Mary Wansley, PHD

Sometimes you don’t face what’s really beneath the surface (or bubbling over) until you’re thrown a boulder. At least for me, that’s what brought me to seek help after 5 years of battling eating challenges. The starving, binging, purging, addiction, and everything in between became not only exhausting to keep up but impossible to overcome. I had no idea how to get out of it. After recovering from some of it on my own and gaining back my health, the opposite problem began and I fell into the other end of the binge spectrum. I knew no way out, I felt no comfort except from food restriction which ultimately and always, always led to food addiction. What made me happy? Food. What made me sad? Food. Where did my emotions lie and what led my life? Food. Who was in charge of my life? Food. It was everything, and I had no idea how to stop.
The end result was always the same, no matter what I thought the dessert never left the positive feeling that I craved when getting it. The french fries never helped, the pizza, the ice cream, stuffing myself with food only stuffed the problems deeper that I was never dealing with. The pain that I went through, the body hatred, the self hatred, none of it was worth the little cupcake that sat in front of me. I chose food over myself, every single time.
My journey with Mary has been an enriching adventure of self love, discovery, dedication, certainly hard work and HAPPINESS. Yes, happiness. When I heard her over the phone I remember thinking she had a really lovely and soothing voice. To me, trusting and feeling comforted in the presence of your therapist is vital. After meeting Mary and leaving her office for the first time I actually didn’t think of her a therapist but an incredible healer.
After 8 weeks as I continue working with Mary, she has guided me to transform my relationship from food, to myself. I no longer feel the emotional connection to food. Who is in charge of my life? Me. Who makes me happy? Me. Working with Mary has completely freed me from my food addiction. Her methods are powerful and her approach is incredibly kind and thoughtful. As she has gone through the same thing (her story on her website states everything) relating to her makes these struggles feel like something you can overcome. She has helped me change my life. I have never felt more present than I do after working with Dr. Wansley. Life is truly beautiful and I never thought I could be a person that would see the beauty in the small joys that surround us everyday. Facing food addiction is the most difficult call to make. Admitting to it is nearly heartbreaking. Making the phone call to Dr. Wansley will change your life, completely.

I am in my late 50’s. Have starved myself for more than 35 years to stay thin. It made me feel in control. When I hit my 50’s, I could no longer physically manage the starvation process without suffering physical issues. I developed migraines, intestinal issues, you name it. I developed hypothyroidism. I began this cycle as a young child based on my mother’s withholding food so as not to get fat. She said that men will never want fat women. We were only allowed one serving of food at meal times. The portions were small. My adulthood was spent eating one meal a day and exercising excessively. I found Dr. Wansley! She has been working with me for the past several months. I am understanding the vicious cycle I’ve been fighting and am now eating several small meals a day and incorporating good foods into my meals. The hypnosis has helped immensely. I have actually lost 6 pounds by eating more of the good food. Dr. Mary is very knowledgeable and compassionate. I highly recommend working with her if you are suffering. Stop the struggle and call Dr. Wansley.

Mary is an amazing therapist as well as Nutritionist. I struggled for many years with unhealthy eating habits. She would not agree but all of my success, not only with weight loss but mental and physical health was only achieved because she was in my life. The reason I say she would not agree is because Mary is so encouraging and positive about her patients doing well and gives them all the credit. I have lost 50 pounds slowly and healthily over the last 2 years. She has been there to guide me every step of the way, when I stumbled and on my victories. If you are even considering seeing a nutritionist or a therapist, do yourself a favor and call Mary. My life would be drastically different if I never met her, there is nothing a can ever do to repay her.

