A big warm welcome to Fatimah Fakhoury, a Registered Dietician and #QuadWife from New York! Fatimah is passionate about helping couples achieve their nutrition goals post Spinal Cord Injury, and we are excited to be featuring her on our Resources page!
Hi, my name is Fatimah and I'm a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, #quadwife, and mom of two toddlers in New York.
Living alongside someone with SCI, I know the unique and sometimes overwhelming challenges that come with the territory. I also know the frustration that people living with SCI experience when it comes to their health and wellness, being a marginalized group. In my own field of nutrition, I found conflicting and confusing information when it came to helping manage my husband's health. I found that there were a lot of unqualified "coaches" and self-proclaimed health gurus on social media making outrageous claims about weight loss, "superfoods" and pricey dietary supplements, with false promises of good health. On the other hand, there were very few, if any, updated and legitimate resources for proper nutrition for chronic SCI.
I was inspired by this lack of information and by my husband, Ray (injured at C6/7 over 15 years ago) to create @the.sci.nutritionist, to focus on providing virtual nutrition counseling services specifically to people living with spinal cord injury. I noticed that this group was practically ignored by popular wellness culture, and there was a real need for evidence-based, practical nutrition information for this community. No other registered, licensed nutritionists online seemed to be addressing this group of people, and I felt it was my calling to do so.
In 2019, I launched my virtual nutrition counseling practice, where I offer services to clients with SCI of all ages and abilities, facing a wide range of health challenges. Whether they're newly injured, or have been living with SCI for many years, I am able to help clients pursue their nutrition and wellness goals in a way that is tailored to their specific needs. From therapeutic weight management and supplement guidance, to fertility support and management of co-existing diseases (diabetes, heart disease, etc.), to meal planning and managing proper gut biome balance, I am proudly well-versed in the nutrition topics that are of concern in chronic SCI.
On my Instagram page, I share healthy recipes and tidbits of nutrition information that I think is relevant to people living with SCI. Since every injury is different, and everyone's overall picture of health is unique, I'm not able to give specific nutrition advice online - that's what my individualized nutrition counseling services are for! But I do create original content geared towards SCI nutrition and share evidence-based and up-to-date research, in the hopes of inspiring people to become more knowledgable about proper nutrition for SCI.
Along with the unique challenges of everyday life with SCI, there are lots of curveballs and obstacles when it comes to pursuing good health. That's just a fact. Most of those things are totally out of one's control too, which is even more frustrating. But here's another fact: some things related to health ARE in your control. The foods you eat most often. The ones you eat only occasionally. The effort you make to prepare meals in advance. The choices you make at restaurants. What you buys at the grocery store. What supplements you invest in. These are ALL things that you DO have control over, and it's so important to remember this when you're feeling discouraged about your health and wellness.
My intent with the.sci.nutritionist is to EMPOWER members of the SCI community to take control of their health, starting with nutrition. Some things can't be changed, it's true. But your diet? We can change that!"
To learn more about Fatimah, follow her on instagram @TheSCINutritionist !
You can also contact Fatimah and learn more about her programs on her website here: