letisha bates
hi there! I'm
(she/her)
I was born in Nashville and have lived in a small town just over an hour southwest of Nashville my entire life. I received both my B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science, with a concentration in Dietetics, and my M.P.S. in Leadership in Nutrition from Middle Tennessee State University. I completed my dietetic internship through Komplete Business Dietetic Internship, which included extended rotations providing nutrition support in an ICU setting and at Aster Springs Residential in Nashville. That experience sparked my love for eating disorder care, and I later worked as a dietitian at Aster Springs Outpatient in Nashville for over a year before joining Meant to Eat.
My path to becoming a dietitian was anything but traditional. I began my career as a nurse and spent nearly a decade in healthcare before becoming a health coach. As a health coach, I supported people with PMOS (formerly PCOS), a condition that I also navigate personally. Through that work, I was inspired by the incredible dietitians specializing in PMOS and the impact they had on their clients. Their work ultimately inspired me to become a dietitian myself. During my internship, I requested eating disorder experience because of the increased risk for eating disorders among those with PMOS. What started as a desire to become a more informed provider quickly became a passion for helping people heal their relationship with food.
My approach is direct, compassionate, and weight-neutral. I believe in being honest with my clients, having hard conversations when needed, and finding plenty of opportunities to laugh along the way. One of my favorite parts of this work is watching clients release the shame and guilt that diet culture has placed on them and discover just how resilient they truly are.
Outside of work, I’m married to my offshore engineer husband of 15 years, and we have two boys, ages 17 and 12. I’m working toward the title of crazy cat lady with three cats—Ash, Trixie, and Mystic (two of whom are hairless!)—and our dog, Loki.
