Today we’d like to introduce you to Benita Bobo.
Hi Benita, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been a figure skater for over 20 years and when I graduated from undergrad at UCLA, I knew I wasn’t ready to leave my passion for skating behind to get a “real” job. I kept pursuing skating which led me to performing with various shows, most notably Disney on Ice. It was an absolute dream being able to skate, entertain kids, and travel to over 20 countries in the world! My second passion in nutrition developed out of necessity because as a professional athlete living out of hotels, it wasn’t easy to meet all of my health needs. I became very interested in optimizing my nutrition for peak performance and soon realized that this could turn into a career (but I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually know what a dietitian was until I did more research). Honestly, I could have stayed on the road forever, but I did start to get the itch to settle down once I met my now husband in Georgia while on tour. As luck would have it, it turns out that Georgia State University has an excellent nutrition graduate program and I was fortunate enough to be one of the 13 students accepted for the year!
Now here’s where my story gets a little murky: my dad had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018, while I was still traveling. I took frequent breaks to visit home, see him, and help my mom. It still breaks my heart thinking about how cancer could reduce such a big strong man to skin and bones; it was so hard seeing him that way. The last time I saw him was at the beginning of August in 2019 and in my heart, I was pretty sure that was going to be the last time I’d see him alive. I started classes on August 26 and he died on August 29th. Devastated was an understatement, but I knew he’d be proud of me going back to school so I pushed forward.
Next plot twist is still hard to wrap my head around: About three months later I was hit with the unimaginable, a diagnosis of stage 4 bile duct cancer. I was actually originally diagnosed with low-grade ovarian cancer (in cancer terms, low grade is a good thing because it’s pretty much not cancer) … I’m not exactly sure how my initial diagnosis was so off but it was a blessing in disguise because nowadays, doctors will not operate on stage 4 cancers, but maybe they should because that’s the only reason I’m alive today! So in November of 2019, I had an extensive debulking surgery that involved cutting me wide open to remove my gallbladder, peritonium, appendix, uterus, part of my liver, and one ovary, as well as run a treatment called “heated chemotherapy” through my abdomen. The surgery was highly successful and I was temporarily cancer-free. When I woke up from anesthesia, all of my friends and family surprised me by wearing “Benita Strong” shirts featuring a cute little avocado (avocados had definitely become a theme of mine, especially on my nutrition school path). I felt so loved and supported during such a scary time.
I was somehow able to continue school without skipping a beat with the help of my classmates – my surgery happened during thanksgiving break and they sent me recordings of lectures so I could keep up while I was in the hospital and at home recovering. I was allowed to drive just in time to go back to campus for finals and successfully completed my first semester. Early in 2020, scans showed that the cancer was slowly starting to creep back in so my doctors decided it was best for me to have a port put in my chest and start chemotherapy which I did from February to May of 2020. The irony of covid is that it actually helped me out because even if I wasn’t feeling great, I could still log onto my computer for class and rotations. During this time, my husband and I decided to get married on the date planned before this whole crazy cancer-covid mess happened – on May 5, 2020 (cinco de mayo, taco tuesday!); we got married on our back porch with a handful of people (and our neighbors peeking over the fence :)) It wasn’t what we had in mind, but still so special.
Okay, back to cancer … so by the end of May 2020, my doctors decided that chemo wasn’t really giving me great results and the results of my genetic testing showed that I had a specific gene fusion of the FGFR2 gene that was causing my cancer and there were actually new trial drugs available to me. This was great news because even though it was still chemotherapy, it was “targeted” chemotherapy which means that it’s targeting my specific defect instead of attacking my whole body. Thanks to this amazing trial offered by Emory Hospital, I was able to go the next year and a half with monthly doctor visits and minimal side effects, finish my master’s degree in Health Science, and pass my board exam to officially become a registered dietitian!
I’ve always been interested in having my own private practice and life is short so I decided to go for it! I officially opened for business in November of 2021 as Be Strong Nutrition (a play-off of “Benita Strong” and featuring the same avocado guy!) with my 1964 vintage trailer as my home office. My ultimate goal is to specialize on aesthetic sports athletes (like figure skaters, dancers, gymnasts, swimmers, etc) and help dismantle diet culture. Eating disorders and disordered eating is so prevalent in these types of sports because historically there is a huge pressure to fit the “thin ideal” which is not realistic for most body types. I want these athletes to feel empowered with nutrition knowledge and learn the best strategies to fuel their bodies for optimal performance and to BE STRONG! Most importantly, I want athletes to understand that they don’t have to fit in a mold to excel at their sports – all bodies are good bodies and there are no inherently bad foods!
So about the cancer, that first drug stopped working for me in January of 2022 (basically your genes remutate to figure out a workaround) so I had to do some more chemo until July of 2022 and then was able to enroll in another clinical trial in Tennessee. So far, the side effects are more intense, but it’s working so I’ll take it! I don’t always have the energy I’m used to having, but I push hard because there’s so many people that need my help.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
VERY BUMPY. My dad’s cancer diagnosis, my own diagnosis, family suing me … it really sounds like a bad Hallmark movie! But my husband, Dexter, gets the gold star for being the most supportive, optimistic, amazing human being ever. I love him so much.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have two sides of my work. One is a figure skating coach and the other is a dietitian.
As a figure skater, I’m a double Gold Medalist in the disciplines of Free Skating and Moves in the Field. I toured professionally for six years and now coach at Atlanta Ice Forum in Duluth, Ga. As a coach, I’m just so happy that I can pass along my skills to skaters who love the sport just as much as I do. I’m a huge supporter of show skating because so many athletes come into the sport thinking they have to do tons of competitions and the only ultimate goal is THE OLYMPICS. That’s so far from true, so I love to talk about how fun my touring days were to encourage them to possibly take that path and even be coaches in the future.
As a registered dietitian, I’m very proud of having persevered through my health struggles to graduate and establish my own business. My experience as a professional athlete and my cute little camper office set me apart from others.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
When I was studying for my dietitian exam, I listened to “Chomping Down the Dietetics Exam” and that was super helpful. Nowadays, I really enjoy listening to “The Up-Beet Dietitians” and gain a lot of knowledge from Sports and Human Performance Nutrition (SHPN) which is a segment of the Academy of Dietetics, our national organization board, as well as the Georgia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The F*ck It Diet is a great read too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BeStrongRD.com
- Instagram: BeStrong_RD
Image Credits
Main profile image credit to Jim Cork Photography
