How this NYC-based author keeps things real + healthy in her on-the-go lifestyle as she helps women distinguish between fact vs fiction related to healthy food
Welcome to The Crown Diaries, an SXS look at the real-life experiences of women running businesses, crushing their career, and rocking their passion projects. For each Crown Diary, we ask one woman to provide a behind-the-scenes account of “a week in the life”: where did she go, what did she do, who did she meet? Read on to find out!
ABOUT ME: Jaclyn London, MS, RD, CDN (@jaclynlondonRD), 33
CURRENT ROLES:
Head of Nutrition & Wellness @ WW (www.ww.com)
CITY: New York, NY
DEGREES/CERTIFICATIONS: Master of Science, Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics; Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist (RD); Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist (CDN)
FAVORITE SETTING TO WORK: "Early morning or late night in my (miniature--it’s NYC!!) home office."
FUN FACT: "Typing out my certifications (above) just made me remember that I do, in fact, have another lesser-known “bartending” certification from way back when….I’m not I’ve ever used (or will ever need) it, but I sure can make a mean Negroni!"
WEDNESDAY
6:00am
Alarm; ~50 minute run; shower/prep/pack up for shoe & partial outfit change for a talk I’m giving later tonight out in New Jersey (about 2 hours from the City, where I live!).
I’m not always a morning workout person, but on days where I have to give any type of presentation or have a big event in which public speaking is required, I feel like that morning hour to myself is crucial for a little active meditation for me to collect my thoughts and get rid of the nerves (to the extent that that’s possible). I always listen to audiobooks while I’m at the gym or outside-- today’s is “Algorithm’s To Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions” by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths”
8:30am
Subway to work & breakfast in-hand (overnight oats, but make it matcha!). I’m a big fan of a creative breakfast that includes caffeine and this one’s extra portable!
9am-4pm
All day meetings at the office today.
4-4:45pm
Scrambling to make last-minute tweaks to a presentation I’m giving as part of a heart health talk in New Jersey, about 2 hour commute this time of day.
For days like these, when most of my meals are actually random (but nutritious!) snacks: I keep apples and cheese in my office mini-fridge so I always have a good, solid source of protein (8g) and fiber (~4g) from this combo, which will hold me over until about a half hour pre-game time (that’s when I usually have another snack--today’s was a Nature Valley granola bar...old school! And coffee or tea)! The timing’s not an accident, fyi-- the “30 minute” caffeine + some carbs = my go-to sports nutrition guideline for endurance training, and I feel like for me, personally, it’s applicable to what I most often need before giving a big presentation, too!
5pm
My mom came to join me for the event! She met me at my office in Chelsea, and we took the car together so we could have some time to catch-up and so that I could get her take on wedding planning (I’m trying to plan this as I type, but it looks like it’s coming together later this fall!).
9:30pm
Car ride home after a long day
~11pm-1am
Play/bathe/play/walk/feed the dogs and play some more until all of us are zombies! Check schedule/plans/footwear for tomorrow; check email-missed during the talk/car ride (I can’t fully read email in the car b/c it makes me car sick, which is both great and terrible-- it’s enforced boundary-building, but I wish I could use that kind of time to get ahead vs. bringing it home!)
1:30am
Total collapse!!!
THURSDAY
7:00am
Slept in a little bit this a.m., but then sprinted awake to get myself out the door by 8:15. My whole morning routine of getting ready factors in some buffer time to read all of the news, wakeup/prep for the day/get myself out the door. I can basically always be found multi-tasking, which in this case for me means blow-drying my hair while perusing all industry-related news, peer-reviewed journals, and food/beverage/trend forecasting email updates. Staying up-to-date in a constantly-evolving industry like nutrition can be tough if you don’t make the time to read what’s new every day. I also (somewhat compulsively) read my horoscope in the New York Post—this astrologer is on point every single day. (Hey, Air signs!)
