{"441921":{"#nid":"441921","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Johnson Returns to Alma Mater to Help Students Get Healthy","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDuring Amber Johnson\u2019s first stint at Georgia Tech, she was not the healthiest eater \u2014 but few college students are.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Tech alumna, now a nutritionist for Dining Services and Health Promotion, finds herself meeting with students nearly every day, giving them tips on how to fuel their college experience differently than she once did.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohnson connects with students wherever they may need her: walking with them through the serving lines in dining halls, fielding emails from them and parents about allergies and dietary restrictions, meeting with them in her office for individual consultations, or manning a table to provide more information about her services.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCollege is a great time because you\u2019re catching students at a fork in the road,\u201d she said. \u201cFor most of them, this is the first time they\u2019re responsible for themselves and their food.\u201d\u0026nbsp;Students can make an appointment to meet with Johnson for just $5 per visit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKelly Doyle, a chemical and biomolecular engineering major, first visited Johnson because she felt she had an imbalance in sugar levels in her body. She hoped that seeing a nutritionist would help her evaluate her diet and see how it could be improved.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAmber helped me build an eating plan based on my school and extracurricular activities that was realistic, and it included things that I liked to eat without feeling deprived,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENot only did Doyle get a new eating plan, but she also learned the reasoning of why she was feeling the way she was.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPreviously, I thought it was really only sweets that caused elevated levels of insulin, but I learned that eating a lot of carbohydrates by themselves can do the same,\u201d she said. \u201cPairing a carbohydrate with a protein helps to decrease the insulin spike, so eating an apple with peanut butter is much better than just eating a granola bar.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003EReturn to Tech\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohnson started her career at Georgia Tech as a chemical engineering student, but was drawn to the logic of chemistry and biochemistry and switched majors after her first year. She earned her bachelor of science in chemistry in 1999. As her career progressed after graduation, she found herself spending more time in labs and less time working with people. She eventually made the decision to go back to school, earning her master\u2019s in nutrition from Georgia State University.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohnson found her way back to Georgia Tech in 2013, where her science background goes a long way in relating to current students. Plus, as an alumna, she has firsthand experience with life as a Yellow Jacket and the stress levels that can entail.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I talk with students, I can explain the science behind the answers, and they appreciate the logical explanation,\u201d she said. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow a mother of two, Johnson not only tries to help Tech students learn more about their diets, but also does the same for her young daughters.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI try not to be the food police,\u201d she said. \u201cWe eat a lot of veggies, but we still do dessert. They know Yogli Mogli.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen she\u2019s not planning meals for students or her family, you may spot Johnson running around campus or working out in the mornings at the Campus Recreation Center.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohnson\u2019s ultimate goal is to help students get their health and wellness on track so they can focus on other things.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSeeing students who felt crummy before and now feel great is really rewarding,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you get your health figured out, everything else can happen more easily.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Doyle, now that she\u2019s figured out some of the science behind eating, she encourages others to do the same.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is so easy to forget with school how important it is to eat well,\u201d she said. \u201cGetting a perspective of the foods we are eating and how they affect our bodies is very important for everyone\u0027s well-being and keeping up with the demands of life at Tech and afterwards.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003EKnow Before You Go\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough Johnson\u2019s individual consultations are only available to students, she can refer Tech employees to outside services or do presentations for faculty and staff groups. She says that everyone can benefit from meeting with a nutritionist or dietitian, even if just once. She offered a few tips on what to think about ahead of time for those who decide to go:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWhat do you usually eat in a typical day?\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWhat are your health goals?\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWhat is keeping you from reaching those goals?\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDon\u2019t be nervous!\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E \u201cYou have to be ready and willing to talk about what roadblocks or barriers you have in reaching those goals,\u201d she said. \u201cOur job is to help you get through the maze and around those blocks.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EFor those who want to learn more, Johnson is teaching a five-week class with the Student Center (open to students, faculty, and staff) called \u201cEating Healthy on a Budget.\u201d Registration and more information is available at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.c.gatech.edu\/eatonabudget\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ewww.c.gatech.edu\/eatonabudget\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAmber Johnson, nutritionist in Health Promotion and Dining Services, was once a Tech student. Now, she counsels current students on their eating.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Amber Johnson, nutritionist in Health Promotion and Dining Services, counsels students on their eating."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2015-08-31 09:47:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:26","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"441931":{"id":"441931","type":"image","title":"Amber Johnson and Family","body":null,"created":"1449256190","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:09:50","changed":"1475895182","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:02","alt":"Amber Johnson and Family","file":{"fid":"203100","name":"1385388_10153278901138852_2045633268009319910_n.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/1385388_10153278901138852_2045633268009319910_n_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/1385388_10153278901138852_2045633268009319910_n_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":161214,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/1385388_10153278901138852_2045633268009319910_n_0.jpg?itok=DGfYpFWJ"}}},"media_ids":["441931"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.gatechdining.com\/health\/index.html","title":"Nutrition at Dining Services"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"119541","name":"Center for Community Health and Wellbeing"},{"id":"1859","name":"dining services"},{"id":"5686","name":"eating"},{"id":"398","name":"health"},{"id":"12533","name":"health promotion"},{"id":"3918","name":"profile"},{"id":"167018","name":"staff"},{"id":"4076","name":"wellness"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}