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INTERVIEW WITH MARIANNE
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NOW AND THEN

Please describe where the name Healthy Inner Beauty stems from.

Through my own health journey I’ve discovered that one’s beauty truly starts within. I’m not only talking about clear skin, but also your mood, happiness, and physical well-being. I use to suffer from acne breakouts, eczema; bad mood swings amongst other ugly habits. Once I changed the way that I ate it stemmed into an abundance amount of positive changes. I was able to see clearly and focus on what needed to be done. I was able to deal with my stress, lose weight, not have extreme mood swings, clear my skin and find peace. My relationships improved with my family, friends and husband. It was a beautiful transformation.

What is your background and what lead you to this field of expertise?

GETTING ENGAGED TURNED ME TO A NEW CAREER

I looked for help and ended up working with a Holistic Health Counselor. It was working with her that I decided to make a career change. Her teachings and her inspirations made such a big impact on my life that I wanted to have that same impact on people. I wanted to give back and help educate people of the healthy and natural options they have so I attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which is the only nutrition school that integrates each of the different dietary theories, including traditional philosophies in combination with modern concepts, such as the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods. And I got to study with leading wellness educators, including David Katz, Mark Hyman, John Douillard, Barry Sears, Mehmet Oz, Sally Fallon, David Wolfe, and Deepak Chopra, among others. I am also accredited with the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and received a certificate from Teacher’s College Columbia University for completing the Health Counseling Program. I am also a graduate of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School in New York where I received my Natural Food Chef certification.

CIRCLE OF LIFE

Why did you decide to study the holistic approach?

I decided to practice a holistic approach to nutrition because it focuses on all aspects of your life and shows you how they are all connected. It teaches you that each person is different and that people have their own nutritional needs. Why do you think people have such a hard time losing weight? There are tons of books and diets out there, but those are too generic and too general. One person’s food could be another person’s poison, and that’s why fad diets don’t work in the long run. The holistic approach looks at your age, health, activity level, and personal preferences to determine your dietary needs. Also, not everything is about just the food you eat, but about having healthy relationships, a fulfilling career, regular physical activity and a spiritual practice. These are all essential forms of nourishment.

Does your service work for everyone?

YES! It works for everyone regardless of where you live. With technology today, my services can be done on the phone and by the computer so I can help all families across the world.

SKIN PROBLEMS BEFORE

Were you always this healthy?

No I was not! I was a non-vegetable eating child and adult that ate a lot of Oreos, Pop Tarts, ice cream and so much more. I was a heavy McDonalds eater amongst other fast food joints. Could you imagine? I really can’t believe that I did that to my body, but I didn’t know like most people don’t know. We are so uneducated in this matter of how food can truly affect our health and our overall well-being. Marketing companies are really good at what they do and attracting people to buy their products, but little do people know a lot of these packaged goods have hidden unhealthy ingredients.

What makes your business unique and sets you apart from your competition?

What makes my business unique is I focus on adding foods instead of taking away. I don’t believe deprivation is the solution. I don’t focus on counting calories or working on a point system, but truly looking at a client’s lifestyle in how they live, where their stresses come from, where their pain comes from, why they are not losing the weight or why they have lost their natural glow. Usually one’s health problems stem from deep inside and not only the foods they consume. Along with helping women I am also looking to reach out to my Filipino community. To my knowledge I am the only holistic health coach and natural food chef that focuses on supporting and guiding the Filipino community. With myself being Filipino I can see how American ways of living is and has affected our people. You know how much money we spend on special supplements, drinks, food and gadgets to lose weight, but most of the time that doesn’t work. I continue to work on studying different ways to help Filipino individuals, couples and families on the healthy options they have without depriving them of traditions we have. The rate of obesity is growing each year in our community amongst high cholesterol, diabetes and other ailments. I want to help Filipinos prevent this from happening to them and if it has already affected them then help them understand how to heal their bodies.

What is one of your favorite stories about a customer benefiting from your service?

It’s hard to pick as each story seems so unique, but if I had to pick one it would have to be when I worked with a women who was newly separated from her husband and she had 2 kids she was raising on her own. I watched her blossom right in front of my eyes. Through each session she glowed more and more. She focused a lot on others and forgot about her own personal needs, which is such an important part of one’s life. Through her program we worked towards setting goals that were reasonable and achievable for her. Naturally each goal got fulfilled and Elizabeth continued to positively grow and change. As she says in her testimonial, “I feel wonderful again.” That is just music to my ears and gives me more of a reason to continue doing what I’m doing to help others feel wonderful again.