How did you become interested in holistic nutrition?
About seven years ago I suffered from anxiety and depression. I felt very unhealthy and was searching for answers. I came across information about the correlation between food and mental and physical health and the light bulb went off. I knew I had found my calling. I basically healed myself first then moved on to start helping friends and family members. I never knew before then that we all have the power to heal ourselves, and it is my mission to help other people take charge of their health.
How did you choose CCNH, and how has it worked for you?
I chose Clayton College because I realized it had the exact curriculum that I was looking for. I needed the flexibility of studying on my own time and from any location, and I wanted to learn holistic nutrition and natural health from a school that specializes in those fields. I didn’t want to pay money to go to any university that teaches that artificial sweeteners are okay, and that follow our standard American food pyramid!
What I learned from Clayton College was invaluable-not only for my own life learning, but it enabled me to do all the right research for the books. I would have never been able to find what I did without the help of so many amazing authors. It has been such a great experience that I am now on my third degree from CCNH, and have recommended the school to many other people as well.
Tell us about your books.
In collaboration with Rory Freedman, we co-authored the health/diet book series called Skinny Bitch. The books are about making smarter food choices by knowing more about what is in our food and how it affects our bodies. We use in-your-face straight talk to motivate people to take control of their own health and to empower themselves by reading food labels, buying organic products, and eating foods free of chemicals and artificial ingredients. Basically, how to lose weight the healthy way.
Reviewers have said that the attitude in our books “takes ‘model envy’ and gives readers a new place to put it…such as taking out one’s ‘food rage’ on white flour and sugar, trans-fats, aspartame…and from cynicism with regulatory ‘safeguards’ and undoing the wrong perception that healthy food choices are boring.”
“Kim Barnouin, a former model with an MS in Holistic Nutrition and Rory Freedman, a former modeling agent, have achieved the seemingly impossible by writing a diet book that’s as sassy and entertaining as it is packed with reliable information.” — Energy Times
Who chose your book titles?
Rory and I knew we wanted a really catchy title to grab people’s attention and draw them to our book. So one day she called me and said, ‘I’ve got it, we’re going to call our book Skinny Bitch!’ And of course then we were both wondering, ‘Do you think we can get away with this?’ We certainly did push the envelope.
It was important to get our information out to as many people as possible and this seemed to us like the best way to package it — cute, hip and fun.
Who is your favorite health author, and why?
I really admire the work of John Robbins. He has been writing and researching food-related topics for many years and his work is so well put together and informative. He does a lot to promote healthy living and healthy eating. I trust what he has to say and really respect his findings. I like to use his wisdom as a source for material for our books.
For more information: www.skinnybitch.net.
This article was based on an interview with the graduate.
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