She truly cares

A friend recommended I speak to Dina for an autoimmune disease I have been battling for years. I initially started working with her to help me with my diet. Eating one or two meals a day was not helping me get better. Food is now my friend and I enjoy finding things to eat and make that are healthy. But food isn't the only thing that she has helped me with. She has helped me with stress, relationships, and work. She is very encouraging and always makes me feel that whatever is happening will be okay. Dina is always looking for things or coming up with ideas to help me. Her guidance is not pushy and her suggestions are very helpful. I really enjoy all the information on the Four Quadrant Living website and her blogs are a good tool whenever I need positive reminders. I am now happier and healthier because of Dina. She truly cares about you and it definitely shows in the difference it has made in my life. I like that I feel so much more grateful about life after having worked with her. I consider my time with Dina as a gift to myself and an investment in my well being.— Mary M.

Supportive, incredibly knowledgeable

Dina Colman is amazing. I have been working with her for several months on work/life balance and I can't imagine life without her. She is supportive, incredibly knowledgeable, encouraging and has a great way of keeping me accountable for my goals and weekly todo's without being intimidating. When you have someone there beside you cheering you - you can really do a lot to change your life and move in a healthy way toward your dreams. I have in just a few months become so much more organized and efficient and for someone who works way too much - I have begun to really improve on self care - taking much needed time off and I actually am now accomplishing more because of the rest and space we have created! I am grateful for her wonderful spirit and support. Run to Dina if you need help with balance in your life....she helps you see how it is possible to be successful, abundant and have a good life with less stress! — Kelly C.
 
A lifestyle change

Dina Colman has completely changed my life. I always knew that I wanted to eat "healthy". But, eating "healthy" always appeared so time consuming, expensive, and not very appetizing. It wasn't until I met Dina that my whole outlook on “food” changed. I had the pleasure of sharing my life with Dina for a little over a month. I'm a single mom who works full time and it always seemed easier and cheaper to go out to eat every night. How do I only cook for myself and a 5 year old? I'm exhausted when I get home from work and never wanted to spend my whole night in the kitchen cooking and cleaning. I also had a huge love affair with Starbucks. On most days, around 2PM Starbucks saved my life. I had a "grande" coffee about 4-5 times a week.

So, I met Dina... She was an absolute joy to work with. She held me accountable for every food choice I made but very kindly suggested new food options. She made every meal quick, fresh, easy and simple. She sent me recipes. She suggested new items to incorporate into my meals. Little by little, I changed my meals.  Instead of not eating anything for breakfast, I started eating steel cut oatmeal. Instead of having a frozen meal for lunch, I started making fresh sandwiches and Greek yogurt. Instead of eating out every night, I started cooking at home. Before I knew it, my whole diet had changed.

Almost two months later, I've lost 12 pounds total. I can't wait to get home and cook for my family. My son has learned to love eating “healthy” too. He asks for salad with "dressing and lemon" instead of McDonald's. He asks for "kale chips" instead of potato chips. He asks for water instead of soda. My love affair with Starbucks has died.  Instead of coffee to pick me back up at 2PM, I enjoy hummus and cucumbers. I feel great, I look great and I love everything I’m cooking.  I’m setting my son up for success with healthy eating habit. I don't have any desire to eat out or go to Starbucks anymore considering I ate out 7 nights a week and went to Starbucks at least 4-5 times a week only a couple of months ago. I also have noticed that I'm saving tons of money when I used to think eating out saved me money. I can't thank Dina enough for all her advice and encouragement. She truly has changed me!!!

If you have the opportunity to bring Dina into your life, I highly recommend it. I never felt like I was on a diet. Instead, Dina has set up a lifestyle change for me and I will continue to eat make healthier food choices for me and my son! Thank you Dina!

One more cute story, over a weekend, my son spent the night at his friend's house. His mom brought him home in the morning but stopped at Starbucks first. When she asked my son what he wanted, he replied "I don't want sugar; I'll have a water-no ice". Usually, he would order hot chocolate with whip cream :).— Jenica M.
 
Guidance, support, knowledge

Reaching out to Dina was one of the best decisions I've made this past year. Every aspect of my life; spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, was out of balance. I'm still a work in progress, but Dina's guidance, support, knowledge, and encouragement has proven invaluable. She was and continues to be exactly what my life was missing; someone to hold me accountable, a cheerleader, a confidant, a trustworthy advisor, a coach! For a long time I lived life trying to do EVERYTHING on my own. It is so liberating to have someone like Dina in my corner. With her help I've been able to accomplish so much more than I thought possible. She has given me the tools I need to navigate this journey to a balanced life and I'm so grateful! — Lisa H. M.
 
Balanced approach

With Dina's gentle persistence and practical balanced approach, my wife and I were able to make the habits of healthier living part of our daily lifestyle. — Roger P.
 
Saved my life

Dina has provided me with the tools and knowledge that I needed to make changing to a healthier lifestyle a manageable goal and not an uphill challenge. She has never judged me when I stumbled but has only given me the encouragement and steps I needed to get back up and try again. My life was centered around my children and my husband's needs and putting them first. Dina has shown me that it is okay to take a little bit of time each day to improve my health and quality of life and in turn that has made me more efficient in taking care of my family too. I will be forever grateful to Dina because she has literally saved my life from the downward spiral I was in. Thank you Dina! — Kristin A.
  
