Randa Derkson is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Sports Nutrition Consultant, recipe developer, and mom of two littles.
Basically, my life revolves around food. That being said, I love pizza, tacos, chocolate, and red wine. So, it’s my mission to teach nutrition without a deprivation mindset because, let’s face it, diets don’t work.
I’m incredibly passionate about helping moms escape dieting because I was that mom. The mom who only ate “clean,” who would have a treat and feel like she failed, the mom who would binge after said “failure,” only to restrict my food the next day and start the hamster wheel all over again.
After years of dieting, deprivation, and being hungry to be “skinny” my physical and mental health hit a breaking point. I couldn’t do it anymore. After a lot of work and education, I help busy and overwhelmed moms get out of the diet cycle and see calories as fuel instead of the enemy.
I knew I had to make a change when dieting controlled my life. I didn’t have an eating disorder, but I absolutely had disordered eating. I would log every crumb of food and if I went over the tiny 1200 calorie allotment, I gave myself (all because an app told me to) I would binge. It was one or the other. Either restrict myself to the point of being hangry all the time or feel like I failed and eat everything in sight, only to super restrict the next few days and beat myself up with negative self-talk. There was no in-between.
I knew I couldn’t continue like this, if not for me – for my kids. I didn’t want them to see a dieting mentality, and I knew I had to break the cycle.
I started after my daughter was born in 2018. Instead of seeing my large arms and focusing on that, I started to lift weights to be strong (and be able to carry that car seat!). I looked in the mirror daily and praised myself, praised my body for being able to haul a car seat and baby around all day, and gave myself grace. That’s when it changed. I saw food as fuel, not the enemy. That’s when I knew I had to share this with other moms.
No more end dates, no more restrictions. Just a healthy lifestyle that includes balanced nutrition and chocolate.
What do I want for you? For you to enjoy a slice of your child’s birthday cake with your family without feeling guilty (and to stop feeling guilty when food is involved, period).
I want you to look forward to a tasty salad because you’re not afraid to experiment with ingredients to make it your own.
I want you to take charge of your health, use what I give you as a template, and build a healthy lifestyle into your life, not your life around a healthy lifestyle.
Let’s ditch the fad diets (been there, failed at that), calorie deprivation, and restriction around our favorite foods. I’m here to teach busy moms realistic nutrition that you can apply to your family, because no one wants to eat a salad while their family enjoys pizza.
