Gabriela Alfonso, RD

I am a Cuban-American who loves to eat, move, cook, teach and travel. Food is much more than a source of nourishment for me. It is culture, it is family, it is gathering with others and it is tied to many memories throughout the course of my life. As a child, my favorite subjects in school were always lunch and P.E. (physical education) - the two very “subjects” that drove me to become a dietitian and after 20+ years, I am still studying food and exercise today. As a long-time athlete, I always wished I had someone I could talk to about improving my nutrition, health, and performance, but was unaware of the dietetics profession at the time and spent years trying to figure it out on my own. My own experiences have made me an advocate for the dietetics profession and the nutrition services that I know can make a difference in someone’s life, as they did mine.

I had the opportunity to attend Florida State University where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics, and where I also walked onto the Women’s Basketball Team and studied food and nutrition abroad in Italy. While I was obtaining my Master’s in Sport Nutrition from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, I learned so much working alongside the United States Olympic Training Center culinarians and sport dietitians that cared for and educated some of our nation’s top athletes. I took many of these lessons and experiences with me and was able to build upon them as a campus dietitian for 5 South Florida universities and as the first full-time Minor League Sport Dietitian for the Boston Red Sox. I have developed programs, policies, menus, meal plans and education, just to name a few. At the end of the day, the relationships I built and the impact I had along the way are what brought value to my work and what brought the most fulfillment in my roles.

Although much of my focus has been on athletes, I am a healthcare practitioner first and foremost, and have worked with a diverse population to improve labs, body composition metrics, immune systems, stress, recovery from injuries and surgeries and much more. I believe in the power of food to help heal and strengthen one’s body and mind. My job and passion is to deliver this message to my current and future clients, coach them through the inevitable obstacles, and help them reach their goals so they could reap the benefits of what it means to be and feel “healthy”.

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