|
|
Alexa Van de Walle (“Lexi") Writer, Nutrition & Health Counselor, HHC, MBA
Wellness Programs for Individuals and Corporations
I am a New York City native and live and work on the Upper West Side, where I have a private practice and offer in-person or phone sessions and support for my clients. I am a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and board certified Holistic Health Counselor with a certificate in Integrative Nutrition from Columbia University’s Teachers College. I also have a MBA degree from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and a BA in English from Hobart and William Smith.
I offer individual and corporate wellness programs, including individual counseling, group seminars and workshops on nutrition and health, cooking lessons and more.
I decided to become a Health Counselor after a 25-year career in marketing and advertising. I marketed consumer products such as Pepsi, Zocor, Fosomax and Ben-Gay and the American Express Card as well as consulted for several Fortune 100 companies.
Health counseling is a 180-degree turn and a long time in the making. In 1998, when I was 38 years old, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Just nine months earlier my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. In 2000, I lost my uncle to colon cancer and my cousin to pancreatic cancer.
After so much illness in my family in such a short period, I began to look at my life and my health and question some of the decisions I had made. I was in a high-stress fast-paced job that was not the right fit for me. I was not eating very well. I was not exercising much. I was not sleeping well. Overnight, I changed my diet by eating more whole grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables and changed my exercise program. In 1999, I finally left the big ad agency that I was working for to start my own consulting firm.
Over the years, I have become an expert in nutrition and health. I’ve totally eliminated diet Pepsi and refined and packaged foods from my diet, and transformed my body and gained "balance" with yoga, Pilates, gyrotonics, racewalking and meditation. My energy level is now where it was when I was in my twenties!
As an adult, I have been on a lot of diets – the Zone, South Beach, Atkins, Weight Watchers, Carbohydrate Addicts, Fat Flush to name a few – now I’m on the “Alexa” diet which incorporates the best of all these dietary theories and is just right for ME at this stage in my life NOW!
I am much happier due to these life altering changes and want to share my learning and help my clients find out what’s best for them.
I love Health Counseling for a lot or reasons. My expertise includes....
Motivating and inspiring others to be the best that they can be
Educating people on how food impacts health, energy, mood and longevity
Healthy, delicious cooking (I trained as a chef at Peter Kump’s Cooking School -- now called the Institute for Culinary Education)
Meditation, yoga, Pilates, and gyrotonics – cycling and racewalking too!
Food related issues such as Organic Farming, Sustainability, Hunger, Nutrition-related Diseases, Attention Deficit Disorder, Eating Disorders, and the (horrible) state of America’s Food Supply
Writing about food and nutrition (check out the Articles section)
Most importantly, I recognize that each client is an individual, and my program addresses that individuality.
I volunteer for JustFood.org, which organizes local farms to deliver food directly to people in New York City. I am a stepmother to grade school twins who live with me and my husband, Henry Owsley, and our English Cocker Spaniel “Sassy” on West 86th Street. My favorite healthy snack is a juicy peach from the farmer’s market. My favorite junk food is Smart Food cheese popcorn (salty pretzels are a close second).
I look forward to supporting you and helping you achieve your dreams. Please contact me at lexi@alexavandewalle.com or 212-799-1654 for a consultation.
Wellness Programs for Individuals and Corporations
www.alexavandewalle.com
Read About What People Are Saying About My Programs
"I am working with Lexi to expand my food horizons in a healthy and sensible way. It has been a wonderful experience: I feel understood and cared for during my sessions with Lexi. Lexi has made experimenting with new foods and new ways to prepare old favorites easy and do’able. I have incorporated many of Lexi’s creative ideas and suggestions about foods into my diet and am grateful for the “breath of fresh air” that I am enjoying as a result."
--Ellen Sinreich, Attorney/"Green" Consultant to the Real Estate Industry
"I invited Lexi to do a Corporate Wellness workshop series at my firm and organized and attended all three lectures. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of interest that the lectures generated in our mostly male office. There was a great and postive reaction to Lexi’s lecture style --- she is very personable and made the group feel comfortable immediately. She told personal stories of her past challenges on the nutrition front and facilitated a lot of interaction and sharing within the group. Lexi opened all of our eyes to the value of reading nutrition labels for restaurants and packaged foods, especially Starbucks. On a personal level, before Lexi's program, I struggled with eating too much sugar. I have switched several of my brands. Now I enjoy Greek yogurt and sweeten it with agave nectar. It tastes so much better than my old choices which contained high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients. I eat more fruit if I'm craving something sweet (and a lot less candy and cookies). Lexi and I discussing scheduling more lectures in 2008 to help continue the good habits that my coworkers and I learned from Lexi."
- Leslie Glassman, Marketing Manager, Investment Bank
"I started working with Lexi right after giving birth. She was invaluable with my twin goals of trying to lose the baby weight while providing my baby with a nutritious supply of breast milk. With respect to healthy eating, Lexi literally opened new doors for me - - the health food store visit introduced me to several new grains, sea vegetables, and agave nectar sweetener. She took the initiative to find a green market near my apartment that I now shop at every Saturday for local, organic (and delicious) fruits and vegetables. With Lexi's guidance, I experimented with lots of new and healthy recipes. In six months, I have lost sixty pounds and my healthy baby boy has tripled his weight entirely on breast milk!"
--Carla Avedisian, Chief Financial Officer, New York State Agency
"I attended Lexi's "Eating Healthy on the Go" lecture. I must admit that I had fallen into bad habits – eating too much and making poor choices at meal times – because of my hectic New York City lifestyle. Lexi motivated me to get back into healthy habits – fresh juice from my juicer in the morning, salads at lunch and more vegetables. Her suggestions are "common sense," and she presented them in such a way that they seem easy to effectuate. Her tips are very practical and helped me make a great start right away. I realize that I don't have to change everything that I'm doing to go down a healthy road. I feel great with my new routine. Thanks, Lexi!"
- Mimi Friday, Lawyer
"I attended two of the three lectures that Lexi conducted for all of the employees at my company, Sugar Blues and Eating Healthy on the Go. Prior to attending the lectures I was enitrely unaware of my eating habits. I tried to eat healthy every once in awhile but I really did not monitor my eating behavior. Since the lectures I've noticed that if I don't eat breakfast then I end up snacking throughout the morning. I now try to have breakfast and avoid snacking. Lexi also made me realize that I didn't eat many vegetables or fruits. I am now trying to increase the amount of produce that I eat. Overall, I am much more aware of what I am eating as a result of Lexi's program."
-Damian Britt, Analyst, Investment Bank
“I travel extensively for work and have struggled to make healthy food selections in airports or to order appropriately from room service menus. Lexi offered a few simple suggestions that gave me a framework for making better choices. Her handout, "Tips for Eating Healthy on the Go," was particularly helpful; in fact, I now keep a copy in my briefcase to consult when I am traveling. Her approach is very pragmatic; rather than provide a restrictive list of things either to do or avoid, her straightforward guidelines, supported by some concrete examples, have enabled me to make better and healthier dining choices while away from home. The results are worth it - when I eat well while traveling, I return home refreshed and energized. Lexi has a very easy presentation style and encourages her audience to participate in the discussion by sharing stories or asking questions. The hour-long session was extremely informative and well researched. I benefitted from it greatly.”
- Martha J. Leighton, Managing Director, Large Private Bank
www.alexavandewalle.com
|
Alexa Van de Walle
Writer, Nutrition & Health Counselor, HHC, MBA
225 West 86th Street
Suite 204
New York NY 10024
United States
|