Gay Riley, MS, RD, LD
GHF's Medical Nutrition Expert

Medical Nutrition Therapist

Gay holds degrees in Dietetics and Nutrition and Exercise from Texas Woman's University. Her graduate thesis examined weight loss in women on very low-calorie, protein-sparing modified fasts at Baylor University Medical Hospital. Gay has been in private practice for more than a decade as a Medical Nutrition Therapist for private individuals, sports teams and athletes, local and national celebrities, and corporations. Over the past years, her local practice has become nationwide and international.

Consultant & Author

Gay has been in private practice for the past 23 years as a nutritionist for individuals, corporations, professional athletes and sport teams, local and national celebrities, restaurant chains, and medical institutions. Because of her varied background in fitness, hospital and clinic settings, Gay has expertise in several nutrition specialties, including diabetes, obesity, eating disorders, heart disease, autoimmune conditions, environmental nutrition, sports and athletics, and pregnancy.

Through her web site, NetNutritionist.com, Gay can connect with clients whom she can serve through telephone conferences, email and the new bodybugg™ armband technology. Clients receive one-on-one counseling and programs designed specifically for them, without the need for office visits. Bodybugg™ clients receive email support and continuous monitoring for daily calories burned and calories consumed. Gay offers personal recommendations using cutting edge technologies like the Bodybugg and Genomics testing to help her clients achieve their health, fitness and nutrition goals without the guesswork. People worldwide have access to Gay's training and experience.

As a licensed and registered dietitian, Gay is able to provide Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) for the nutritional management of medical conditions such as gestational diabetes, diabetes, high cholesterol, food allergies, and eating disorders. Many health insurance companies will cover costs for MNT with a medical diagnosis from the primary physician or with a clinical diagnosis.

Gay is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist (CCN), which includes training in complimentary alternative modalities, therapeutic supplementation, diagnostic testing and functional nutrition, and education in therapeutic applications for vitamin and mineral supplementation. She is a member of The International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists (IAACN).

Gay is the author of The Pocket Personal Trainer, a pocket-sized book of information on exercise and nutrition, and has published articles in national magazines, and newspapers. In addition, she has appeared on radio and television programs.

For the last 13 years Gay has served as senior consulting dietitian for Apex Fitness Group, Inc., which includes Apex Fitness, Inc. She is on the advisory board for the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and on the board for the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists.

Gay is a member of many professional associations, and serves on the board for IAACN and National Academy of Sports Medicine:

• American Dietetic Association
• The International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists (IAACN)
• Sports and Cardiovascular Nutritionist
• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
• American College of Sports Medicine
• North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO)
• International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO)
• Institute for Food and Development Policy Food First
• Texas State Board of Dietitians
• North Carolina Board of Dietitians and Nutritionists
• Florida Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council
• Ohio Board of Dietetics

Gay's Approach to Nutrition & Fitness

"I work with people to achieve their health, medical, and fitness goals within the comfort zone of their lifestyle. I educate individuals on how to make choices that will help them achieve those goals, whether the goals are self-motivated or dictated by a medical condition.

Each client shapes the process and goals. Together we identify the behaviors or lifestyle habits that are not beneficial to the goal. Then we find acceptable and comfortable alternatives, broadening their food horizons by finding foods that they like even more or at least as much as the foods they need to avoid. It's crucial to me that we make the plan interesting and doable.

The client provides the data, I do the nutritional and medical analysis and create a strategy and menu plan; then we modify it together with periodic review. I offer support, expertise, and motivation, and the rest is up to the determination and ownership of the client. My motto: The more comfortable the change, the more permanent the results."