Meet Kymber Stephenson | HAES Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kymber Stephenson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kymber, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Balancing work and life has always been important to me, but evolved to be more challenging in recent years. I sometimes long for the earlier days of my career when the boundary between them was as simple as “clock in/clock out.” I used to be a very categorizing thinker. When my responsibilities clearly aligned in either the Work box, (like internships, scheduled shifts, spreadsheets) OR Life box (like friend time, paint & sip, yoga), work/life balance was a breeze. My boundary was a simple seesaw, and it was easy to ascertain when things were tipping unsupportively far in one direction. Fast forward a few years, throw in a global pandemic, being a new clinician hired virtually into a specialty with an incredibly specific learning curve and completely flexible work days ! BOOM. I was FLUNG from that idyllic self-care playground.

It took me several cycles of burnout and many sleepless nights to figure out why even though I was doing the most fulfilling, engaging, enjoyable work of my life, I wasn’t experiencing happiness in either. Ironically, all of the flexibility I valued and built into my brand left me feeling completely untethered. There were no boundaries, physical or otherwise, when working from home via telehealth, seeing clients from the same spot I could see my bed. My approach to this challenge was analytical: working backwards from the burnout, and tracing my patterns with overextension and stress. I then had to get more specific than ever before about defining my own needs, personal protocols, and boundaries. Taking the true freedom of flexibility back required me to be more intentional and definitive. I built in set hours, limited my client load, and put other protective self-care measures in place, like a dedicated cleaning day. (Tidy Tuesday rocks.) Now, I (mostly) enjoy the peace of a more balanced life and use my values of grace and accountability to ensure my sustainability as a clinician and my joy as a human.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I work as a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image. People are often surprised to find dietitians in the mental health space. I’d been trained in clinical dietetics and culinary nutrition, but stepping into an outpatient therapeutic role was a very new experience. And one of the best decisions I ever made.

What sets our practice apart at Side by Side Nutrition is that we take an inclusive health-at-every-size approach to nutrition counseling. We work in a client-led manner and move beyond meal plans to help folks explore their relationship with food, nutrition, body, and self.

Personally, I am most proud and excited about the unique way my work encompasses so many different facets of my lived experience and skillsets. I love educating clients about the multi-faceted ways history, marketing, food systems, culture, psychology, and body image affect health and relationships to nutrition, food, and body. Recognizing the complex, sometimes painful associations brought on by these challenges, I work with clients to truly fall in love with food again, acknowledging not only its nourishing properties, but truly embracing its comforts, tradition, and fun.

I have always described my career path as more of a rock climbing wall. I’ve had experience in just about every sector of food, nutrition, and dietetics you can think of. Nothing was particularly “easy,” (Becoming an RD is an arduous 5-8 year process) but each challenge required or instilled a distinct talent–that was the fun part. Progressing through roles has seldom felt difficult, but my greatest professional challenges came with navigating social/hierarchical structures in the workplace. The most meaningful lessons I’ve learned through those experiences apply in life and in yoga: if it already hurts to bend that way, don’t bend farther.

My story has graciously allowed me to learn so much about myself, and the foundation of my personal brand is that knowledge is meant to be shared:
I want the world to know that we all deserve to listen to our instincts, and honor that what feels good, may simply be that. I want for all of us to shed the shoulds which keep us stuck, live by our values, and ground in the validity that your wants are reason enough. I want admiration for needs well-met. And I believe that everyone deserves to feel nourished.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I literally DO make itineraries when people come to visit me. Haha, I am quite a planner. Here is one from a friend’s visit during Thanksgiving week a few years ago:

Tuesday: Work
P/U B
Go see M+K
Dinner at GB Fish & Chips (On Tuesdays, Tilapia is $1/piece. Go between 3-7 and I call it Tilappy Hour!) 5:30p
See a Play at Denver Performing Arts Center 7:30p

Wednesday: Work
P/u M+K
Food prep
Dinner at Nocturne
Movie at 16th Street Mall
Ice Cream at the Super Secret Speakeasy near Dbar (sorry y’all, can’t reveal this one!)

Thursday: Cook cook cook
M+K uber?
Cook cook cook
p/u Stephanie at 5:30p
Thanksgiving Dinner at 7p
Botanic Garden Lights
Black Friday shopping at Cherry Creek Mall 11p

Friday: Colorado Springs
(warm breakfast burritos)
Leave at 8a
Arrive by 9:30a
Colorado Springs Zoo
Lunch at Jamaican Restaurant Spice Island Grill 12p
Garden of the Gods 1:30p
Leave for airport 2:30p
The Big Wonderful Friday Night Bazaar or Christkindl Market 7p

Saturday:
Yoga w/ the Sharks at the Denver Aquarium 8a
Brewery tour w/ Steph (I’ve been to a million, but can’t seem to think of one in particular to recommend. For getting out of Denver and a macrobrew experience, try Fort Collins’ Odell or New Belgium. For non-drinkers, the Celestial Seasoning’s Tea Factory is my fave. For non-beer lovers in Denver, The Archetype Distillery just opened on Broadway, and it’s got an awesome story!)
Comedy show (I check 5280comedy.com to find a local show and affordable options for great laughs and cool venues)
Go out Saturday night (If you are young like I was at the time, and don’t mind getting sticky or darkness, try dancing it out at any of the bars on 20th & Market downtown. Feeling a little tamer? Grab a Denver Beer Passport and mosey up through the still fun but more mature scenes. First Draft is a place with a twist!)

Sunday:
Farmers Market on Pearl Street
Brunch Denver Biscuit Co.
Hiking at Red Rocks
Sunday fun day crafts @ Upstairs Circus
Dinner at home w/ farmer’s market ingredients

HINT: Even if you’re a lifelong CO resident, try checking out one of the digital scavenger hunt options on Groupon. They’ll help you learn about unnoticed nooks & crannies of our city and make even your millionth visit to downtown surprising.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shoutout Amber Thomas, RDN. She was my first domino. The chances of our paths crossing were so serenpdipitous, but as the preceptor I spent the least amount of time with during my clinical rotations, she was the one who most influenced the direction of my career. She casually introduced me to concepts which brought inclusivity to the core of my dietetics practice, and ignited my spark for social justice in nutrition and compassionate public health education. What started as a podcast in her office launched me into my destiny, and her ripple effect is already unquantifiable. Shoutout to Amber!

Website: www.sidebysidenutrition.com

Instagram: @sidebysidenutrition

Linkedin: Kymber Stephenson