Jennifer is a Registered Dietitian and Fitness Coach living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is originally from the Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia — and is a "valley girl at heart". She lived and worked in Moncton, Charlottetown and Halifax for the past 11 years as a leader in the fitness industry. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Health Promotion at Dalhousie University.

When Jennifer is not talking about food she is involved in something active. She can be found training for her fifth half marathon, practicing yoga or learning to swim laps at a local pool.

She is a self proclaimed "foodie" and enjoys cooking, experimenting with new foods and recipes. She believes in the 80/20 rule — she appreciates a good glass of wine and chocolate every once in a while!

Diary of a Dietitian

By Jennifer Brenton

Don’t let your mind or the weather stop your workouts!

As I get ready to make myself park farther away and WALK 30mins to get to school today… I feel this overwhelming urge to hop a plane and go south! The freezing rain is pouring down… and the wind isn’t making the outdoors look welcoming!!! I just want to scream “Enough blah winter weather!” However… [...]

Time for Tea

As I sit here enjoying my second glass of green tea – I thought I should share with you my new love. Tea is not something I have always enjoyed. In fact, it is something I started drinking because “it was good for me”, but now I can’t imagine a day without it. In case [...]

I RUN this Town!

I just completed my 3rd half marathon – the Blue Nose Half. It was so AMAZING – yet challenging. I know I have said this numerous times in my writing – that running is a mind game. At kilometer 18 I actually said to myself… “Maybe I am not strong enough to finish this”… but [...]

Beautify from the inside out!

Hi All – this is an article I wrote that I think would be great for you, our OptiMYz readers… Enjoy! Welcome to fall. It is time to “fall back” into good nutrition. Fall is a time of getting back into routine. It is also a great time to re-evaluate your eating habits. How [...]

You are what you eat

You are what you eat. I have always believed this. However, I have realized this more than ever as I test my body physically. Over the past 4 months I have been studying for my Fitness Instructor practical (60min cardio boot camp 2-3x per week), teaching spin 2x per week (a 60 min cycle class [...]

Hot days – Cool Food!

I love summer. Sometimes I wish I could just move somewhere where it is hot all the time – but then I don’t think I would appreciate the summer as much. The seasons allow me to long for the hot days of summer during the winter– and then cherish them when they are here. One [...]

Sugar the new fat?

I am reading this very interesting book called “The taste of sweet”. It is not written by a Doctor, Dietitian or Food Scientist – just a woman who loves sugar. I have had a few great laughs out of it. One I have to share – she was talking about why anyone would look at [...]

Practice Mindful Eating

One of the tools I use to learn about my clients eating habits is the “24 hour recall”. I simply ask people what they ate yesterday. I am always shocked to see how many people “forget”. Think about it – what did you eat yesterday? Try to write down every single thing. It is harder [...]