MARY JO PARKER
Nutrition & Counseling Services
About Mary Jo
"Being healthy is all about balance - of body and mind. Choosing a variety of foods and emphasizing nutrient-dense choices, without compromising taste and pleasure in eating, is the foundation of balanced nutrition. Maintaining a healthy body necessitates balancing food intake with physical activity and tending to our emotional health as well."
Changing a lifetime of eating habits to conform to a healthy lifestyle can be difficult. Making lasting meaningful changes requires knowledge, tools, willingness, realistic expectations and support. Mary Jo emphasizes these key elements in counseling and health enrichment programs that she has designed to help you achieve lifestyle improvements with long-term results.
Mary Jo Parker is a Registered and Certified Dietitian Nutritionist, Nutrition Therapist and Consultant who has been in private practice in Western New York for over 30 years. Counseling individuals and groups who have a variety of nutritional needs, she offers therapeutic nutrition intervention for the prevention and treatment of chronic disease states and specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and obesity. Her expertise is often sought for sports nutrition education and counseling as well.
Mary Jo has developed and facilitated eating disorder and weight management groups, including Forever Fit Total Weight Management and Balancing ACT for adults and Eat Right and Move! pediatric program for families. As consultant to several local corporations, schools and organizations, she writes educational materials, develops wellness policies and conducts group programs, workshops and seminars on contemporary health and nutrition topics. She serves as a consultant to the news media on nutrition and related issues, and has been a frequent guest on television and radio programs. In addition to being adjunct professor at Canisius College for ten years, she served as Program Director from the inception of their Masters in Applied Nutrition program. Mary Jo has held the position of Nutrition Director of both a health and rehabilitation facility and an eating disorders partial hospitalization program in Western New York.
Mary Jo holds a bachelor’s degree in clinical nutrition from Cornell University and a multidisciplinary master’s degree in nutrition and counseling from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. Her certified dietary interviewer designation is from the University of Minnesota, Nutrition Coordinating Center and her advanced clinical education in child and adolescent obesity is from the University of California at San Francisco, School of Medicine. In addition, Mary Jo earned her certificate in trauma counseling from State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Social Work. An active member of both the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Western New York Dietetic Association, she is affiliated with several dietetic practice groups of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, including Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine, Behavioral Health Nutrition, and Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition.