A Day in The Life of Director of Nutrition Kirstin Taylor, MS, RDN, LD
Curious what Cooper Clinic Director of Nutrition Kirstin Taylor’s workday includes? See how she incorporates health and nutrition into her everyday life and educates and motivates her clients—and her daughter—to make healthy choices.
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Curious what Cooper Clinic’s Director of Nutrition, Kirstin Taylor’s workday includes? Let’s take a look and see how she incorporates health and nutrition into her everyday life.
5 – 6:30 a.m.: Start the day
Wake up and get ready for the day! To start the day, before I have any coffee, I drink at least 24 oz of water while I am getting ready. Next, my daughter and I pack our lunches together in the mornings, I love having this opportunity every morning to talk about balancing lunch options and how our food choices will help to fuel our bodies during the day. Coffee is made along with my on-the-go breakfast of Kodiak Protein-Packed Power Waffles® and I’m out the door to work. Other days I may take a protein oatmeal packet with me to eat at work.
5 – 6:30 a.m.: Start the day
Wake up and get ready for the day! To start the day, before I have any coffee, I drink at least 24 oz of water while I am getting ready. Next, my daughter and I pack our lunches together in the mornings, I love having this opportunity every morning to talk about balancing lunch options and how our food choices will help to fuel our bodies during the day. Coffee is made along with my on-the-go breakfast of Kodiak Protein-Packed Power Waffles® and I’m out the door to work. Other days I may take a protein oatmeal packet with me to eat at work.
7:15 – 10:30 a.m.: Arrive at work
Arriving to work early allows me to check e-mail and wrap up any open items from the previous day. Afterward, I spend time rounding with team members and organize staffing coverage between the North and South clinic according to patient count for the day. Other morning tasks may include prepping for weekly team meetings, approving timecards, or working on patient charting.
Morning snack
I usually eat a Greek yogurt or other carb/protein pairings to help curb my appetite until lunch. For some tasty, dietitian approved snack ideas, visit our Recipe Library.
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Consult with Clients
This time block is when we see the majority of clients who are here for their preventive physical exam. A nutrition consultation with a registered dietitian nutritionist is one of the six core components of our preventive exam. Each nutrition consultation is unique to our client based on their personal health goals. During the 30-minute session, through motivational interviewing we assist clients in making goal oriented behavioral changes. I also may see private patients from the community in the morning or late afternoon. Most of these private patients I see are patients who have been newly diagnosed with celiac disease. I enjoy working with this population since there are no medications available to treat the disease, currently the only treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. It is rewarding to help patients finally experience relief from their GI symptoms when they successfully remove gluten from their diet and begin to heal their intestinal tract.
Arriving to work early allows me to check e-mail and wrap up any open items from the previous day. Afterward, I spend time rounding with team members and organize staffing coverage between the North and South clinic according to patient count for the day. Other morning tasks may include prepping for weekly team meetings, approving timecards, or working on patient charting.
Morning snack
I usually eat a Greek yogurt or other carb/protein pairings to help curb my appetite until lunch. For some tasty, dietitian approved snack ideas, visit our Recipe Library.
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Consult with Clients
This time block is when we see the majority of clients who are here for their preventive physical exam. A nutrition consultation with a registered dietitian nutritionist is one of the six core components of our preventive exam. Each nutrition consultation is unique to our client based on their personal health goals. During the 30-minute session, through motivational interviewing we assist clients in making goal oriented behavioral changes. I also may see private patients from the community in the morning or late afternoon. Most of these private patients I see are patients who have been newly diagnosed with celiac disease. I enjoy working with this population since there are no medications available to treat the disease, currently the only treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. It is rewarding to help patients finally experience relief from their GI symptoms when they successfully remove gluten from their diet and begin to heal their intestinal tract.
