Meet Rachael Hartley
Rachael Hartley, RD, LD
Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Author of Gentle Nutrition
Hi there! I’m Rachael, a dietitian and nutrition therapist who joined the field because she really loves food. As a certified intuitive eating counselor, I am fiercely passionate about helping others ditch the diet rules and rediscover the joy of eating. My goal is to help my clients and readers nurture a healthier relationship with food, and improve their wellbeing with eating habits rooted in nourishment instead of restriction and deprivation.
Like most dietitians, I used to think nutrition was all about “eating less” and “eating right.” I believed what I was taught about weight and health being one and the same. Those beliefs led me down a path where food and eating became stressful and complicated. As I started working with clients, I quickly realized my approach wasn’t helping. I saw how the focus on weight and rigid diet rules turned something that should be a simple, nourishing act of self care, into an anxiety-filled chore.
Thankfully, I quickly realized that food is so much more than fuel, and that diet rules and rigidity weren’t the answer. I came to the realization that the purpose of pursuing health is to live a better quality of life, and if food and eating is feeling stressful, then it’s not actually helping with that goal. I saw how the fixation with the scale interferes with one’s ability to engage with health promoting behaviors. Not only that, but I learned how our cultural obsession with weight is fueling an epidemic of eating disorders and disordered eating. I began to see my role as a dietitian as helping people nurture a healthy relationship with food, and learn to make food choices from a place of nourishment, pleasure, and internal wisdom. With those realizations, I began to learn everything I could about intuitive eating, mindful eating, and Health at Every Size®, and began to integrate these non-diet approaches into my practice and personal life.
In 2013, I started my blog, The Joy of Eating, as a creative project and place to share my kitchen successes. In 2014, I launched my private practice as a place to focus on non-diet nutrition and wellness, and provide individualized support to help people navigate their eating concerns. I specialize in Intuitive Eating, eating disorder recovery, PCOS, and digestive disorders, and have extensive training in nutrition counseling. I also provide clinical supervision and business coaching to other dietitians looking to establish their own nutrition private practice, and grow their nutrition counseling skills. In 2020, my first book, Gentle Nutrition: A Non-Diet Approach to Healthy Eating was published. I moved to Boston in 2021, and while I continue to run my practice in Columbia, SC, where my associate dietitian Kate works with clients in person, I currently see clients virtually.
Through compassionate, affirming, and client-centered care for all bodies, and I want to help others redefine health and discover their own path to food peace.
Get to know Rachael:
Therapeutic Style: collaborative, validating, casual, relational, humorous, creative, individualized, loves a good analogy
Personality: empathetic, accepting, goofy, intellectual, curious, extroverted introvert (it’s a thing)
Values: compassion, autonomy, joy, flexibility, understanding, creativity
Favorite Foods: cheese (!!!), Asian noodle dishes, roasted broccoli, tiramisu, passion fruit, bagel with lox
Passions: partnering with my clients on their food peace journey; traveling with people I love, like my husband, friends, and family; my Bernese Mountain Dog (Rose); exploring old historic neighborhoods in Boston and enjoying the architecture; naps
Professional Bio
Rachael Hartley, RD, LD, is a Boston, MA-based nutrition therapist, certified intuitive eating counselor and nationally-recognized food and nutrition expert. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Human Nutrition and a Bachelors of Art in Psychology from Clemson University. After completing her dietetics internship at Emory University, she worked as a clinical dietitian and, later, as the outpatient dietitian for a large medical center where she provided individual nutrition counseling and led multidisciplinary disease management programs. In 2014, Rachael opened her private practice, where she specializes in intuitive eating, disordered eating and eating disorders, women's health, and digestive disorders. She also runs the popular food and wellness blog The Joy of Eating. As a trusted voice in the dietetics field, she collaborates with like-minded brands for recipe development and nutrition communications. She is active in her field, previously serving as the public policy coordinator of her state dietetics association, president of her local dietetics association, and newsletter editor for the Nutrition Entrepreneurs dietetic practice group. She is passionate about supporting other dietitians in their non-diet work, and has presented multiple times at national and local dietetics conferences, and works with dietitians individually through clinical supervision. Rachael has trained under dietitians Evelyn Tribole (co-author of Intuitive Eating), Marci Evans, and Anna Sweeney. She is the author of Gentle Nutrition: A Non-Diet Approach to Healthy Eating.
* After 7 years of running Rachael Hartley Nutrition from Columbia, SC, Rachael moved to Boston, MA in spring 2021 and is currently available for virtual appointments only.
The Team
Meet Kate Bennett
Kate Bennett, MS, RDN, LDN
Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor
Kate Bennett earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in Human Nutrition from Winthrop University. She went on to complete her dietetic internship through Winthrop University. She serves on the board for both local and state dietetic associations. Kate’s great joy comes each summer when she gets the opportunity to volunteer as a dietitian at a camp for children and teens with Type 1 Diabetes. Her personal nutrition philosophy is to be adventurous with food, trust her body to know what is needs, and to remember nutrition is just a small piece of the wellness puzzle. Fun fact: Kate has visited all 47 South Carolina State Parks, and her very favorite is Jones Gap State Park in Marietta, SC.
*Kate is available for in-person nutrition counseling in Columbia, SC, and works with clients virtually throughout the US.
Therapeutic Style: client-guided, conversational, affirming, imaginative, collaborative, open-minded
Personality: approachable, inquisitive, quick-to-laugh, thoughtful, extroverted
Values: dependability, autonomy, resilience, self-compassion, curiosity, openness
Favorite Foods: BBQ pork nachos, coconut curry with basmati rice, Caesar salads, ripe peaches, warm brownies a la mode
Passions: helping clients liberate themselves from food and body fears; raising my baby daughter Violet with my husband Terry; spending quality time with people I love; creating detailed travel itineraries for road trips; baking sweet treats for every special occasion; being a camp dietitian for kids with type 1 diabetes
