Hi, I'm Venessa Maser
Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, NTP
My journey began about 5 years ago when I started to notice weight gain, brain fog, and fatigue like I had not experienced before. I went to see my doctor and she suggested I get an ultra sound on my thyroid because she said it seems and felt a little enlarged. I did just that and the results came back with a diagnosis of a large goiter on my thyroid. She then referred me to an Endocrinologist who took blood samples and found that I was hypothyroid, vitamin B12 and vitamin D deficient. Two years after that I was diagnosed with full blown Hashimoto’s. When I asked my Endocrinologist if there was anything else I could do besides upping my thyroid medication year after year, she told me to avoid gluten and maybe try some selenium. That was not the answer I was looking for.
That answer left me feeling like I would just have to get used to the idea that my body had failed me and that there was nothing I could do about it. Refusing to accept that, I began researching functional and holistic practitioners. I found one in Albuquerque and made an appointment. Long story short, I paid $6000.00 for 6 months of “treatment” and a weekly 15 min or less phone call. Do I feel better? Heck yeah! However, I do not feel that I got $6000.00 worth of help from the program.
This got me thinking…I know I am not the only one who has an autoimmune disease and not everyone can afford to pay $6000 out of pocket. I wanted to put out there what I had learned throughout this process of healing to help others. So, I decided to get my NTP certification and thus Nutritionally You was born. I look forward to helping you on your wellness journey!
What Happens When You Work With Me?
I focus on the 6 Foundations of Nutritional Therapy.
Eating a nutrient dense diet of properly prepared and diverse whole foods supports the body in its daily functions. A whole food, minimally processed diet supports digestion, blood sugar, fatty acids, mineral balance and hydration.
It is the cornerstone to nutrition. This process requires a balanced microbiome. If there is dysfunction in any part of the digestive system from your brain to elimination, your body will be unable to absorb the nutrients from your whole food, nutrient dense diet making it difficult to regulate blood sugar and absorb fatty acids and minerals.
It is affected by what and when you eat. It is carefully regulated and any significant dip or spike in blood sugar can affect mood and energy levels. Blood sugar should roll along nice sweeping hills and not have huge dips or valleys throughout the day. Too many spikes and dips can cause dysfunctions in your adrenal system, pancreas and liver.
Healthy fats are our friends. Fat has a bad rap for many people, but not all fats are created equal. Healthy fats like olive oil, avocados and grass-fed butter helps to balance our hormones and maintain healthy brain function. They also provide that long slow burn energy that helps regulate our blood sugar levels.
Most people probably don’t think much about minerals but they are important to our overall health. Calcium is the one we are most familiar with and we all get plenty of that in our diets, but we may not be absorbing it because of things like poor digestion, poor hydration and low-fat diets. When we don’t absorb or get enough minerals it can affect our hormones, bones and muscles.
Many would be surprised to learn that many Americans are chronically dehydrated but it is true. Many of us eat a diet in highly processed foods and underestimate how much water we drink. Water supports our body’s ability to digest, regulate blood sugar, absorb fats and minerals. According to the NTA (2020) the body only makes about 8% of the water it needs. The other 92% has to come from what we eat and drink.
These 6 foundations have a profound impact on your health and wellbeing. When you work with me, together we will deep dive into your eating habits, lifestyle, stress level and health history. Together we will come up with a plan that supports the 6 foundations that is tailor made to fit your bio-individual needs. This is not a one size fits all program. It is tailor made for you!
20 min / Free
20 min call where we will discuss if nutritional therapy is right for you. This is a chance for us to get to know each one another to see if it is a good fit. It is also an opportunity for you to tell me what your health goals and challenges are. We will also discuss the ins and outs of how the program and HTMA (hair tissue mineral assessment) work together.
90 min / $300
This a 1:1 meeting (in person or virtual) where we will deep dive into health history, goals, lifestyle and diet through the evaluation of the Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (NAQ), Initial Interview, Food & Mood Journal and HTMA test results. You will walk away with a tool kit of recommendations completely tailored to your nutritional needs, goals and lifestyle.
60 min / $175
This is a 1:1 in person or virtual meeting if you are needing additional support after the Initial Assessment, or if you just feel you have questions or concerns after implementing recommendations.
This is a 1:1 in person or virtual meeting done after an HTMA retest to update recommendations based on updated HTMA & NAQ results.
This includes the Initial Assessment in addition to:
- Bi-weekly check in via email for accountability and to see how things are going, answer any questions or work through road blocks.
- Unlimited Messaging Support via client portal (during business hours)
- 2 – 60 min follow up meetings at in person or virtual to discuss progress, questions or concerns and make adjustments where needed.
- 1 – 1 hour grocery store shop to help you learn how to navigate the grocery store.
60 min / $75
1 grocery store of your choice. We will shop together and you will learn how to navigate the grocery store so that you can make more educated, well informed decisions when deciding on what to food to purchase for you and your family’s nutritional goals.
3 Hrs / $150
Learn about what no so healthy ingredients are lurking in your kitchen pantry. During this clean out you will learn what to look for and what “hidden” ingredients maybe thwarting your health and nutrition goals.