Late Afternoon
I typically eat lunch anytime between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. depending on my patient schedule. If the weather is nice outside, I will take a quick 15-minute one mile walk around our track and then eat lunch in my office. Since my morning and early afternoon are set aside to see patients, the second half of my day will vary day to day. I prioritize the projects I need to work on by their deadlines. I’m often working on team member evaluations and department initiatives such as nutrition program growth opportunities. It is essential that I stay current on the latest in nutrition science, setting aside time each week to read new research, nutrition trends, or dive into a specific disease state is important to me.
5:30 p.m.: Dinner with the family
While dinner prep is occurring, I’m cutting and roasting veggies while my husband grills a protein, my daughter is finishing up any homework assignments and getting ready for soccer practice. I don’t particularly enjoy cooking (I know, gasp, a dietitian who doesn’t like to cook), so I keep our weeknight meals simple. Weeknights are busy, so I plan proteins for the week and make extra servings at meals to repurpose for later in the week. I may use leftover roasted veggies to throw in an egg scramble or add chicken to brown rice with steamed carrots as quick meal options. The 90-second microwavable brown rice and quinoa packages are a consistent go-to of mine for a quick whole grain starch. Our favorite dish lately is roasted broccoli, sweet potato and romaine lettuce with grilled chicken or salmon. When dinner is ready, we sit down to eat together at the table.
6:30 – 8 p.m.: Soccer Mom
While my daughter is out on the soccer field this is my opportunity to get in exercise. I typically alternate between walking and jogging a total of three miles. My exercise goal is to walk/run three miles Monday-Friday and one weekend day. I may also rotate a few days on an elliptical and aim to get in at least two days per week of strength training.
I typically eat lunch anytime between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. depending on my patient schedule. If the weather is nice outside, I will take a quick 15-minute one mile walk around our track and then eat lunch in my office. Since my morning and early afternoon are set aside to see patients, the second half of my day will vary day to day. I prioritize the projects I need to work on by their deadlines. I’m often working on team member evaluations and department initiatives such as nutrition program growth opportunities. It is essential that I stay current on the latest in nutrition science, setting aside time each week to read new research, nutrition trends, or dive into a specific disease state is important to me.
5:30 p.m.: Dinner with the family
While dinner prep is occurring, I’m cutting and roasting veggies while my husband grills a protein, my daughter is finishing up any homework assignments and getting ready for soccer practice. I don’t particularly enjoy cooking (I know, gasp, a dietitian who doesn’t like to cook), so I keep our weeknight meals simple. Weeknights are busy, so I plan proteins for the week and make extra servings at meals to repurpose for later in the week. I may use leftover roasted veggies to throw in an egg scramble or add chicken to brown rice with steamed carrots as quick meal options. The 90-second microwavable brown rice and quinoa packages are a consistent go-to of mine for a quick whole grain starch. Our favorite dish lately is roasted broccoli, sweet potato and romaine lettuce with grilled chicken or salmon. When dinner is ready, we sit down to eat together at the table.
6:30 – 8 p.m.: Soccer Mom
While my daughter is out on the soccer field this is my opportunity to get in exercise. I typically alternate between walking and jogging a total of three miles. My exercise goal is to walk/run three miles Monday-Friday and one weekend day. I may also rotate a few days on an elliptical and aim to get in at least two days per week of strength training.
9:30 p.m.: Bedtime
I need at least 8 hours of sleep to feel well rested and refreshed the next day when my alarm goes off at 5 a.m..
Conclusion
Nutrition is not black and white; I believe all foods can fit into a healthy eating plan. Creating a positive and healthy foundation around food and exercise for my family is an important part of my life. I’m fortunate that my career also allows me to help others explore their relationship with food and achieve their desired nutrition goals.
I need at least 8 hours of sleep to feel well rested and refreshed the next day when my alarm goes off at 5 a.m..
Conclusion
Nutrition is not black and white; I believe all foods can fit into a healthy eating plan. Creating a positive and healthy foundation around food and exercise for my family is an important part of my life. I’m fortunate that my career also allows me to help others explore their relationship with food and achieve their desired nutrition goals.
