Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Burkley.
Andrea, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
From a young age, I always knew I was interested in a career within the healthcare field. During adolescence, I struggled with my own disordered relationship with food, leading to body dissatisfaction and restriction. I viewed health and happiness as a state I could achieve by making myself smaller, and my life quickly became powered by food rules and rigidity. Through my eating disorder recovery journey, I found my true passion of wanting to help others form a positive relationship with food and themselves.
The focal point of the first few years of my career has been working in the acute care setting in hospitals within the Denver area. I am grateful for the education and skills I have gained in the clinical environment working with a variety of patient populations and assisting with nutrition rehabilitation. But over time, I began to experience increased feelings of disconnect and nonalignment with my true passion and beliefs with how I wish to provide nutrition care and counseling. My desire as a dietitian is to form a strong relationship and partnership with my client to help guide them on their journey to well-being and serve as a supportive ally. As these feelings of disconnect grew louder, I was pushed to pursue something more personally fulfilling for my career and started my own practice.
Over the past few years, I have gratefully found myself continuing to learn and grow as a weight-inclusive and non-diet registered dietitian within the Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size® (HAES) communities, which continues to inform my beliefs and practice of honoring whole-person nourishment and body diversity. My lived experience, empathy, and ongoing education inspires my work to help others live a fully nourished life.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a somewhat bumpy and winding road, but through it all, I have done my best to keep my end goal in mind for motivation. My biggest struggles have been diving into the unknown, embracing vulnerability, and finding balance. I am an introvert, so starting my own business has definitely thrown me challenges and obstacles. But it has also helped me grow so much in my career, as an individual, and has continued to help me find my voice.
There are times where my inner critic and self-doubt speak loudly, leading to feelings of inadequacy. Giving myself compassion and grace throughout my non-linear journey has meant everything. I am grateful for the support from my friends, partner, loved ones, therapist, and the community I have found myself growing in. Without this support and encouragement, I would not be where I am today.
My best advice for other women is to be true to your authentic self and your core values. I believe we must work on silencing the external voices of society in order to continue to connect with our purpose and calling.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Fully Nourished Nutrition – what should we know?
I am a weight-inclusive dietitian who provides nutrition counseling services to clients through my private practice, Fully Nourished Nutrition, located in the Denver area. My areas of focus include disordered eating and chronic dieting, eating disorder recovery, Intuitive Eating, and digestive health. I began Fully Nourished Nutrition in 2019 to help others overcome food and body struggles on their journey to nourishment. It is my mission to help others disconnect from the external noise of mainstream media and diet culture, so they can honor the inner wisdom that’s rooted within and nourish their well-being as a whole – mind, body, and spirit.
I am humbled to work alongside others in their journey, and I am proud to work as a weight-inclusive provider who holds space for all bodies and identities. My recovery journey is not synonymous with any other individual’s journey. However, it has greatly strengthened my ability to provide empathetic care and support to those seeking help in their journey back to body trust and whole-person nourishment.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
I feel that women have the opportunity to positively use media platforms and channels to more widely share their stories to empower others and highlight diversity. Women and minorities have a story to tell. Although there is still much work to be done within our society, I believe we have the opportunity to positively utilize media channels to speak our truth, connect within our community and more globally, and challenge narratives. Women have a voice, and we have the opportunity to boldly share our story and strengths to demolish stigma and help re-frame societal standards. Thank you to VoyageDenver for the amazing work they do and for sharing the stories and talents of women in the surrounding community!
Contact Info:
- Address: 4251 Kipling Street, Suite 415, Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80033
- Website: www.fullynourishednutrition.com
- Email: andrea@fullynourishednutrition.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fully.nourished.nutrition/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fullynourishednutrition/
Image Credit:
Emily Clare Photography
Kira Techatanalai
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