Dietitians' diets vary, but one staple seems to always come up: a dab of peanut butter, usually spread on wheat bread. Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images The root word, "diet," in the term dietetics has acquired a four-letter-word connotation in the United States, and the term "nutritionist" can raise notions of dietary perfection, restriction or bionic willpower. But dietetics, or the science of nutrition, seldom relates to going "on a diet." While fad diets come and go, rarely leaving health or happiness in their wake according to the National Eating Disorders Association, a balanced lifestyle based on healthy foods seems golden.
Sound easier said than done? Take notes from five dietary professionals who say otherwise.
While many paths lead to wellness, the featured experts share a passion for wellness and an intense appreciation for food.
I'm simply a person who loves food and loves people. I just want to encourage people to follow their dreams, live life to the fullest and live long. That does not necessarily mean they can never eat mac and cheese or their favorite dessert once in a while.Christine Avanti, chef and nutritionist
Ever wished you could channel the wisdom of a dietary professional? Well, read on. When asked what one tip she would share with readers, here is what each of our pros suggested:
"Go to the store once a week and keep some staples -- frozen, cooked grains, fruits and vegetables -- that you keep in your home. Also, invest in glass or plastic containers so that you have items you can bring to work or keep at home. If you don't go to the store, consider grocery delivery." -- Robyn Goldberg
"Always eat a PC combo, meaning a lean protein with a "real food" carb -- not a packaged variety -- to stabilize [your] blood sugar and speed up [your] metabolism." -- Christine Avanti
"Feed your body throughout the day. If you surpass five hours without eating, your brain must signal your liver to feed you. And the liver tends to overfeed in a survival mode." -- Diane Kress
"Invest and become one with a digital food scale and measuring cups. When you make pasta -- whole-grain, I hope -- you have to get it out of the pan somehow, right? Use a measuring cup for a spoon. I use my scale several times a day, as well as my measuring cups, and would totally overeat without them." -- Yvonne Quinones Syto
"Try to eat at least one leafy green vegetable every day. Whether throwing spinach into your morning smoothie, having a big dark green salad at lunch, or sauteing kale and collards for dinner, go for it! It's so good for you." -- Dina Aronson
Registered dietitian Robyn Goldberg became aware of her cholesterol levels during childhood."Everyone in my family has high cholesterol and/or heart disease hereditarily," she said. "My father would always talk to me about how weight is not the issue -- cholesterol is."
Her desire to maintain positive heart health and fuel her tennis-playing body -- she's been an athlete her entire life -- instilled in her a hunger not simply for food, but for the right food.
During college, another factor arose. "Having friends with eating disorders gave me compassion for the emotional factors involved with eating," she said.
She now specializes in medical conditions, disordered eating, preventative nutrition and sports nutrition.
On a usual day, Goldberg eats soy yogurt with flaxseed meal, nuts and fruit for breakfast and almond or peanut butter on whole wheat bread, veggies with hummus or a chopped vegetable salad with beans for lunch. Because she avoids poultry to keep her cholesterol down, her protein sources include beans, nuts, fish and veggie burgers. Vegetable omelets are one of her staple dinners.
"And I allow for what I call play foods every day -- vanilla wafers, animal crackers. Berry cobbler's my favorite!" she said. "My clients are relieved when I tell them they can eat foods they enjoy and maintain wellness."
Christine Avanti, nutrition director and executive chef at Passages, an addiction rehabilitation center in Malibu, California, and author of "Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads," never planned on becoming a nutritionist."In my late 20s, there was a death in my family. To deal with my grief I overate everything in sight. In five short weeks I gained 30 pounds. After that I spent four years trying every fad diet and weight-loss pill on the market. Nothing worked," she said.
So Avanti pursued a certification in holistic and sports nutrition. Eleven years later, she continues to share her expertise and passion for healthy eating and cooking with clients, readers and viewers of "Oprah's All Stars," "The Doctors" and other TV shows.
Her typical breakfast consists of hard-cooked omega-3 fatty acid containing eggs, green tea with virgin cold-pressed organic coconut oil and blueberries or a banana. For lunch she'll have a grilled artichoke chicken, brown rice and an arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette. In the afternoon she might snack on reduced-fat Gouda cheese and organic grapes. Dinner often includes whole wheat pasta, ground turkey and vegetable marinara sauce.
