WENDY NIELSEN
Registered Dietician
I have been a registered dietitian since 2002 and doing CrossFit since January of 2013. I grew up playing volleyball and softball but never learned what to eat or drink to help myself become a better athlete.
When I was in college I always wanted to work with college and professional athletes and said that I’d never work in a hospital. However, to become a RD, I had to complete a year-long dietetic internship that included 6 months of rotations in a hospital. I ended up liking the work I did with the sickest patients in the hospital, and this is how I began my almost 17-year hospital dietetics career. I have been working in critical care (intensive care units) for the past 10 years. I have helped and treated every type of patient you can possibly think of in my long clinical career.
In previous gym settings I’ve shied away from letting anyone know that I am a RD because I’d get bombarded with questions: “what protein shake should I be drinking?” or “can you tell me how to lose weight in my midsection?” I just wanted to work out!
Fast forward to becoming part of the community at CrossFit St. Paul and watching the athletes around me every day. The more I do CrossFit and experiment with my own diet, I’ve began to understand how our community could incorporate nutrition into our daily regimen. After all, nutrition is the bottom– the biggest part– of the CrossFit triangle. I am so passionate about the lifestyle that CrossFit promotes, and I want to work with others to help them achieve their fitness and lifestyle goals! CrossFit involves so much more than what happens in that 1 hour of class. My journey has finally come full circle!
