Testimonials

“Thank you so much for the informative and enthusiastic presentation last night! I’m very impressed at your knowledge, your presentation skills and your obvious love for what you do.“

~ Julie Foley – Ceres Community Project

“I want to share with you what an excellent teacher you are. Your breadth of understanding, and your enthusiasm to share this knowledge, is so palpable. I learn many things from you every time. I especially appreciate how natural you are, and your ability to tie different aspects together to present a wholistic and comprehensive picture of the subject. The talk on Immune Health was perfect timing, and fits right in with the work of Ceres addressing the challenging health issues of our clients. I’m grateful to be able to work with you and Ceres.”

~ Andrew

My symptoms were alarming weight loss, severe night sweats, & occasional periods of debilitating exhaustion. While the medical community tested me up one side & down the other trying to determine what was causing this, Mary Shelia simply started treating me with supplements, diet, & a bit of tough love. Her advice was based primarily on an analysis of my adrenal function. She helped me when no other health practitioners did.

~ Mary G.

Working with Mary Sheila Gonnella is a pleasure and a delight even when faced with the daunting task of commitment to weight loss and an exercise routine. Mary Sheila provides a supportive environment in which to achieve ones personal goals regarding general health and nutrition. The routine is not punishing.  The diet recommendations are satisfying enough and goes a long way to eliminative unhealthful food cravings.  The emphasis of the course is on weight loss management and maintenance so the long term effects re promising.  In addition to feeling as well as I have beer felt in recent hearts. I learned much about the body as a functioning organism and the roles of nutrition and exercise in keeping us all going. The six week protean offered plentiful instruction in physiology and nutrition.  It is easier to stay motivated when one better understands the basic underpinnings of health and nutrition.  The immediate benefit from the coursed was the weight loss.  The more lasting benefit is the continuing awareness of what one eats and what it does.

~ Cheryl M.

Before working with Mary Sheila and the Weight Loss Resistance Program I felt like a toxic blob. I had not been taking care of myself and had pretty much let myself go after having children. I was not exercising, and relying on sugar and caffeine to get me through the day.  Once starting the program, Mary Sheila really helped me understand what I was doing to my body and how I can make changes to get back on a healthy track. Not only was Mary Sheila supportive and informative, but she never judged me for the way that I had been treating my body.  She was understanding and just wanted to help me feel my best. Through the diet and exercise plans laid out by Mary Sheila, I have achieved all my personal goals, feel fantastic, and have incorporated healthy habits back into my life.

~ Becky C.

I personally will be forever grateful that I met Mary Sheila. In the past month that I have worked with her, she has made all the difference in my life. For the past 20 years and after watching my father pass from cancer, I have followed a pretty healthy lifestyle (food/exercise). However, at 47 years old I found myself dealing with (for the first time in my life) a health crisis relating to my thyroid an also with my lymphatic system. I initially met Mary Sheila at a class hosted at Osmosis Day Spa (Organs and Glands of the Detox Process). Mary Sheila’s hour long class was extremely informative.  I knew that sprier had provide this free lass to me which in turn lead me to meeting Mary Sheila. I believe it to be true that TIMING IS EVERYTHING. This all happened in my life at the exact time that I needed it most.  I found Mary Sheila immediately very easy to talk to and I felt very comfortable with her which doesn’t always come easily for me being the private person that I am.  The day after the classI emailed her to say how helpful her class had been for me.  We traded many emails back and forth of questions that I had come up with.  She was always very responsive, helpful and encouraging.  I knew that I should not turn my back on the opportunity to do the 30-day cleanse (my first ever) and to grasp this “gift” of being able to learn from and work with Mary Sheila. And what a blessing she has been. She has made all the difference in my confidence level relating to my current health and with the approach I have taken.  She has given me many tools and has taught me food choices as well as exercise habits that have made all the difference.  Where I previously considered myself to be pretty versed in good health, Mary Sheila has taught me many new tools.  I am now feeling more empowered in my future health path and in working thru what I know I need to do next.  And I have met a wonderful and knowledgeable friend that I know I can depend upon in the future too.

~ Michelle M.

I retired in August 2015 and weighed 364 pounds.  I was on medication for the typical — high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type II diabetes, had a sleep apnea machine, seizures and chronic pain from an old back injury.  My joints hurt and I was hunched over and looked terrible.  Shortly after retiring my wife and I decided it was time to get healthy, so we started cutting back on what we ate and tried to eat “healthier.”  I basically just stopped eating and I was losing a lot of weight.  But I was always tired and felt terrible.  A friend encouraged me to go to the Forestville Wellness Center where I met Mary Sheila and began an incredible journey into food as medicine.  Mary Sheila has been great!  She clearly knows the subject matter very well and presents it in a very easy-to-understand manner, adding more information as we go along, but always going back to the core concepts of healthy, mindful eating.  Mary Sheila has always been supportive and her passion for educating the rest of us on such important information shines through.  And she’s got a great sense of humor!  I’ve lost over 160 pounds, I’m hiking and even backpacking, I’ve cut out nearly all my medications, got rid of my sleep apnea machine, pain medication and feel great. I know that I would be not where I am without Mary Sheila’s guidance.   I can’t say enough good things about working with Mary Sheila.

~ Mark T.

My husband retired last year and we knew it was well past time to do something about our diet and health. Unfortunately, we did what most people do and just restricted calories. Of course we lost some weight but we knew this was unsustainable and after a few months we found out about the Forestville Wellness Center. We started going to the Mindful Eating class with Mary Sheila, which has been an incredible learning experience. Mary Sheila takes a mountain of information (and entire mountain range of misinformation) and provides it in easy-to-digest portions, well-seasoned, spiced expertly and laid out on a smorgasbord of topics connecting the dots between food and sleep, hydration, movement, self-care, and a host of other things that you don’t necessarily think of as falling under the category of nutrition. It’s been over a year and my husband and I have collectively lost almost 250 pounds, dozens of inches and are shadows of our former selves. But more importantly, we’re eating healthier than ever, we’re hiking, playing sports and being far more physically active than we’ve been in many years, decades even. My husband has been able to cut out nearly all of his medications, as well as his sleep apnea machine and both of us have greatly improved our sleep — through proper eating! We both feel like we’re now in control of our health and can’t thank Mary Sheila enough for her knowledge, energy, dedication and wonderful sense of humor.

~ Nancy