About

My name is Andrea McDaniel, and I am a Registered Dietitian, Sports Nutritionist, and certified personal trainer. My interest in health, nutrition, and exercise began when I was a young gymnast. I began experimenting with my diet and workouts to see how it affected my body composition and performance. I then went on to Iowa State as a college gymnast and chose to purse this passion by enrolling in the Diet & Exercise Masters program. I was the 1st one through this program, so hopefully I paved the way for others who have the same passion as I.

Dietitians are often found in the clinical setting helping with proper diets and nutrition support for medical treatment. However, I wanted to work more with prevention, function, and weight loss, so I became a dietitian at Life Time Fitness. This was a wonderful experience, opening my eyes up to what is true health and how to help clients achieve it. I was lead by top-notch professionals, Nutrition Program Director, Tom Nikkola, Corporate Dietitian, Cynthia Lockhart, & Dr. Jim Lavalle, nationally recognized clinical pharmacist, author, board certified clinical nutritionist, and naturopathic doctor,all of whom helped me become the health professional I am today.I believe in an integrated approach to achieving true health and weight loss. It is about the function and interplay of our systems and hormones that determines how our body responds to a proper diet and exercise program. By knowing and working on the root issue, we can get on the optimal path to health and off of the disease path . All too often, we treat symptoms or treat fat gain with drugs or low-calorie diets, respectively. Although these things may be important and necessary, it is equally important to be empowered and educated to play an active role in the root of our healing process.