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Prior to becoming a health coach, I earned my BA from the University of Pennsylvania and MBA from Penn's Wharton School. My prior work background
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I suffered from a lifetime of mindless (although psychologically relevant) eating patterns, was nearly 50 years old, busting out of a size 14, had many hip and joint ailments which made me give up jogging and tennis, and the gross realization that I did not want to become a fat old limping lady… all led me to take Nancy up on her offer of a free one-hour consultation. Sitting there, I felt like an alcoholic who had hit rock bottom and was in desperate need to climb out or I would lose everything. When she mentioned the commitment involved, I didn’t think I could do it. I left without signing on.
Many days later, I was still thinking about our meeting and my misery. I plugged my nose and dove right in. While it all wasn’t as pleasant as sitting on the beach, it sure was a lot easier than suffering with a blubbery ailing body. Within weeks, it was easy; easy to make intelligent, mindful choices. It was not such a stretch to think I would lose weight once I cut out processed food, and replaced it with real food. The surprise came with how quickly my changes occurred. Within no time, noticeable changes were happening. I couldn’t go any where without people commenting. Ultimately, I lost 20 pounds within five months. But more importantly, what I got was an energetic, healthy body and peaceful mind.
Beyond me, these benefits directly impacted my family. My young children are now making intelligent choices and breaking destructive eating patterns. They too have more energy and will be far healthier than they would have been. Finally, and quite unexpectedly, my marriage grew to a far deeper level. Trust and purpose began to overtake daily routine and pressures.
Nancy, teaches far more than how to eat. She teaches how to live. She offers a support system that enables one to create a lifestyle that no book or diet can accomplish.
Mary Blum, February 2010
“Why do you need to do the program, you eat so healthy already?” Those are the words I heard from my friends and family. But, I wanted to find out why everyone who had completed Nancy’s program was transformed!
Now that I finished the program I know why!
It is life changing—what I learned, in a nutshell, is “to be mindful.” To stop and smell the coffee (well not that anymore) and to think about what I am eating, what I am doing, why I am doing it and to enjoy all the moments. Nancy’s program has helped me to make great eating choices, figure out my career and create personal goals and attain them!
I have had close friends and strangers tell me I look amazing. I feel amazing and have so much energy and verve for life.
I have always been a passionate cook—now I have the opportunity to cook healthy meals every night and have my kids cheer when the meal is set down. The whole family is into the process.
I have been living this “new life” for the past year and I can tell you that it is no way a “diet.” I don’t even think about food in a “can I eat” way—I just eat what I know will allow me to feel good, always!
I am empowered to be the best I can be and to always strive for more!
Danielle Seltzer, February 2010
While I was working the other day I heard a parent talk to my receptionist about how we (my family and I) had had a really rough year. I wanted to yell out from my room that I had had a great year but I didn’t want to scare the child in my chair. As I sat there working, I realized that they were talking about my breast cancer and my husband’s spinal fusion surgery in the last 9 months! I then sat there thinking how could I possibly think I had had such a great year when all of these bad things had happened to us? The answer came to me that I had spent 2 ½ years with Nancy Weiser. The time I spent working with Nancy prepared me to deal with everything that was thrown at me this year. My head would never have been able to see the greatness in this past year without her guidance.
I came to Nancy two and a half years ago to lose weight when I was frustrated that all my exercising had produced no weight loss. I felt like I already ate healthfully, little did I know.
Following one 6 month session and a half-time session for another 6 months, I had gained 3 pounds! Not a great advertisement for a successful program! However, I felt great! I had given up 40ounces of diet coke a day, ate kale and quinoa all the time and practiced yoga 2-3 times a week. I sat on Nancy’s couch and said I didn’t know what to do. How could I do all of this and not lose weight? I was really frustrated.
Through Nancy’s guidance and my sister, who is a gynecologist, I was prodded to really explore my medical issues and my head in non-traditional ways. My sister fixed my medical problems… and Nancy helped me to assimilate everything. Nancy had been trying to teach me to live in the present and to really feel things – now I could. I tasted food. I enjoyed it. I started to lose weight!
It’s been a little over two years since I started with Nancy. My last session with her was about 4 months ago. I have lost over 10 pounds since then and probably closer to 15 since the weight started to come off. I still notice a drop of one or 2 pounds every few weeks. I’m down from a size 18 to a 14 and can even fit into a 12 sometimes. I am vegetarian (leaning vegan) by my choice and loving it. I practice yoga 4 days per week and am amazed at what my body and my brain can do.
This has been a fantastic journey. It’s hard to believe what I’ve accomplished in this last year. I’m healthier, my family is healthier and we are all much calmer and happier. I really couldn’t have done this without Nancy.
Leyla Z. Nakisbendi, DMD December 2009
Nancy Weiser is a life-changing agent for well-being in all of its forms – physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. I have been the beneficiary of her program for the past two years, and it continues to have a profound, positive impact on my health and happiness. In her teaching, Nancy beautifully weaves together the fabric of nutrition, diet, exercise, relationships, and spiritual health. Her great gift is in her ability to help people put into practice their highest aspirations. She is enabling me to fulfill my potential beyond what I thought possible, and I am deeply honored and grateful that she is in my life.
