Renee Pletka, CHHC

If you are looking for someone to help you make a healthy, long-​term change to the way you look at yourself, your body, and food, Renee is your person!
I can’t even being to tell you how helpful my sessions with Renee have been. Now, having been about 9 months removed from my work with her, I can whole-​heartedly say, her work is long lasting.
I would echo everything that has been said in previous reviews. She is someone who is unforgettable. She listens to you, validates your feelings, and makes individualized, chunked plans to help you reach your goals. For me, she helped me learn how to love myself and my body. She taught me how to find balance in my life, how to enjoy eating without being obsessive about counting calories or losing weight. We also did work on looking at products I was putting on my body or using to clean my apartment, and how they were affecting my health.
Renee helped me realize the importance of enjoying life now. Working with her is an experience that will stick with you for the rest of your life. I think about things Renee and I talked about often, and I know that what she has taught me will always be in the back of my head. Not only is Renee great while you are in sessions with her, but she also follows up with you and keeps in contact with you after you finish working with her. She is extremely thoughtful, and I am eternally grateful for our work together.

I signed up for Unilocal so that I could leave Renee a review. That’s how much I treasure the impact she’s had on my life!
If you’re considering working with her (it is a true collaboration), feel free to message me. I’m happy to go into more detail, but as a primer:
I will never forget Renee. Unfortunately, I only had 8 sessions with her, mainly because I’m moving to another country and couldn’t commit to more than that during my transition. If I can, I’d love to work with her again (she does do Skype sessions).
Renee brought an immense amount of calm into my life as a result of our 8 sessions together. She taught me how to listen to my breath. She taught me that beauty is so much more multi-​dimensional than the physical. She helped me focus on what nourishes me most in life (i.e. creativity, relationships, career, etc) so as to not obsess over food and exercise. She taught me how to listen to my body — it’s hunger, it’s pain, it’s anxiety, it’s gifts and hints.
I’ve worked with personal trainers. I’ve attempted short-​lived juice cleanses. I’ve tried high intensity home workouts. Nothing has come close to matching the long-​term impact Renee has had on my health and well-​being. Renee has helped me shift my mindset, as well as my relationship with food and my body, and I am eternally grateful to her for that.

When I first looked at Renee’s website, I was worried about the holistic approach and was worried she’d make me do yoga. I just wanted to focus on the food. After over 4 months of working with her, however, I would recommend Renee to everyone! Many reviewers here have written very eloquently about their positive experiences, and my experience mirrors those. She did not make me do yoga, but a holistic approach was really what I (and I think all of us) need.
Renee’s individualized, thoughtful approach to eating, body, and life has changed my life in these few short months. She is very generous with her time and our work was tailored to me and what I needed. This is not a diet and Renee doesn’t try to sell you anything. It is more like therapy for how you approach food and body issues, as well as the rest of your life. I pretty much thought of her as my health and wellness coach. It has been hard work and like everything, you get out what you put in, but the reward is worth it.
I’m not going to say that 20 years of disordered eating is gone after 4 months of working with Renee, but I’m well on my way to an unencumbered relationship with food, and for that I am forever indebted to Renee. Please go see her, or at least have a free initial consultation and get a feel for her style and approach. You will not regret it!

Warning: Renee is not your average «nutritionist». In fact, she’s more of a holistic food and lifestyle guru who looks at the whole picture of you. Then she works on a plan to help you reach your goals with food, weight, cooking, self-​image, lifestyle and more. I don’t recall any other food coach, or other type of coach for that matter, who asked me about what creative endeavors I wanted to accomplish.
What really helped when working with Renee was her stepped approach. Each week was a session devoted to one area such as adding greens to my diet or investigating vitamins and food supplements. Rather than overwhelm you with everything required to reach your goals all at once, she slowly introduced new ideas and had you do some manageable homework. To date (she coached me several years ago), I think about how slow (or not) I’m chewing my food, how many dark greens veggies are in my diet, and whether or not I’m taking my treasured fish oil supplements. She continues to make a difference in my life and I’m grateful for her patience and guidance.

