About Us
Hi, I’m Amy, dietitian and owner of Amy Lorraine Nutrition! We can’t wait to help you experience the food freedom you’ve been longing for.
The Team
Amy Camenisch, MS, RDN, LD, CLT
Owner and Dietitian
Annie Koempel, PhD, MA, RDN, LD
Dietitian
Deep Patel, RDN, LD
Project Administrator
Amy’s Story
Hi, I’m Amy! I live in beautiful Lexington, KY, with my husband and little boy. I became fascinated with the field of nutrition when I realized how widespread nutrition misinformation had become. In a world where banner ads provide tips about how to get rid of belly fat, clarity is needed. Gluten-free for all? Paleo? Keto? Dairy-free? Full-fat dairy?? It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin.
After a couple degrees, I thought I had it figured out. Moderation, variety, balance…not to mention a healthy dose of willpower and accountability…was the key to health and happiness. But what I eventually realized was that counseling my clients in this way and trying to practice what I preached was not working. It may not have been a fad diet, but it was definitely a diet mentality.
That’s when I found intuitive eating and all of a sudden it clicked. Living with a diet mentality has you always eating in what I call the “context of restriction.” We are always either currently restricting something, have just stopped restricting something, or are planning to restrict something in the future. This can make you feel completely out-of-control around food! Of course you find yourself eating like it’s your last supper. Certain foods are on a pedestal for you BECAUSE they are restricted from you.
But there is a different way of eating besides “watching what you eat” or “eating everything and anything in sight.” It’s called intuitive eating.
The principles of intuitive eating healed my own relationship with food and I’ve seen them do the same for many clients.
Intuitive eating is a self-care eating framework that rejects the diet mentality. As I slowly stopped weighing myself and counting calories, I was scared…mostly of gaining weight! But what I started to learn was that our focus on weight has actually caused more harm than good by way of weight cycling, weight stigma, and disordered eating. The pursuit of weight loss can wreak havoc on a person’s physical AND mental health!
The journey of eating intuitively taught me to speak compassionately to myself, to give myself space to explore what aspects of food and nutrition were truly important to me, and to RELAX around food so I could finally enjoy it without being stuck in the black hole of counting calories, justifying splurges, and planning compensatory workouts.
And yes, you can still benefit from intuitive eating EVEN IF you’ve been told you need to lose weight for a health condition such as PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome).
I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2016 after having struggled with the symptoms for years. But it wasn’t until I adopted intuitive eating that I finally started to see restoration and healing. Two years after starting my intuitive eating journey and one year after discontinuing birth control, I experienced regular cycles for the first time and became pregnant. I believe that if I had continued restricting myself around food that I may not have been able to achieve this.
I would love to introduce you to intuitive eating and be your partner on your journey to a relationship with food you thought you could never have.
For more on how I practice or to apply to work with me or a team member, view my services page.
Amy’s Professional Bio
Amy Lorraine Camenisch, MS, RDN, LD, CLT, is a Lexington, KY-based nutrition therapist. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and a Master of Science in Dietetic Administration from the University of Kentucky, where she served as President of the Student Dietetic Association for one year. Amy completed her 1200-hour dietetic internship through the University of Kentucky’s Coordinated Program, including rotations in medical nutrition therapy and food service systems management at a local hospital and a rotation in community nutrition at a local fitness center. She then worked as a clinical dietitian, where she assessed and counseled patients with a wide variety of diagnoses at three different facilities within the same hospital group. After two years, she went on to work as a renal dietitian at multiple clinics for a large dialysis provider. She counseled 100-120 dialysis patients on a monthly basis regarding the elements of a renal diet and general health and nutrition guidelines. Amy opened her private practice in the fall of 2016. After two and a half years with the dialysis company, Amy left to work part-time as a health coach for a regional corporate wellness program while growing her private practice. She established Amy Lorraine Nutrition in the fall of 2017. Amy is a Certified Leap Therapist (CLT) and is qualified to walk clients through the Mediator Release food sensitivity testing and corresponding nutrition therapy (LEAP). Amy is active within her local chapters of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and has served as Bylaws Chair and Treasurer for the Bluegrass Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In 2021, she completed a certification program to become a PCOS and Food Peace Provider. She currently sees clients who desire to heal their relationship with food through giving up dieting and pursuing intuitive eating. Amy has spent many hours working with clients who have IBS and/or PCOS and offers a unique non-diet approach to the management of these conditions.
