Vol. 22, Issue 1
Jan. 24, 2024

As we celebrate 25 years serving clients and speakers, it feels fitting that I lead off this year’s blog by featuring the very first speaker I booked through the Speak Well Being Group, Zonya Foco, RD. Wow, have we come a long way, baby!

Besides her huge talent (and commitment to improving her craft) for making nutrition and fitness exciting and fun, she’s always been a leader in her field – searching, researching, asking questions, and going the extra mile. Some of our clients have invited her back several times. They know her material will always be cutting-edge, and that Zonya will always make an impact!

So, after taking a little trip down memory lane today, I’m excited to share a little about Zonya’s most recent topic innovations.

Zonya Foco, RD

Making Nutrition Exciting and Fun for 25 Years – Delicious Too!

I don’t recall the exact year, but I met Zonya at a PSAM (Professional Speakers Association of Michigan) meeting in the mid-90s. I imagine we were sitting at a table together and started talking about healthy food — more correctly, she was probably talking, and I was listening.

She somehow magically drew me into her mission because I do vividly remember, as our friendship progressed, going home from PSAM meetings and cooking up a storm, trying out her healthy recipes for the very first edition of her first cookbook, Lickety-Split Meals, which along with her newest Eat REAL Cookbook, has sold almost a quarter million copies.

She was then just moving from the slow lane of employed dietitian educator to the fast lane of professional speaker on her own. My colleague at the time and I advised her to lose the big glasses and the staid suits she was wearing (she said she was wearing them both to look “professional” and to be taken seriously) and let her bright, shiny personality out of the box. She listened and took us seriously. We started booking her.

From the beginning, I was fortunate to see Zonya speak in person several times, and I loved her hands-on, participatory, and creative style. From displaying her soft sculpture fake GI tract visually end to end on the stage to bringing audience members on stage for her “donut healing,” which let them know just how much shortening and sugar is in each one. How? By spooning 4 tsp of each into their hands.

Her style was not only impactful, but it was also always hilarious. Audience members listened intently, and they took her points home. I recall one client telling me that her kids are still reciting Zonya’s line, “The whiter the bread, the quicker you’re dead,” and that event was years ago! (Personal note: my husband often quotes that line, too.)

 

 

On-Line Speaking, Classes, and Cook-alongs

And now, years later, Zonya just keeps getting better and better. She didn’t skip a beat during the pandemic, moving smoothly into online speaking and classes, including cook-alongs — there’s that participation piece again. In her “Eat REAL for Your Health Weight Loss Intensive” program, of the twelve sessions, four were sessions where participants cooked from our home kitchens, right alongside Zonya, who was leading the way. And then we all ate together if only online. It was a blast!

It doesn’t hurt that Zonya’s husband, Scott, is a master with the camera, and editing video. He also goes the extra mile, always learning and improving their work. I also know that he’s a big fan of both his wife and the delicious food they enjoy daily. They are a formidable team!

Several of Zonya’s classes are online on demand, and they are all excellent (and reasonably priced), from controlling blood pressure to lowering cholesterol, dodging diabetes, and elevating your mood. I know because I’ve taken all of them, and I’ll vouch for every one of them. I ALWAYS learn something new. Check them out here.

HOT TOPICS for the New Year

Zonya has taken many approaches to wellness topics over the years — from heart health to stress relief to “The Power of One Good Habit” – and that includes her in-depth programs, “DIET FREE” and “Eat REAL FOOD.” The depth of her expertise is evident when you read her lengthy topic list. These days, she’s on fire about two hot topics — “Staying Healthy in a Culture That’s Anything But” — and her newest, “Brain Boost Mastery: Unleashing Cognitive Vitality Through Nutrition.”

“Staying healthy in a culture that’s anything but?” she asks the audience. “It’s NOT your fault!”

For starters, in Zonya style, she not only tells; she shows the audience the advertising dollars they’re up against. Citing research, reviewing health trends, and examining the power of advertising, Zonya explains how our culture is very much the enemy – zapping our energy, our health, and our productivity.

Zonya believes conviction is the key to fighting against these formidable cultural forces. From simple strategies for re-wiring the brain for healthier food preferences to capturing the power of community for lasting lifestyle changes, Zonya delivers a compelling plan for embracing a healthy lifestyle paradigm shift from a devotion to convenience to a commitment to our convictions.