It has been over 4 months since my first session with Renee and I’ve so far lost 20 pounds by making changes that are easy for me to commit to and are sustainable. Thankfully, none of these changes included me going on a diet or depriving myself.
Renee is way more gifted than that.
She believes that hunger is not limited to what your stomach feels, so she worked with me to identify key areas in my life that needed nourishment. This was very valuable to me then and now and I believe it will continue to be so moving forward.
My sessions and exercises with Renee were always very introspective, challenging and intense yet I looked forward to each one. I walked away from each interaction with a little bit more hope, confidence, and clarity. Renee broke down my big challenges into little actionable items and in a timeline that worked for me.
The most valuable take-​away I can share from my experience with Renee is knowing I didn’t need to go very far in my journey to succeed and that I have everything I need to be healthier: I simply I need to pause, look inward, and listen.
The opportunity to work with Renee is definitely the best gift I’ve given myself in quite a long time.

Renee is one of the things that made 2014 such an impactful year for me. I have to believe that she crossed my path for a reason and I feel so blessed that I was able to work with her.
I met her at one of her Sugar Craving talks. I really liked what her talk was about and even though I knew quite a bit about fitness and nutrition, I thought it might be a good idea to meet with her. I scheduled the preliminary consultation and knew from that very first call that she was someone who would help me ‘see the light’ about so many things.
To say that Renee is like having your own support system /​champion/​greatest cheerleader is putting it lightly… :)
It’s hard to summarize all that I learned from Renee but I would say that I could lump it into these categories:
–Nutrition: Learning about healthier eating — incorporating greens into my diet on a regular basis — and slowing down to enjoy my food. Non-​distracted eating was the most helpful. I never realized how ‘bad’ I was with reading/​texting while I was eating my meals.
–Growth: The biggest area for change is seeing how much one can grow. My personal growth in the time since I met Renee has gone leaps and bounds. I never realized how much I had to work on until we began speaking. It’s really been eye opening and the talks have helped so much.
–Acceptance: Learning to accept reality as it is. Learning that one can love themselves even if their shape is not ideal. No more ‘should have’s’… I live in «I should have.» and wasn’t even aware until she pointed it out. I really never could come to a place of acceptance had I not realized what had been holding me back.
Thanks to Renee and this year of growth, I seem to be happier and more at peace. Maybe I’m still not at my ideal weight but at least I’m starting to be in a place of acceptance. I’ve gained so much more that it would be fine to stay the same weight with the knowledge and understanding I have now.
You are so much more empowered knowing about acceptance, self-​compassion, and incorporating gratitude into your daily life that I wouldn’t trade that for a few pounds.

Renee was my Sacagawea on the 12 week journey to control my eating and drinking habits and bring more power back to my everyday life.
She was able to make wise connections on the fly between things that were going on in my life and the ideas that I had about them. A lot of these connections represented revelations that had the effect of diffusing chronic bad habits almost immediately– habits that I’d tried to break a thousand other ways before. As a result I am absolutely more effective in my personal and professional life and I feel better in my body, too. I reached most of my (many) goals and feel more balanced in my life. I also know myself better now, which makes all the difference when trying to make major changes.
One major breakthrough that Renee helped me through was to realize how sleep, or rather the lack of sleep, was having such a universal effect on me and my ability to both control unhealthy urges and identify unhealthy patterns of behavior. As we progressed, I made it a point to get more sleep and realized that a lot of the bad behavior went away. I also was better at noticing what was going on with me.
As a testament to the term «holistic» to describe her approach, we identified unhealthy communication patterns and internal storytelling that were leading to unsuccessful and often contentious work relationships. She armed me with some really useful tools to help me parse that stuff.
One thing I really liked about Renee’s approach was that she actually does the work around your particular issues. She’ll research things and dig into it, often giving very good tools and ideas to work with as a result.
I would unreservedly recommend her to anyone who feels they could use a wise guide to get to that place that they want to be. What ever your path, she knows the terrain.

