Success Stories

“You are awesome!! You have totally motivated me to want to be healthy. I have struggled with losing weight my whole life and now I finally feel I have a grasp of getting rid of the fat the right way. I would always do hokey diets in the past that would help for the moment but never for the long haul and I would always feel sick and tired from them. But I definitely feel like I can easily do this for the rest of my life.”

Thank you again for the wonderful boot camp training. You did an amazing job at energizing and teaching us!

Thank you for all of your help…..you really have changed my outlook on so many things and I’m so grateful for that education and ‘philosophy shift’.

I bought your book and love it. It is so easy to read and follow. I’ve been a vegetarian for years and just needed some chicken in my diet a day or two a week. Your recipes are great and are very easy to change according to what I’m craving that day. Thanks so much for all the info.

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the ginger pear oatmeal recipe in your 3 day destress diet in More magazine. If the rest of the meals taste that good, I may actually be able to move my eating a little bit closer to the healthy side of things. Thanks so much!

I am a big fan of your book, “The Flexitarian Diet”, which I bought three years ago and have used every week since then.  And as a result it has completely fallen apart (the glue has come unbound).  Any recommendations on how to fix it? Thanks.

Hi! It’s one of your loyal cooking class attendees. I just wanted to let you know that all summer I have been enjoying the salad you presented at your class in the spring!! It was the one you made with the BBQ tofu and it had corn and grape tomatoes and avocado in it. …I wanted to tell you that I love, love, LOVE the salad!! A great recipe!! Thank you, thank you! I hope to make it to another class soon.

One of the Best Nutritionists in the Country.

One of Chicago’s Elite Females.

Chicago’s Most Quoted Dietitian.

I hope it’s okay I keep telling people about you, I just honestly think you are the best dietitian I have come across and I especially think you have a knack for making tofu sound exciting.

I’m on day 4 of your 7-day diet in Health magazine. I absolutely love it! I’ve been on every diet under the sun and have failed every time. I’ve been so surprised at how easy, tasty and filling the recipes are. … Do you have any suggestions on how I can successfully continue this plan?

You were such a hit! I have been getting e-mails asking if we can have you back next year.

We were so fortunate to have you speak to our group. You are so knowledgeable, engaging, and creative.

Thanks again for your excellent presentation a couple weeks ago. People are still talking about it.

What can I say, you were a total hit! I knew when I first spoke to you that your energy and enthusiasm would captivate the audience but the reality exceeded my expectations. Your presentation was right on target. They will be talking about you and your wisdom for a long time to come.

You are very knowledgeable, funny, energetic, and motivational. You presented useful and interesting information. I could have listened to you all day.

Working with Dawn has made a huge difference in my life! I have already dropped 35 pounds.

Thanks so much for all of your help. You are so terrific and clever.

We referred to you as “the best expert we’ve ever had” so I hope you’ll be interested in other ideation sessions I’m planning.

I want to thank you for your classes at the Chopping Block. … Before coming to your class I couldn’t even boil water but now I have been preparing the recipes from that class and even tried others. You make cooking seem effortless. I have my husband trying vegetables and dishes he would never have tried before. I look forward to your future classes.

I can’t tell you how many of my friends have been very successful using your Fitness Magazine 7-Day Eating Plan! I know there are others who’d be interested, too, and I would love to share the plan and your website with them on my blog. Thanks!

I just wanted to tell you what my scale was this morning: 129.2 pounds (down from 136.4 pounds)! Thank you for helping me finally drop the weight that has been creeping on for 10 years! My friends and family have all noticed how much healthier I look. Your recipes have now become routine and I find myself craving them. My goal is to lose about 6 more pounds and I know I can do it with your plan.

Just to say thank you for this wonderful book, I absolutely love it, and the recipes are terrific!! I didn’t know what I was looking for exactly, and have been so disappointed with other books (not because they were bad so to speak, but they weren’t for me). The knowledge and recipes in your book are exactly what I needed. Thank you so much for writing about the Flexitarian lifestyle.

I bought your book a few days ago and immediately started using your recipes. Wow! My husband and I love what we have been eating so far. This book is PERFECT for me as I like to eat mostly vegetarian food with meat occasionally! … I just want to share how excited I am with your book and have signed up for your newsletter, too.

