{"id":17863,"date":"2023-04-04T21:09:09","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T21:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=17863"},"modified":"2023-05-16T23:15:17","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T23:15:17","slug":"nutritionist-spotlight-hayley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/nutritionist-spotlight-hayley\/","title":{"rendered":"Nutritionist spotlight: Hayley"},"content":{"rendered":"A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Hayley is a vital member of our Research and Development team. She earned her dietetics degree from Florida State University and completed her supervised internship at Sodexo while earning her master\u2019s at the University of Rhode Island. With all the misinformation out there about nutrition, Hayley believes it\u2019s vital to call out what\u2019s false\u2014and share the science\u2014to help people lead healthier lives.I sat down with Hayley and got to know her a little better.How did you get into nutrition?It was actually my mom who suggested that I become a dietitian as I was getting ready to apply to colleges and was trying to decide on a major. When my mom suggested dietetics, I didn\u2019t even know what it meant, so I had to google it! Since I was into health and fitness at the time, it seemed like the right fit. To be honest, I&#8217;m grateful I didn\u2019t know more about the program, because if I\u2019d known what was involved (looking at you Chemistry!) there\u2019s no way I would have done it. Now I can\u2019t imagine myself doing anything else!What\u2019s your biggest nutrition pet peeve?My biggest pet peeve is the perception that some foods are \u201cunhealthy\u201d. The truth is there\u2019s no such thing. Whether you eat an organic coconut sugar donut from Whole Foods or a cane sugar donut from Dunkin Donuts, your body metabolizes it the same way, and experiences the same effects.What matters is the composition of your diet overall. When you\u2019re eating a balanced combination of fruit, veggies, protein, whole grains, nuts, seeds\u2014and so-called \u201cunhealthy foods\u201d in moderation\u2014your body will thrive. It&#8217;s only when you eat an excessive amount of one food type that you run into trouble. Eat the donut\u2014and eat your veggies too\u2014life\u2019s too short to deprive yourself!What advice would you give someone who\u2019s struggling to make healthy changes?Start slow! Any amount of change helps. If you\u2019re trying to increase your steps, try taking the stairs instead of the elevator, park farther away when you go to a store, or walk your dog an extra 10 minutes. If you\u2019re changing your diet, try ordering fruit or salad as a side dish instead of fries. Small changes add up to big improvements in the long term!What\u2019s your favorite supplement?Ashwagandha! It\u2019s seriously the best. It\u2019s an adaptogen, meaning it adapts to your body\u2019s needs. If you\u2019re stressed, ashwagandha helps regulate cortisol, so your body doesn\u2019t get as worked up.If you work out a lot and your body is physically stressed, ashwagandha can help with recovery and improves performance.*What\u2019s your favorite snack and why?Oh gosh. I don\u2019t know if I can pick just one! I can say I love popcorn. Popcorn is a whole grain, so it\u2019s an excellent source of fiber, which helps keep you full longer and your digestion regular. My favorite brand is Lesser Evil. They have a variety of flavors, but their classic flavor is the best IMO.My runner-up is watermelon. Too bad it\u2019s only really ripe in the summer. I can literally finish a whole one by myself. And it\u2019s not just delicious; it has lycopene, an antioxidant that gives it its red color and helps fight free radicals in the body. Free radicals can cause oxidative stress which may damage cells.What does your average weekend look like?It really varies; some weekends will be jam-packed with activities while others I\u2019ll spend glued to the couch! ? But I\u2019ll usually spend time with friends at Happy Hour. I love a good margarita and Aperol spritz! Or we\u2019ll have dinner parties and game nights: Cahoot and Anomia are some of my favorites.I also love getting outside. Whether that means walking around the park, hiking in the woods or just lounging on the patio\u2014there\u2019s nothing better than the feeling of the sun soaking into your skin.Tell us something surprising about yourselfMy first job was at a tanning salon. John Cena would come in\u2026 and I had the \u201cpleasure\u201d of cleaning his sweat off the tanning bed!Check out Hayley\u2019s blogs and follow her on IG @dietitian.hayleyHayley is just one of the many experts at Persona, here to accelerate your wellness journey. If you have questions about nutrition or your personalized program, reach out now or book a free appointment with Hayley or another of our amazing nutritionists.*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Hayley is a vital member of our Research and Development team. She earned her dietetics degree from Florida State University and completed her supervised internship at Sodexo while earning her","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":18443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[986],"class_list":["post-17863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-nutritionists"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17863"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18209,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17863\/revisions\/18209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}