Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisha Virani.
Hi Alisha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you for having me and allowing me to share my professional journey! My name is Alisha Virani and I am a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist based in Atlanta, GA. Finding my path in the health field was definitely an evolution of various interests and exposures.
Becoming a dietitian was never on my radar until I took my first intro to nutrition class in college. I always wanted to do medicine, but taking my first nutrition class changed my perspective from wanting to treat disease to preventing it. I changed my major to nutritional sciences in college and then went on a journey to find where i could use this degree in the healthcare field. I worked with cancer research for a few years after college and then moved to Atlanta to focus on translating nutritional sciences into practical solutions. I went to Georgia State University to get my Master’s in Nutrition and Dietetics and then became a Registered Dietitian licensed in the state of Georgia. I quite naturally fell into specializing in diabetes care, including prediabetes, managing Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes. I started my nutrition business while working full-time at the Diabetes Center at Grady Hospital. While my role at the Diabetes Center gives me the hands on experience of working directly with patients, my business allows me to offer practical guidance and solutions to institutions running programs addressing the burden of diabetes that can benefit from my expertise. In addition to consulting services, my business also offers group and one on one nutrition counseling to clients who want to prevent or manage diabetes. Navigating all of the information in media can be challenging. My business strives to sort through all of that information and provide evidence-based practices to organizations and to individuals to help ease the burden of living with diabetes.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Building a business is not an easy feat. The hardest part was figuring out what I wanted my niche to be. I tried many different ways to offer my services, most of them not working out well for me. Meaning, I worked a lot for very little in return and was getting burnt out quickly. Even though I loved what I was doing, I needed to be realistic about making my business sustainable, especially since I was still working full-time. There are only so many hours in a day! I also do not think I saw a profit from my business until about the 3rd or 4th year, which made it hard to keep going at times. I chose to work full-time and make my business a hobby which eventually grew to where it is now. To be honest, I think that worked in my favor even though it took me a while to see the fruits of my labor.
We’ve been impressed with Wholesome Fuel, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Wholesome Fuel, LLC is a nutrition consulting business whose aim is to address the burden of diabetes from an individual and public health perspective. I not only counsel individuals on evidence-based tools and practices that can help people prevent or manage their disease, but I also work with companies as a consultant to drive forward programs and services that are targeted towards diabetes management and prevention. For example, I am a program coordinator through the Type 1 Diabetes Exchange to use my knowledge and expertise to conduct methods of quality improvement when caring for people living with Type 1 Diabetes in a diabetes clinic. I am also working with Emory’s School of Public Health to understand how to best leverage mobile technology to address diabetes-related disparities using health equity lens. In addition, I work directly with individual clients to help them learn about their disease and develop an individualized self-management plan that can help improve their health outcomes. I also train clients on using insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors and educate individuals on how to make decisions based on the data this type of technology provides.
Creating rapport with my clients is key. I want to make sure we both feel comfortable to address the challenges of living with diabetes together without the fear of being judged. I work with my clients to develop the best plan for them. Meaning I honor personal preferences and culture while encouraging clients to make informed choices that are best for them.
I also provide corporate presentations on various nutrition topics ranging from more general nutrition topics to specific disease-related themes (lunch and learns for corporate wellness events).
What does success mean to you?
To me, success means being the person people look up to and seek guidance and expertise from because they feel I am a trusted, reliable source in my field. It is also making an impact on those who see improvement in their health metrics which can lead to enhanced quality of life from an individual level to a whole community.
Pricing:
- $150 per hour
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wholesomefuel.com
- Instagram: @wholesome_fuel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholesomefuel
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/alisha-virani