I feel COMPLETELY AWESOME in my body now! I don’t think my weight has changed much, but the way I’m carrying it and enjoying it is the major change. I look forward to getting up, exercising, and getting dressed! I love the way my clothes feel and shopping for new styles. I no longer fear putting on a bikini, and love seeing photos of myself with so much physical liberation!
I feel more energetic and CONFIDENT! I feel more balanced and have the ability to strategize my time more efficiently. I’ve learned to not bite off more than I can chew (literally and figuratively). My stress level has diminished considerably. I’m in a realistically more positive mood. It’s not a surface happiness, it’s radiating from within.
I have noticed a distinct drop in cravings. When I do have one, I take the sacred pause and ask myself why I want that particular «thing». If I do give in, I don’t carry guilt. This is another HUGE take-​away from our work together.
The things I’ve been struggling with all my life no longer feel shameful or embarrassing. Realizing my challenges are not things that are wrong with me or parts of me that are broken, that they are gifts, things to learn from – this is one of the most comforting things Renee revealed to me.
Amy Woloszyn, Graphic Designer, San Francisco

Prior to working with Renee, I had very little appreciation of what my body did for me on a daily basis. I often underestimated its strength and definitely didn’t listen to the messages it was sending me. Over the past few months, I’ve come to recognize what my body is capable of and have worked to treat it with more respect.
I make much more conscious food choices today as I’ve become wise to what really makes me feel good, and what does not. My digestion changes have been the most transformational aspects of working together. My digestion used to be erratic and unpredictable and it is now stable.
I am more comfortable in my body and feel my mind and body are better aligned. I have surprisingly lost over 5 pounds while working with Renee. I find this surprising because it’s been a very natural process, without thinking about being on «a diet.»

Renee is such a rock star!
I worked with her for about a year on nutrition plan that would support my health changes, she supported me as I had to move to gluten-​free diet and beyond that she guided me to address a lot of holistic health and well-​being issues.
She is one of the most approachable, caring professionals I have ever met. she loves what she does and you can see that in her commitment, knowledge and ability to receive the client every time in a deep way. She balances the science, and has a very holistic approach to her practice beyond pure nutrition. She made it feel simple while complex and was there for me every time I needed support and guidance.
What I got out of the experience:
*healthy food choices to support overall health and special dietary needs. Cooking tips and targeted weekly grocery shopping list have supported my overall health in a way I though was not possible (I wish I would have taken a before and after picture of my fridge and could post it here.)
* I have completely changed my cooking and eating out/​travel meal habits to support my optimal health
* All this has had very positive affect on my energy, mood and even relationships (now people around me are excited to try new things and support me on this journey while getting benefits from it through my cooking)
* Renee supported me in looking at all aspects of my life beyond pure nutrition. Her holistic approach has affected positively in my career, relationships, spirituality, work-​life balance and home environment)
I am so grateful that I found Renee and it has been such a blessing to work with her. I would recommend her to anyone who is looking for support in this area but who is willing to work with her to make it happen. She can’t do it for you :).
With deep gratitude — thank you Renee!

Renee’s program has taken me from a place where I was sad to be me, desperate to attain externally acquired goals, and pressing the mute button on my true self. Through her program, I have discovered that ultimately, the best person to listen to about my health, nutrition and physical state is me! The truth lies within. Knowing that, I no longer feel desperate to attain a goal that I sourced from the outside (lose 10 lbs., eat paleo, etc).
I’m definitely more attune to the needs of my body when it comes to nutrition and food. Not only have I started listening to myself when making nutritional choices, I’ve also started listening to myself when making choices elsewhere in my life – social life, finances, sleep, activity, work – and trusting my decisions.
I’ve given up being a critic of my body and instead am grateful for what it gives me and allows me to do. I used to strive for an external perception of «perfection,» which is why I saw so many flaws. Now that I’m in tune with my body’s needs, I see that perfection was there all along.
I’m not only excited by life, but I’m enjoying being present in my body. Part of this new zest for being alive is that I’m awakened inside. Since I’m giving my body what it asks for, I hardly feel depleted anymore. I feel satisfied, well rested, strong and grounded.
I couldn’t feel more accomplished coming out of this program. It has truly changed the way I look at life and the way I listen to myself. Life has been so much more rich, flavorful, truthful, and eye-​opening since I learned to listen to my body and my soul. Renee is a huge part of that, and I thank her so much for her guidance and loving kindness as she continues to be a coach, mentor and new friend.