Nicholas Callaway
Chairman and Founder, Callaway Arts & Entertainment
September 2009
I am a health professional in New York City in my late 40s who had become quite dispirited over the past several years—I felt lethargic and tired most of the time, always hassled and buried under more projects and responsibilities than I could possibly manage. I also noticed that my clothing was getting tight and my weight had crept up to a number on the scale I had never seen or ever wanted to see—it all had the makings of a profound nightmare.
My initial meeting with Nancy was explosive—the conversation was like no other that I had experienced in my professional life. There was no way to bury the truth and no way to avoid engaging in positive prospects for the future, using Nancy’s client-specific tools as a guide. Make no mistake about it—this is not a diet program. Rather, one’s relationship to food is used as a conduit to affect global change in one’s life. The intense reevaluation and restructuring process allows for increased focus, direction, and progress. When I first met Nancy, I had steep mountains to climb on my personal and professional “to-do list.” The books/articles that Nancy suggested served to spark foundational changes in my thinking and my perspective. The “Fierce Conversations” that followed helped me to get to bedrock truths about myself and to get to the heart of my current habits. Consumption of 40-60 ounces of Diet Coke per day seemed an insurmountable challenge, as did my heavy sugar intake and sugar cravings. My 20-year absence from regular exercise also seemed impossible to overcome.
The key to Nancy’s program is not the reading materials, however, but Nancy’s keen insight into her clients as individuals. Nancy carefully dissected my roadblocks, held up a very bright light to expose these impediments and forced me to confront them in a very gentle, intellectual, and Zen fashion. In a nutshell, Nancy and her program have allowed me to see the connection between my personal beliefs and the actions I take and how to fundamentally shape and change them. Nancy Weiser has been a portal to the “other side” of change and once you can see it and feel it, there is, happily, no turning back. I now have healthier relationships, healthier children, a healthier body, and an irrepressibly positive outlook of the future.
If you want to affect the changes that you always wanted to make and have somehow resigned yourself to never being able to get to – think again. Nancy finds a way for you to focus your power on your concerns and to solve them in a methodical, forgiving fashion. Her methods allow individuals to take their own path to where they know that they really want to go.
– Mark J. Bronsky, DMD, MS, PC August 2009
After some dietary changes: eliminating caffeine, most animal protein, white flour, and my nightly glasses of chardonnay I felt better immediately! Introducing yoga relaxed me and I tried many new and delicious meals for my family.
Most surprisingly and most beneficial to me was that Nancy essentially "reorganized" my life. She helped me prioritize my time with my family and ask for help when I felt overwhelmed. For example, simple suggestions like involving my babysitter in cooking dinner allowed me to spend more time with my children. I also began planning the week’s meals in advance which eliminated my constantly running to the grocery store at 5 o'clock in a frenzy. I feel more relaxed and happier which makes me a more patient, kind parent and wife as well as a peaceful and healthier person.
– Sarah Davis, September 2008
I have just completed Nancy’s 6 month health course and have signed up
for 6 more months.
I am an attorney working in the securities industry on Wall Street, living in Larchmont with two teenage children and husband number two after a divorce. I considered myself fairly athletic as I was able to run 6 miles, went to the gym 4 days a week, danced, did yoga and had good eating habits But, I felt as I approached my 50s, that no amount of exercise and dieting could help me feel good about my shape. I was thinking of a tummy tuck. Nancy asked me to wait until I completed the program. Following her guidelines, I gradually saw changes to my shape that I loved. Without ever being hungry, without feeling like I was denying myself pleasures in life, while cutting back on the amount of exercise and increasing the variety of foods I ate, I got rid of that ugly belly. I was thrilled that I had met my goals.
But to my utter surprise, Nancy was not satisfied meeting my goals. She had other goals for me: mental health, not just physical health. Her patient, thoughtful, supportive conversations about my own nutrition somehow led to better relationships at work, with my children, with my husband and with my friends. I also like myself more. Working with Nancy was a treat not just for me, but also for my whole family.
– Danielle Schanz, March 2008
Nancy helped me change everything. Getting my food right was the foundation. Above and beyond this foundation, our work together has enhanced so many other aspects of my life. With the right food, moderate and enhanced physical exercise, and more attentive self care, I have been able to rediscover and revitalize facets of my self that had been masked or marginalized. I have conquered years of addiction to cigarettes and alcohol. I look so much better and I feel really great. Most importantly, my marriage is stronger and happier than ever and our children are healthy, happy and powerful.
