Julie Giarrana, a registered dietician who recently started offering personal nutrition services at the Simon Family JCC, originally got to the Center by responding to an ad for a substitute yoga instructor. It was Giarrana’s nutrition background, however, that caught the eye of Tom Purcell, Simon Family JCC’s wellness director. “One of the reasons I wanted Julie to offer her expertise in nutrition is the questions I receive as a personal trainer when it comes to dietary guidelines. We want to help our members and give them wellness services that they can trust,” Purcell says.
Raised on a farm in Ohio, Giarrana says she lived the farm-to-table experience before it was fashionable cuisine. “We ate everything we grew,” she adds. Her experience with college dorm food, “which tasted so bad to me,” led her to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics. “Fresh food made us healthy and being away from that made me want to learn about nutrition,” Giarrana says.
Giarrana has lived in Tidewater for 21 years, since her husband, in the ROTC, received orders to relocate to Norfolk. During her career, she has helped children and adults manage their diets while combating such illnesses as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and heart and kidney disease. When her youngest of three daughters, now in high school, was born with Downs Syndrome, Giarrana paused her career to help meet her child’s needs.
Not long ago, an uncle who needed help managing renal failure, consulted her for nutrition advice. Giarrana researched the condition and then developed a diet that ultimately helped him avoid the need for dialysis. With that success, she considered a return to her career.
“It’s pleasurable and fun when you see a person following through and see the changes in their bodies. It’s amazing!”
Giarrana maps out her relationship with interested clients, meeting in person or virtually. After logging three days’ worth of eating, the client and Giarrana will meet for a one-hour consultation. A 30-minute follow-up, two weeks later, will address personal issues such as food allergies, weight loss, diabetes, and high blood pressure, among others.
Giarrana does not believe in fad diets. Instead, she believes in a healthy way of eating. “I want to teach people the way everyone should be eating in America.”
For more information, call 757-321-2338 or email contact@SimonFamilyJCC.org. To register for a consultation for personal nutrition services, visit the MYJ app.