What past clients have said:
“There aren’t enough words to express how fortunate I feel to have found Marissa and how game-changing our work together has been for me! She has brought me back to life after I was feeling my lowest low, at my highest weight, about a year into having two babies back-to-back. She revolutionized the way I approached meals, decision-making, and planning - and worked hard to devise guidelines that felt realistic and doable. She was patient with all my trial and error, jumping in with a million suggestions if any particular option didn’t work, and was always there to supportively nudge me forward in my journey. We unpacked habits and patterns I didn’t even know were deeply ingrained, and developed new ones with her “slow nutrition” methodology that I am able to keep to this day - a full year+ later.
Most importantly, while I came to her looking for help with weight loss, we achieved a much deeper mentality shift around both food and life. She rewired my brain as a fresh, working mom of two littles: to carve out time for and prioritize filling my cup first so that there was something from which to give. She has been my best accountability partner, biggest cheerleader, and most genuine supporter of my new normal... and I just happened to lose the weight along the way. I am eternally grateful!!”
“My whole life, I have struggled with my body image, as well as constantly getting sick, and not knowing how to make every day food and lifestyle decisions that felt good for me. As a college student, I was never taken seriously by doctors when I approached them with my weight loss issues. Marissa was the first health professional to take me seriously, and look at the bigger picture, not only healing my relationship with food, but with the way I see and speak to myself. After working with Marissa for about 9 months, I realize what a significant impact she and our work together has had on my life. I have completely transformed the way that I eat, know what foods will make me feel my best, and most importantly, can appreciate my body and all that it does for me, regardless of physical appearance alone. After testing my gut health extensively, I was also given a regimen of daily supplements, and for the first time in years, I am hardly ever sick! More than anything, it was always so clear to me that Marissa cared about me as a client, and truly wanted to see me succeed. She was proud of me for even the smallest changes that I made, and never let me forget how far I’d come. These sessions were just as much for my physical health, as they were for my mental health and confidence. I am truly so grateful to have gotten to work with her, and could not say enough great things. ”
“Avia is a real pro. She digs deep into your lifestyle and dietary wins and losses and creates a custom approach giving you the best chance of success and lifetime improvement. Over the years, I’ve read fad diet books and all the messaging ends up drifting away. Avia’s encouragement and approach resonated with me and I hear her speaking when I make food choices. If you are hoping to improve your health and prepare for a great, long life, Avia is a great partner for your journey. ”
“Prior to working with Marissa, I had been dealing with GI issues for 8 years with no solutions from doctors other than telling me I have IBS. My GI issues continued to get worse, eventually leading to a stomach ulcer and other symptoms affecting me externally on my body. At this point I knew it was time to get real help asap! Marissa was able to solve my GI issues in 4 short months, my mind is still blown. We worked together on a plan to heal my gut that was personalized to me and she altered the plan whenever something was not working for me. Marissa answered all of my questions so patiently and explained everything in such a simple way so I always felt confident in my protocol. Marissa is the first healthcare professional to make me feel heard, it is obvious she is passionate about helping her patients live a better life. Marissa taught me so much about my body that will help me for YEARS to come. I wish I had gone to Marissa 8 years ago, I am so thankful!!”
“Marissa has completely changed my relationship with food! Prior to working with Marissa, I was constantly thinking about food, what I would eat next, and was always hungry. Through Marissa’s approach, she has completely reshaped how I view food, how I fuel my body and how I nourish myself. My taste buds have completely changed to be craving not just “healthy” foods but foods that actually nourish and satiate you! I am fully able to put together balanced meals and snacks that fuel my body!”
“After turning the ‘big 30’ I wanted to take my health more seriously. Marissa was just what I needed. What I really loved was that Marissa is so approachable and non-judgmental. She helped me work through the years of ‘diet-culture’ influence and taught me a new way to look at food, my feelings around it and my body. Marissa worked *with* me every step of the way, challenging me and helping me to find a way of eating that supports my physical and mental health. The way she works is so thoughtful, considerate, and personalized that I now know what works for me. I can happily say I feel better in my clothes, my body and I know simple ways how to keep myself feeling this way! I truly feel working with Marissa has been life-changing for my physical and mental health - I feel good, I feel happy and I feel confident in knowing that what I am doing for me is for me and my body uniquely. Thank you, Marissa!”
