Connect
To Top

Meet Safa Nooromid RDN, LD of Nooromid Nutrition Consulting in Sandy Springs

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Safa Nooromid RDN, LD.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Safa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am originally from Iran. My family and I left Iran and moved to Israel during the 1978 Iranian Revolution. It was so sudden that we didn’t have a chance to plan accordingly and we left everything behind. We thought we would return home when things would get back to normal, but unfortunately, it didn’t. Can you imagine leaving the house and country you lived in your entire life and never be able to go back? I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to my friends. That was the hardest thing for me since there was no Internet or social media back then to be in touch with them. It was a very hard few months to get adjusted to a new life and learn a new language.

While I was in Israel, I learned how to speak Hebrew and attended the University of Jerusalem for one year. Just about the time I was fluent in Hebrew and adjusted to living in a new country, I met my husband (he was briefly visiting his family, who had also left Iran during the revolution) and we got married there. We then moved to Atlanta, where he had just graduated from Georgia Tech with an engineering degree.

When I came to Atlanta, I didn’t speak any English. I just learned Hebrew in Israel and now I had to learn English and get adjusted to a new lifestyle. In order to go back to school, I had to take English ESL courses and then take the SAT. It wasn’t easy, but I attended Georgia Tech’s ESL program as my husband got a student visa for me. I then transferred to Georgia State University to continue with my education degree that I started in Israel. As soon as I started college courses, I got pregnant with my first child and had to put my college degree on hold. I ended up staying at home with my son and tried to go back to school, but it was very difficult since I had no family here to help me with childcare, and I wasn’t ready to put him in daycare as an infant. I was raised in a family in Iran that was very close and my mom stayed home with all her children. We had family meals together, where everyone came home for lunch and went back to school or work afterwards. Our lifestyle was so different than here in the U.S. that I wasn’t ready to go back to school and let someone else take care of my kids. After almost four years, I had my daughter and was so busy raising my children that, once again, it was impossible to think of going back to school. Since my husband had just started his own business, he wasn’t able to help with the kids as much as he wanted to.

After my children attended school, I had some free time and began teaching Hebrew to children getting ready for their bar or bat mitzvah. I also was very involved in our board of trustees and sisterhood as well as volunteering in my children’s school. So, I got very busy and didn’t have time to go back to school to pursue my college degree for another decade.

After my son became a bar mitzvah and both him and my daughter were in middle school, I decided to go back to college. Most of my friends were wondering why I wanted to do that with all the responsibilities I already had. I also learned how to play tennis and was playing on an ALTA team. My tennis team was not happy that I wasn’t going to be available once I got busy with school. But that was my goal and it was on my bucket list to finish my college degree. It wasn’t easy, as I had to start all over again since it was almost 15 years from when I originally attended college. My passion was in health and wellness. I started taking all science courses and did really well. My challenge was English since it was my second language. When I asked my advisors about health field majors, they all discouraged me from a nutrition degree and told me there currently were no jobs in the field. Instead, they mentioned a very high demand for nursing as well as other similar fields. I got accepted to a few programs, but it wasn’t something I had a passion for. At that point, I didn’t care if there were no jobs in nutrition. I didn’t need to work to support my family and I wanted to do something that I loved. I attended Georgia State University and pursued my nutrition degree since I was passionate about healthy eating and wellness. I was raised eating very healthy in Iran and everything there was prepared with fresh ingredients. Everyone would go to the market on a daily basis and we never ate anything that was processed or frozen. When I moved here, I noticed how most people relied on fast food or processed food, leading a very unhealthy lifestyle. So, here is when I started my journey and my passion of becoming a registered dietitian. I am so glad that I followed my dream.

Has it been a smooth road?
No, it wasn’t a smooth road at all. I had so many challenges along the way that every once in a while, I wasn’t sure if I should continue what I had started. But I have to say that I was so determined to finish my degree and I wasn’t ready to quit. The drive to Georgia State was almost 1 to 2 hours every morning during rush hour. I had to get my kids ready for their school and have their lunch and clothes ready the night before in order to leave by 7:00 am. My husband was so busy with his business that he wasn’t able to help much with grocery shopping and the kids’ activities. I had to get home by 4:00 pm and carpool them for afterschool activities, as well. I also still had to buy groceries, do laundry, make dinner, help my kids with homework and school projects, take care of the house chores, and try to study at the same time. The only way I was able to do this was by recording my lectures and play them in my car or when I worked out at the GSU gym during my breaks. I also had to stay up late at night to finish papers and projects. If my kids were sick and I had to miss a class, I had to make sure to get the notes and study on my own. There were a few occasions during my 5-6 years of college that my son and daughter had accidents/surgeries that required them to stay home from school. On a few occasions, I had to take my daughter to my classes when she wasn’t feeling well. I believe if I had been working, it would’ve been easier and I could have taken time off of work. But I couldn’t miss too many classes, as I would’ve easily fallen behind and not graduated with my class. After graduation, I had to take the GRE to apply for graduate school and an internship. After I got accepted to a GSU internship program, my one year of interning was very intense with different rotations in various hospitals and clinics. I have to say this was the hardest year for me since I couldn’t take any time off from my rotations and I just wanted to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

After that, I had to take my board exam in order to become a registered dietitian. After studying a few months for my boards, I finally passed. The day that I passed my boards, I realized nothing was impossible. If you put your mind to something, you will make it no matter how hard the journey is. It was truly satisfying to see that my hard work had paid off.

Life is not easy. But without challenges in life, you are not going to grow. So, for me, this journey has been a very rewarding experience and the moments throughout are what make it really worth it.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Nooromid Nutrition Consulting – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.

We provide one-on-one nutritional consulting for people with anything from minor health issues to major illness as well as to anyone wishing to improve their overall quality of life. Consultations are scheduled by appointment only and take place at our office. Our services cover, but are not limited to the following:

  • Weight Management and Overall Fitness
  • Diabetes Management
  • Kidney Disease
  • Cardiac Health (Cholesterol & Triglycerides)
  • Hypertension
  • Family Nutrition
  • Grocery Store Visits
  • Meal Planning
  • Senior Wellness
  • Food Sensitivities and Allergies
  • GI Disorders
  • Eating Disorders
  • Sports Nutrition

As your consultants, we will:

  • Help you develop a plan to become your best and healthiest self.
  • Assist you in establishing regular and realistic goals that will work with your lifestyle.
  • Understand and tackle the current problems you face as well as collaborate on solving them.
  • Motivate and challenge you to go beyond what you believe you could accomplish on your own.
  • Coach you over the phone or video chat, which enables you to connect with us at any place and time.

We are known for spending quality time with our patients and treating them with respect and dignity no matter what kind of lifestyle they have. We never judge them and are very supportive of their struggles.

We specialize in prevention for kidney disease, diabetes, and overall wellness. What separates us from other practices is that we are in-network with most insurance companies. Most plans cover nutrition consulting, however, what’s interesting is that most patients are not aware of this benefit. So, they get really excited when they find out they have coverage.

What role has luck (good or bad) played in your life and business?
I am blessed to have such an amazing and supportive family. My best luck was when my daughter Rachel joined my practice to help me with building our team and operation. She watched me work to reach my goals and this motivated her to become a health coach and nutrition specialist, as well. And my son Bobby helped us build our website and online presence. My husband Shahrokh has been very supportive since my graduation and has more time around the house now that his business is more established. I also work as a renal dietitian and am very fortunate to be working with a great nephrologist that refers patients to my practice for prevention and overall health. I really enjoy working with interns and have been lucky to have a few of them also collaborate on our team.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in