Just wanted to say that my husband and I have been LOVING The Flexitarian Diet cook book! We’ve been making nearly every lunch and dinner from one of your recipes for the past few months. The shopping lists are also such a great idea. I hate grocery shopping but those lists make it such a breeze! I think the book is the perfect trifecta of nutritious, delicious, and simplicity. … It really is such a refreshing approach to a cook book and cooking in general.

I just bought your book last weekend, and thank you! … I have tried to go vegetarian two times in the past two years and failed miserably. Your book addresses so many of the issues I had — not knowing where to start, how to cook, and wanting to eat meat at special occasions. I felt such a connection to this book after I read the first page. Hopefully I can check back in three months and tell you that I am successfully living a “Flexitarian” lifestyle.

We have gone through your book twice since the beginning of the year. My husband has lost 35 lbs and I have lost 10. We love the simplicity and flavor of your recipes but need more. Can you recommend a new book for us or are you planning on releasing a new one soon?

I purchased your book last night and have read about halfway through! … I just wanted to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that the recipes and shopping lists are for one person. I cannot tell you how much of a huge help that is! I have been considering going vegetarian for a few years now, but being raised on a solid Midwest meat-and-potatoes diet, I can’t abandon my meat! I’m happy to have found this solution which brings balance into the equation. Thanks so much!

I just wanted to write a quick email to thank you for writing The Flexitarian Diet. Even though we were eating healthy previous to starting to use your cookbook, my husband lost 15 pounds and I fit back into my pre-pregnancy pants. Even with a 4-month-old I can manage time to cook your recipes. Just thought you would like to know you had helped someone out.

I’ve been following The Flexitarian Diet (my book is actually falling apart!) and have lost 28.5 pounds! I’m a “fan” on Facebook. Thanks again for the wonderful book and the yummy recipes!!

Hi Dawn, I am a fellow RD and I am reading your book. I just had to contact you and tell you that it’s one of THE best nutrition books I have ever read! This is why:

1.    People become so black & white regarding food, and here you’ve given even vegetarians flexibility!
2.    I was personally too obsessed with the “rules” as a self-labeled vegetarian, and wouldn’t enjoy a burger at a July 4th barbecue!
3.    I wholeheartedly agree with all of your behavior change comments!
4.    I love that your recipes are simple, and that you don’t solely rely on soy protein!

I definitely plan on recommending your book! 🙂

I am so thrilled with your book!! As a vegetarian, I’ve found it really hard to find a diet book that caters for vegetarians in a realistic way. I literally have over 100 diet books and none of them were doable long term. Your diet is totally doable and based in the real world! Your recipes are simple to prepare and use readily available ingredients. I love your 3-4-5 approach and the fact that you supply nutrition information for the recipes. I’m having so much fun trying your recipes! Thank you!

I am so thrilled with your book!! As a vegetarian, I’ve found it really hard to find a diet book that caters for vegetarians in a realistic way. I literally have over 100 diet books and none of them were doable long term. Your diet is totally doable and based in the real world! Your recipes are simple to prepare and use readily available ingredients. I love your 3-4-5 approach and the fact that you supply nutrition information for the recipes. I’m having so much fun trying your recipes! Thank you!

I have been trying to find a way of eating that makes me feel good and is easy. Your recipes in the book are so easy and delicious and I don’t waste food since so many recipes call for the same things or I can interchange some of the grains or the vegetables or the beans for what I have on hand. I feel great and my cholesterol dropped from 205 to 176! My weight was creeping up and no matter what I did, it wouldnt come off, but now I’ve lost almost 8 lbs! Thank you so much!

Thanks for coming up with The Flexitarian Diet, I have lost 52 lbs and still losing, and I feel better than I have in 20 years!!!

I read your book, and it’s fantastic. My husband and I (I’m 32, he’s 33) mostly live this way … mostly. I want to do better though.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and IBS. I feel like eating healthier will improve both of these conditions. It seems the more processed foods I eat, the worse I feel. The same goes with meat. But if I eat a small amount, then I feel fine.

So, I just want to thank you for being realistic and for writing this book. Like I said above, it seems like my husband and I are already doing this, mostly, but we still need to incorporate a few of the changes. Thank you for leading the way!

The program you did for the Dentist Conference was wonderful! The participants filled out program evaluations; the ratings from your session were 5.0 out of 5.0!

Just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying recipes from your site. My daughter and I have Celiac Disease and she has gastroparesis so vitamins from food are a biggie for us. I made her the carrot and ginger soup today and she loves it. I’m making the corn cakes with veggies right now. I had to adapt some recipes to our diet but the simplicity and great flavors of recipes are getting us both excited about food again. Thanks so much for helping us get kick-started to better health.

