About Me - Small Steps to Better Health

Shannon Leininger, MEd, RD, LD, CDCES

I’ve had A LOT of experience working with individuals and groups and have learned a LOT about how to help motivate people AND how to help them actually implement changes. I know many people know what they “should” be doing, but there are a lot of reasons why they aren’t doing it. That’s where I come in! I can help you sort through all of the information out there and figure out the best strategy for YOU. Because after all, that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter what works for other people, you need to find out what makes you tick and how to incorporate changes, one small step at a time. I firmly believe in the power of lifestyle changes when it comes to managing chronic diseases and want to apply all I have learned in order to help you!

On a personal note, I am a wife, mother of two children and one dog. I love to bake, travel, and stay active through regular workouts. I also enjoy playing pickleball and tennis. I like watching sports and root for all teams Missouri—Royals, Chiefs and Tigers.

I’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out via e-mail at info@smallstepstobetterhealth.com. You can join my e-mail list here and check out my blog here!

I can’t wait to help you improve your health!

Early Stages

I grew up outside of Kansas City, Missouri. While in college, I started out as a biology major but after a couple of years I decided I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with that. I was thumbing through the course catalog and found a degree in Nutrition and Fitness, which immediately caught my eye. I had always been active and generally interested in health, so I thought it would be a good fit. I started taking classes and knew it was the right choice. During my senior year I started hearing the dreaded question all around me—what am I going to do after graduation?

Education

I had been looking at various graduate school programs with an emphasis on health promotion. I found one at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas that seemed like a good fit. Through grad school I learned about behavior change theories and what gets people motivated to make health-related changes. I graduated in May 2003 with my Masters of Education in Health Promotion. After graduation, I found myself more and more interested in nutrition and its ability to influence disease risk, and decided to go back to school to become a Registered Dietitian. Working full time and going to school full time was not easy, but I did it! I finished that in May 2010 and then completed my dietetic internship.

Career

Throughout my career I have worked in a variety of settings with various populations. Some opportunities I have had include working with preschoolers on an obesity prevention program, working as a Wellness Coach for the employees of a large hotel/casino property, leading grocery store tours, and presenting corporate wellness seminars.

Along the way I became a Certified Diabetes Health and Education Specialist, which allows me to work closely with people with diabetes to help them manage the disease. Most recently I opened my own private practice as a dietitian where I work one on one with patients. *Note if you live in Nevada and would like more information about that, please visit my practice’s website here!

Achieving better health should not be overwhelming, I help my clients achieve improvements by focusing on one thing at a time so they can build the confidence they need in order to implement lasting behavior changes.