Member Spotlight | Kyle Byron Nutrition

Company: Kyle Byron Nutrition

Workhaus Location: 181 University Avenue

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There’s an identity shift that goes on when someone goes from not caring about their health to caring about their health. A lot of their values change—you kind of become a different person. I did that, and that’s what I like watching with my clients. They’re just taking better care of themselves, and that becomes a core value.

That kind of transformation, says certified nutrition coach and personal trainer Kyle Byron, is what drives his work. For more than 20 years, Kyle has helped people change their habits, bodies, and lives. His work brings a human touch to the science of nutrition, in a way no app or algorithm can replicate.

In the age of AI and social media, anyone can open a chatbot and ask for a meal plan, or open tiktok to a steady stream of shortform fitness advice. It’s fast, easy, and free. It’s also often wrong. AI meal plans are typically off by at least 10-20%, Kyle says, while influencer advice is usually geared for views, rather than for scientific accuracy.

By contrast, Kyle offers something different: real understanding. A nutritionist with a BSc. in human nutrition and two decades of hands-on experience, he works one-on-one with clients, building relationships rooted in empathy, vulnerability and understanding. As someone who has spent decades building up both his personal fitness and his business, he knows first-hand the struggles faced by entrepreneurs, athletes, and busy people looking for self-improvement. He also knows the value of getting your advice from a real person, and the challenging feeling of sitting across the desk from a nutritionist.

That path hasn’t been an easy one. In a recent conversation with Workhaus, Kyle shared his story from the first time he discovered community and belonging through athletics, to now sharing the gift of personal transformation with others, and navigating the challenges of being a nutritionist in the age of AI. Check it out below.

The Start of a Transformation

It’s not just about the game and the training. It’s about the friends you make, and that you push yourself to a level that sometimes surprises you.

Kyle described himself as a once clumsy kid who wanted to be an athlete, long before he was one. That wasn’t an easy transition to make. In early high school, when he “put down his legos and picked up a football”, the experience was, in his words, “brutal”. But more importantly, it was worthwhile.

He was in ninth grade when his life changed after joining the football team, as he became “fully immersed in the jock lifestyle,” something he deeply enjoyed and which carried on into his university days. “It becomes a big part of one’s identity,” he said, as he detailed finding friends and pushing his athleticism to levels that even surprised him. Finally, he saw himself becoming the athlete he always wanted to be.

“All of a sudden, I’m this really good athlete,” he recalled. “And that transformation—my clients are often going through something like that.”

Even now, 20 years later, he still keeps a picture from his old rugby days on his desk. It’s a memento of how far he’s come and the friends he’s made along the way. It’s also a symbol of how much progress a person can make when they’re really committed. That same drive and determination would later shape how he built his business.

Building a Business

Becoming an athlete wasn’t the only tough transitional period Kyle faced. As so many entrepreneurs know, the path to success is often paved with false starts and tough periods. That was no different for Kyle. The process of bootstrapping his business into existence was “extremely challenging.”

Working as a personal trainer and trying to launch a nutrition practice amid the tough economic landscape of the late 2000s and early 2010s was a time he described as unstable, uncertain, and emotionally turbulent. During that period he also launched a meal delivery service with a chef friend. While he took other jobs to make ends meet, his heart was in the nutrition and fitness industry and he wasn’t willing to give up.

I was riding around the city delivering meals, also doing personal training—just so much hustle. But I didn’t want to go back to bartending or construction. I was going to make it or fail.

In 2012 things started to come together. Kyle took the plunge, leaving the meal delivery service to focus on his nutrition practice. From there, his business income doubled, and then nearly doubled again. Years of dedication were paying off and he was able to expand, adding a team of dieticians to his now thriving practice.

Since then, Kyle has worked with professional athletes, ultra-marathoners, triathletes, and even a CFL draft pick. However, the backbone of his business is working professionals.

From engineers to lawyers, to busy moms and dads, Kyle works one-on-one with clients who are looking to make a change. Many of them, he said, come to him feeling uncertain and frustrated, looking to improve both their physical and mental health and energy. The opportunity to help them achieve those goals is exactly why Kyle does what he does.

The Human Side of Nutrition

People assume that I’m going to wag my finger, make them feel bad, and put them on a diet. I don’t do any of that. The process is nurturing, customized, and client-centred.

Kyle has seen how people struggle at every stage of the process, and he’s learned a lot from those experiences. He knows that working with a nutritionist is much deeper, and often much more challenging, than simply following a meal-plan. In fact, for most clients, the challenge begins long before any meal plan is written. 

First, there’s deciding that you want to make a change and finding the courage to do so. “Not everyone’s ready to address their eating,” he acknowledged. “It’s extremely personal.”