“I don’t even know where to begin. Before I started seeing Marissa, I had been battling disordered eating habits my whole life. I had tried every diet, every fad, and lots of very unhealthy habits to try and get skinnier. I literally couldn’t even drink water without basically a whole bottle of mio. After my first consultation with Marissa I KNEW this was going to be a good thing for me. She is kind, understanding, and very intentional. Bottom line, she helped me love my body. I am tearing up writing this because I have never said that in my life. I literally love eating veggies now, and feel so in tuned with my body. Not only that but WATER IS MY FREAKING FAVORITE NOW. She is seriously one of a kind and a miracle worker at what she does. Do not hesitate in working with her, she is the real deal. I am so thankful for my time spent with Marissa and wouldn’t feel as healthy as I do now without her.”
“ I came to Marissa when I was at my lowest weight while nursing my baby, and my goal was to put on some healthy weight and feel stronger. Working with Marissa 2x a month and a strength training coach 2x a week, I was able to build a lot of muscle and get back to my body’s healthiest weight. Marissa made it simple for me...she gave me breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recommendations, she gave me amazing brand suggestions for my dietary needs/preferences, and she helped me understand how to stock my fridge/pantry on busy weeks so that I could always have nutritious meals accessible. She is kind, approachable and knowledgeable! ”
“Marissa has completely transformed my relationship with food, on both a physical and psychological level. I found her following a severe lupus flare, and the combination of her clinical background and focus on mindful eating seemed like a perfect fit.
Prior to our work, I had never felt “good” after eating. She helped me identify foods that didn’t aggravate my lupus, and for the first time, I actually feel energized after meals. She also coached me through an underlying negative relationship with food from years in gymnastics and diving. I often restricted and experienced tremendous guilt about anything I didn’t deem the “perfect meal”. But with her guidance, I have reached a point where food does not feel like it controls my life; I can value all of the nourishment I am putting in my body and truly cherish the opportunity to enjoy a meal! ”
“ MARISSA IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST!! I came to her about 7 months ago with all of the worst symptoms you could think of... migraines, digestive problems, hair loss, brittle nails, long periods/horrible cramps, bloating, weight gain, heart burn, etc. I filled out an extensive assessment so she could figure out what was going on with my gut and then made a game plan from there. After even a couple months with Marissa I felt like a new person and by the end of the 7 months, every single one of my symptoms were gone. For example, my period was 7 days long and now it’s 3 days, my nails are the strongest they’ve ever been, my digestive system FINALLY feels “normal”, my hair is growing back, I don’t have any bloating, etc. My mind is blown and I can’t thank Marissa enough. If you are struggling and think these are the norm for you now, it shouldn’t be! If you are questioning if you should hire her, DO IT!! I’m so glad I did!! Forever grateful! ”
“I walked into Marissa’s office over a year ago and felt trapped inside of my own body. I was irritable, lethargic, uncomfortable. I felt like I was “doing all of the right things”… eating healthy, working out, limiting alcohol, cutting out certain foods I thought were bad for me. I felt like, what else could I possibly remove from my diet or change from my life that would give me the slightest chance of feeling better.
We went straight to a stool test and a protocol that I stuck to religiously. Every day that I followed Marissa’s personalized protocol, the better I felt. I could confidently say, it wasn’t about removing things from my diet or running an extra mile… it was all about learning what was actually going on inside of my second brain, the GUT— to truly understand why I was feeling so terribly. I looked to Marissa as my “food therapist”. Not only did she help me physically but she completely changed my thoughts around food, diets and restricting. I now feel better, have a healthier outlook on food, exercise and for the first time in 33 years, I love what I see.
Marissa changed my life and I will forever be grateful for what I grasped and learned in the year that we worked together. This was a lifestyle change… and a change that will last a lifetime.”
“Marissa has helped me so much with my relationship to food and my body. I was really stressed about food before and my whole day revolved around what I would be eating. She gave me all the tools I need to feel better and make choices that I was happy with. After working with Marissa I feel so confident and I have a much healthier relationship with food. Im prepared to keep using everything she’s taught me and continue to feel better!”
“Before working with Marissa, I did not know where to even begin to feed my body! I was so overwhelmed by the amount of information online and on social media. Marissa really helped me understand what was important for me and how the tiniest changes to my diet would help me feel better! She really made nutrition feel easy and something I can sustain on my own!”
“I could not speak more highly about my experience working with Marissa! I felt that she truly cared about helping me and was extremely open-minded while helping my specific situation. I have several food sensitivities and GI issues (celiac disease and IBS), and Marissa was determined to help me find the foods that worked best for me. She was willing to work around both my dietary needs as well as my personal preference when it came to choosing new foods to try.
