About me
Meet Dr Anika Rouf
Qualifications
- Accredited Practising Dietitian & Accredited Nutritionist – Dietitians Australia
- Bachelor of Biomedical Science
- Master of Nutrition and Dietetics
Doctor of Philosophy (Behavioural science and nutrition)
My career journey thus far
I was always into science at school but it took me a while to find my calling. Towards the end of my undergraduate degree, I realised that I didn’t want to work in the labs and aspired to be in a career that would allow me to help people in a more direct manner. I used to enjoy cooking so I liked the idea of mixing cooking and science. So, I went into nutrition and dietetics.
During my research block, I found myself to be enjoying my project more than usual. I started looking into PhD projects and wanting to learn more. So, I took the plunge and went for it. My PhD focused on improving the eating habits of young adults. As with most research, most of our participants were women. I loved the qualitative aspect of my PhD as this is where I got to learn about their enablers and barriers. The majority of them talked about being super busy and time poor to practice healthy habits. I knew that it was something I’d have to come back to!
The story behind my virtual practice ‘Appetite by Anika’
I chose the word ‘appetite’ because that’s the reason we primarily eat! We eat to enjoy our foods. Our biggest reason for eating is hunger and having an appetite for something. There is no point eating something if you don’t get enjoyment out of it. I want my clients to focus on food enjoyment. We have a variety of foods available around us and this might influence people to eat something they don’t actually have appetite for. People often lose food enjoyment by following diets that are too restrictive or involve eating foods they don’t actually like to eat. My goal is to help you to keep the foods you love and enable you to eat according to your appetite while balancing your plate. I’m here to show you that healthy eating can be fun and doesn’t have to feel restrictive!
As someone who always hasn’t had the best relationship with food, I know what it’s like to be obsessed with food and focusing on a number on the scale. And that’s why, my virtual practice is all about helping busy women find that balance and make peace with food.
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