I’m Laura Hope Cohen (known on Facebook as Laura Kramer Cohen). Born in Baltimore, MD we moved to Miami, FL when I was 2 1/2 so my father could complete his medical residency. My entire extended family is from Baltimore and I do feel it important to point out that my roots are there. My husband thinks that’s funny. But he did not think it was funny that I grew up a die-hard Miami Dolphins fan. Yes, I converted to be a Patriots fan. It was in the vows.
Growing up in sunny Florida meant year-round beach, boating, and pool. And bodies on constant display. I didn’t think of it this way until my own body began to change at 15. Suddenly, I became very interested in exercise and nutrition. I joined my first gym at 15. Later I saw a Registered Dietitian (RD) because I wanted to “lose a few pounds.” I was by no means overweight; but this was the ‘80s’. By 16, I knew I wanted to have a career in nutrition.
My nutrition education began at Syracuse University where I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Coordinated Dietetics in 1993. I achieved a Masters of Science in Food and Nutrition in 1995 from New York University. I knew what to eat, but I didn’t know how to prepare it so…I earned an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University (Vail Colorado campus). I was one educated dietitian!!!
I moved to Boston and worked for a few years as an outpatient dietitian at Massachusetts General Hospital. My specialties were weight loss, HIV, and Oncology as well as functioning as a bi-lingual RD in Chelsea, MA. At the same time, I also worked, with 2 other RDs, as a nutritional specialist for the New England Patriots football team. It was really cool to get to the stadium for early morning practice as well as counseling at the training camp at Bryant College.
I moved to Boston and worked for a few years as an outpatient dietitian at Massachusetts General Hospital. My specialties were weight loss, HIV, and Oncology as well as functioning as a bi-lingual RD in Chelsea, MA. At the same time, I also worked, with 2 other RDs, as a nutritional specialist for the New England Patriots football team. It was really cool to get to the stadium for early morning practice as well as counseling at the training camp at Bryant College.
But I was unsatisfied with being a clinical dietitian. I didn’t feel I really made a difference in peoples’ lives. I resigned from MGH. For years, I thought I just wasn’t a good enough dietitian. More to come on this later.
After my second child was born, I continued to be a “stay at home” Mom. I do not regret that decision; but as time moved on, I needed more. Network marketing seemed to be a good fit. My first experience was with a skin care company. I learned a lot about the network marketing industry, but I was not passionate about the product line. In 2011, I was introduced to a very successful company in the “wellness” field. I was hesitant because some of the philosophy went against my own nutrition beliefs; but I found my way to utilize the opportunity that made sense to me. I always believed in “health.” Just not diets. In my nine years, I learned so much about business and myself. But I also knew it was, again, time to move on.
In the spring of 2020, when the world was shutting down from Covid, my then 16-year-old daughter was diagnosed with an eating disorder, Anorexia Nervosa. This was not a journey I chose; but it has made me a better mother and a more compassionate person. During the first months of her illness, I had to look in the mirror and see that my professional choices did not align with my daughter’s recovery. I walked away from the business to do the necessary “soul searching.”
During this time, I did a LOT of reading. I came across one of my first mentors as a young RD, Evelyn Tribole, and saw that she was back in the nutrition spotlight with her movement of Intuitive Eating. It was like it fell into my lap as I read her first book and used it as my nutrition bible back in 1996! I decided to become a Certified Intuitive Eating Practitioner. I LOVED every minute of my training. All I did was read and read some more. Between my IE certification course and reading “The Anti-Diet” by Christy Harrison (and so many others like Lindo Bacon’s Books) it all started to make sense to me!! It was not ME who was a bad dietitian!!!! It was that DIETS DO NOT WORK and intentional weight loss is not sustainable!!!! As I read study after study, the tears streamed down my face….. a lot of what I was educated on in all my studies, was just was not accurate. And it made me very angry and disappointed. It became crystal clear to me that I had a new mission to support those that have been adversely affected by diet culture and looking to reclaim that part of their life again.
From this transformation, you are now meeting Laura Cohen – the anti-diet Ex-RD, Certified Intuitive Eating Practitioner and Eating Disorder Recovery Coach and the start of THE NO WEIGH WAY…… more to come!
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