Bonnie was the proud recipient of the Clinical Excellence Award in 2023 from the CSNN Alumni Association.
When it comes to nutrition and lifestyle habits that support optimized health a fundamental belief in small, sustainable changes are what fuels Bonnie Wisener, R.H.N.
“In my practice, Shift Nutrition and Wellness, I help women who struggle with daily bloating, constipation, gas and pain resolve their symptoms and regain control of their lives. I assist them in acquiring the information and tools they need to achieve optimal digestive function.”
Bonnie has been practicing for about 9 years, and though she is based in Ontario she works with clients around the world. During her time in practice Bonnie has developed a signature process, called the Shift Your Gut Therapy Method and she is proud that 80% of all participants in the program achieve success.
One of the many career highlights that comes to mind for Bonnie is in the form of a lesson she learned from a client. She was working with an 89-year-old retired nurse, helping her resolve chronic and urgent diarrhea.
Bonnie says her client was dependent on supplemental fibre at the time they met, and she wasn’t eating a well-balanced diet because so many foods seemed to cause upset. She was deprived of energy, and eager to resolve her issues and return to her relatively active life.
“[Through our work together] she was remarkably successful. Her sense of motivation was inspiring, and taught me that we are never too old to learn how to do things differently, or how to support our body optimally.”
Some of the most important things Bonnie has learned through her journey as a wellness practitioner is that “extremes don’t work for most people; managing the physiological impact of stress is paramount; and further, our education is only the beginning – I continue to learn through my daily experiences with clients.”
I had thought about taking this program at CSNN for a couple of years before I actually walked into the CSNN Toronto Central office to meet with the Director there. I had always been interested in nutrition generally, and as is the case with so many of us, my own health challenges through the years piqued my interest in pursuing a ‘food as medicine’ education. My greatest hesitation at the time had to do with the science courses involved in the program. I had left sciences as early as possible in high school, and was very concerned about managing through them in this program. Fortunately, the instructors were great and the material was presented in an easy to understand and apply format, so I did well with those courses as well.
The CSNN path lead me towards a thriving therapeutic nutrition practice. I specialize in digestive health, and in blood sugar management for pre-diabetics and type II diabetes. It also enabled me to expand into some broader teaching (I have created and hosted A Holistic Approach to Autoimmune Disease practical at CSNN branches, and instructed a Fundamentals course. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with other healthcare and service providers, having developed rich and supportive relationships with family doctors, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists and a host of other service providers like yoga therapists, pelvic floor physiotherapists, and even other holistic nutrition consultants.
I set out to develop an entrepreneurial opportunity that would allow me to help people the way that I felt that I had helped myself with my education and that is exactly what I feel I have accomplished over the last 9 years. It didn’t happen overnight, it required the same amount of effort that any new business requires, but it is so worth it. On a personal level, it has afforded me independence via self employment, and on a professional level, there is really nothing more gratifying than hearing your client say “you have changed my life”. Many of us hear this from our clients a lot of the time. How special and lucky are we to be in that position.