ABOUT ME

My (short but long) story on how I finally made it into nutrition:

Hi!  I am Cayla Bousaba, RDN and thank you so much for visiting Nutrition Preferred!  It had been a dream/goal/nightly prayer of mine for way too long to be a part of the nutrition community and to be able to help people live their best healthy life and now here we are! But a little background (story) on how I FINALLY make it into nutrition...  The first 18 years of my life were spent in the beautiful small town of Morganton, NC, before going off to college at NC State University in Raleigh, NC.  I chose to get a degree in Business Finance because (A) you don’t have to write papers in finance (excuse any grammar issues) and (B) I happen to be good at math.  It seemed like the easy and smart choice even though I had no plan after receiving that golden college degree.  Right after graduation I moved to New York City to see where this finance degree could take me.  After waiting tables in cowboy boots, interning for a major fashion designer, and boycotting being an adult, I got a job at a hedgefund.  After a year or two, I kept seeing how people, who were once very healthy, were starting to develop small issues such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure all because of their daily nutrition and lifestyles. Not only did I not want that to be me (selfish me), I also wanted to help them and people like them either prevent that from happening or get back on track (unselfish me).  I started looking into going back to school for nutrition. I knew it would be a long road, but I didn’t realize how expensive it would be in NYC.  I should have known considering I paid an arm and two legs to live there, but seriously NYC!?  Luckily, a friend pointed me to an online holistic health coach training program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. There was a discount offered that day and I signed up.  I was pumped!  Finally I thought, I get to enter the nutrition world without having to go back to school full time.

Too good to be true. What comes easy, won’t last, what lasts, won’t come easy.

Three months later, I finished up with the program and was left with some great listening skills and a belief that food can fix the human body, but that was about it.   I felt like I was lacking on how to answer the questions about WHY and HOW the food you eat impacts the body.  That is why nutrition matters, right?!  The body is its own internal science lab that is constantly building, breaking down, building again, and changing, allowing you to DO WORK!  Before being able to listen and give advice on what a person should do with their body, I needed to know all of this science.  Fast forward through a year in Minneapolis and then a year in Denver still in Finance, I put myself back into school while still working full time. Luckily, I have my dad’s energy – most of the time.  I wanted science, but who knew how much science I would be getting!?  The first year was straight science with a little bit of nutrition.  I didn’t understand until I got into the 100% nutrition focused classes exactly how science sets the foundation to giving me the WHY’s and HOW’s the human body works with food.  Who knew that there’s a reason we need carbs and fat other than that they taste good!  Three years later after finishing my degree, dietetic internship, and passing the board exam, I finally reached my dream and became a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.  Time has flown and my mind is blown!  I eat (literally) and breathe nutrition and look forward to continue learning to be able to help empower others to reach their nutrition goals*.

I now provide nutrition counseling to clients all over the country via telehealth focusing on gut health for prevention, weight maintenance, GI issues such as IBS/IBD/SIBO, and prenatal/postpartum nutrition care.  The best news about coming to a RD for nutrition questions is that a lot of insurances will reimburse either a part or all of your visit.  If you are interested in becoming a client, please email me at nutritionpreferred@gmail.com to set up an appointment!

*On a reach your goals note, if you have any inkling for a career change, do whatever it takes no matter how hard or how long it takes to do it!  You will never once look back. Promise, promise.

Where you’ll find me around town outside of Nutrition Preferred:

• Volunteering with FeedMore

• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Member

• Probably hiking the side of a mountain, traveling, or eating at a cool Richmond restaurant (all preferably with my husband and two toddlers)

• Having a glass of wine with girlfriends

Gotta get schooled:

• Iowa State University 1200+ Hour Dietetic Internship

• Metropolitan State University of Denver- B.S. in Human Nutrition and Dietetics

• Integrative Institute of Nutrition- Certified Health Coach

• North Carolina State University- B.S. in Business Management, Finance