Angela Lemond, RDN, LD

Getting to know………

Angela Lemond, RDN, LD

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Chief Executive Officer of Products and Services, Lemond Nutrition

Often interns hear about successful registered dietitians, but rarely have the chance to get to know them on a more personal level. Cal State San Bernardino dietetic intern, Imelda Pasalo had the opportunity to interview Angela Lemond, RDN, LD, Chief Executive Officer of Lemond Nutrition. Wow, what a gift! Thank you, Angela!  

Imelda Pasalo: What a comprehensive website! So many of your services are hands on…grocery tours, wellness classes and obviously patient counseling. Can you share what major business changes you saw during the pandemic? How has your business model altered now that things are “back to normal”?

Angela Lemond: Thank you!  We love being hands-on.  The major business change in March 2020 was that we went from 100% in-person nutrition sessions to 100% virtual.  That was very scary switching that quickly, but it worked because the electronic health record (EHR) we have always had an option for a HIPAA-compliant virtual option.  We got approval from the state of Texas that we could file virtual sessions through insurance like the in-person was due to the pandemic.  The virtual sessions allowed us to do some unique things like cooking together virtually (dietitian in their home along with client in their home making the same thing), virtual grocery shopping, pantry assessments – so many ways to make virtual sessions interactive.

What has changed for the good is that we now offer either in-person or virtual, and we have expanded with being able to see people across 20 states.  Those states either don’t have licensure laws or have reciprocity.  We are seeing that insurance is slowly covering a little less for virtual sessions than in-person.  That is unfortunate.

IP: You started your business in 2009. What are two major changes you have seen in the past 15 years in terms of client requests?

AL: One is that we have shifted from offering conventional weight loss guidance to non-weight focused wellness.  We find that too many people are looking for a quick fix diet and it was not something we wanted to do.  We now help people make healthy changes without weighing a person.   There are core things that all people should be doing regardless of their weight status, so we start there.  The weight will naturally fall into its setpoint.

That plays into our second thing which is a demand for more eating disorder recovery help.  There is a big shift in need for behavioral counseling combined with MNT.  We do a lot of dietitian staff training so they know how to navigate emotionsand how it affects a person’s relationship with food regardless of an eating disorder diagnosis.  At Lemond, we want to do no harm when it comes to our food guidance. All of it must be empowering and not fear-based.

IP: Without sharing confidential details of course, what has been one of your most challenging and yet satisfying client interventions?

AL: We have successfully helped women that have struggled with eating disorders for decades to now get into a great place of recovery with our help. We have seen mothers cry tears of joy when we help their child who had failure to thrive, height was stunted, and they get back to their full growth potential.  Not only growth but being properly nourished helped with mood and energy levels. These are a couple of the ways we help make life better for others. 

IP: What does a typical workday for you look like?

AL: I wear many hats!  I still see dietitian patients 2 days per week in the office, so those days start around 9AM and go until 6PM with an hour for lunch.  Often, we have RDN meetings at lunch where a healthcare partner meets with us. I am becoming a licensed professional counselor so one day a week I meet with my counseling supervisor and see clients for counseling. The other days are working with my Director of Patient Care Services, Emily Duensing, RDN, LD, on clinical initiatives with our dietitian staff.  These days may also include networking outside of our organization and new business initiatives.

Every day is different!

Learn more about Angela’s work here:

https://lemondnutrition.com/about-lemond-nutrition

IG: lemondnutrition  https://www.instagram.com/lemondnutrition/

T: @lemondnutrition

T: @AngelaLemondRDN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelalemond/