“Hi Mary, Just a quick note to let you know that I have been on your program for 11 days and I feel wonderful! My energy levels have improved in so many ways– I feel like Wonder Woman now! I also feel so much less anxious. Thank you.” –C.R., Miami
“I have Chron’s disease and have had many health issues because of it. When I came to Mary, I was on 40 mg. of Prednizone and miserable. I had tried some diet changes in the past however, nothing seemed to work. Mary, with her incredible depth on knowledge, started me on a cleanse which began my road to recovery. I identified foods and products that were exacerbating the Chron’s. I took those things out of my diet and the healing began. I went off the Prednizone, started eating my new regime and felt better than I had since I was diagnosed with Chron’s 20 years ago. Because Mary is so knowledgeable and creative, together we were able to get my life to a place of health that I thought I would never be able to achieve. She is awesome to work with and someone I can trust with my health care. My life has changed because of her expertise and ability to support me while I made some major diet changes in my life. It is important to have a knowledgeable nutritionist with whom to work. However, it is more important that the nutritionist has skills to help one change their lifestyle as that is usually the product of working with a nutritionist. I am very thankful to Mary and recommend her very highly to anyone. She is a change agent and a delight with which to work!!!” –B.C., San Ramon
“Mary was recommended by another nutritionist who described my situation as “an extreme case”. After having been diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) some years ago, I was struggling with weight, anxiety, and adrenal fatigue issues. Although there are multiple weight loss programs and nutritionists out there (I had tried many), I had been looking for someone like Mary for a while. Her level of expertise was the key to treat my symptoms. She knew from the start what were the necessary steps in order to help me feel better.
In Mary I have found a professional and supportive person who has given me hope to move on as a healthier woman. Thanks to her knowledge and treatment, I am feeling more positive, energized, and happier than ever! I would recommend Mary to anyone who wants to improve their quality of life!”
“Deciding to work with Mary is one of the best choices I’ve ever made. When we began, I suffered from constant fatigue, and depressed, unstable moods. We worked together to develop an appropriate (and surprisingly easy) diet plan, which identified a food allergy that I never knew existed. Not only have I learned a lot about healthy eating and human physiology, but I feel happier and more energetic than I have in years. I’m so thankful to have discovered a manageable solution based on whole foods and not prescription pills. I would recommend this process to anyone. It will change your life!”–A.R., San Francisco, CA
“Mary, I just had to say THANK YOU! The information you are giving me is phenomenal. You changed my life in a day, and I am in awe of all that you know. I’m so excited and feel like I finally have the tools and guidance that I need to make positive changes in my diet and in my life as a whole.” –M.M., San Francisco
“I am so happy I found Mary! I have struggled with stomach and digestive issues for over 10 years. I’d been to multiple doctors, none of whom could find anything “wrong” with me. I’d come to accept that having a chronic upset stomach was just normal. Then I met Mary. Now I’ve tried just about every diet out there–none lasting or providing the results they claimed because I couldn’t stick to it. I need consistency, nourishment, and satisfaction (not to feel deprived). I know pizza’s not going to provide me the nutrition (or the body) that I need. But I need to know why. Tell me what it does to my body. Tell me why what I eat affects me the way it does. At our first full session, Mary broke all of it down for me. “If you eat X, it does Y & Z to your body, and that’s why you feel like crap. Let’s try eating A, B, C instead and see how you feel.” Well A, B & C works! Finally I can eat a meal and not feel like crap afterwards. My stomach is happy now. Mary is incredibly responsive, providing compassionate, educated guidance every step of the way. I highly recommend her to anyone who knows there’s a better way to feel, and needs some help along the way. If your body feels “off,” or your stomach always hurts, or you just need a little help with weight loss, Mary is the way to go. Oh, and in addition to feeling fantastic, my skin is glowing, and I’ve lost 12 pounds in 8 weeks!”
–S.T., San Jose
“After years of dragging myself through life with stomach pains, lethargy and depression, after trying anti-depressants, intense cleanses like the master cleanse and diets likes macrobiotic, being pissed off that Kaiser dismissed me as having a bullshit diagnosis of IBS, and trying to get myself motivated to cut out gluten, dairy and sugar from my diet with little success, I found Mary and she is helping me turn my life around. In-between sessions she is available to check in by phone or email and help give you guidance and make sure everything is going well for you. The support she gives is amazing! Because my digestive symptoms were so bad, Mary had me do a 30 day elimination diet. This was essential for me to see the horrible effects that dairy and gluten have on me. She also tested my adrenals and found they were low, and is helping me build them up my strength and energy through diet, supplements and lifestyle suggestions. Because my health issues are so intense, I am slowly getting better and gaining strength. Mary provides me encouragement and support all the way through. I don’t think I could do it without her!”
–A.E., San Francisco
“The reason I went to see Mary was for weight loss. I tried just about every diet out there, and have a strong fitness routine, but just couldn’t seem to lose any weight. I came across an article Mary had written and was so impressed I decided to give her a call. When we met, we discussed an issue I’ve struggled with for the last 12 years. I’ve suffered from bouts of dizziness, fatigue and feeling unbalanced. The symptoms would come and go, so I figured it was something I would just have to deal with. She immediately pinpointed the root cause of my problem and started working with me to change my eating habits. I came to her as a vegetarian, tired and lethargic and heavy. Once I changed my diet, I started seeing changes immediately. The “foggy brain” symptoms stopped immediately. I started dropping weight. I thought I was eating pretty well until Mary analyzed my daily food intake and pinpointed areas I needed to change. They were subtle, but what a difference they made! I no longer get those heavy sugar cravings at 3pm! Her recipes and recommendations have made a big difference in the way I eat. I have energy now and stay up later in the evening instead of collapsing at an early hour. I appreciate Mary’s phone conferences, book recommendations and general advice. She’s extremely knowledgeable and answers my questions on nutrition so I can understand them.” — L.J., Sunnyvale
“I went to see Mary after reading that your liver is connected to your lymphatic system. I needed to detox for my general health. Mary set me up with a liver cleanse that included a “magic powder”. She also included a diet that worked for my “on the go” lifestyle. I was surprised to find out that I am sensitive to gluten. I am a new person now that I have eliminated it from my diet. Thanks Mary!”
–J.V., San Francisco
“I’m an occasional “cleanser” and went to see Mary after being referred to her by a colleague. I was looking for a mild cleanse given that I’ve got a 15 month old at home and wasn’t in the mood for the “master cleanse” or other extreme cleanses that I’ve done. Mary’s cleansing program is great and she did a fantastic job of explaining everything and being a resource for me. The program is based on eating well rather than starving the body. I cut out all the allergens and cut out coffee and alcohol (ugh) but felt amazing after a week. My colleagues and friends actually noticed a difference in me after ten days. I also noticed that I didn’t have the fuzzy brain syndrome that I thought was normal for me. It’s now been a month, I just had my last follow up with Mary, and I still feel great. My diet is better, I’ve cut back considerably on gluten and dairy (which weren’t doing good things to my body) and I have a more moderate take on other foods/beverages.”–M.B., San Francisco
”You are really, really good at what you do. I’ve lost 7 pounds and am happy to be on the path to optimum health.”–A.B., San Francisco, CA
“I consider myself very healthy, but since moving to SF I’ve experienced a number of health problems, allergies, asthma, stress, anxiety. My face would break out randomly into red splotches and I would get short of breath. I had had enough. I reached out to Mary again because I was experiencing major stress and anxiety as well as allergic symptoms and I wanted HELP! She walked me through my diet, which was really eye opening for me. I didn’t even know the things I was and wasn’t giving myself. After a 2 hour consultation I left the office feeling back on track and recharged to make a difference in my life with my relationship to food. What a difference it makes to listen and be mindful. And sometimes we forget or don’t even know what health feels like until we have it! Thank you Mary! I look forward to more of your good advice!”
–S.H., San Francisco
“I consider myself a pretty health-conscious consumer, and have done my fair share of reading about nutrition and fitness. I thought I had all the answers, but still wasn’t losing weight. In fact, when I became vegetarian, I GAINED weight! In the middle of a crazy cleanse, I decided to listen in on one of Mary’s informative conference calls to get some tips about cleansing. Let’s just say that after that call, I put down the lemon syrup juice and started attending Mary’s classes, and it has been a year and I am 20 lbs lighter. Under Mary’s guidance, I’ve totally changed the way I think about food, and while my diet may seem pretty different to some people (no counting calories, lots of rich foods, but gluten free), I’ve never felt better (and I never feel like I am going hungry)! Plus, Mary is so knowledgeable that she’s helped me figure out how the way I was eating was contributing to other health problems that I had been having. I really believe now that the belly is the center of the immune system because by making changes to my diet, I was able to control some issues that before I needed medication for.” –C.M., San Francisco
“If you want to be healthy and more energetic, you need to work with nutritionist Mary Vance. I’ve seen her work first hand at my clinic and recommend her whole heartedly to my patients!”–Dr. Morgan Camp, Mill Valley, CA
“I finally crossed a line, and it has been pretty incredible. I’m no longer as exhausted as I usually am, and I had gotten used to thinking that was normal. I forgot how it feels to be better.”–M.K., San Francisco, CA
“My diet is going really well. I feel awesome and my insatiable appetite is finally under control! Sugar cravings stopped after about 3 days; I am on day 5 now. My parents decided to do the diet with me for support and my dad has already lost 5 lbs! So you are helping more than one person
–R.M., Overland Park, KS“Overall, I am doing great. I have been gluten-free since the cleanse I did in the fall and I really notice a difference.”–N.B., San Mateo
“Even though Mary focuses on women’s health, she successfully diagnosed my gluten intolerance and solved all of the resulting health issues I was having. For years medical doctors simply prescribed pills to treat my various symptoms and never bothered to look for the actual cause.”–D.M., Arlington, VA
“Mary has abundant knowledge on how to get you on the path to good nutrition and conveys it in a way that makes you excited about making changes for the better.”–L. S., San Francisco, CA
“This [weight loss workshop] was a great class. It was so informative, I learned so much, and you are so knowledgeable. I highly recommend it.”–S. M., Mill Valley, CA
I suffered from major gas, cramps and insomnia, until one day I decided my body was trying to tell me it was not happy. After my first consultation with Mary, I learned about doing a both a detox and a digestive cleanse, and I went into it with the intention of both helping my body function better and welcome a change of lifestyle. I did not even think the connection between the body and the mind would and did occur as strongly as it did. The clarity of mind that i experience and sound sleep were side effects of the detox that I most enjoyed. Not to mention the new way of thinking about food and weight loss that occurred. By the end of the 8 weeks, I was “gas- free” and had lost 10 pounds along with so many other changes in my life. I had not only “cleansed” my body but also many other unwanted things out of my life.–L.P., San Francisco
“I learned from the cleanse that I am gluten intolerant and have stayed pretty healthy since. I enjoyed the experience and am considering trying your weight loss program!”–D.M., San Mateo