Hi, I'm Janel
I am a former collegiate track/xc runner turned dietitian. I know what it is like to have big athletic goals, a busy schedule, and way too much nutrition information at your fingertips. After struggling to figure it out on my own as an athlete once upon a time, I get that it can be a struggle – and I am here to help!
My Story
As a competitive track and cross country runner, my sport was my LIFE in high school and college. Sometime in high school, I started eating “healthy” in efforts to train and perform at my best. I really wanted to break that five-minute mile! Like many of you, I was willing to do whatever I thought it took.
My “healthy” eating turned to an obsession at some point during my NCAA Division I athletic career. This took a toll on my physical and mental health, as I rigidly focused endlessly on weight, calories, body composition, and restriction of far too many foods. I saw some of my teammates being faced with similar struggles, some more significant than my own. I sat out several seasons as I was battling the injuries, lack of energy, and hunger. At the time, I didn’t understand that my under-fueling was causing some of these problems.
I was urged to take a second look at how poorly I was using nutrition to take care of my body, for both my sport and my life. I found out the hard way that performance nutrition is a multi-faceted science, far more complex than eating the “healthiest” food and having the lowest body fat percentage. It’s all history from there, folks…
Credentials
I earned by BS in Exercise and Sports Science from Coastal Carolina University in 2014, and my MS in Nutritional Science from California State University, Los Angeles, in 2017. While completing over 1200 supervised practice hours to become a dietitian, I educated and worked with college athletes at the University of Miami, UCLA, as well as a few high school teams.
When I earned my Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN) credentials in 2018, I started helping both athletes and non-athletes in recovery from eating disorders achieve their nutrition, health, and fitness goals, at a residential eating disorder facility. I am proud to be recognized as a dietitian. All dietitians are nutritionists and nutrition experts, but not all nutritionists are dietitians! I am also a co-author of two scientific research papers featured in The Journal of Nutritional Disorders and Therapy and The Open Public Health Journal.
ENRx Sports Nutrition launched in 2020. I have helped serious high school athletes, elite collegiate athletes, and hopeful professional athletes. I have had the privilege of watching high school athletes sign with their dream college, been on the sidelines as collegiate athletes PR and win championships, seen college athletes work to transition to professional athletics, and helped countless athletes improve their relationship with food.
Fun Facts
I enjoy staying active as a runner or participating in any outdoor activities (paddleboarding, attempting to surf, snorkeling). Other hobbies include hiking, traveling, cooking, enjoying fun foods, and chasing my toddler!
I grew up in Virginia, went to undergrad in South Carolina, then grad school in California, before settling down in South Florida with my family of four (fiance, son, Clyde the dog).
