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EnlightenU Nutrition

Val Schonberg is a registered dietitian who specializes in midlife health, sports nutrition and eating disorders and disordered eating.

Val Schonberg is a registered dietitian and sports nutritionist who enjoys helping people learn how to manage food, eating and health.

11/02/2025

Hold your space - and for some of you, take back your space or reclaim taking up space.

Start by showing up for your own life. If not now, then when? What are you waiting for?

Say “no” to the things that are not an absolute “yes” and take on AGING as a gift and a call to be “fully present, all in, fully alive” (even when we may not be fully awake - lol) 😬

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween! I have such fond memories of this holiday with my kiddos - and the fun traditions of costumes, people opening their doors to each other, and the treats!

I hope you can enjoy the spirit of the holiday—not as something to fear, but rather for the simple traditions of having a little fun, enjoying some treats, and trying not to let anyone trick you out of your treats 🍬🥳👻

🎃

10/30/2025

There are a lot of things stirring up fear these days - especially when it comes to aging, menopause, and nutrition. 👻 😱

I’m not here to minimize the anxiety and stress that results from fear and I also want to acknowledge that fear can serve an important purpose of protecting us from harm.

What I want to highlight is that sometimes we need to do the opposite of running away from the discomfort (or staying stuck in the discomfort) especially when the underlying fear is due to aging and change at this stage of life.

And, I say this from a place of compassion as I’ve been paralyzed by fear in my past - but learned that I was able to face my fear (with the help of listening to countless Zig Ziglar cassette tapes 😂) and from the guidance of other people in my life as well as my faith.

If the fear of food, eating, aging, weight, menopause, or body changes has you paralyzed, shutting down, or running, I’d love to help. Feel free to message me or email val@valschonberg.com.

If you are a clinician trying to help women navigate these fears and changes, I’d love to invite you to consider joining my Menopause Consult and Journal Club. More info at the link in my IG bio or email val@valschonberg.com

Peace ❤️

10/29/2025

I really thought we had moved beyond the "eat less and exercise more" narrative, but I guess not. Maybe it's just me, but lately this message has been noisier than ever.

The problem is that it's been packaged as a "solution" to women's concerns about perimenopause and menopause health, which is incredibly misleading and frankly conflicts with everything we know about the impact of malnutrition or undernutrition, low energy availability, and restrictive eating disorders.

Adequate nourishment (and physical activity) is vital for aging. Chronically eating less (for any reason) could be detrimental at a time when there is already an increased risk of nutrient deficiencies and a reduced ability to fight disease.

You can focus on food quality without being on a diet (or restricting your calories). I get it that this may not result in weight loss, and that feels frustrating and confusing in today's weight-centric culture. But doubling down with the "eat less" message is not a more effective approach.

The downside of a very low-calorie diet is significant—and potentially irreversible. But, I really don't think any of us want to be counting calories in our 80s or suffering the consequences of chronic undereating in our 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

10/20/2025

Intermittent fasting has attracted attention among many people (including researchers and healthcare providers) as a simple option for weight loss. However, whether there is some magical metabolic switch for improving health and longevity with these diets has not been demonstrated in the research to date.

However, we do have years of studies in other scenarios of low energy availability and restrictive eating, such as anorexia nervosa (and other eating disorders), diet/weight cycling, female athlete triad, and relative energy deficiency in sport.

The pursuit of weight loss and the pressure to prevent weight gain in midlife and beyond is palpable for many women. Prescribing diets that have long-term consequences (such as muscle and bone loss, digestive issues, sleep disturbances, brain fog, cravings, and weight regain/fat overshoot) - and frankly are not sustainable - is not only aggravating to midlife women, but contributes to more health concerns long term.

I've summarized some of the research in a blog I wrote about intermittent fasting and menopause. If intermittent fasting works for you, that's fine, but let's not misrepresent the research.
https://valschonberg.com/lets-talk-about-intermittent-fasting-and-menopause/

10/18/2025

In honor of World Menopause Day, I thought I'd toss out some fun questions (maybe thought-provoking) related to this year's theme about nutrition (and lifestyle).

The International Menopause Society founded World Menopause Day in 2009 to raise awareness of menopause and improve the experience of women around the world. Hard to believe that was 16 years ago - a valiant mission proving to be quite successful, given that everywhere you look in 2025, someone is talking about menopause!

This year's theme is about supporting health at this stage of life with lifestyle choices that include "healthy eating, physical activity, mental wellbeing, avoiding risky substances, restorative sleep and nurturing healthy relationships." There's a lot to unpack with this theme, which I will attempt to do over the next few weeks.

Coming up next week is the Menopause Society Conference in Orlando, which I look forward to every year! It's a conference packed with information and a great opportunity to learn from the experts in the field.

I will be leading a round table on nutrition at this year's conference. So, if anyone will be attending, please stop by my table on Friday morning!

Happy Menopause!

10/05/2025

I am so excited for my next professional menopause course that begins on October 29, 2025!

✨ Designed for dietitians who want to help women navigate menopause and midlife body image concerns, this group provides an opportunity for clinicians to build menopause expertise grounded in a weight-neutral, evidence-based approach to women’s health.

✨ Meets bi-monthly for 7 sessions with recordings available

✨ Approved for 9.25 CEUs!

🗓️ Begins October 29, 2025
🕔 5:00 to 6:15 pm ET on select Wednesdays
📍 Virtual via Zoom
👥 Group size limited

Also…opportunity to join my monthly “coffee with colleagues” for ongoing research discussion and case consultation’s

📧 Email val@valschonberg.com for more information and to register

Address

Vinings, GA
30339

Website

http://ValSchonberg.com/

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