I just wanted to write and say what a fantastic experience the workshop was! I certainly walked away with a lot of helpful tips—you are so spot on about so many things! I also received a lot of great feedback about the workshop after and I thought you should know that you touched many of us that evening. We’d love to have you back next time you are in New York City! Thank you for hosting such a successful event!

I wanted to let you know I lost 8-9 lbs on your “Lose 5 Pounds in 7 Days” diet in Health (April). I am so excited I just ordered your book, The Flexitarian Diet. How wonderful to know that I am eating healthier and getting thinner (I really only needed to lose 5). I am very happy, thanks so much for putting that diet in Health magazine and by the way, I use chicken broth instead of water to the carrot ginger soup and make it every week. It also freezes well.

A quick note to say how much I love your recipes (Lose 5 lbs in 7 days plan in the 4/09 issue of Health magazine). I’m not a typical dieter as I can maintain a healthy weight without doing so (good genes!), but occasionally I have too many “good-but-bad” things (i.e., ice cream cones) that lead to me putting on, primarily, mid-section fat so that I can’t fit into my business suits. … I LOVE the plan and have lost a few pounds in just a week and a half. I just had the avo-canelli beans-tomato-arugula sandwich and it was one of the best things I have ever eaten! … Thanks so much for creating the healthy-and-delicious “flexitarian” plan and I think I’m now a convert!

Thank you for all of your help! In just a week I am already seeing an incredible difference and feel so much better. I am on my way to super strong gut health! The difference really is remarkable, Dawn. Thanks again! I have also been following the flexitarian diet and find it to be very helpful. Amazing.

I just wanted to thank you. I discovered you and your “3, 4, 5 Diet” about three years ago in Fitness Magazine. Three months ago I decided to follow it seriously. I’ve lost 27 pounds to date with 33 to go. It’s BY FAR the best diet plan I’ve ever been on. I know I will continue to lose the weight and keep it off. THANK YOU!!!

I came to see you over a year and a half ago and I just wanted to let you know how well I have done since then! I have lost 20 pounds and can fit into every single pair of jeans, shorts, skirts, and dresses that I bought in high school. Some even fit me better now than they did then! I can’t quite wear all of my old shirts, but all of the slightly longer and looser ones look great on me now.

I would not have been able to do this without your help; you have made me a much happier and confident person! Thank you so much for everything!

I had to go buy all new pants!!! … Also, I wanted to tell you that after not getting a real period for many years because of my brain tumor, chemo, hormones, etc., I finally had one last month and I am pretty certain that my diet changes are the reason. Probably most women would think this was a pain, but after having so many body systems not working right, it is a relief to have something ‘normal.’ Thanks for everything.

You were fabulous! A bright ray of light that lit up the rest of the taping! Several people have mentioned how wonderful your segment was. If I do another show that even comes close to talking about food, you will definitely be the first person I call. Thanks so much for being a part of this series.

Just wanted to say thanks again for being a kick-ass dietitian. This is the first time I really have felt like eating right and getting active is real life and not just something I have to do for the next couple of months to drop a few.

I just wanted you to know that your recipe was the ONLY contributor recipe for my book that I didn’t have to figure out how to change the instructions or make sense of the amounts of ingredients or try to guess how many servings! It is SO DIFFERENT working with a trained recipe designer like you. Thank you!

Just wanted to say you have the most AMAZING recipes. I just wanted to thank you, your book and web site are wonderful and I am enjoying them both. It is hard to find great recipes when you are allergic to both eggs and wheat but not with your recipes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I just wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you for your wonderful presentation last week. We have received numerous emails of positive feedback and I know I personally learned a lot! I’ve been thinking all weekend about the different tips you talked about. So thank you again, and hopefully we can team up again in the near future!

I have just begun preparing recipes from your book. My husband and I have been on many diets and have lost and regained many pounds, and both need to lose many pounds presently. … [Randy] waited in the kitchen for me this morning to see what was scheduled for breakfast. (Banana-Pecan Waffles – yum!) They really are delicious. Standard diet foods of baked chicken and steamed carrots don’t hold our interest long at all; We could eat Pesto-Style Portobello Penne every night of the week and feel satisfied in every way. Many thanks!!! I think this is a lifestyle change I can embrace for a lifetime.