Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Love.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Amarillo, came to Denton to play tennis in college at Texas Woman’s University and ended up staying for all 3 degrees (BS in Dietetics & Institution Administration, MS in Sports Nutrition, & PhD in Health Education). I still do sports nutrition and enjoy working with athletes, but over the years (and as obesity rates rose) I became more interested in helping people with chronic disease become more active and reduce their risks for complications—this became a bigger focus of mine as preventable family health issues (heart disease & cancer) arose. I also became passionate about educating people in the community about how they can take simple, proactive steps to better their health and prevent the conditions in the first place. I taught at Texas Woman’s University in the Health Studies Department for several years but missed the face to face interaction with people who were applying the behavior changes in their own lives, so I left in 2010 to form Love to Live Well.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not always been a smooth road. Anyone in self-employment can tell you owning your own business is full of ups and downs. It was a slower grow than anticipated at first, but I started my practice not long after the recession of 2009. Within the first year of operation, I became the only source of income for my family due to my husband’s health issues. That with the slow growth set us back a little those first couple of years. Once I got going, business was pretty steady, but I had to move offices a couple of times before I settled on what’s worked well for the last 5 years.
I do not process insurance since every client I work with receives medical nutrition therapy AND health coaching on physical activity and stress management as well as diet, so I don’t show up on insurance company directories. I get referrals from physicians and word of mouth, but to really grow my business, I had to learn a lot about marketing and search engine optimization, something I never thought I would need to know when I left the university. Setting pricing for me is always a struggle—I walk the balance of wanting to offer my services at a rate that is accessible to people (as I am passionate about public health education) and not devaluing my service, profession, and expertise. I have come up with several different options for people to offer something at every price point, but every time I have to set new pricing it’s a struggle for balance.
Love to Live Well – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Love to Live Well, a dietitian/health coach private practice and wellness consulting company, was formed in 2010. Its mission is to simplify the changes it takes to eat better, move more, and stress less. I strongly believe you must enjoy the behavior changes you make every day in order to keep doing them forever—this is why I named my business Love to Live Well. We often get caught up in the latest diet and then don’t think through how we will maintain the results for which we worked so hard. I enjoy showing people it doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it sometimes.
My specialties are safe, sustainable weight loss, prevention/treatment of metabolic syndrome, and work site wellness programs. I provide nutrition counseling and health coaching in a very practical way that people often find easier to implement than diets they’ve tried in the past. I’m most proud of being on the journey with people who have come to me having always struggled with weight or having been on every diet in the book. I love seeing their transformations when they are empowered to take charge of their choices again and that it doesn’t have to be as hard this time around. Where I am different is in my focus on simplifying the behavior changes for people and my scope of practice allows incorporating stress management into my health coaching with every client. I take the whole person into account and work to improve overall wellness, not just to lose weight or just to address diabetes.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was honored as a Public Health Advocate of the Year in Denton County in 2011 and that was very rewarding to be recognized for my work. I so am proud every time I run into some clients I worked with years ago and see them still keep the weight off because they’ve learned the lifestyle and not just how to lose weight. When someone avoids knee replacement surgery because their knees no longer hurt after pulling off 60 pounds and they keep that weight off for 3-5 years. It’s a win-win for them and for me. I’ve had several scenarios like that and I’m so proud of my clients who really embrace my philosophy and mission with Love to Live Well and reap the rewards. I’m also proud watching my various interns grow professionally in their careers.
Pricing:
- 6-wk weight loss or wellness program $360 ($305 for seniors, disability, military, friends/family who do programs together)-payment plans available.
- 12-wk weight loss program $495 ($425 for seniors, disability, military, friends/family who do programs together)-payment plans available.
- 6-month weight loss program $765 ($665 for seniors, disability, military, friends/family who do programs together)-payment plans available.
- 4-wk Online Health Challenge $69
- 8-wk Online Health Challenge $119
- 12-wk Online Health Challenge $169
Contact Info:
- Address: Love to Live Well
1011 Surrey Lane, Bldg 200
Flower Mound, TX 75022 - Website: http://www.lovetolivewell.com/
- Phone: 877-978-9355
- Email: anna@lovetolivewell.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveToLiveWell/
- Twitter: @LoveToLiveWell
Image Credit:
Images by Anna Love (Love to Live Well)
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