How Our Approach is Different

Written by Sarah Criscuolo MS, RD, LDN, CSN, CPT

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The word “Karuna” is the Sanskrit word for “compassion”, which is the basis of our entire practice. Our mission is to empower individuals to reclaim their relationship with their bodies, inspire healthy habits, and recharge their overall well-being.

We strive to create a space that celebrates diversity, embracing and honoring every body. Through patient-centered nutrition counseling, as well as personal training, culinary instruction and support groups, we aim to provide holistic care, spread body positivity and promote self-love.

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What is a Dietitian?

A lot of people are familiar with the term “dietitian” (not “dietician”, as its often misspelled!), but not many truly understand what that role entails. To become a dietitian, a person must first earn a bachelor’s degree and complete a variety of prerequisite courses, which include biochemistry, organic chemistry and microbiology, among various nutrition-specific courses. Next, a 1200+ hour internship must be completed, typically at various sites in order to give the student a wide range of experience in the field. After completing this internship, the RD to be is able to sit for the registration exam, which can be anywhere from 125-140 questions and has about a 66% first time pass rate based on the most recent statistics. As of 2024, a master’s degree will be required in order to sit for the dietetic exam.

There are many different avenues that a dietitian can follow, from acute care to food service and everything in between. Karuna Wellness Studio is a private practice of compassionate dietitians who operate under a Health At Every Size (HAES) and anti-diet lens. We are most well-known for our outpatient work with clients suffering from eating disorders, but we have dietitians who specialize in functional, sports and pediatric nutrition as well!

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What is HAES?

HAES is a movement to provide weight-neutral care, recognizing that people can be in all different body shapes/sizes and still be healthy. This isn’t to say that weight loss is never medically necessary, but that it is very possible to live in a larger body without chronic health conditions, and that simply being considered “overweight” doesn’t mean that weight loss should be pushed by providers. Our overall goal is to improve food-body relationships, and we do so through promoting the consumption of a variety of nutrients, making lifestyle changes, and getting more (or maybe, back) in touch with your body.

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What is the Diet Cycle?

The diet cycle can wreak havoc on not only your metabolism, but also your emotional wellbeing. The typical pattern is as follows:

1. You see some weight loss when you first start your new diet.

2. Your body perceives this reduction in weight via unsustainable methods (generally restriction of specific food groups or food as a whole) as a physical stressor, which triggers a survival response.

3. As you restrict certain foods, your body begins to crave them more as it struggles to avoid starvation.

4. You begin to feel increased hunger and preoccupation with food, which is your body trying to ensure that you eat in order to fuel it.

5. After some time, you will likely give in to the cravings. Our bodies are wired to do this – it’s not because of a “lack of discipline”. Your body is trying to protect you!

6. You experience feelings of guilt and shame as you go through periods of restriction and then indulgence, which reinforces the negative loop of the dieting cycle.

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Why is an Anti-Diet Approach Important?

As mentioned above, this cycle leads to feelings of guilt and shame, which inevitably lead to further restriction. It’s a vicious cycle, and we want to help you get out of it. At Karuna, we don’t believe in implementing any dieting or calorie counting – we focus on helping you to tune into your body so that you can recognize the signals it’s sending and what it needs in order for you to function at and feel your best. We also guide you in overcoming the negative associations with food and your body that diet cycling has likely caused, so that you can be your own best friend again. We believe that eating should be a joyful experience, and we want to help you to feel that way, too!

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Accessibility

We offer both in-person and virtual nutrition counseling so that you can meet with a dietitian wherever you feel most comfortable. Our dietitians are licensed in most states across the country, so not living in Massachusetts doesn’t mean that you can’t work with us! We’re in network with most insurance companies in order to allow greater access to those who need our services.

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Does what you’ve just read resonate with you? Whatever your reason for seeking nutrition counseling is, we’re here to help. Use the link below to schedule an intake call and get set up with one of our amazing dietitians!

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