You know convenience – that’s when you don’t plan, and you grab the quickest (and usually unhealthiest) solution to your hunger. And conviction – that’s when you know better because you’ve educated yourself and you choose to make a healthy choice.

You can see a five-minute preview of this topic that she recently gave to the 49th Annual Course, Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates here.

Brain Boost Mastery

There’s nothing like a story of a personal experience to grab one’s attention. For Zonya, unfortunately, it was her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis that got her attention about the possible links between this devastating form of dementia and the twin subjects of nutrition and lifestyle.

“At first you might think she did everything right,” Zonya recalls. “She was a runner. She was not overweight. And she was not a smoker. She did not drink sweetened beverages, and she ate balanced meals.

“So, you might think that there’s nothing that you can do if you’re doing all of those things right?” she muses.

“But wait…she drank alcohol, daily. She ate no more than 4 servings of fruit and vegetables daily, when science says 7-10 provide the antioxidants you need. She did not leverage Omega-3 fats (from fish and flax), nor antioxidant spices like turmeric and ginger, or eat legumes three times per week. She did not include mushrooms, when studies show that eating these 3 times a week reduces your chance of dementia by 50%.

“These are known factors. Are you leveraging these to your benefit?” she asks. And then proceeds to show you how to gain those benefits while eating the most delicious foods of your life!

Her new topic, “Brain Boost Mastery: Unleashing Cognitive Vitality Through Nutrition” is all about revolutionizing your approach to brain health. In it she offers science-backed strategies for enhancing cognitive function as well as reducing the risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s, stroke, and depression.

In this session, Zonya reveals the unsuspecting culprits in everyday meals that are stealing your brain’s vitality and shows you how to bid them farewell, while you embrace simple, delectable alternatives. In the process, she also unravels the secrets behind the essential nutrients and daily rituals that empower your brain’s potential to elevate your cognitive well-being.

And always, Zonya brings delightful demonstrations to the stage, sharing ingenious ways to elevate your daily meals so that brain-boosting nutrition is not only beneficial, but also delicious. And she does it in a way that ensures that your audience will never forget them.

To bring Zonya’s talent and expertise to your community, conference, or company, give me a call at 503-699-5031, or email me barbara@speakwellbeing.com. I can’t wait to share more of my experiences and joy in recommending Zonya for over 25 years!!!

Celebrating 25 Years

In 1998, when I started the Speak Well Being Group, Zonya was the first speaker I promoted, and the first speaker I booked. Through the years, we’ve been to the National Wellness Conference and the National Speakers Association conferences together, as well as many, many client events. I have been a recipe tester and editor on her cookbooks and other publications, mentor, and coach.

She gives me credit for having confidence in her and for helping her earn her CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation, and I give her credit for teaching me a lot about nutrition and giving me fabulous, healthy recipes that I make repeatedly, as well as buoying me up on my entrepreneurial journey.

On a personal note, I held her son, Ridge (all grown up and married now!) when he was a baby. I guess you’d say we have a long history, and we’ve definitely come a long way, baby!

Until next time, please take care of yourself for your well being and those you love.

Yours truly,

Barbara

P.S. I can’t go without putting a plug in for Zonya’s recipe site, https://www.eatrealamerica.com.

She and founder Krista Sanderson have collaborated to post a goldmine of healthy recipes, along with lifestyle and cooking tips.

I use this site almost daily. Got an eggplant that needs to be used? Type it in, and voila, several fabulous healthy, delicious recipe choices appear. I have over 100 of my favorites stored in my personal online recipe box.

A subscription is only $5 per month or $39 per year. There’s even a section of free recipes, so go ahead and check it out, free. Then write or call and thank me!

For Your Well Being is published with the intention of bringing you insider speaker reports, exclusive stories about special events around the country, meeting planner tips, and fun stuff from the worlds of health and well being. Be well and be in the know!

The Speak Well Being Group is a specialized speakers bureau, focusing on health and wellness for all types of organizations that want to foster health and well being for their employees, members, clients, and in their communities.

Our speakers are hand-selected. They are not only experts in their fields; they connect with their audiences while bringing them life-changing information, smiles of recognition, and ultimately a sense of well being and hope.

Finding the perfect keynote speaker for your special event or conference is my personal passion, not just once, but year after year. It brings me great joy to know that your audience was delighted and moved by the speaker we selected together. I’m committed to making the process easy, pleasant and fun.