Helped me balance my life

After the my mom's death, I withdrew from life. I ate too much, craved sweets nightly, and never exercised. I avoided my friends and curled into a ball the moment I met my day's obligations. Thankfully, I sought Dina's support & guidance. She taught me to not judge my sorrow and accept the state I had been experiencing. She helped me move past the self-destructive tendencies I had used to cope with my grief. She is a compassionate listener, offers gentle suggestions, and provides nonthreatening accountability. Through our sessions she helped me balance my life. I began to eat healthy, balanced meals, started spending time with friends, and began exercising outdoors. I don't know where I'd be without her. — Liz L.
 
Lost 10 pounds

Working with Dina as my healthy living coach and getting information from her Four Quadrant Living website has helped me to manage and control my prediabetes. I have lost 10 pounds with her guidance by cutting back on white food products and being more aware of the food I am eating. I have learned how to read food labels, especially looking at the ingredient list to understand what is in the product. With Dina's support, I have reduced my glucose level from 6.1 to 5.9. She has shown me that diet is only one aspect of controlling prediabetes. We are now working on creating an exercise program that works for me (beach walks, gym classes, and weight training) and reducing my anxiety (listening to meditation tapes and relaxing music). I like working with Dina because I feel that she really tries to find ways for me to be healthy in my life—the things I like to do and eat—rather than providing a cookie cutter solution. — Diane C.
 
Offers a variety of services

Whether I have an actual physical or phone appointment or simply receive Dina's Four Quadrant Living newsletter by e-mail, I get fantastic, thought-provoking, simple direction on how to make my life healthier and happier. Dina's approach is never threatening or condescending and she offers a variety of services that fit many, many different needs - whether just a little nudge when it comes to diet or organization or an all-out weekly session helping with all four quadrants. Highly recommend! — Tiffany D.
 
Completely invested in her clients

Dina helped me with the detox diet in an attempt to determine if types of food consumed impacted my Dupuytren's, an auto-immune disease. I already ate a fairly clean diet and was fit and at a healthy weight, but the detox was still very helpful. I learned what foods (sugar and gluten, in particular) cause me to feel worse and I cleaned up my diet even more. It really made me think about what I eat, even now, weeks after finishing. Dina was sincerely supportive during the detox and helped me be successful. (I didn't cheat once!) Dina also offered ideas on dealing with my job stress. I felt the ideas really catered to me and my job specifically, rather than being some general ideas I could get from internet research. I use one of the fantastic ideas religiously to help destress after every shift. I was so pleased with my experience, I recommended Dina's Four Quadrant Living to my sister, who is now having her own very positive experience. Dina is knowledgeable, supportive, and completely invested in her clients. Highly recommend!!! — Bev Y.
   
Taking my life back

My sister, previous poster Bev Y, suggested the 4QL Whole Body Detox was something that I should really try due to my multiple hand/neck injuries from my VERY high stress job. I must admit, I had quite the laugh over the no caffeine part, but jumped right in. I could not have done this without the wonderful support from Dina! We talked once a week and she would answer any silly questions I might have, in a timely manner, via email. I never felt alone or lost or overwhelmed!! I had IMMEDIATE physical results! Rather then weigh myself, every week I would go down a notch on my uniform pants belt AND my "fat" uniform pants quickly became my too loose pants and I moved down to my "medium" pants which are now very comfie!! After awhile, I started to notice a lot less inflammation coming from my injuries. On my days off, instead of spending the whole day reading/watching TV, I suddenly had energy to go out again and be a part of life!!

I have been off the detox for over a month now. I have had NO desire for a soy latte yet and I drank 3, yes 3, a day before!! I still start every morning with one of the shakes and either an herbal tea or a green tea. I am enjoying learning to cook for myself again rather then going the frozen route. I have started walking again, not a lot, but at least I have started. Soon, I hope to hire a personal trainer and start building muscles around my injuries. Thanks to Dina, I have begun the journey to taking back my life and moving forward with it!!! I cant even begin to explain in words how big a deal that is!! I am taking all my new information about food and handling stress, and I'm looking ahead with a big ol' smile on my face!!! — Christie W.
 
Amazed at improvement

I completed the Detox 360 with Dina Colman and Four Quadrant Living last year. I was skeptical of detoxes and was reluctant to do it. But I gave it a try for a new experience if nothing else. I also felt it was worth a shot because I was constantly tired and was dealing with chronically tight hips, glutes, and hamstrings due to running. About half way through the 4 week program, I did not feel any different. Dina encouraged me to stick with it for the final two weeks. By the end of the third week, however, I started to notice changes. I felt less tired and was actually sleeping less. I also felt relief from my tight and sore muscles. Dina said the detox was helping my body heal and reduce the inflammation. I was amazed at the improvement in my well being and am a believer in the detox now. I will do it periodically. Dina was great in providing information and motivation throughout the program. She presented a nice balance of telling me what I needed to know without overwhelming me. Dina was a pleasure to work with! Thanks, Dina! — Dave L.
 
Feel stronger and happier

Dina and her Four Quadrant Living consistently give me simple, easy to implement suggestions to make my entire life healthier. With Dina's gentle guidance, I have vastly improved the way I eat, the way I deal with stress and, basically, the way I balance my life. It is impossible to not feel better, stronger and happier when working with Dina. — Gracie T.
 
Highly recommend her

I got so much out of our 4 sessions! I met with Dina once a week for 4 weeks and it was really awesome. It wasn't just about food but my overall well-being and I got the tools to work toward the things that I wanted to achieve. And I love that I can e-mail her with any question that i might have a long the way! I highly recommend her. — Gabriela V.
 
A trusted friend

Dina came referred, as well as highly recommended for her nutritional expertise and she didn't disappoint. Thanks to Dina, we not only know what kale is, we now consider it a daily staple and I also now feel her presence on my shoulder, whenever grocery shopping!  :-) Dina has become a valued personal nutritional consultant, as well as a trusted friend. — Chuck K.