Meet Jessica Mantell of NextGeneration Nutrition in Coral Gables, Brickell, and Downtown Miami
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. I graduated from the University of Miami in 2018 with a Masters in Science in Nutrition and a Bachelors’ degree in Exercise Physiology. I started Next Generation Nutrition in September of 2019. I had experience working in clinical and athletics settings, although my goal was to open my own practice. I was a Nutritionist for the University of Miami Football team, and I did clinical work in endocrinology and diabetes. I always knew I was going to start my own practice as I have always been independent and had an entrepreneurial side to me. I wanted to be able to use my knowledge from school and experience to create programs of my own that were personalized to each client. My goal was to help clients achieve long-lasting results rather than just short-term. It brings me the most joy to help others feel their best self and to teach people a way of eating, which is not restrictive and rigid as other diets, but learn to enjoy food- as we should!
I went through my own health journey before arriving where I am today. There was a time I tried to keep up with all of the fad diets and I thought I was doing the right thing. I went through a period of my life where I was very sick and went from doctor’s office to doctor’s office without any answers. I’m sure many others have had a similar experience as me. I knew the importance of nutrition for our overall health but I wasn’t sure how to make it work for me. After studying nutrition and doing a lot of research on my own, I was able to implement the correct nutrition protocol for myself and ultimately cured all of my symptoms. I then realized the power of nutrition and made it my life goal to make sure to help as many people as possible feel their best selves. Several years later, after having the privilege of working with hundreds of people from all walks of life, I have learned to create an effective nutrition program that is not only enjoyable but personalized plan to fit each client’s specific and individual needs.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? With any new business comes many obstacles! I take each obstacle or setback as a lesson and understand I am learning and growing more each day. The most major setback of this last year was definitely the pandemic. I lost many of my clients as non-essential businesses were ordered to close down. At first, like many business owners, there was a shift since so much changed instantly – priorities, fears for the future, and implementing a routine. I took this time to strengthen my business and since health is the most important thing we have, I am continuing to provide support and be accessible for those ready to make a change. I am thankful that now more than ever, people are making health their priority and there is an emphasis on preventative medicine as it is important to increase longevity and improving quality of life. I also have switched to an online platform to make it even more accessible to everyone all over the world, like a client in Australia!
Since making huge adaptations to my business and moving to an online platform, I am able to connect to more people in an exponential way! I am able to connect on Zoom with clients in NY and even with Australia when in the past, I was only giving in-person consultations. This time has also taught me a lot about life and myself. With everything going on this year, it is very easy to give up. I understand since I was starting a business during a worldwide pandemic but I chose to adapt, look for opportunities, and grow my business.
In addition, as being the CEO of a company, I needed to take on many new roles. I had to learn how to legally start a business and all of those steps needed in order to set a new business. I had to learn about accounting, managing money, and budgeting as a business owner, which is something I have never learned to do. It was extremely challenging to start marketing as I did not know the first thing about advertising and being engaging on social media. Now as my business grows, am starting to feel more comfortable in my new roles and really embracing each one. I have also learned that for the roles I don’t feel so comfortable with, I can outsource those to other companies e.g. digital marketing, web design, and financial advising.
We’d love to hear more about NextGeneration Nutrition. I offer 1:1 nutrition counseling in 4 sessions and eight sessions programs, as well as membership programs. I also provide group nutrition classes, workshops, and corporate nutrition, where I can come into the workplace and provide wellness services to employees. I offer pantry clean out and grocery store tours where I take the client to their preferred grocery store and teach them to analyze labels, compare foods and show them new ideas for creating healthy meals.
I am passionate about helping those who struggle with all types of chronic disease, autoimmune disorders, weight management, GI disorders, food sensitivities, general health and wellness, and more! Specifically, NextGeneration Nutrition specializes and gut health as the gut microbiome has. Profound impact on overall health. I know nutrition can be overwhelming, especially if you start to research online or on social media. My goal is to provide my clients with a simple and realistic nutrition program to help them feel like their best selves. I also do not provide juice cleanses, fad diets. I believe in a 365-day science-based plan which involves no shame, no judgment, and definitely no starvation! I work to get clients out of the vicious dieting cycle of trying everything and getting no results. I encourage them to enjoy food and create a healthier relationship with food. I preach the power of plant-based eating and eating mindfully and breaking the dieting cycle. I also keep my clients highly motivated with frequent check-ins as well as weekly appointments. I allow constant communication to make sure the client knows I am holding their hand through the process.
Something that is unique about my practice is that I offer a wide range of comprehensive testing, which can teach one more about their health and identify anything that might be going on in the body. I do food sensitivity testing, microbiome testing, blood testing, hormonal testing, and genetic testing. I also provide supplementation plans according to their individual needs based on the testing. These are among the many services and testing I do in my practice. During the nutrition sessions with the client, I determine what tests are needed based on the clients’ needs.
Something I am most proud of as a company is that I really take the time to build relationships with my clients and make sure that their program is personalized to their lifestyle and needs. Nutrition is never “one-size-fits-all” and I pride NextGeneration Nutrition on being able to consider all the factors in the clients’ life to make sure their plan will be sustainable for them to achieve their goals. I work with people to develop new healthy routines that they are able to implement in their life. A lot of the time, diets fail because they don’t consider any of the other factors in a person’s life e.g., exercise, family, sleep, and stress. NextGeneration Nutrition uses a holistic method to make sure one is healthy in all areas of wellness, not just with food.
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