She also allows for pleasurable snack foods.
"Once in a while I will end up having diet soda, and salt and vinegar potato chips," she said. "I'm simply a person who loves food and loves people. I just want to encourage people to follow their dreams, live life to the fullest and live long. That does not necessarily mean they can never eat mac and cheese or their favorite dessert once in a while."
If you are seeking the food police, you won't find one in registered dietitian and author of "Nutrition Map: Your Guide to Eating Healthy in the Real World" Yvonne Quinones Syto."There are many reasons I wanted to become a dietitian," she said. "The main reason stems from my love of food."
She starts most days with coffee flavored with soy milk and agave syrup, oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana or slice of wheat bread with peanut butter and a "smidgen" of Nutella.
"Lunch is usually something left over from the night before," she says, citing a whole grain with vegetables and beans or tofu. Depending on her appetite, she snacks on nuts, toast with hummus or chips and salsa between meals.
"If I have something indulgent, it involves oodles of potatoes smothered in cheddar cheese. If I'm craving chocolate, it can usually be quenched with peanut butter and Nutella on wheat toast. I don't restrict myself. I just try to fuel my body right and not stick to arbitrary rules. I am human, like everyone else, with the exception that I have an awareness of how my choices affect my health."
During her sophomore year of college, Diane Kress knew something wasn't right."I was feeling fatigued, unable to focus or concentrate easily, [along with] a certain melancholy," she explained. And her naturally thin stomach had gained a "roll of fat." She began studying and applying traditional diet techniques with a vengeance, but to no avail.
She soon needed medications for diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and depression. So she traded her dreams of Wall Street -- she'd been a finance major -- for dietetics.
"I became a dietitian to learn what was wrong with what we taught so I could figure out how to make it right," she said.
Since then, she's maintained her desired weight. And her book, "Metabolism Miracle," is a "New York Times" best-seller.
Kress's typical day starts with a multigrain English muffin with peanut butter, fruit and coffee with light creamer and stevia, an herbal sweetener. Lunch includes a low-carb turkey and vegetable wrap. For dinner, she'll have salad, broiled flounder, brown rice, steamed veggies and dark chocolate dessert. Between meals, she snacks on yogurt, nuts or popcorn.
Her favorite indulgence?
"Crumb cupcakes!" she said. "I have half of the cupcake and count it as my "slip-up" for the week." Other once-per-week indulgences might include pizza and Chinese food.
"People are amazed about a few things in the way I eat," she said. She eats whether or not she is hungry, including an hour before bed and in the middle of the night.
"As a person with insulin imbalance, I don't count calories," she said. "My focus is always on the total carb grams, dietary fiber grams. And I always read the ingredient label."
Registered dietitian Dina Aronson's passion for wellness also emerged during college."When I began eating better, sleeping more and exercising, I had more energy," she said. "My grades went up. My body got stronger. And I felt happier overall. So I sought ways to turn this passion into a career."
Her coursework taught her more than the nutritional benefits of a plant-based diet, including, she said, "the realities of factory farming, the food industry, global sustainability and the environmental impacts of meat production. Once I internalized these realities, veganism came very naturally to me."
Her days often start with cereal, fruit, walnuts and almond milk paired with coffee and soy creamer. Her lunchtime favorite involves a whole-grain wrap or sandwich filled with hummus, avocado, sliced heirloom tomato and baby spinach. For dinner she'll have vegan ratatouille with lentil soup, gazpacho or sauteed greens and a grain, such as quinoa.
Although her "healthier" days are chock-full of fresh produce, nuts and seeds, she indulges in moderate portions of treat foods most days.
"My favorite treats are vegan ice cream, homemade cookies or muffins, chocolate soy milk and dark chocolate," she said.
Like most people, she admits to eating at times for the "wrong reasons" -- "Stress, anyone?" she remarked. But she doesn't count calories, judge others for what they eat or apologize for dietary imperfections.
"Food should be savored, enjoyed and shared," she said. "Food is a pleasure, not a punishment."
