, going deep, and doing the hard work that it takes to undo the systemic fear, guilt, and shame that diet culture has bestowed upon our food and out bodies. It’s not easy work but it is SO much more rewarding, for myself, and for my clients than following another crazy diet!
Aside from one-on-one counseling I also have a weekly podcast, called the BodyLove Project where I talk to a different guest each week about Intuitive Eating and body acceptance.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Probably a lot of things ha! I think the one thing I would have really done differently was be more open to networking. I’m a total introvert and I usually avoid large groups of people at all costs. But now, I’m part of a few really amazing networks for other dietitians and healthcare providers, and it’s helped me feel less alone in my work, and helped me build my business.
Pricing:
- Initial Assessment: $175
- Follow Up Nutrition Therapy Session: $150
- Follow Up Movement Therapy Session: $125
Contact Info:
- Address: 259 Elm Street
Suite 300B - Website: http://www.jessihaggerty.com
- Phone: 5164103723
- Email: jessi@jessihaggerty.com
Image Credit:
Headshot and the photo of me to Anastasia Sierra
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