Meet Marian Mitchell of Road to Living Whole

My story to becoming an expert in Therapeutic Diets starts with trying every major dietary theory out there to try to improve my health. I was suffering from fluctuating weight, chronic migraines, ovarian cysts, hormonal acne, severe asthma, and psoriasis. I just wanted to feel better and maintain a healthy weight without spending 12 hours a week at the gym. As I tried every diet, eventually finding the one that works for me, I realized that every person is different. There is no one-size-fits-all diet to improve all of humanities health.

I stumbled across the book “Integrative Health” written by the founder of the school, Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Reading his book was like reading all that I had learned over the last several years and I was hooked. I didn’t want people to suffer as long as I had, nor throw spaghetti at the wall trying to improve their health. I wanted to shorten the learning curve, empower, and support them along the way. Going through school I not only taught how to coach, I was connected to the leading experts in complex chronic disease management.

Food is the foundation for health but healthy eating looks different in a health crisis. I learned how to make cooking simple, am extremely talented at working around restrictions, and have a ton of strategies to make grocery shopping and cooking simple and even enjoyable. I love being able to share all of this with my clients and community. Making their life that much easier is a blessing.

I don’t think anyone truly has a smooth road. Recovering from chronic disease is much like untangling a necklace that is in a bunch. Then establishing a business and obtaining a consistent income is exhausting in the beginning until you start getting systems in place, delegating time-consuming tasks, and growing a loyal following.

My health took a huge dump about 2 years into starting my practice because I was burning the candle at both ends. I was a single mom with a 5-year-old and 1 one year old with no family support locally. I was working after the kids were in bed and running on very little sleep. While food is the foundation, it is unable to do all the work. The lack of self-care and sufficient sleep took its toll. My adrenals crashed. It took 2 years, a business coach, and learning to trust others to do some of the work for me for my health to recover.

However, I’m glad I kept pushing through. All the hard work does pay off as time goes on. I’m now helping 100’s of people a year get their health back without feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and wanting to give up.

Road to Living Whole is the name of my company. We are a health coaching practice specializing in effortless therapeutic diets. We offer 1-on-1 coaching plus many online meal planning and coaching programs specializing in different conditions out there including Mold Toxicity, SIBO, Histamine Intolerance, Autoimmune Disease, Thyroid Disorders, IBS/IBD, and more.

We are known for our done-for-you meal plans and shopping lists with recipes that are ready in just 10-20 minutes and taste good to boot. We empower our clients with the tools they need to get and stay healthy without feeling like they are living in the kitchen and stuck inside their homes. That is also what I’m most proud of. I want our clients feeling empowered and like it’s something they can easily do for life. They are no longer in the cycle of self-hatred and sabotage, enjoy their treats but easily stick with healthy eating for life. It’s because it tastes good and they have all the shortcuts they need to keep it easy!

So many health-focused meal plans and recipes out there make things unnecessarily complicated and expensive. Also gross. A green smoothie that is 80% greens with half a banana, some almond milk and a whole bunch of powders isn’t going to taste good. People will choke it down because “it’s good for them” but they won’t stick with it for long. I’ve been there so I know! It’s why I started creating my own recipes. I was like “Screw this! How can I make all this easier?” And I did it. I love sharing how. This is what sets us apart.

Whew, this is a loaded question! Success is that I get a flexible schedule so I can be there for kids in a way that I wasn’t able to when they were young. It’s being able to hire people to do the things I don’t have time for so I can help more people. It’s helping more and more people every week and month. It’s financially not needing to work 2 jobs to pay my bills. It’s being able to find ways to help more people without exchanging a lot of my time. I feel incredibly successful and blessed.