Then there’s overcoming the fear and anxiety of opening yourself up to a nutritionist. Discussing eating habits can be deeply personal, something Kyle learned first-hand. He recalled the first time his own trainer asked him to track and share his nutritional intake.

All of a sudden, I felt extremely threatened and insecure. My next thought was, ‘Oh my God, is that how I make people feel?’ He wasn’t threatening me at all, but he asked about my eating, and I immediately got insecure. That moment taught me so much about this industry, and how just by the title of what I do, I can inadvertently make someone feel threatened or insecure. I was sensitive and client-centred before that, but I ratcheted up my sensitivity even more after that moment.

The visceral reaction he had in that moment taught him a lot, he said, about being a nutrition coach. That experience gave him a heightened understanding of his clients. Having personally felt the vulnerability his clients experience, he began seeing every consultation through their eyes.

The Power of Understanding

These days, that perspective comes naturally to Kyle. Having faced those same feelings himself, he brings a deeper empathy to his one-on-one work with clients.

“Empathy helps us be better,” he said. It’s part of why he encourages the young nutrition coaches that he mentors to book nutrition sessions of their own with other coaches. “They should know how it feels to sit in that chair. It’s hard.”

After making the conscious decision to be vulnerable, and even after the work of beginning to make dietary changes, there’s still another obstacle to face, and it might be the biggest one of all: changing your mentality. Reflecting on one client’s progress, he recalled a conversation that captures that mental shift perfectly.

I told my client, ‘You’re very strong,’ and he says, ‘Oh, no one’s ever told me that before,’ and he’s looking down at the ground. I said, ‘Man, I just want you to know how well you’re doing. I need you to know this.’ And I actually do need him to internalize that, or else it’s likely that it won’t sustain. There’s an identity shift that goes on when someone goes from not caring about their health to caring about their health. A lot of their values change—you kind of become a different person.

Again, this is where Kyle firmly believes he offers something that AI and social media can’t. While he isn’t a therapist, he’s there as much as he can be to help his clients through that process, always ready to reply to their messages or offer encouragement. 

It’s a relationship. People have to give me a chance. They have to give themselves a chance and be vulnerable. Vulnerability is a superpower. 

The assumption that he’s going to make someone feel bad about themselves and put them on a harsh diet isn’t the only misconception about his business. Now he’s contending with a new challenge, one that’s shared by many professionals in the age of AI.

Experience That Can’t Be Automated

I have a degree in nutrition and I’ve been doing this for 20 years. So yes, my advice and my experience is much better than AI.

Things changed in 2020. “We had a couple of really awesome years,” Kyle recalled. “2013 through 2019, crushing it. And then: ‘Oh! The pandemic!’” 

Like so many, the business struggled, but unlike some it survived. Now, after years of growth and change, a new challenge has arrived, with AI and social media entering the arena.

The rise of automated coaching tools and algorithm-driven advice has raised questions about what the future of his industry will be. He’s been told that there’s no replacing the value of an in-person relationship. He’s also seen the sharp rise of TikTok and AI. At the end of the day it will be up to potential clients to decide for themselves which path to take. While that state of uncertainty might be discouraging at times, you wouldn’t guess it by speaking to Kyle, who remains focused on showing up for his clients, no matter the challenge.

If somebody wants to interact with a human and have a coaching relationship, I will text my clients between sessions and check on them. You can get an AI notification, but that’s just a notification. There’s a person on the other end of my text messages.

At the end of the day, algorithms are able to analyze data and offer insights. What they can’t do is understand the fear, excitement, or vulnerability that comes with changing your life. Kyle can, because he’s lived it. With 20 years of experience and education under his belt, he’s built this business and learned first-hand the value of transformation, vulnerability, and empathy. And that’s something no machine can imitate: genuine care.

Stay Connected With Kyle Byron

What keeps me here through all the turmoil of running a small business in an ultra-competitive space is seeing clients do well. I get a thrill out of it.

Kyle joined us at Workhaus in 2023. Since then, his business has grown enough to graduate from occasional boardroom booking to a two-person office membership. “It’s been better than good,” he said of his time with us. “It’s been great.”

These days, Kyle continues to make an impact. In between running his own practice, and staying deeply involved in every client’s journey, he also mentors other nutrition coaches. He recently launched his newsletter as well: The Antidote. Kyle considers it his response to the “fearmongering, factless fads, fake bodies, or affiliate marketing that make the industry toxic.” You can sign up for the newsletter here to get practical advice, technical tips, recipes, and even the occasional funny story.

In a world increasingly dominated by technology, Kyle’s story serves as a reminder that some things, like empathy, experience, and personal connection, just can’t be automated. “I’m never going to stop caring,” he says. “That’s just who I am.”