Annie’s Story
Before becoming a dietitian, I was trained as an anthropologist where I learned to understand the complex webs that humans live in. As I took courses and completed my dietetic internship, it never quite made sense that the “common sense” approach to health issues began with advice to lose weight. What does that mean anyway? Losing weight isn’t an activity. You can’t lose weight like you can walk around the block or cook a nice meal. When someone says “lose weight” a lot of times that’s interpreted as “calories in and calories out” but humans are not machines! Humans are living, breathing, layered, changing beings who can build relationships with and through food.
Food is not gasoline, it is not simply fuel. Food is how we learn who we are and who others are.
So much is missed by focusing on weight – the joys of cooking and moving, the freedom of not thinking about cooking and moving, and an opportunity to explore health and wellbeing in all its beautiful complexity…rather than as just a series of numbers.
Everyone has a different relationship with food. Intuitive Eating provides the framework for digging deep and unpacking those relationships. It’s hard work, it’s long work, but it is unendingly worthwhile. I look forward to hearing about how food connects you to others and how you would better like to connect with food.
My own food story includes Pizza Sunday with my husband (and dog, although he doesn’t get any pizza, no matter how much he begs), dinner parties with friends, and a good amount of peanut butter and whipped cream. Recently I’ve been exploring intuitive movement more – rediscovering what feels good to my body, rather than what I’ve convinced myself my body needs. Some days I go for long walks, other days I run, sometimes light stretching does the trick.
I became an Intuitive Eating Counselor in 2017 and received my PhD in anthropology (where I wrote about sharing food and disordered eating) in 2022. I love nothing more than talking with people about food and being with them on their journey to discovering food peace!
Annie’s Professional Bio
Annie Koempel PhD, MA, RD, LD, is a Lexington, KY-based anthropologist and dietitian. She completed her dietetics coursework and internship through the University of Kentucky and has been a Registered Dietitian since 2016. She began working as a program manager at the University of Kentucky in 2016 on nutrition and food-related grant projects. She works closely with university and community organizations and individuals on community-based food programs, including a farmer’s market walking program, produce box distributions, local food initiatives, and a blackberry growing project. She teaches an annual graduate course in the Dietetics and Human Nutrition department at UK that explores the nuances and complexities that influence food behaviors. The course ends with in-depth discussions about Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating. Annie has been a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor since 2017 and has taught dozens of Intuitive Eating group classes at libraries, grocery stores, and online. In 2022 she graduated from the University of Kentucky with a PhD in anthropology; her work explored non-market food distribution and disordered eating in eastern Kentucky. She is passionate about helping clients heal from disordered eating and re-learn how to trust their bodies.
Deep’s Story
*Deep is currently not seeing clients and is solely functioning as a project administrator.*
Hi, I’m Deep! I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and Project Manager currently working remotely out of Virginia, while my wife finishes her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (I’m very proud of her!). My mission is to help people live healthier and happier lives by teaching them how to ditch diet culture and restore their relationship with food!
Food is more than just nourishment for our bodies; food is a part of our happiness, food is ingrained in our childhood memories, food is an expression of the world around us and the culture of the people in it. So why then can it feel like an enemy at times? Welcome to the perils of diet culture and the massive industry in place to keep you from peace with your body and what you choose to put in it.
There are entire industries whose whole business models revolve around guilting and shaming us for what we eat and look like. That’s why it’s no surprise that many of us living in diet culture feel lost and frustrated with food and with ourselves for not meeting the near-impossible expectations set for us by society. In fact, dieting is hurtful and the weight cycling that results can be detrimental to your health and any health conditions you may have.
Don’t worry, there’s a solution. (Enter Intuitive Eating)
Intuitive eating is exactly what it sounds like; you learn to listen to what your body needs AND wants, NOT what diet culture wants. This can help prevent intense cravings and honestly just help you feel less stressed. In another world where diet culture didn’t exist, we would just call this eating.
Deep’s Professional Bio
Deep Patel, RDN, LD, is a Blacksburg, Virginia-based Consulting Dietitian and Project Manager. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise with a focus in dietetics from Virginia Tech, where he completed both his undergraduate studies (summa cum laude, Calhoun scholar) and dietetic internship. During his time at Virginia Tech, Deep served as the President of the Student Nutrition and Dietetics Association (SNDA) and a Nutrition Counselor for the campus and corporate nutrition counseling services. He also worked closely with the dietitians at Virginia Tech Sports Nutrition and has experience educating and serving the complex nutritional needs of Division 1 athletes (with a focus on football). Deep aligns with the Health At Every Size (HAES) philosophy and enjoys helping people learn more about intuitive eating and how to repair their relationship with food.