Food was an obsession. I thought about it every second of every day and it ran my entire life. I didn’t know what was wrong but I knew I couldn’t live the way I was living.
An addiction to food could be the worst of them all because you HAVE to eat everyday to survive. I could eat 5,000 calories in one sitting. I would restrict, binge, purge, cut out food groups, exercise obsessively, try every diet — anything I saw or could think of. I was slowly killing my body and it wasn’t functioning. I cried and wished I was an alcoholic, drug addict or even had cancer. That way you can run the other way and just cut it out of your life. You can’t escape food.
I don’t know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t met Mary because she literally saved my life. She is one of the most special people on this earth and I know everyone who has the privilege of working with her feels the same.
In tough times you really need the support of your family and friends. It was even tougher for me because I didn’t have either of those. But I did have Mary. She was available ²⁴⁄₇ and I felt like I was the most important person to her and always a priority. Mary made me feel safe, loved, not judged and accepted. She has endless tools to help you through every situation. Everyone’s path to overcoming addiction and their issues is different. If a process or step doesn’t resonate with you, Mary will work with you and come up with a specialized plan that does.
Battling inner demons is the most difficult thing a person can go through. It is painful, miserable, you feel like you have no control. Mary not only got me through it, she helped me become the person I always wanted to be. Instead of obsessive thoughts, I enjoy the simple pleasures of life. I was never able to have food in the house, could never sit still or quiet my mind. Now I can. I hated looking in the mirror and kept thinking if I could only be skinny I would be happy. I was looking for something to fill a huge void. Most addicts do. Mary helped me identify that void and fill it within myself. She helped me to love and accept myself, something I never thought possible.
My life used to be run by food. There were times that I didn’t think I would come out on the other side but I can say that my addiction to food has no place in my life currently. People say once an addict, always an addict. That you will have to continuously fight everyday. At first, yes, you do. I struggled and had to fight every second. Now, after lots of hard work and help from Mary, that’s not the case. Addiction is a disease that can be overcome. As difficult as the process was, I am so grateful for it because I learned a lot about myself and now I truly feel liberated.

I started working with Mary four years ago, and I have to say I don’t know where I would be without her. I was stuck in a never-​ending cycle of depriving and binging. My problem wasn’t my food choices. I knew how to eat healthy. My problem was that I became obsessed with eating healthy. I would calculate the exact amount of calories, carbohydrates, fat, and protein that I needed to eat each day in order to lose weight. Day in and day out I would eat the same thing because I knew the exact amount of calories and macronutrients that were going into my body. It eased my mind because I knew I was losing weight. However, this is where my problem started. I was so obsessed with counting calories that if I ate anything out of the norm or went out to eat at a restaurant and didn’t know the amount of calories that I was putting in my body, negative thoughts would immediately enter my mind. I would feel like I lost control. If I ate a slice of pizza I would immediately feel regret and like the entire day had been ruined. I felt fat. From there, literally all hell would break lose. I would tell myself, «Well, you’ve already ruined all of your progress today so you might as well keep it going and start fresh tomorrow.» That’s when the binge would start. All from eating just one slice of pizza. This is what became normal to me. Deprive. Binge. Repeat. All mixed in with working out obsessively. After finally realizing that I had a problem I began looking for help. I saw an ad and went in for a consultation with Mary. Mary foremost taught me not to be ashamed and that I am not alone with this struggle and that realizing I had a problem is the first step and most important step. From there Mary taught me how to let go of my obsession with counting calories; how to eat in a way that I won’t deprive myself; how to enjoy the foods I want to enjoy and not overeat; how to deal with emotional eating, and most importantly, how to live a normal, happy, fulfilling life without being controlled by food. Mary took me through a step by step process that addressed every area of this problem. I left every session with tools that really worked to stop the obsession with food and the binging. If you are someone going through the same cycle that I was and need to change your relationship with food there is no one better than Mary. I can’t explain how grateful I am to have met her. Mary has not only changed my relationship with food, she has changed my life. Four years have passed and I am free of the binging deprivation cycle and am living a full life. If you are dealing with this struggle, don’t wait to get your life back. An apt with Mary can get you on a new path of recovery.

Most of my adult like I have had a love/​hate relationship with how and what I eat and exercise.
Mary has enabled me to put food and exercise in its proper place in my life. I’m not obsessing about either anymore.

