Hi. I’m Michelle. I’m a fat nutritionist.

Why “fat”?

Because, to be perfectly frank, I’m fat. And I’m telling you this up front because I don’t want you getting the wrong idea about me.

See, I’m not here to give you a stern talking-to about your weight, or your eating habits, or your lack of exercise. And I’m certainly not here to pretend that I’m perfect, that I know it all, and that you’d better do what I say or else.

Nope. Not even remotely.

But I can help you get to a friendly place with food and your body.

So, I call myself fat because not only am I fat — at five feet, four five-and-a-half inches and two-hundred-sixty-some-odd pounds — I’m also not especially bothered by it. Because the size of my body, and your body, is morally neutral. Fat doesn’t equal lazy or ugly or even, necessarily, unhealthy.

It’s just a word.

This all might seem a bit strange, since I’m bigger than most people, let alone most nutritionists — but I’m a pretty normal person. And a damn good nutritionist.

Who is also fat.

Technical stuff:

Right now, I’m finishing the last three credits of my nutrition degree, and working as an online nutritionist. I’m 30 years old, and, in addition to being a student, I’ve been doing nutrition stuff professionally since 2004.

I’m a student member of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the Association for Size Diversity and Health.

I’ve completed the ADA-approved Treating the Dieting Casualty workshop, where I learned how to counsel people back into normal eating.

All told, I’ve worked in nutrition for five years, at three different hospitals.

I’ve done clinical work as a diet tech in diabetes, eating disorders, and cancer, and I’ve supervised dozens of crazy therapeutic diets (renal dysphagic, anyone?)

I’ve helped teach people how to feed themselves through a tube, how to eat for an insulin pump, what to expect from chemo, and how to cope with new physical realities.

I’ve analyzed my patients’ diets, studied their labwork, and read their histories. I’ve held their hands. I’ve brought their Jello.

And I’ve pretty much loved every minute of it.