– Jennifer Malherbe, July 2007
I completely avoid the peaks and valleys I used to experience on my “old” diet that was filled with missed meals and lots of sugar… My anxiety levels have plummeted as I’ve become more in control of the aspects of my life that were causing me to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and unhappy. I eliminated responsibilities that were no longer good for my wellbeing. I adopted new routines that contribute deeply to my feelings of wellness, peacefulness, and happiness. I am all around a much happier, more satisfied, calmer, and more pleasant person.
I truly believe that I would still be in my emotional and physical ruts if it weren’t for Nancy. She does so much more than just coach you on good food choices. She allows you to make your life extraordinary – the life you deserve. She has given me back my life.
– Susie Schnall, September 2006
As I approached 40, my sugar cravings were stronger than and I began to realize that my three children were following in my footsteps with their food choices. I decided I needed to take action.
I’ve always been a picky eater, but Nancy offers so many recipes and alternative choices, I never felt like I couldn’t find something that I would like. Within a month, I was cooking more, certainly eating healthier and definitely feeling better. I realized the power of good food and how making the right choices made me feel healthier, more energized and improved my overall well being. I found myself drinking more water, reading food labels regularly, cooking often and buying fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and other foods so that I would always have healthy alternatives in the house. Just as crucial to the change in my eating habits was the change in my attitude toward cooking. Being able to feed my children “real” food as opposed to frozen dinners and makeshift meals was a huge accomplishment.
– Lori Herbsman, August 2006
It was this kind of simple and straightforward advice that made it so easy to succeed. The plethora of amazing recipes took the mystery out of this new way of eating and got me excited to shop (especially in the produce section) and get into the kitchen. Not only do I know what daikon is, I eat it regularly!
– Allison Wohl, August 2006
My one concern about the program was that it would limit my eating options, but instead it opened my world to an endless array of choices. Through discussions with Nancy and experimenting with different foods, I found I do best on and enjoy a primarily plant based diet. As a result I have more energy and sleep better. My skin is clearer, and I feel better overall. I became very interested in vegetarian cooking and have introduced so many new foods to my family. My children are eating many more fruits and vegetables and love it. Whole grains have become a way of life and I no longer have sugar cravings.
– Michele Sloane, August 2006
Not only was she invaluable in providing information and coaching, but also in encouraging to me to trust my intuition and be my own coach going forward. I have a heightened awareness of what I need to do to keep my body and mind in balance.
– Connie Chan, June 2006
By working with Nancy I learned how I could benefit from kicking coffee and alcohol to the curb, how my mood would improve, how I’d have increased energy and fewer cravings. And the greatest part was how it happened gradually, painlessly and permanently!
Before working with Nancy I thought my husband and toddler were eating healthy foods. During the course of the program I realized that I was comparing our diet to that of typical Americans. Eating vegetables and whole grains and eschewing the drive thru is indeed a good way to be, but Nancy showed me that there is more to healthy eating than that. Now my son asks for veggies, water, nuts and fruit instead of artificial, chemical-laden, processed junk! Take that Ronald McDonald! He’s a much more pleasant child for it too.
What led me to working with Nancy primarily was the realization that at some point…I was going to have to put myself first in order to get my family fit, happy and healthy.
With Nancy’s reassurances and total support I stuck it out and I have a stronger marriage, a healthier child and I learned so much about myself along the way!
– Nancy Rogers, May, 2006
Most significantly, Nancy provided me with ideas, recipes, information and support as we cut out sugar and refined foods. We actually added so many interesting and tasteful things to our diets, that the loss of candy, chocolate, and refined flour and sugar was not noticeable.
In the past 8 months my husband has lost over 20 pounds, I have given up Diet Coke and coffee and the kids are eating a wider range of foods and better quality foods at all meals. With an increased focus on cooking, spending time in the kitchen, planning meals and focusing on the kids physical needs, we have achieved more harmony as a family.
– Susie Copley, January 2006
I learned so much about whole foods and how and why to prepare them. By the end of the program I was cooking with fresh ingredients, experimenting with new tastes and had virtually cut out coffee, sugar and milk. I now eat lots more than I used to, don’t feel deprived at all, and I feel so healthy and just great overall! Not only that, but without trying I have lost 8 pounds.
One part of Nancy’s program that I didn’t expect was the tools I learned to improve my overall well-being. Through the course of our meetings we worked together on how to deal with stress. I recognized the ways I created stress in my life, how I could focus on the positive aspects of myself and my life, and how I should stop trying to live up to other’s expectations. I not only feel healthier nutritionally, but mentally as well. Working with Nancy has changed my life so completely.
– Name Withheld, December 2005
What started out as a way to lose weight and address food issues became a way to look at life and address life issues. By making a few food changes, I found my mind clearer. I found myself happier and calmer than I have been in years. I no longer need a large cup of coffee in the morning to function.
– Amy Clark, September 2005
Our meetings were always fascinating and built on one another very gradually. Now, as I look back from where I started, I am amazed at the changes. I sleep better than I did before I met with Nancy. I am stronger than I was. My relationship with my husband is improved. I am a better friend and mother too. She even helped me be better at my job.
– Susan Lipton, September 2005
