Through my work with Body Conceptions, I spend lots of time getting to know the wellness community in the city. I’m always looking for ways to connect our Body Conceptions clients with the best and most respected wellness professionals around (and I’m also always looking for ways to broaden my own horizons!).

Marissa Vicario was one of the first such people I met when I launched Body Conceptions 2 ½ years ago. She caught my attention because she had made a big change in her professional life from working in Public Relations to becoming a health coach. Similarly, I had left a graduate program in clinical neuropsychology to dance in the musical theater world many years ago — and I had never wanted to go back.

Marissa has become known for her articulate advice for women on achieving healthy relationships with food. She works with at-risk families, and she’s a great inspiration to other women looking to change their careers. She’s also a major force in the city’s female entrepreneur community.

It’s my pleasure to introduce Marissa to you now. Enjoy!!
~Mahri

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1) Could you talk a little bit about your work as a health coach? What do you do on a daily basis?

I’m a board-certified health and nutrition coach who helps women change their relationship with food. Through blogging, speaking, my online programs and one on one coaching, I inspire women to deliciously fuel their bodies to turbocharge their health and look their best without resorting to starvation, diets or calorie-counting.

2) Do you only talk to women about food? If not, what else?

Yes, I primarily work with women in the areas of food and nutrition. I also mentor women who want to make career changes like I did. I help them get on the right track to making that change.

3) You are so busy, and you’ve been featured in so many great articles and blogs. How do you find the time to be healthy?

Being healthy is a priority for me. If I don’t take care of myself then I won’t have the energy to do it all. I think there’s a misconception that being healthy has to take a lot of time. It doesn’t; only a commitment. When the commitment is there, you make it happen.

4) What made you decide to get into health coaching?

I’ve always loved fitness and I got to a point where I realized that if I wanted to be fit and healthy, it meant changing how I ate. So I started eating a whole foods diet and it changed everything for me. I was working full time in Public Relations for a tech start-up at the time and everyone on the office was around my age. They were all more interested in what I was eating for lunch everyday than my PR strategy. When I discovered health coaching, I knew that I had found my calling and dream job.

5) What’s your favorite part of your job?

I love speaking to groups about nutrition and inspiring as many women as possible to make healthy changes. It’s the best feeling in the world to make healthy living accessible to someone who is feeling overwhelmed or offer a new perspective to someone who may be struggling. I also love bringing this work to charity. I work with families in the most at-risk areas of NYC to teach them to make healthier choices.

6) What do you think makes you different from other health coaches?

The honest answer is that I’m me.

7) I always enjoy asking: Is there anything fun or interesting about you that most people don’t know?

At 13, I declared myself a vegetarian. I was a little activist and little did I know was paving my way in the world of food and nutrition early on!

8) How does someone get in touch with you if they want to use your services?

There’s an online form on my web site or email me at .

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Founder of Marissa’s Well-being and Health, Marissa Vicario is a NYC-based board certified health coach and healthy living expert who helps women transform their relationship with food. She shares her health secrets, get-fit tips and the cooking expertise that has inspired countless women to ditch the diet mentality and turbocharge their health to become holistically hot in a way that’s fun and fearless. Click here to download her e-magazine, How to Be Holistically Hot: A 30-Day Guide to Making Men Swoon and Your Friends Want What You Have.