Introducing EDRD Pro member Shay Tinari, MS, RDN, LD, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor (she/her), owner of Shay Tinari Nutrition! Based in Springfield, Pennsylvania, Shay shares her home with her husband, two dogs, and two turtles. Keep reading to learn more about Shay and her wonderful work!

Where are you from, and where do you currently live and work?

I was born in Ohio, moved around growing up, and finally settled in PA in middle school and have been here ever since! I currently live in Springfield, PA, a suburb outside of Philly, with my husband, two dogs, and two turtles. My private practice, Shay Tinari Nutrition, is virtual, so I have an in-home office and see clients via telehealth.

What’s your favorite meal?

It varies! Right now, a breakfast burrito or quesadillas are regularly in my rotation! When dining out, any dish that incorporates French fries.

Tell us about the journey that brought you to work in eating disorder treatment.

I always knew I wanted to be a dietitian. After college, I found it difficult to gain experience in the eating disorder field, so I shifted focus to counseling people for weight loss + making behavior changes. At the time, I wasn’t familiar with HAES or weight-inclusive care. As I continued to work with clients 1:1 for weight loss, I started to learn how the pursuit of weight loss was so problematic for people’s health (both mental and physical) and how many people were really struggling with their relationship with food and slipping under the radar in the disguise of “health.”

Despite what my clients were being told by their doctors, I saw clients lose weight with their blood work getting worse, and I saw clients gain weight with their blood work getting better. That was a huge ah-ha moment for me as a clinician. I was then introduced to Intuitive Eating in my dietetic internship, which I am forever grateful for. It clicked for me right away, and the principles slowly started to integrate into my nutrition counseling style. I saw Evelyn Tribole, the co-founder of Intuitive Eating, present at FNCE and, during that presentation, I realized I wanted to go all in with this approach and work primarily with disordered eating and eating disorders.

Fast forward to today: thankfully, I am many years removed from working in the weight loss field. Hundreds of hours of continuing education later, including becoming a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, I have a virtual private practice where I practice from a weight-inclusive lens and use an Intuitive Eating approach alongside medical nutrition therapy to help people recover and heal from eating disorders, disordered eating, and dieting. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about how grateful I am to have ended up in the eating disorder field. I know this is where I am meant to be, and I am honored to work with and learn from so many incredible humans.

If you could choose to have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?

Stevie Nicks! Her music brings me joy, and she seems like someone who would be fun to dine with, with a lot of stories to tell 😊

What is a piece of career advice that you would share with someone starting off in the eating disorder field?

Network! Reach out to other RDs in the field – set up Zoom or in-person meetings. Join dietitian/ED Facebook groups. Join EDRD Pro – packed with so much incredible information. It has been a go-to resource of mine for quite some time!

What’s something that’s brought you joy recently?

The sunshine. The gloominess in PA during the winter months and even early Spring is rough, so really just being out in the sun and seeing the sunshine brings me instant joy. Also, planning my upcoming vacation to Montana with my husband and our two dogs!

What’s something you’ve learned recently?

I am learning Spanish through the Duolingo app for fun. I have always wanted to be bilingual but never took the steps to do it (until this year). I am currently learning all about describing your home.

Why eating disorder treatment? What drives you to do this work?

A combination of my own lived experience and early days being a weight loss dietitian (I practice from a weight-inclusive space now) and seeing how many people were struggling with their relationship with food, some without even really realizing because the behaviors are so normalized in our society. I want so badly to help people experience fewer thoughts and worries about food and know that food freedom is possible, no matter how much they may be struggling now.

Do you have specific areas of interest or special populations with whom you work?

I love working with adults who either have eating disorders, disordered eating, or a history of dieting, who are interested in an Intuitive Eating framework. I also love working with people who want to improve their bloodwork by focusing on health behaviors.

What’s your favorite part about being involved with EDRD Pro?

The courses and webinars! I often can’t make the live webinars, so being able to access the recordings is so beneficial. I can set time aside at my convenience to peruse the website and pick out webinars I am interested in. I also really love the weekly member Round Up emails that include articles, upcoming webinars, studies, and resources to review. I am constantly learning ways to be a better clinician, and I love it.

What projects, products, or services do you offer that you want to share with our audience?

 I currently offer 1:1 virtual nutrition counseling and am in-network with most major insurance companies. I also offer an Intuitive Eating support group 1x/year. I haven’t picked when the next cohort will start, but anyone interested can fill out the waitlist form here, and I will be in touch.