1)
Please
tell us about your background and profession.
After years of struggling with my weight, I
discovered the principles of natural nutrition and my life changed overnight.
Within a year I lost weight (close to 50 pounds) and returned to school to
study holistic nutrition – it was the only eating style I resonated with and
could stick to. Since graduating in 1997, I’ve taught nutrition at many
different schools and have been in private practice throughout.
2) What
is Nu-Vitality Health and Wellness?
Nu-Vitality (http://www.Nu-Vitality.com) provides
seminars, weight management programs and healthy eating programs to corporations
and non-profit organizations. We educate employees about adapting healthier
eating habits (for example, eating on the run, managing stress with diet, and
coping with stress). The Programs have been presented to over 100 companies
across the country.
3) What is NaturallySavvy.com? What is your role as a contributor to this
site?
Naturally Savvy (http://www.NaturallySavvy.com)
is a tremendous web resource for organic, natural, and green living, covering
all aspects of one’s lifestyle including nutrition, beauty and personal care,
pregnancy and parenting, pet care, fitness, and reducing your carbon footprint
(recycling, upcycling, composting, etc.). The website also features product
reviews of naturally-made foods and products and offers visitors to the site the
opportunity to sample products via our Savvy Sampler Program. Several years ago
I partnered with the website’s co-founders, Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer as
their Chief Nutrition Expert.
4) Describe
your journey as an author. What led you to co-write Unjunk Your Junk Food?
Andrea, Randy, and I wanted to write a book that reflected www.NaturallySavvy.com. Comparing junk
food and explaining food additives was Andrea’s idea, and as we worked on our
book proposal, the format just started to fall into place. Randy was the
`product expert`, determining which products – both the conventional and their
naturally-made equivalents – to compare. As the nutrition expert on the book, my
task was to scrutinize and define each ingredient and to explain how we came up
with our `Savvy Picks`. It was very much a team effort.
5) How
did you go about getting it published?
I’ve written text books and have self-published a cookbook, but
going through a major publisher was a completely different experience. Andrea
and I spent an entire summer writing a book proposal. We hired a literary agent
to help shop the book around to various publishers and we were thrilled to be
signed by Gallery Books, Simon & Schuster, New York. Once signed, we assembled
a solid team of researchers, fact checkers, editors, photographers and graphic
designers to help us put the book together. It was a two year project that
involved an enormous amount of time, research, and money, but we`re extremely
pleased with the outcome.
6) What
can readers expect to learn from Unjunk
Your Junk Food? Where can they buy it?
Unjunk Your Junk Food is a resource
that teaches about the dangers of artificial additives. We like to say that
we’re starting an ‘edible (r)evolution’ because our objective is to draw
attention to the ingredients list on a food package. The Nutrition Facts panel
– the calories, fat, etc., provides important information, of course, but it
doesn’t matter if a food is low in fat or calories if it’s full of unhealthy
and potentially dangerous ingredients, such as trans fats, high-fructose corn
syrup, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives. The book includes a
‘Worst Ingredients’ pull-out list that charts the ‘red flag’ and ‘yellow flag’
ingredients to watch out for when you’re shopping for groceries. It’s also full
of useful suggestions – or ‘Savvy Tips’ - for improving diet, health, and
energy (for example, “Treats are best eaten early in the day so that you have
all day to work off the extra calories. Treats eaten at night are just a recipe
for weight gain.”), as well as food trivia and a detailed Glossary that can be
used to evaluate the quality of all of the foods in your cupboards. Unjunk
Your Junk Food is available from all the major book sellers including
Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and at Indigo in Canada.
7) How
have you promoted your book? What strategies have been the most effective?
