Personal Journeys

I was the fat kid when no one else in school was fat. I’ve spent my childhood and adult life trying to lose weight. I always gained the weight back and more. I spent years yoyo dieting always looking for the miracle.

Then I met Diane. She taught me the missing link, successful maintenance. Her knowledge, compassion and teaching skills helped me rewrite the negative tapes in my head. Her classes were always fun, full of insight, with meaningful demonstrations and helpful ideas. I learned the key steps to maintenance.

At 84 years old, I’ve maintained a 100-pound weight loss for over 15 years now thanks to her knowledge, patience, and compassion. I learned how to eat out, go to parties and enjoy life. Best of all I will never have to be on a diet again because I understand there is no miracle and I understand maintenance. Diane taught me how to live a normal life. You will never meet a better health coach.

I became acquainted with Diane in 2010 when she began working as a Registered Dietitian at a local university weight management program and had been assigned as my health educator. It was obvious from the start that she was the best instructor and the most qualified. Diane shows compassion to all her clients and she comes to each lesson well prepared with statistics and data that help her patients stay on a healthy program that leads to weight loss.

Along with compassion, she displays enthusiasm and discipline with each individual person. Many times clients would seem to be “in a rut” and Diane always had a positive message for them with good suggestions. She requires that you not only listen to the lesson, but that you actively participate in her program. By participating in the h.e.a.r.t.s. Lifestyle classes that Diane offers, I have changed my eating habits which has led to weight loss and maintaining loss. I have learned to recognize the importance of grains, protein, and vegetables in each meal, and have learned how to prepare more healthy, balanced dishes.

I also have learned how to shop in the grocery store more efficiently, and I have learned what aisles to seek out as well as what aisles to avoid. Her program involves developing better eating habits as well as incorporating daily activity. I now swim weekly because I know I need to be moving for my health. It is difficult for me to walk as I have a bad knee, so we came up with alternatives for physical activity that worked for me. I do enjoy my weekly swimming of laps. Weight bearing exercise as well as stretching have also taught me to keep myself in better condition.

To ensure clients maintain or lose weight and get healthier, it takes dedication and organization along with a lending ear of hope and help. Teaching them how to manage their weight is truly a gift due to the challenge of changing our living habits. Diane is always there for me. If I have a bad week, we acknowledge it and make adjustments. I have been working with Diane since 2010 and I continue to this day as it gives me a plan to be the healthiest person that I can be. I highly recommend Diane Motise as a wonderful RD who will coach you daily to be a healthier version of yourself.

I am a retired nurse practitioner and have attended many, many nutrition classes over the course of my 47-year career. So, when Diane started her h.e.a.r.t.s. Lifestyle program at our church, I hadn’t really expected to learn much but I signed up for the program because I wanted to support her. Plus, I needed to lose a good 10 lbs! What impressed me about Diane, besides her expertise and abundant knowledge, was her intense passion for helping people develop a healthy lifestyle that included healthy food choices and a regular exercise regime. She explained how our poor food choices over the years had hurt our bodies, but encouraged us that it wasn’t too late! Developing a healthy lifestyle can reverse the adverse effects taking place in our body. She was also adamant about developing a habit of regular exercise and the importance of resistance training – at any age. She gave us healthy recipes, beneficial websites, and guided us to use an amazing food diary tracker. I have initiated all of the changes Diane recommended and have lost 12 lbs. I have confidence now that if I go off my healthy path I know how to get back on, so my poor food choices don’t dominate my life leading to regret. I highly recommend Diane’s program if you are interested in developing a healthy lifestyle!

Diane Motise, RD is the perfect package of communication skills, professional education, and possesses encyclopedic nutritional knowledge. She is also blessed with outstanding motivational skills and a magnetic personality that equate to long term success for clients like me. The content she shares is always fresh, relevant, interesting and practical. Diane cares and she brings it every day for her clients.

It is indeed a pleasure to know Diane. We have shared several years of working together professionally in health and weight management. Her professional demeanor coupled with a strong knowledge base have helped hundreds of people lose weight safely. Diane always ensures that her patients stay healthy while losing weight, and then maintaining the weight loss.
Diane has a passion for helping people create and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is with great confidence that I refer patients to Diane. Her teaching methods are engaging and interactive, which makes her classes very successful. It is always rewarding to see people leave class with a smile on their faces after learning something new about living a healthy lifestyle.

We have been working with Diane for several years now. She is very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, caring, and committed to giving the best support and guidance to her clients. She holds us accountable to use the available resources to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Diane is an excellent role model--she “walks the talk”--and genuinely, honestly shares her experiences to inspire others.

Her knowledge and insight help us define what the most efficient approaches are to maintaining healthy behaviors. For example, do you know that your diet can cause inflammation in your body? Or, do you know that physical activity is considered the new fountain of youth? We know this to be true firsthand.

