We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Varian Hans. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Varian below.

Varian, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

“We are not only what we eat, but how we eat, too.” This one statement can completely change your relationship with food.

Too many of us live on auto-pilot and never learned how to enjoy our food, make peace with our body, or understand the symptoms we experience and how they’re influenced by what we’re eating. When we desire to lose weight, balance hormones, or reduce bloating we can get fixated on following a specific protocol or dietary trend instead of learning the power of food and how to eat.

Over the course of the last six months, I’ve curated culinary experiences called The Foodie Class Series. My foodie class attendees learn to enjoy the process of eating and the pleasure that intentional eating can provide. An attendee of my chocolate tasting and wine pairing class shared the most lovely feedback:

“As a food introvert, I was skeptical of attending the Chocolate and Wine class. I am like many people. We don’t play with our food. I have been taught to always be grateful for food and don’t complain about what you are served, especially if I didn’t pay for it. I guess I’m a Sloppy Joe. However, I must admit, after attending Varian’s Chocolate and Wine class I became AWARE of what I was actually missing out on food. All this time I failed to realize that food can be appreciated well beyond grateful. It can be appreciated with WORDS.

Words that give meaning to the food you eat. Varian made me realize that my senses could pick up a complex array of textures, smells, visualizations, and flavors that I could describe and appreciate. You see Varian is a gentle gal, someone who can gracefully nudge a paradigm shift in my rugged appreciation of food into a person who now can place a colorful adjective behind the word…DELICIOUS. “ This chocolate is delicious, with a lightly salted fruity flavor and creamy texture.” All while not being afraid of being wrong.

This shift has opened my gracious appreciation of food to where I can now use my senses to give meaning to any food I eat, especially for my spouse. It’s the food I most love to eat, but now I can provide wordplay and describe how gracious I really am. “Honey that salsa you made is delicious, I love that soft feel and sweet medium heat from the peppers. Did you change your recipe a bit? Yes, it really works! I am no longer a Sloppy Joe, I am a Super Simon.”

Varian, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The majority of people believe nutrition is hopping from diet to diet in hopes of losing weight or feeling better. At Varian Hans Nutrition I help clients find a way of eating that is tailored to them with a six-week framework called the Illumine Nutrition Academy or one on one coaching, so they can end the confusion and enjoy food again.

People believe the only way to improve their energy, reduce bloating, and improve their sleep with nutrition requires protocols like fasting, keto, or the paleo diet. Bodies are not made the same, diets are not made the same, and when a certain diet doesn’t end up working for you, you feel like a failure. When in reality nothing is wrong with you, what you need is a way of eating that is tailored to your body.

As a Nutritional Therapist I help have three main goals for my clients:

Understand the power of food and take a preventative approach to health with a sustainable lifestyle and not another protocol.

Improve their quality of life. Proper nutrition can help you wake with more energy, have a steady mood, improve digestion, and sleep better.

Make peace with food by making nourishment a lifestyle. Eating well can be enjoyable and not restrictive or overwhelming.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being willing to truly listen to my clients and prioritizing their needs is the best way to build trust. So many of my clients have felt ignored and unheard in a medical setting and are not used to being prioritized. I do my best to respect each client I work with and build a relationship that’s built on mutual respect and trust.

Listening with an empathetic ear can begin to repair the wounds that someone may have and simply being kind builds a reputation that transcends traditional marketing and can make all the difference in a saturated market.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Story Brand by Donald Miller has been immensely helpful as an entrepreneur. As a professional, the works by Michael Pollan, Leslie E. Korn, Weston A, Price, Susan Presco, and Tieraona Low Dog have been life-changing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://varianhans.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/varianhansnutrition/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/varianhansnutrition

Image Credits
Anna Kraft Photography