Meet the Nutrition Team



» Michele Berger, RD
   RD Registered Dietitian Certified in Adult and Adolescent Weight Management

Michele Berger, RD graduated from Montclair State University in 1999 with a Bachelor's degree in Dietetics. She continued her education participating in a competitive nine month internship in a clinical, outpatient and food service setting. She began her experience as a clinical Registered Dietitian at Virtua Health hospital system in Southern New Jersey for three years. She then transferred to the outpatient setting and designed a medically based weight loss center for the hospital. In 2003 she completed all requirements and became nationally certified in adult weight management. After moving to Central New Jersey in 2005 she continued her experience by joining the Family Medicine Residency Practice for CentraState hospital system. In 2006 she decided to create Nutrition Solutions, LLC located in the Innovative Wellness Center and offer a broad spectrum of nutrition services to the community. Nutrition Solutions offers weight loss and nutrition education programs based on Medgem metabolism testing and Body Composition analysis. In 2007 Michele completed all requirements and became nationally certified in adolescent weight management. Due to high demand, in 2009 Nutrition Solutions expanded with the addition of a second location in Elite fitness & sports located in Manalapan.

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» Valerie C. Bottega, RD,CDE
   Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator

Valerie Bottega graduated from California State University at Northridge with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Dietetics and Nutrition. Following that she completed her intensive internship at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. She then worked at the LiteLife Program at St Luke's Medical Center in Pasadena, CA. There, Valerie worked as the coordinator of a weight loss program which offered both traditional and therapeutic weight loss through counseling as well as gastroplasty for eligible clients.
In 1988 she began a 5 year stay at University Hospital at Stony Brook. While affording her a broad base of both in-patients and out-patients to work with, from pediatric to geriatric, her primary focus was working with the Diabetes Treatment Unit and the endocrinology team. Valerie developed a strong interest in working with individuals with diabetes. This passion led her to become a Certified Diabetes Educator.
Valerie embarked on a 4 year job experience working for Bristol Myers-Squibb as a sales representative for their nutritional product line.
For the past 15 years she has been in private practice allowing her to offer nutrition services to a wide variety of individuals. In addition to maintaining her CDE certification, Valerie completed requirements in 2011 to become certified in adolescent weight management.

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» Alla Ready, RD
   Registered Dietitian

Alla graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor's Degree in Nutritional Sciences and successfully completed the UMDNJ Dietetic Internship that provided 1200 hours of supervised practice in such areas as Medicine, Surgery, Critical Care, Renal, Diabetes, Rehabilitation, Geriatrics, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Ambulatory Care, Community Education, Community Health Promotion, and Food Service. She then worked as a Clinical Dietitian at the 500-bed Nursing and Rehabilitation facility in Staten Island, NY, providing quality nutrition care to challenging and complex patients. In addition,  Alla strongly believes it's important to be able to give back to the community through professional volunteering and worked pro bono at such organizations as WIC, YMCA, and New Jersey Dietetic Organization. 

During her education and job experience, she has developed strong counseling, analytical, and research skills. Alla wrote several original articles on nutrition and well-being; developed educational and promotional materials; designed brochures; and conducted group lessons and cooking demonstrations. As a dietitian, she is always keeping abreast with the latest nutritional research, trends, and products. She attends trade conferences, participates in continuing education, and consults with the experts in the field. 

"I am highly motivated and passionate about promoting a healthy lifestyle through making nutritional science available to the public in practical and easy-to-understand language. During my sessions I utilize counseling techniques and scientifically-based nutrition information that were proven to empower and inspire people to introduce positive lifestyle changes. I provide my patients with all the necessary tools and support in order to maintain those changes and achieve optimal health and well-being."

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