When it’s nice out, I usually make a point to walk to work (or at least to walk part of the way-- my previous job at Good Housekeeping was just a 15 minute walk, which was truly glorious!) But, whenever I can find time to get out into fresh air--before, during, and after the workday, I universally feel better!! My 2020 solution for the commute + back-to-back meetings most days is to take a few of my more regular meetings “on the road,” (as in, we go for a walk around the block/neighborhood instead of sitting in a conference room).
9am-5pm
All Day Work Meetings (last day!)
5:00pm
Walked to meet a colleague in the neighborhood for matcha-- how perfect is this packaging!?
6:00pm
Then, back to the office for a few hours of cleaning up email/finishing up projects/making sure I didn’t miss anything due to email purgatory... etc.! I am finally (almost one year later…) finishing up my personal website, so had a call with the developer who’s on the west coast (& helping me out!).
Since about 90% of health books are purchased online, this would have been such an asset for me when my book came out in Jan, 2019--but I only have two hands and 24 hours!! (In the meantime, you can learn more about it HERE! ;) )
I’m always running late/trying to pack too many things into one day, so when I have the opportunity to work with someone on Pacific Time-- that always feels like found time in my day to get sh*t done!
9:00pm
Stopped by Trader Joe’s to grab some extra add-ons to my weekly (digital!) grocery order. My fiancee ordered dinner tonight, and I added an extra salad (which, IMO, was delicious!) My current obsession = Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Spice
11pm-1am
Thanks to (finally!!!) spring-y weather, I take a dog-walk with my fiancee & the “babies” Monty and Frannie, our wheaten terrier and miniature dachshund. They’re our “only children” who we say are “stuck in a sibling relationship.” My fiancee and I each had our pups when we met and when we moved in together, we thought there would be some kind of extreme bonding we’d walk in on one day... but we’re still waiting for the day to come!! Mostly it seems like they’re just tolerating each other, though I’m certain there’s some low-key snuggling happening when we’re not around!). I wind down/shower/bed & finished the most amazing book, Saint X by Alexis Schaitken, which I absolutely LOVED (and already miss reading it!).
FRIDAY
6:00am
Wakeup & scramble to meet a deadline for a presentation next week in Connecticut in honor of March’s National Nutrition Month, from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Staying current is a huge part of my day to day, but synthesizing and contextualizing information to use at the right time and in the right context is always front and center-- and clarifying what’s consensus rather than controversy when it comes to new information (especially in an evidence-based field!).
I have both a clinical/private practice and a media background, so while my previous role always had me in the position of “trend forecasting,” it’s crucial for me to always find the balance between reporting what’s new and newsworthy with what’s easily applicable, realistic, and important to everyone that’s also aligned with nutritional biochemistry, medical nutrition therapy, epidemiology, and behavior-change science (the core of WW’s program, which integrates the best of cognitive behavioral therapy/positive psychology/acceptance based therapy!).
That’s why I’m particularly interested right now in using my experience in evidence-based practice to connect to new audiences through storytelling of experiences--aka, communicating science in ways that are actionable and applicable, while myth-busting and clarifying the hyper-cluttered space of food, nutrition, and wellness in 2020. Presentations, media interviews, and content creation are the various mediums I use daily to cut through the b.s. We’re all confronted with on a daily basis (from social media to claims on food product packaging!) that confuse us about what’s truly nourishing for us, vs. what we’re eating because we think we “should.” ("Should" is a dirty word for me--I talk about this a lot in Dressing! -- though the process of letting it go from my internal monologue is challenging for me, too! It’s a process!)
Full day of work/meetings/strategizing some big plans (that I can’t share just yet!) for 2020-- stay tuned!
5:00pm
Ended the work week this week with dinner at a newish restaurant, Quality Bistro, which is a must-try when you’re in NYC (Make sure you order the Brussels sprouts! They’re not pictured, but they’re EPIC!)
The Crown Diaries are meant to reflect individual women's experiences and do not necessarily reflect SHExSHINES point of view.
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