As someone who has struggled with GI issues for years, I have worked with several doctors along the way. However, I never have found more progress than when working with Marissa. She was able to identify specific foods that irritate my stomach, and even led me towards trying new foods that I would have never tried on my own. She was always there to answer any questions that I had even when we were not in a scheduled session. She was willing to find the names of specific GI doctors in my area that would work well alongside her while I am on this journey. She introduced supplements that helped make me feel better. She would help me pick out foods off a menu while eating out. She even was responsive when picking out items in the grocery store aisle.
She is genuine, knowledgable, relatable, and extremely approachable. Marissa is incredible, incredible, incredible. Run, do not walk! I am so grateful to have worked with her and made a lot of progress along the way.”
“I felt like I was working with someone who didn’t just advise me on diet but someone who gave me help with lifestyle changes that were implementable and stayed with me long term. Marissa was always accessible and open and the sessions were super interactive. In the beginning I liked going to supermarket together! She didn’t judge me for my picky choices or bad habits and I felt like for the first time in my life I could be honest about my habits and choices and history. I did more deep thinking and reflection about my eating than I’ve ever done in my life and that is something that I will hopefully continue for a very long time.”
“I learned so much from working with Marissa! Being surrounded by co workers, friends, and a society steeped in diet culture, it was so refreshing to have real facts and real nutritional counseling from someone who actually knows what they are talking about. She understands how to make nutrition fit with one’s everyday life and sets attainable goals to make lasting change!”
“Marissa has literally turned my life around. She has helped me remove any stress related to food and free up so much mental space previously occupied by food thoughts. These sessions with Marissa are one of the best things I have done for myself!”
“ I decided to start working with a nutritionist after a diagnosis of a fatty liver and feeling fed up with the countless diet and exercise plans I’ve tried since my childhood, as well as a history of overeating behaviors and lifelong body image and shame around eating. From my first session with Marissa, so many things were put into perspective. She helped normalize so many of the emotions that were coming up for me around food and body image, that I had never really spoke about in depth before, even during my own therapy. She helped me by providing so many techniques and “shining a mirror” on to my own biases and body shaming of others. I learned a lot about proper nutrition and how it is still easy to enjoy the foods I love and not place blame on myself for it. After five weeks of working with her I felt that I gained healthy habits and had more energy and felt more confident and comfortable in my clothes. Not to mention Marissa is so easy to talk to and approachable, I really looked forward to our weekly sessions. If you are truly ready to make a change, run, don’t walk to have a consultation with Marissa— I promise you won’t regret it!! ”
“When I started working with Marissa, I was experiencing a lot of stress/thoughts related to food as a result of a very restrictive diet I was following that I thought it “helped” my digestion. Marissa was able to immediately sense what I needed and adjusted our sessions accordingly. She helped me change the way I thought about food and digestion and guided me through an all inclusive diet. I am no longer stressed about what I will eat and I am able to enjoy again social gatherings! It feels like I finally got my life back! ”
“Marissa was amazing to work with - not only did she help me redefine my health, food and weight goals to look at them through a healthier lens, but she also helped me achieve them. When we started working together, I didn’t really even understand what a healthy relationship with food would look like and how to think positively about my potential progress. She constantly reminded me of how far I had come in understanding what a healthy plate meant and how to have a calmer relationship with food. Food is something we eat and interact with on a daily basis, and before working with Marissa it consumed my thoughts.
Beyond my relationship with food, Marissa was always there to give me helpful tips, review my food journal, provide recipe ideas and helped me create a “menu” for my week that did not ever seem ominous or obstructing to my social life. She taught me the value of preparation, home cooked meals, and the ideal picture of a food plate to make sure I am fueled for the day. While I realize my relationship with food is always something to be mindful of, I now understand how to approach food with gratitude and am so thankful for her!”
“When I started working with Marissa, I has no idea what a balanced plate looked like. I wanted to break the cycle of obesity in my family but didn’t know where to start. Slowly but surely, Marissa’s guidance made its way into my kitchen. After working with her, I know what a healthy plate looks like, I feel confident eating out in what I should choose, and know that this cycle ends with me.”
“Marissa guided me through a myriad of different issues and changes that I was going through. She helped me rid myself of a toxic diet mindset. Because of Marissa, I now have an extremely healthy relationship with food.
She created an open flow of communication and made it comfortable for me to open up to her. She also is extremely knowledgeable on nutrition, and got me out of my strict diet mindset and into a healthier mindset.
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“I am so grateful to have worked with Marissa. She gave me the tools I needed to trust my body and accept it at whatever stage it is at. I now feel more confident in my ability to choose a healthy meal, as well as more comfortable with the idea that it’s ok to not always choose the healthy meal. I now feel like I am not at constant war with myself when choosing my meals and I have so much more space in my mind now that I don’t have to overthink what I am putting into my body.”