Conversations with Chioma Atanmo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chioma Atanmo.

Hi Chioma, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Before I became fascinated with food and the body, sports was my first love. I played soccer, ran track, and a little volleyball. But soccer was the sport I stuck with the longest. I thought I would play in college but a knee injury, my senior year of high school was something I couldn’t recover from. I entered college instantly feeling like a huge part of my identity as an athlete was taken away from me, and I was forced to figure out how to live life without playing soccer competitively.

Through this transition, my body started to lose muscle, gain weight, and I realized I didn’t know how to eat and exercise for my post sports career body. As an athlete, the focus on food was to eat a lot because of the amount of calories I was constantly burning. So learning how to eat and exercise was definitely a learning curve that took me a couple years to figure out.

I studied Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona with the goal to learn and understand how food affects the body mentally, emotionally, and physically. And while I learned the science behind how to eat and what to eat, I felt like learning why we choose to eat certain foods was missing. The cultural and emotional attachment to food started to peak my interest.

While I was studying Nutritional Sciences, I still wanted to be connected to soccer and I began working with a local soccer club called FC Tucson. I started off as an intern in game day operations, and eventually began testing my skills in other roles. Over the 6 years with the soccer club, I held roles as the Team Nutritionist, Head Fitness Coach and Director of Operations. Throughout my time there, I discovered many of the athletes either collegiate, semi-pro, or professional, also struggled with how to eat for performance and pleasure as they were approaching the end of their careers.

This is where my business Mindful Appetite was birthed. Out of the need for athletes transitioning into life after sport to understand how to eat and exercise for their body. After graduation, I continued my studies in nutrition anthropology, yoga, and food psychology. Understanding that food is so much more than just fuel. It ties us to our culture, provides energy, can heal the body and provide comfort all at the same time.

After 6 years in the sports industry in Arizona, I moved to Kansas City in 2018 to work with a professional soccer team called Sporting KC. Working in the front office, I realized that some of the strategies I learned about for athletes could also be applied to corporate America and young professionals. Both worlds are fast paced, where it’s easy to put your wellness on the back burner till your body forces you to stop due to injury or illness. And we live in a time where we are hyper connected, and taking time to let your body rest and recover means you might be valued less among your peers.

But like everyone else, the relationship you have with your body is ongoing, and you never reach a pinnacle. I am always discovering new ways to support my body, enjoy food, and teach that to others. So I am definitely not perfect, but I am loving the journey I am on so far!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely not! Some of the struggles I have faced started in college. When I couldn’t play soccer and was figuring out life, I struggled in my classes. I changed my major three times, and while my friends were moving on and graduating, it took me almost 7 years to get my bachelor’s degree. Looking back, I can say that 7 years is not that long and who really knows what they want to do at 18?! But at a young age, I felt like I was failing at life. I always had at least 2 jobs just to make ends meet in college. And during my college years had some health scares that financially were a challenge to manage that also fueled my interest in keeping my body healthy.

A tumor in my breast that is thankfully benign, debilitating migraines, and compounding injuries from playing sports started to resurface. And I felt like my body was always in pain, but I didn’t have time to take a break nor could I afford to.

Although I have my business, and work in corporate America, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns like social media paints entrepreneurship and working in professional sports. Now in my 30’s, I have a deeper appreciation for what my body has gone through, how it’s continuing to heal and be a safe space for me. And while I’m not exactly where I want to be, I know I’m exactly where I need to be. The people I get to work with every day are reminders of how precious life can be when you share your gifts with others and encourage people to do the same.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I like to describe my work as a portfolio career, I exist in more than one role professionally. In my business, Mindful Appetite I’m known best as a nutritionist and wellness coach who specializes in helping corporate America and former athletes prioritize their wellness. Through 1:1 coaching, workshops, presentations, social media, and e-guides, I help people re-discover what healthy can look like to them without restrictive eating habits and long hours in the gym.

In my corporate job, I am the Manager of Community Programs for Sporting KC & The Victory Project. Where I specialize in community outreach initiatives and help fundraise to serve kids with cancer, give kids access to soccer with financial needs, as well as those with disabilities.

What I am most proud of is how I have evolved over the years and took a leap of faith with moving to the Midwest. Originally from the Bay Area, I still don’t like snow though haha. But I have come to appreciate Kansas City and the people. And over the past year, not anticipating the pandemic, I took my business online officially in December 2019, and that allowed me to serve more people and put myself out there more and stop playing small.

I still have moments of imposter syndrome as I grow in my business and my corporate job, but I’m thankful for my friends and family who continue to push me and keep me grounded.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see the wellness industry continuing to grow, and while I see toxic diet culture trends on the rise. I am hopeful that more people and large organizations will be inclusive on their messaging around health and show that there is more than one version of health. And that the images we see in the media will reflect the world we see every day. Our kids are watching how we talk about our bodies, how we judge other bodies, how we eat and talk about food, and how we also take care of our bodies. I want our next generation of leaders to have a healthy sense of awareness on how to take care of their body.

In the sports industry, as much as it’s very male and white. I am hopeful that there will be more representation in leadership roles. Sports affects everyone whether you’re a parent, a coach, a player, a sports enthusiast, or casual viewer on television. Sports has the power to unify people across races, religion, languages, and gender, and my hope is that more women and more people of color will have their voices amplified and paid fairly.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mindfulappetite.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chioma.atanmo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindfulAppetite
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChiomaAtanmo

Image Credits
Ashley Thornton
Tyler McBee – for the Adidas photo