Nutritional Therapy Practitioner / Autoimmune Health Coach
Suzan Barakat M.Ed, is a Dallas-based Educator, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Autoimmune Health Coach, and Culinary Expert with a master’s degree in Education. Her personal health challenges inspired her journey into holistic health.
Suzan excels in guiding her clients on how to use food as medicine and adopt healthier lifestyles to prevent diseases. She collaborates with Dr. Hassina to develop personalized nutrition plans tailored to each client’s needs, ensuring every client receives compassionate care and practical advice to overcome health challenges and achieve lasting wellness.
Suzan’s unique approach combines the right blend of science, multiple nutritional certifications, and a decade of teaching experience to help her clients cultivate healthy relationships between mind, body, and food.
Underlying all of this is her firm belief that our health is a beautiful ‘Amanah,’ a trust from ALLAH SWT that we all must honor in every way we can, and it all starts with making our Niya. This is what she likes to call, ‘Niyatrition.’
Having been there herself, Suzan relates to her clients and understands there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each of us is bio-individual, with unique needs and “whys.” Suzan customizes her programs to meet each of her clients where they are. She empowers them with the knowledge and tools they need to take charge of their diet, sleep, mindfulness, movement, and stress management to revolutionize their health from the inside out.
Suzan grew up in America’s Midwest and was very athletic as a child/young adult, so she never struggled with her weight, despite being a sugar and carb addict. Her high school nickname sums up her eating habits: ‘Cookie Monster.’
One day, as it usually does, it all caught up with her. Pregnancy and excessive weight gain marked the beginning of her dieting rollercoaster. Thirteen years, three pregnancies, and too many diets to count later (not to mention all the yo-yo-ing in between!), she found herself 50 pounds overweight and with high cholesterol.
Suzan’s doctor wanted to put her on statins to lower her cholesterol but she declined. At 39, she felt she was too young to go on meds and thought there had to be a better, more natural way. She had witnessed the fate of far too many of her family members and their numerous prescriptions for their metabolic diseases. It seemed with each year the number of their medications increased, and sadly so did their aches, pains, and ailments.
Suzan knew she had to do something different. So, she got her first health coach certification in 2011. Unfortunately, most nutrition programs at that time still advocated the misguided low-fat, more whole grains approach which did nothing to improve Suzan’s lipid panel or her waistline.
In 2012 she was introduced to the Paleo way of eating by some dear family friends. Paleo went against conventional medicine, so Suzan was hesitant and skeptical at first, going sugar-free, grain-free, and dairy-free. It made her sad just thinking about it!
But her WHY was big enough and it all somehow made sense to her Biology teacher’s brain. Also, having her best friend as her health and accountability buddy made it fun!
The results? A massive and super fast transformation to her health.
At last, Suzan had found her formula for optimal health.
And for the first time in 13 years, she reached her weight loss goal. She lost 45 pounds and went from a size bursting 14 to a comfortable size 6. Even more importantly, in just three months her cholesterol numbers were back in the normal range, and, at 40, she looked and felt like she was in her 20s masha’ALLAH!
It was like a switch turned on inside, causing her to easily burn fat, gain energy, increase focus, and sleep better. And it was relatively easy because swapping out high sugar and starchy foods for nutrient-dense choices became a lifestyle.
The holistic changes that Suzan made not only improved her health but her whole family’s quality of life. Her husband learned to start his day with protein. Her kids’ breakfasts and school lunches became supercharged. On exam mornings, they knew they needed a high-protein and healthy fat breakfast to fuel them and keep them focused. Now that her kids are young adults, they have carried these healthy habits with them, can cook for themselves, and eat clean the majority of the time.
From someone who had an intense sweet tooth, was nicknamed ‘cookie monster,’ and used to be a professional baker, having her cravings disappear and experiencing the steady, sustained release of energy that comes with using fats instead of sugars for fuel, made Suzan a true believer in THE POWER OF FOOD AS MEDICINE.
Suzan knew she had to educate and empower others to do the same. So, she left her classroom teaching job to pursue further nutritional certifications.
One of those certifications was becoming an Autoimmune Health Coach and a year after completing this certification, Suzan was diagnosed with an autoimmune skin condition.
She was just the right person to help herself! It was a combination of the AIP (AutoImmune Paleo) protocol, healing her gut, and stress management that subdued her autoimmune disease.
Helping her clients optimize their health by harnessing the power of real food brings Suzan PURE JOY.
Are you ready to create new healthy habits and tap into the barriers and self-limiting beliefs that have prevented you from lasting success?
Suzan would be honored to be on your team and help optimize your health by developing a deeper understanding of the food and lifestyle choices that work best for you to improve your energy, balance, health, and happiness insha’Allah.
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