Name, where you’re from, where you’re currently at school

My name is Elizabeth Barton and I am from St. Louis, Missouri. I am currently in my senior year at the University of Vermont studying dietetics! I am super excited to be working with Leah to gain more insight into a career as a dietician and to be able to share some of what I have learned throughout my studies!

What inspired you to want to pursue a career path as a dietitian?

What first got me interested in dietetics was my love of food. Cooking and feeding the people I love is one of my favorite things to do and brings me so much joy. When I was little I wanted to be a chef, but I was also interested in science and so when I discovered dietetics I realized I could combine two things that I love into a career. My journey of what really got me sucked into the world of dietetics was,  like many, rooted in diet culture and intertwined with my own issues surrounding body image and a skewed definition of health. When I got to college, I was introduced to intuitive eating and the weight inclusive approach to dietetics and ultimately  realized that I had been consumed with diet culture for so many years of my life. My desire to prevent others from being exposed to the harm of diet culture is what has  led me to stay in this field and continue to grow my passion for the weight-inclusive approach to nutrition.

How did you get into intuitive eating?

My first semester at UVM I took “Fundamentals of Nutrition” with Lizzy Pope (yes, this is the famous Lizzy you may have heard about on Leah’s podcast) and she introduced me to the anti-diet approach. After learning about a different way of thinking about nutrition, I was inspired to start healing my own relationship with food. Last year I took another class with Lizzy called “Weight Inclusive Nutrition” and I learned about the deeper issues tied to diet culture such as the racism, classism, and bias towards others because of something they cannot realistically change. Now one of my main career goals is to make positive changes in the field of dietetics so that everyone truly feels they are able to get the nutrition information and care that they deserve.

What do you see yourself doing in your future as an RD?

I would love to go into a clinical counseling setting as an RD. My parents both work in healthcare so I practically grew up hanging out in a hospital. I also think that the healthcare field is a place where weight-inclusive practices need to have more recognition, as they can help so many people live healthier lives if they don’t have to worry about being discriminated against for their body size at every doctor’s visit. Recently I have been thinking about trying to work in pediatrics with kids because so much harm related to diet culture happens when we are young and the earlier that harm can be stopped the better.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I love to hang out with my friends, and as I mentioned earlier, love to cook for others! I am a big fan of planning dinner parties (especially with a theme). Being able to feed the people I love is something that makes me really happy. I also love to take walks around Burlington, explore new places, and when I need a more low-energy activity I can definitely be found watching a TV show with my cat Pippa snuggled next to me.