Having been in the fitness industry for over ten years I have always thought that I new enough about nutrition, then came babies. I realized I new science and wanted to be more conscious. Since working with Renee I now think a lot differently about food. I used to think about how what I put into my mouth affected my weight. Now I am more interested in HOW it affects my health.
I am drinking more water, eating a more nutritious breakfast, taking healthy snacks to work, and saving money by eating leftovers for lunch. I no longer crave coffee midday or ice cream after dinner. I can feel the difference when my diet is good and when it is bad. I never noticed this difference before because I was never really eating clean consistently.
I feel more confident about my family’s nutrition, which is a huge concern of mine, especially with another little one on the way. We’re eating less processed and more organic foods and lots of different veggies. I now often plan our meals around veggies instead of meat. I prepare about 80% of our meals at home and am using a lot more flavorful sauces and spices. I feel better physically and mentally when my family doesn’t eat out as much. I no longer call my best friend and ask her what I should make for dinner; I am building my own repertoire. Yay!
Lastly, my work-​life balance is much better. I stopped working after dinner, which has given me more time to spend with my husband and daughter. I never thought that working with Renee would cover so many different aspects of my life.
Thank you Renee for always being so motivating and always aware of what I really needed!

Renee is amazing to work with.
I really benefited from her program. She has a great talent to break down large goals into small tasks that are easy to attain. Every week we would set goals that would help me work up to the larger goal. She would check in with me and really hold me accountable for my tasks. The best part of working with Renee is her energy and patience. I’ve gained some amazing habits that allowed me to continue my wellness journey. New habits
— no longer eating frozen meals (adiós lean cuisine)
— started cooking with fresh herbs and legumes
— started bringing home one new vegetable from the farmer’s market every week
— eating longer meals that results in eating less … (mindful eating)
— practicing breaking down large goals into small tasks
— celebrate accomplishments
— practice the idea of adding in more «healthy habits» to push out the «not so healthy habits»
— Discovered Friday nights are the best nights to shop at Rainbow Foods.
My journey still continues but I’m definitely on a better path thanks to all the work i did with Renee.
;)

One of the best things about Renee is her endless positive attitude. It comes through especially in her awesomely cute, funny, breezy newsletter which always involves good tips about healthy living. I’ve attended one of her kick sugar workshops, which was super practical and I left feeling armed against cravings. That’s not to say I kicked it altogether, but even Renee doesn’t go in for that sort of extreme — she’s all about doing what works best for you, health-​wise. She’s a great resource and a sympathetic ear.

I really enjoyed working with Renee; she has great energy and enthusiasm. She really cares about her clients and is passionate about her work.
Thanks to Renee I have become more aware of how and what I eat. I have returned to cooking and eating more at home. I now cook with a lot more veggies and spices, eat less processed foods and have a more environmentally friendly diet. Trying different and new foods has expanded my choices and given me healthier alternatives. When I eat well, especially home-​cooked food, I feel more satisfied and am in a better mood.
I used to crave foods constantly, but now my cravings aren’t as strong. I have discovered I’m not as interested in baked goods or sweetened coffee drinks. I actually crave sautéed greens sometimes!
Renee motivated me to try new recipes and to start going to our local farmers’ markets regularly to get really fresh produce. She also encouraged me to explore various volunteering options, find exercise that I like to do, spend more time outdoors, take walks to de-​stress, and record my daily intentions. I’ve dusted off my bike, returned to yoga and alleviated some of my back pain.
The program I did with Renee was more than just an adjustment to my diet, it was a review of many aspects of my life that affected my overall health. Then we tried to integrate changes based on this wider set of data for a more fulfilling result. I would highly recommend working with Renee for anyone really interested in learning how to improve their life through food, exercise and health.

I attended one of Renee’s ‘Sugar Talks’ thinking that I basically knew all the evils of sugar and that I would walk away still struggling with my real problem: will power. Renee had so many insights about how sugar sneaks into your diet and keeps you craving that without much effort at all I was able to cut my intake waaayyyy down, which seems to have diminished my cravings completely! I have friends telling me that I look more vibrant and my skin looks better and honestly, I have to attribute it to this one hour talk and the changes it inspired in me. Seriously Renee, thank you sooo much! You are a life changer!