Meet Jillian Greaves | Functional Medicine Dietitian and Women’s Health Specialist

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

Hi Jillian, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Starting my own business was really motivated by a combination two things: my experience working as an Outpatient Dietitian in an endocrinology department at a big Boston Hospital, and my experience navigating my own health journey.

My health took a turn when I was a navigating a busy season of life. I was working full time in a busy clinical nutrition research setting while also studying to earn my Master’s degree in nutrition. I started experiencing unexplained symptoms like acne, anxiety, hair thinning, and eczema. I sought out help from my conventional providers, and was told that my labs looked “normal” and that everything was fine. The only option I was offered for my symptoms was medications. I was not willing to accept that I just had to live with these symptoms, or take medication.

This is what really motivated me to dig into the research on female physiology, to understand my own body and hormones better, and to start exploring the world of functional medicine. This gave me the ability to create a cohesive plan for myself and to eliminate my symptoms entirely using advanced testing, nutrition, lifestyle practices and supplements.

While working as an outpatient Dietitian, the gaps in our healthcare system for how women are supported was abundantly clear. Women’s symptoms are dismissed, they’re told to go on restrictive diets, and they’re often only offered medications like birth control as a treatment option.

These experiences changed the trajectory of my life and my career, and eventually lead me to seek out advanced training in functional medicine and women’s health. I started my business as a way to provide women with the support that I wish I had access to when I was struggling on my own health journey. It’s my mission to support women with personalized nutrition and lifestyle interventions that allow them to take back control of their health, reclaim their confidence, and to experience life at it’s fullest potential.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m a Functional Medicine Dietitian and Women’s Health Specialist with a virtual private practice. I help women identify and address the root causes of their hormone and digestive health symptoms using advanced lab testing, personalized nutrition, supportive lifestyle therapies, and mind-body practices as the first line of intervention.

What makes my business unique is my approach. I practice functional medicine nutrition AND work to supporting women in developing a positive, healthy, and flexible relationship with food and their body. I help women deeply understand body and the way it’s communicating with them. My approach helps women break the cycle of deprivation and restriction and is rooted in supporting whole body health.

It’s my mission to really change the landscape of healthcare for women, and to put women back in the driver’s seat of their own health.

I got to where I am today because I am so deeply connected to mission, and because early on in my career I got comfortable with the “gray area”. The nutrition and health space is incredibly polarizing. There are so many mixed messages out there along with a lot of extremist approaches and siloed thinking. There are not many practitioners out there that are doing this deeper functional medicine work AND supporting women with their mindset and relationship to food.

It’s also very easy to compare yourself to other’s in the industry, but over the years the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that showing up as my authentic self and sharing my message is the secret sauce to success.

I would love for the world to know that it IS possible to significantly improve and even eliminate unpleasant symptoms like miserable or absent periods, fertility challenges, acne, and bloating naturally….without restrictive diets and without sacrificing your relationship with food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Where do I begin?! First and foremost I need to shoutout my husband Andrew. Andrew has been my rock from the beginning and is a huge reason why I’m here today and why I have the opportunity to help so many women in my business. He supported me through grad school and dietitian training, and encouraged me to take the leap with starting my own business. He’s my biggest cheerleader, and plays a big role behind the scenes with supporting my expanding business.

I also have to shout out my family — they’ve also been my biggest supporters with starting and growing my business.

Bea Boas is another person I need to shout out. When I reached a certain point in my business, I was in a place where I was making a big impact, but I was working like a dog and approaching burnout. I lacked boundaries, I was nervous about hiring and expanding, and I felt like I was operating on a hamster wheel. Working with Bea and practicing ThetaBreathwork has been transformational for me. It’s allowed me to understand and work through limiting beliefs that were holding me back, and to gain the confidence and clarity I needed to create the business and life I desired.

Lastly I need to give credit to past mentors: Laura Schoenfeld and Erin Holt. Thank you!!

Website: https://jilliangreaves.com/

Instagram: @jilliangreavesrd

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillian-greaves

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jilliangreavesrd

Image Credits
Elizabeth Sanders