We sought advice about promoting a book prior to its release and
what we heard again and again was that it’s the author who ultimately creates
sales, but our publisher is certainly doing its part. We planned our marketing approach and set
aside funds to promote the book well before it came out. We’re promoting Unjunk
Your Junk Food a number of ways:
·
Social media has been very effective primarily because
Naturally Savvy already had a strong following;
·
We hired a public relations
company to arrange media appearances across the U.S. and Canada as well as
radio and magazine interviews. While on tour, we visit area bookstores to meet
the staff and sign books;
·
We are three authors with our
own professional connections. We made sure to reach out to our industry
contacts (and of course, our personal contacts).
It`s still too early to tell which approach has been the most
effective.
8) What
advice would you give to first-time non-fiction authors?
·
Be passionate about your
ideas: Writing a book is an enormous undertaking, and the amount of time you’ll
devote to the project is far greater than you expect, at least it was for us. If
you have other commitments, especially a family, make sure you have their full
support - you’ll need it!
·
Be firm about your
concept: Each publisher we met with liked our general concept but had their own
ideas of what the book should look like. Had we gone with another publisher we
would have produced a very different book. We were fortunate to find a
publisher who loved our idea as much as we did.
·
Hire a literary agent to
shop your book around to publishers. An agent can open doors that you may not
be able to open yourself.
9) What
is your definition of success as a writer and entrepreneur?
Obviously we’d love for the book to make
its way onto a ‘best sellers’ list, but it’s the reactions we get from readers
who are excited about what they’re learning from Unjunk Your Junk Food that
is the most satisfying. Having been in business for myself since 1997, the
opportunity to be part of a new and exciting project, enhancing my knowledge
(about nutrition, publishing, the editing process – all of it), and the doors
that are already opening as a result of writing Unjunk – whether the book
translates into dollars or not doesn’t even matter.
10) What
is next for you in 2012?
My second baby is due in April,
and a follow-up book to Unjunk Your Junk Food is already in
the works.
About the Author
Lisa Tsakos is a nationally-recognized
nutritionist and educator specializing in weight management and corporate
nutrition programs.
Lisa has been teaching nutrition at various
colleges in Ontario since 1998; however, most of her time over the past 15
years has been dedicated to corporate nutrition - presenting seminars and her
Nu-Vitality Healthy Weight Program™ at over 100 organizations across Canada.
Offered at the Toronto Police Service, the College of Physicians and Surgeons,
Telus Mobility, the University Health Network and many others, the Program has
helped employees at organizations across Canada lose thousands of pounds.
Lisa has been featured on the Discovery Channel, Wylde on Health,
numerous radio programs and is a contributor to various websites, including
NaturallySavvy.com, The Healthy Shopper, and The Huffington Post Canada (blog).
Her articles have appeared in various magazines and newspapers around the
world.
Additionally, she has taught natural food cooking workshops and
authored two books before co-writing Unjunk
Your Junk Food: Healthy Alternatives to Conventional Snacks (Simon &
Schuster, December 2011).
A few of Lisa’s Articles:
Fermented Foods Make a
Comeback: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-food-0428-fermented-foodsl-20100428,0,6352341.story
Healthy Eating Tips for
Those On the Go: http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/sns-health-traveler-eating-tips,0,1155966.story?track=rss
Fight Inflammation with the
Right Diet: http://www.latimes.com/sns-health-wellness-inflammation-diet,0,7419801.story
Cleaning Up From the Inside
Out (Detoxification Trends: http://www.latimes.com/news/health/skincancer/sns-health-detoxification-trends,-11,3478482.story; http://www.abc26.com/health/women/sns-health-detoxification-trends,0,3813176.story
Face Your Food Cravings: http://www.abc26.com/sns-health-face-food-cravings,0,7387276.story
Lose Weight, Look Great.
Weight Loss Tips for Summer: http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-sns-health-look-great-this-summer,0,2540242.story
Passover and Easter Meals
Made Healthy: http://www.torontosun.com/life/eat/2011/04/13/17977856.html
Fiber Supplements &
Sugar Alternatives: http://menshealth.uniquegreatproducts.com/?tag=savvy
Control Acid Reflux: http://www.wgntv.com/sns-200908111554tmspremhnstr--k-c20090812aug12,0,3404272.story
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