Meet Kendra Thoenes | Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, RYT-200hr

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kendra Thoenes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kendra, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ in the Catalina Foothills. I started dance lessons at 3 years old and dance remained a significant part of my life for many years. When I turned 14, I decided that I also wanted to model, and my loving mom sent me to Barbizon modeling school. I was also raised in the 90’s and early 2000’s when dieting was all the rage. I remember almost every adult that I knew at the time was on Atkins, Jenny Craig, or going to Weight Watchers meetings. I think that being a dancer and an aspiring model, I internalized a lot of ideas about what a female body should look like. These ideas followed me to college as I tried to navigate difficult circumstances as a new adult. Ultimately, my eating patterns became disordered and my relationship with my body, very damaged. After I graduated with my bachelors in psychology, I was left searching for meaning in my life, unsure of the next steps I wanted to take. I stumbled upon a yoga teacher training course that ultimately helped me to reconnect with my inner self and disconnect my self worth from my appearance. The course was the first step on an incredibly healing journey for me in learning to eat normally again and respect my body.
My world shrank when food was running my life. Healing from disordered eating and body dysmorphia gave me room to grow again and I found that so valuable. Today I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor because I want to help my clients along their journeys to a peaceful relationship with food and oneself.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I run a private nutrition counseling practice serving individuals living in the AZ area. My practice emphasizes the principles of Intuitive Eating, helping people to reconnect with their natural hunger/fullness cues, and bringing foods IN to the diet instead of taking them out. I specialize in assisting those who have struggled with chronic dieting and eating disorders, and am also well equipped to assist athletes as a prior personal trainer with five years of experience, and an endurance athlete myself.

After I graduated from college, I knew that I would need to create a space for myself to practice freely. My background in psychology has instilled in me a passion for counseling, so I knew that I would never feel fulfilled in a full-on clinical setting such as a hospital. My practice is my passion project. It is a safe space for my clients to repair their relationships with food, free of judgement or guilt. I feel that that is so important and special.

I was hesitant to start my own practice at first, but my family and friends were so incredibly supportive and kept nudging me along when I felt discouraged. One of the main things that I’ve learned so far is how to set boundaries with myself. Because I work from home, sometimes it can be difficult to separate “work” time from “relaxing”. I created official private practice hours for myself to enforce this separation and it has been very helpful.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely have to spoil this friend with FOOD because Tucson is a UNESCO World Gastronomic City! A few places we might go (food and not):

– Raging sage coffee roasters have the best scones in town. The pecan strusel is my favorite.
– Sabino canyon – a National park that I grew up with in my backyard. The park is great for hiking and enjoying natural wildlife.
– Sausage Deli- a local deli with great sandwiches near the U of A.
– 4th Ave Street Fair- a fun little arts festival that happens twice annually, full of artists and their beautiful crafts
– Sonoran Delights- there are tons of amazing places in town to grab a great taco, but this is one of the very best.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to recognize Wanderlust Yoga in Austin, TX as a major influence in my story. Their yoga teacher training program truly helped me to reconnect with myself.

Website: Www.ktnutritionaz.com

Instagram: @tucson.nutritionist

Image Credits
Taylor Noel Photography