Working at this as a couple, we consider ourselves fortunate because we both have the same goals - eating right, exercising, and striving for a healthy lifestyle. With the support and encouragement of each other, plus the tools, guidance and leadership of Diane, we have been able to achieve and maintain the following overall health benefits:
•Physical benefits through substantial weight loss which led to improved BP, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar levels (R. is currently off all diabetic medications)
•Improved strength, balance and mobility with consistent physical activity
•Improved eating habits - eating primarily fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains, fish or plant proteins, and healthy fats—The Mediterranean diet
•Increased stamina; better sleep; better self-image

One of the advantages of Diane’s h.e.a.r.t.s. Lifestyle program is her weekly group meetings. Diane presents relevant lifestyle information to the group. Although we are all at different stages of our journey, group members feel supported by each other. We ask questions, have open discussions on the topics, and exchange ideas of what works for us. It’s a benefit to be in a supportive community of individual challenges that share a common goal.

We would definitely recommend Diane and the h.e.a.r.t.s. Lifestyle Program to anyone searching for a professional dietitian and health coach.

What an incredible blessing and delight Diane Motise, R.D. has become for me!

For the last 55 years I have dealt with weight issues experiencing varying degrees of success. Name the diet, I’ve probably tried it. Besides yo-yoing between 104 to 170 pounds on my 5’1” frame since adulthood, I’ve battled severe arthritis, migraines, eczema, and depression. Readily-prescribed medications following concussions, spinal injuries and cancer exacerbated my health challenges. I’ve spent thousands paying for esoteric treatments and thousands more for fist-fulls of supplements, some helpful and many closer to snake-oil.

September 2016, I left my cardiologist’s office in tears. My blood test results indicated the dreaded “Diabetes.” In hand I had a referral to UCI Weight Loss program.

With 40 pounds to lose, the most ever, I started the program and joined Diane’s group. It immediately became obvious the depth and rigor of Diane’s knowledge. Her engaging style had the whole class participating in activities increasing accomplishments of our personal goals.

When Diane left to start her independent healthy lifestyle classes, I immediately and unquestionably followed her.

Each class is designed around a wellness topic in which Diane integrates the latest reputable research. She includes the benefits and challenges for each item. Her approach is balanced, based on lifestyle changes rather than simply a loss of pounds. Weekly goal setting and assignments keep us accountable. Smallest steps toward a goal are celebrated and when we struggle or slip, Diane helps us problem-solve. Her engaging demeanor has created mutual support amongst the class members.

An additional benefit of working with Diane is the individual counseling she offers. Recently a new health challenge has dropped into my lap. Diane has become an integral member of my health team. Each lab report, each latest possible diagnosis over the last year and a half Diane has researched, coming up with nutritional adjustments to support treatment of pain from the neurological complications. Her support is invaluable, not only for the information she is able to uncover but for the emotional support she freely provides. She is indeed my health cheerleader.

Bottom line, in my experience, you need Diane.
• As a Registered Dietitian (RD), she is a trained professional who keeps abreast of the latest research in nutritional and food sciences and knows how to optimize it for you.
• As a health coach, she will help you identify your needs, desires, and goals. Then, she will use the right coaching techniques and accountability to guide you toward achieving them. She won’t give up on you!
• As a cheerleader, she will root for you and encourage you every difficult and easy step of the way, nonjudgmentally urging you to develop and practice holistic (mind and body) lifestyle habits.
How do I know this? Well, this has been my experience. I have known Diane for over 10 years, and she has consistently been my go-to RD and health coach. As a pastor of a local Church (a profession that is sedentary and breeds obesity and consequent health concerns), I have greatly benefited from her expertise and coaching to make my health and wellness a priority. In 2010, I weighed 285 lbs. Today, January 2021, I weigh 190 lbs. Honestly, life does happen, and I’ve endured yo-yo weight cycling over the last 10 years. But please hear me say, “endured.” Her continued encouragement and coaching have allowed me to stay with it and not give up on myself… and I won’t. Again, you need Diane.

Until I met Diane, I had lost weight several times and like others, regained it. Working with Diane helped me learn the difference between my former approach to weight loss which was letting go of the entire regimen once I reached a goal weight, versus losing weight and learning to maintain the loss in an ongoing process by making healthy food choices along with physical activity and better living overall. Until then, (for me) losing weight and feeling better physically meant following a calorie-restricted diet with a start point and an end point. Working with Diane, I have created a new, ongoing, and positive LIFE relationship with food and exercise and have kept off 45 pounds for over 4 years.
With her Registered Dietitian education and years of experience helping others change their relationships with health, food and self-image, Diane offers a richly supportive mix of science, compassion, and humor to all who work with her. Her ability to educate and bring people together (online or in-person) motivates her clients to support each other and choose new long-term changes to their relationship with food, exercise, and health.
Diane helps her clients re-connect with themselves and with each other on all levels. I am grateful for the gifts that knowing and working with her offer me.

Since I started working with Diane I have learned about living a healthy lifestyle, losing weight, and maintaining the weight loss. She deals with not only what you should change in your lifestyle but why you should change it. She has taught me how to grocery shop appropriately, read food labels, and learn how to track what I eat. She also helped me find exercises that work with my schedule and finds ways to keep me motivated.
She never gave up on me even when I had struggles due to injuries or other life obstacles. Her coaching style is perfect for me because she is kind and compassionate but holds you accountable. She works with your individual struggles and tries to find solutions, no matter how long it takes. I have never had success anywhere else. Diane really cares about her clients, and I would recommend Diane to everyone.