About

Welcome to Confidence Nutrition Counseling!

Hi! I’m Kelly Houston – a registered dietitian and founder of Confidence Nutrition Counseling.

I aim to help my clients have confidence in their food choices so they can stop worrying about food and start enjoying life. 

I’ve worked in outpatient nutrition counseling for over 10 years and over that time, two things have really stuck out to me as a clinician:

  1. It’s hard for people to determine what is actually HELPFUL nutrition information and not just NOISE.
  2. Even if people feel confident in what they KNOW or WANT to do, they often have challenge with HOW to fit that new information into their lives in a sustainable way.

A big reason I was drawn to outpatient counseling is that it gives me the opportunity to form long-term relationships with my patients and see them progress from the dread of overwhelm to the peace of nutrition confidence.

My Educational Background

  • Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
  • Didactic Nutrition Program at Saint Louis University
  • Dietetic Internship at Saint Louis University
  • Master of Science in Human Environmental Sciences from the University of Alabama

In addition to my formal nutrition education, I have additional training in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), blood sugar management, eating disorders, with extra education for binge-eating disorder, gastrointestinal disorders, and body image concerns. I also have a background in baby-led weaning, or safely allowing infants to self-feed.

These are some of the other trainings I’ve completed:

(These are not affiliate links.)

My Focused Practice Areas

I am happy to work with clients of any gender, no matter the size of their household to help them build their food confidence.

  • Women’s Health
    • Pre-Conception
    • Pregnancy
    • Gestational Diabetes
    • Post-Partum
    • Lactation
    • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
  • Infant and Toddler Feeding
    • Helping Mom & Dad determine adequate intake for infants
    • Baby-Led Weaning (Babies learning to self-feed solids at 6+ months)
    • Selective Eating for Kiddos 5 Years-Old and Younger
  • Insulin Resistance
    • Pre-Diabetes
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
    • Other Blood Sugar Management Concerns
  • Gastrointestinal Concerns
    • Constipation
    • Diarrhea
    • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
    • Bloating
    • Food Intolerances
    • Side-Effects from GLP-1 Medications
  • Disordered Eating
    • Binge Eating & Binge Eating Disorder
    • Stepping Away from Chronic Dieting & Restrictive Eating
  • General Wellness
    • Managing Lab Values, Including Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels
    • Managing Intense Cravings
    • Meal Planning
    • Fueling Exercise and Activity
    • Building Muscle Mass
    • Balanced Meals and Finding what “Healthy Eating” Looks Like for Your Individual Life

My Personal Background

I’ve always been interested in science. During college, I worked as a pharmacy technician at a retail pharmacy and considered going to pharmacy school. After I graduated with a biology degree, I worked at Express Scripts, Inc. as a pharmacy auditor. (That lets you know that I have an eye for detail. 🙂 )

While that job was fine, I kept wondering… “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

I also found health and nutrition interesting, so I applied to the Didactic Nutrition Program at Saint Louis University. (The Didactic Program is where you apply if you already have a degree, but still need the nutrition courses to go any further.)

During my first semester at SLU, I got married to my husband Eric.

After two years of Didactic Nutrition courses, I was ready to apply for a dietetic internship. All registered dietitians need to undergo 1,200 hours of supervised practice before they’re able to sit for the exam to become a registered dietitian. Fortunately, SLU decided they weren’t done with me yet, and I was accepted to SLU’s Dietetic Internship.

The internship ran the length of a typical school year, August to May. In the April of my internship, I found out that Eric and I were expecting our first child.

A big focus of my internship work was diabetes management. The last & longest internship rotation is the student’s choice (if their preceptor will have them). Fortunately, my preceptor Liz welcomed me back to the St. Anthony’s Outpatient Diabetes Clinic (now part of Mercy). On a typical day, I was leading counseling sessions for new and returning patients to help them manage their blood sugars in a way that worked for them.

Every other Friday, Liz and I would head over to St. Anthony’s main hospital (now Mercy South) to lead classes for women with gestational diabetes. This included us teaching about what carbs are, how to count carbs, how many carbs are encouraged at different times of the day for gestational diabetes, glucometer teachings, and helping them create their own meal plans to fit their needs.

I took and passed my RD exam in July, following my internship.

It’s currently required that dietetic students complete a master’s degree before becoming a dietitian, but it wasn’t a requirement when I was in school. However, because I was pregnant when I finished my internship, I applied to the ‘Bama by Distance Master’s Program, to start taking classes that next January.

My first job as a dietitian was at Alton Memorial Hospital. I had one floor of the hospital and oversaw their long-term care facility. Again, that job was fine, but I wasn’t super passionate about it. Boredom breeds creativity and that led to my starting a blog, RDNMama.com, now Kelly HoustonRDN.com. At the start, it was a lot about feeding my daughter and a huge focus on moms and infant/child feeding. It’s grown over the years as just a reflection of my points of view about nutrition topics over the years.

About 15 months into my job at the hospital, I got a call from Liz – my old preceptor. She had her own private practice at that time, RDbyyourside, LLC, and was about to have a baby. She asked if I would cover for her role for her maternity leave and then stay on as a provider after she returned. I’m so thankful to Liz, as she really gave me my start in outpatient counseling.

I worked with Liz for about two years, when I was out on maternity leave with my middle kiddo. During that time, I received a call from a local OB/GYN office, asking if I would join their office as their dietitian, working with their patients with gestational diabetes and seeing my own clients, as well.

That was a great role and I was there for about 6.5 years, including before and after the birth of my third (and final) kiddo.

Prior to starting Confidence Nutrition Counseling, I was at another private practice for about 1.5 years. While the dietitian team was great, there were some things that I had gotten used to doing my own way in my role at the OB/GYN office that I felt worked better for myself and my clients.

And the rest is history…

As your dietitian, I can promise you this:

I will never stop learning all that I can to help my clients live their best lives.

I can’t wait to get to know you and help you build your food confidence.

Feel free to learn more about Kelly, contact Confidence Nutrition Counseling, or schedule an appointment.