If this is your first time here please click the play button for a special message from Diane Kazer
I've worked with nutritionists from the time I was 17 years old and recruited by University of the Pacific to play D1 soccer. I learned at that age, that food impacted the way I felt, performed on the field and looked on the outside. It was a passion I learned early on because I sought it out. I read every nutrition book there was when I was in my teens because my goal was to be the fastest and strongest player on the field. Then I grew to want to help others and I tasted the aroma of helping others. Since hiring my first trainer and nutritionist 17 years ago, I've worked with many others ranging from Strength & Training Coaches at UOP to naturopaths, chiropractors, ayurvedic yoga practitioners, shamans, acupuncturists, Pro Bodybuilders and more. I've worked with, learned, and tried it all. Throughout this journey, there was 1 thing that differentiated those I worked with that stood out among the others:
MANY HEALTH PROFESSIONALS DON'T PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH
If the answer was NO, I quickly lost respect and moved on. I need my leader to be more passionate than I on matters of health, and if they're not, how the heck would I be inspired to grow? The second most important thing should be:
DO THEY CUSTOMIZE YOUR DIET TO YOUR GENES, CURRENT HEALTH CHALLENGES & GOALS?
I'd bet that 80% of plans that are given to people desiring a life change through nutrition and fitness are generalized templates whose servings are tweaked to fit the size and age of the person…if you're lucky! The other 19% go deeper into micronutrients, quality of food, and specialized goals such as fat loss, and the other 1% and less is what we as FDN's do, which goes deeper into food, exercise and lifestyle customization than any other program in the world. Yep, I said it:
NO PROGRAM WILL BE MORE SUITED TO YOUR BODY THAN WHAT DIANE OFFERS
There's more programs, diet books and tips in the world right now than you could try in a lifetime, most of which involve crash dieting, including low calorie diets (many, low fat = THE WORST thing you could do). Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers are just a couple examples of programs that drive me CRAZY. They focus on points and calories rather than the depth of their nutritional offerings. When you eat microwavable foods and processed junk, regardless of their ONLY 100 CALORIES PER SERVING label, you'll turn up nutritionally starved and will swing the pendulum back to craving foods that contain the vitamins and minerals you're most deplete of. Today we're Overfed and Undernourished and this can be attributed to overemphasis on calories rather than eating foods and vitamins that YOUR body craves and needs to thrive!
Restricting caloric intake too much can actually cause your metabolism to slow down, which will hinder weight-loss efforts. As the body tries to conserve energy, it erodes muscle first. When calories increase, they are first stored as fat. Ironically, you could actually get fatter with extreme dieting. Here's an interesting ARTICLE on ‘The Dangers of Yo-Yo Dieting'. This is why I say to you… LET THIS BE WHERE THE ROAD OF DIETING STOPS! You may have heard it before that ‘this diet will
work for you I guarantee it, just listen to what I say' but in reality, many ‘nutritionists' don't go beyond the surface into the genetics of your body to discover the following:
- Which EXACT exercises are good for you vs ones that cause MORE harm & inspire weight gain?
- Among the ‘healthy' foods, which CAUSE symptoms and further inflammation in your body vs ones that turn on the good genes?
- What is the root cause of why I can't sustain my diet? I've tried many and they work for a while…but is there something else beneath the surface that might be causing irrational food cravings? Hormonal imbalance? Bacterial overgrowth? Yeast? Heavy Metals? You'll diet for the rest of your life until you address these underlying triggers.
- Which supplements are my poison and which are my medicine?
- Why do I have all of these symptoms still even after I've lost weight, exercise regularly, eat healthier and sleep better?
Many nutritionists and trainers these days take a 2 day certification to be able to do what they do, which is SCARY. I'll probably put my life on the line with this one, but one example of this is Cross Fit. $1k and 2 days later, you have a Coach who you trust with your life. This is why I'm not a big fan of this as most don't practice safety and proper technique, not to mention Paleo is not for everyone. There are of course exceptions, but the lion share of trainers and doctors know very little if not the basics of proper nutrition. Therefore, it is VITAL to invest your time and money into one that will give you the BEST chance of gaining your goals, rather than taking a stab at trying the same thing that your friend did that worked for her. Been there, done that, worked for a while, came out frustrated with the same symptoms I had before if not worse.
I asked my clients what my strong suits were that differentiated me from the masses and this is what they had to say:
Commitment – Diane is committed to her health first and foremost. That example is infectious into her clients persona. Therefore, she is 100% committed, reliable AND accessible to her clients, across all forms of communication.
Passion – She has a fire in her belly to truly heal others and realize the healing comes from within themselves, she is merely an outlet for education and inspiration. She will hold you accountable, check in regularly, and call you out when necessary.
Generosity – Diane is not stingy with her knowledge, she gives every client no excuse to fail with the depth of advice she provides. She's worked with health professionals who will leave just enough info out to create a dependence for their clients. She'd rather teach clients how to fish rather than giving them fish. “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”
Relatability – She's traveled her own path, come out of the fire stronger and is willing to guide others, without judgment. She's struggled with her health just like anyone else, and am living proof that others can achieve optimal health, as long as they’re dedicated. She's the person that strangers find themselves pouring their hearts and secrets out to because they know their feelings are safe with her.
Integrity – Diane breathes the example of balance in Wellness. She walks the talk, is not a hypocrite with advice, look, feel, think 10 years younger than she is and it shows.
Integrative – No cookie cutting Diet and Exercise Tips here! She treats each client using a whole approach (body, mind, cells, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc.). She's not quick to assume the origination of symptoms rather, she believes: TEST, don’t guess! As a yoga teacher, personal trainer, pro soccer player and bodybuilder, her athleticism is well rounded in mind, body and spirit.
Honesty – She has the ability to discern truth in the medical field. She's innately skeptical as to what is accurate and what is hype. Diane conducts her own research and has a passion sharing it once she validates it’s legitimacy. If she's unable to help someone, she's not too proud to use the words ‘I don’t know, but will research it for you or refer you to someone who does’.
Awareness – Diane has a uniquely dynamic 365 degree view of the body and all that we are made of from spiritual to physical, bones to skin. She is astute to listen to her body and teach others the importance of doing the same.
Empathetic, yet Accountable – While she's compassionate toward others life circumstances, she's also intuitive enough to delineate what are ‘excuses’ and what are true ‘roadblocks’. If her clients are 100% committed, she won't let them fail with her on their team to hold them to their goals.
Energetic – While Diane won't take on clients who don’t take their health seriously, another condition is that she won’t take them on if they take themselves TOO seriously. In other words, together she makes your experience FUN and fulfilling. Health topics can be embarrassing for some to divulge, and she's well known to break the stigma, dogma and ice around otherwise hard to discuss topics. If you're not having fun in the process of bringing yourself to the greatest version of yourself possible, Diane will tell you to MIF it. MAKE IT FUN! To discuss your goals, and to find the Wellness Warrior within yourself, please Act now, because this is only for a limited time as Diane is near capacity for new clients!
