Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne McChesney.
Hi Adrienne, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a Registered Dietitian for many years, but my passion for nutrition started early on as an athlete growing up, combined with curiosity about how food and diet can impact the body. My career in performance nutrition began in 2015 when I served as a Project Manager and Research Dietitian for the Department of Defense. Within that role I worked closely with physiologists and expert scientists in the field of military nutrition and gained an invaluable amount of experience in that realm, while given the opportunity to contribute to the scientific field through leading research studies, authoring publications, designing protocol nutritional interventions, and assisting with technical roles, such as exercise testing and executing methods of body composition assessment. This position was located in Massachusetts, which is also where I met my now husband. His career took us to Kansas City, and I was fortunate to continue in my role remotely. My years of experience involved in the research aspect of dietetics has afforded me a keen perspective in how to translate the science into real-life clinical outcomes for those in our community. My personal life continued to change, along with other changes in federal employment, and I realized my passion in the nutrition sciences at this point in my life has shifted to the desire for an environment where I can work more closely with individuals through counseling and education as a clinician to support athletes, active individuals and those overcoming eating disorders. I started my private practice, Synchronize Nutrition & Recovery, in 2025 with the continued vision to support individuals within our community with evidence-based practices to optimize their performance and nutritional status, wherever they are at in life. I also strive to guide them in cultivating body acceptance and a greater understanding of the potential harms of diet culture, as I collaborate with mental health providers to support nutritional well-being through a mental health lens. After becoming a mother, it was eye opening to me how difficult it is to maintain nutrition, physical activity, and positive body image during pregnancy and postpartum; working with women in the perinatal space is a population I am passionate about supporting, as they navigate nutrition to support physical activity and work to overcome disordered eating patterns.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a private practice has been extremely humbling. I never could have imagined how much work and energy goes into it, along with balancing life as a mother of two young children. It’s a commitment that has required dedication and reminders to myself that the learning curve will be big. I learned very quickly that as an entrepreneur, you are a “jack of all trades,” with one of the hardest concepts I never envisioned myself doing (but had to figure it out) was website design and management. Another area that has required a huge amount of time and dedication to understanding how the process works is insurance credentialing and billing. I am grateful to resources created from organizations within my field, and mentors who have taken the time to provide helpful information.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Registered Dietitian in the private practice setting, and I specialize in working with athletes, active individuals, and eating disorders. What makes me unique is that I am board certified in sports dietetics, with an experienced skillset and knowledge base enabling me to critically assess and provide appropriate nutrition interventions for the unique needs of athletes and active individuals, especially those who are overcoming disordered eating. Looking at nutrition through a mental health lens is a perspective I bring to my practice as I collaborate with mental health providers.
I additionally have over 10 years of research experience that sets me apart as a clinician in my ability to interpret and apply evidence-based nutrition principles towards performance and daily life with the patients I work with. Making nutrition relatable, approachable, and do-able are all qualities I hope to guide my patients towards as we work to achieve balance, and for many, body acceptance.
As a professional with a research background, I’m proud of several peer-reviewed publications that I’ve authored in the performance nutrition field. Everything that goes into that final published study comes from years of hard work, collaboration, dedication, and strong teamwork.
What makes you happy?
Life as a mother/wife balanced with life as a professional within my career field fill my cup. I get the opportunity to guide a tiny human through life from infancy through childhood and help them develop values, learn about the world, and develop their own unique thoughts and opinions. Helping my children to grow and continuously learn are fulfilling, but in that same respect I also have the desire to continue to grow and learn and develop myself professionally. It’s something I love about the field I chose for my career path – nutrition is a science and it’s ever changing – we continue to learn more about it and how we as humans can optimize our nutrition. As a professional I will always have more to learn, and I thrive in a space where I can keep challenging myself.
Other things that make me happy: walking my dog, sipping coffee on my back porch, getting a full night of sleep and waking up feeling well rested, opportunities to eat out at local restaurants with friends or my spouse. These are simple and rather common things, but they are ways I can take care of myself and incorporate aspects of wellness into my life
Contact Info:
- Website: https://synchronizenutrition.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/synchronize.nutrition/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Synchronize-Nutrition-Recovery/61581781522502/
Image Credits
AME Photography KC
