Jessica Kotlowitz is a registered dietitian with a masters degree in nutrition. She has her own private practice in Cape Town, where she does one-on-one consulting with patients, helping them to use plant-based nutrition to address various health issues and manage their weight.
But that’s just the beginning… In addition to her private practice, Jessica also writes paid nutrition articles for various companies’ websites and publications, does paid public speaking, consults to restaurants and runs workshops.
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Having been through a health and weight-loss journey herself, she’s passionate about helping other women to find true health through sustainable lifestyle changes while maintaining good mental health.
Here, she explains why working one-on-one with other women and seeing them transform their health is the most rewarding part of her job.
Firstly, how did Jessica Kotlowitz get into the industry?
In order to be a registered dietitian (RD), you have to study a BSc. Dietetics degree, which is available at most universities in South Africa. “The degree is usually four to five years, you usually need great matric results and need to be strong in maths, science and biology to get in. Once you’ve completed your degree, you will need to do community service for the Department of Health in the country for a year,” she says.
What will you need to get into dietetics
If you don’t have a dietetics degree, you can’t practice as an RD. So, the first step is to get your dietetics degree. Next, you’ll have to do a mandatory year of community service for the Department of Health. This serves as great work experience and can help you to make connections and get a good job after the year is over.
“It’s hard to find internships in the healthcare industry as patient confidentiality and anonymity are very important to us,” says Jessica. “I don’t personally allow students to work shadow me or sit in on my consults, but there are some sectors of dietetics where you might be able to work shadow or intern (e.g. for a dietician working in a hospital where the consults are not as private).”
Difficulty in dietetics career growth
The industry is fraught with people claiming to be nutrition experts, but not having any real scientific qualifications. “These people are also able to use lots of false marketing tactics to reel in customers (which RDs aren’t allowed to do), so it has become increasingly difficult for RDs to compete and to establish themselves as the real experts in nutrition,” she adds.
At the same time, job opportunities for RDs outside of private practice are relatively limited and require extensive experience, so new RDs often struggle to find jobs or to forge a career path.
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As a relatively young RD, Jessica started her private practice almost straight out of community service with very little work experience. “Our degree doesn’t give us much training on how to run a business, the ins and outs of running a private practice and how to counsel patients through difficult issues. I’ve just had to have a lot of self-confidence and believe that I am the best at what I do, even if I’m still learning. Being open and honest about what I don’t know and accepting feedback and criticism has also helped me to grow and learn,” she says.
Leadership lessons from Jessica Kotlowitz
1/ You can’t always play the “good guy or girl” if you want to be successful.
2/ There will always be people who don’t like you, don’t agree with your opinions or who you don’t want to work with. Learning to accept that not everyone will like you or want to work with you and that this is part of attracting the customers that are right for your business is also key to success.
3/ Learning to say no to the people who don’t serve you without being scared of failure is a key part of being true to yourself and your business values.
4/ Put yourself out there and follow your unique feminine energy, passion, wisdom and intuition.
5/ Give yourself down time when you need it. Work hard and face your fears by being vulnerable and accept guidance from others. The rest will fall into place.
A must-read book for every woman
Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
How Jessica practices self-care
“My number one self-care tool is good nutrition and lifestyle habits. There are a few things I will never compromise on, even if it means saying no to work opportunities: eating my fruit and veg, staying hydrated, getting eight hours’ sleep a night, taking my supplements, moving my body at least three times per week and getting outdoors at least once per week,” she says.
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Jessica goes to a therapist once a week to iron out all of her internal struggles and worries. “I also spend time with amazing soul-friends, cuddle my pets daily, stay away from negative news articles and social media accounts, limit cellphone time, go to the chiropractor (my husband) weekly and I treat myself to great skincare and facials (I’m a big believer in skin health!),” she adds.
Connect with Jessica…
If you want to get in touch with Jessica, send me an email via my website