I began working with Mary 3 and a half years ago. I sought out help because I was miserable. Food consumed my thoughts and I hated my body. And looking back now, my body was just fine. But I had this image of a body I wanted, and not having the body I wanted made me want to turn to food and binge. I couldn’t get out of this destructive cycle and it made no sense. Even wearing a bathing suit was out of the question for me. I saw an ad that spoke to me and made an apt and that was the beginning of the end… I can’t say it was always easy… I would get so emotional at times… but that was a good thing. I remember calling Mary in tears, mid binge eating, and having her talk me through what was going on and how we were going to work past this. And we did. I had been pushing down my emotions with food for years. Mary and the work we did together changed my life. I can’t thank her enough. She was amazing and gave me so many tools and a way to think about food differently. Because of my experience with Mary I am in the process of pursuing a career helping people overcome food and eating addictions. I know it is possible because I did it! Never in a million years would I have believed I could have ever gotten out of the mental state I was in with of food and my relationship with my body. But because of Mary I have my life back. I am grateful for all the time she put into my recovery. And she put in a lot of time, both during our sessions but also when I just needed her at any time of the day. She was always there. She helped me change my life. I am not consumed by food and eating and my body. I eat to live not live to eat and it feels so good. I have never been happier in my life. I will forever be grateful to Mary and I know I can go back and see her if I need counseling for anything else in my life. She is an amazing understanding therapist and there are no words to ever thank her enough for helping give me life again.

Whatever battles with food you are having, (I am guessing you are struggling in some way if you are reading this), I first would like to tell you not to lose hope because there is a way out. Like any addiction, food addiction is very hard to overcome; but if you put yourself into the hands of Dr. Wansley, I can assure you that you will overcome the battle that you are fighting.
I came to Dr Wansley during what was a very dark and depressing time for me. I had been struggling with Binge Eating Disorder on and off for my entire life, but never realized it was an illness until I got to college. As a student– athlete balancing work, practices and competition, competitive and demanding academics, and a social life; food started to become an outlet for me that I would turn to during times of stress. What started off as an innocent once a month activity, turned into once a week, and before I knew it almost every day. The binging had taken over my entire life and was negatively affecting me academically, athletically and socially.
Over time, gloom descended upon my being like a dense fog. Trapped in the dewy mist, I lost all sense of direction. Negativity soon suppressed my sense of self; fear suffocated my last trace of ambition. I spiraled into an anxiety-​ridden depression. I had no idea what I wanted anymore– I didn’t want to do anything. I quit my school team, shut out all of my friends, and was barely getting by academically. The more weight I gained, the more stuck, alone and hopeless I felt. It wasn’t long before I felt like the most hideous creature in all of Los Angeles, and I had no interest in even existing anymore. But then, Dr. Mary Wansley came into my life.
From the second I laid eyes on Mary I knew she was someone special, and after my first meeting with her I knew that she would be the one to help me overcome this affliction. She is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met, and I consider myself so lucky to have even a second of her time. Mary has been like an oasis to me in the desert of my lost enthusiasm to live. She has helped me learn so much about myself and I am so thankful to have met her. She has an amazing story, and is such an inspiration to not only me, but I am sure everyone else that has the pleasure of knowing her. Mary is the best of the best when it comes to what she does, and she is very well educated. She has given me the tools to deal with the issues that come my way using other outlets other than food, and has really helped me to have a healthier relationship with food. I want to use food as a way to nourish and fuel my body; not to cause harm to myself. There is no other person that I would want to go through this process with. Mary makes me feel like I can believe in myself, and with her I feel like I am capable of anything.
If you are struggling and are ready to get at the root of the problem; whether it is depression, habit, comfort, stress, boredom, disordered eating etc. do the best thing you could ever do for yourself and get the best therapy for this problem. You will realize it is so much more than just food, and you will be blown away by how much you discover about yourself.
I am still in the process of healing but am on the right track to a 100% recovery and to become the best possible version of myself. I owe it all to Dr. Mary Wansley for giving me the tools to tackle this problem full-​force.
If you are tired of your negative relationship with food, then I highly recommend that you contact Mary as soon as possible. Get ready to embark on an incredible, beautiful journey of healing and self-​discovery.

I worked with Dr. Wansely two years ago on with The Mind Body Reset Method to conquer my compulsive overeating. Not only is Dr. Wansley a wonderful therapist and gifted hypnotherapist, she also helped me to anchor my new eating habits that led to a substantial weight loss. I’m still at 132 lbs, our target weight from two years ago, and I haven’t had any compulsive cravings ever since. Dr. Wansley is a beautiful person in and out, trustworthy, kind, and smart as a whip. If you have issues around food, she’s the to-​go-​to therapist in Los Angeles!