Clare McKindley, RD

It is an honor to have your eyes meet my information. I hope you are ready to partner up with me and work on your nutrition goals! You have a lot of professional choices out there, so I hope reading my story will help give you an idea of who I am.

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The Roots:

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In my senior year of high school, I competed in two (and won first place in both) bodybuilding competitions. Most of my diet instruction came from my coach’s personal experience as a professional bodybuilder back in the day. Plain chicken, rice or plain baked potato, rice cakes, and eggs where all my diet consisted of while I was competing. Immediately after the competition, I would binge eat because there was no “off” button. Internally, I understood that this type of eating pattern was in conflict to my performance and growth needs as a 16 year old girl. I knew there had to be another way. This experience planted a seed in the back of my mind. It helped me decide what to focus on after high school: sports injury prevention/nutrition.

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After graduating from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics/Nutritional Science and Bachelor of Science in Physiological Science, I was accepted into the University of Houston’s dietetic internship program where I was exposed to work in clinical practice, sports nutrition, eating disorders, and consulting.

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My first job as a Registered Dietitian was with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. I covered primarily the outpatient hematological (leukemia, lymphoma/myeloma, bone marrow transplant) cancer services and the Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Clinic. I remember feeling nervous about practicing outpatient because I felt my education set me up for success in the inpatient setting. The people component of counseling was intimidating. It turns out the counseling piece is my favorite. In the Prevention work, motivational interviewing and behavior modification were benchmark techniques I learned that added value to all patient/client interactions across the board.

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My clients were there doing the work, so I felt it is also my duty to share the load. I did this by:

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-Running 5K races for cancers effecting my patients

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-Becoming a study participant in a 30 year cancer prevention study through the American Cancer Society that is still on going

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-Working with the Facilities Manager to create “The Healthy Living Garden” highlighting vegetables and herbs as identified by The American Institute for Cancer Research that support cancer risk reduction

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-Co-authoring the nutrition chapter in Advances in Cancer Survivorship Management (MD Anderson Cancer Care Series)

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As one of my clients taught me years ago: "Ubuntu"- 'I am because of you’. I still believe that today.

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After 8 years of practice, life created some shifts. I uprooted from Texas and moved to California to help my sister at the Jim Henson Company and, eventually, I joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 11’s Inside Wireman program. When COVID hit, we electricians were still considered "essential", and work continued. I also started stepping up for the Marine Reconnaissance Foundation. After experiencing a visceral affect from the death of recon marine that I did not even know personally, I began running the Marine Corps Marathon as a Team Athlete for the Foundation. I continue to look for ways to be a bridge between civilian and military transitions. There have been many suicides the community has suffered, and I run and enter events as a Team Athlete until I can think of better ways to tackle suicide.

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In the fall of 2025, I had yet another shift-motherhood! Because my child is very much a youngling and I want to be there to raise him, I am building my nutrition practice. I look forward to returning to the joys of celebrating my client success and working through their struggles along side them while also being what my child needs me to be while he grows into the human he will become!