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LupusChick

Your Go-To Girl for Chronic Illness Advice

Image of Marisa Zeppieri reclined on the couch.

Marisa Zeppieri is the Founder/Editor in Chief of LupusChick,  in addition to being a decade-long journalist and author. 

LupusChick was birthed in 2008 to encourage those living with Lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Here, men and women can find information, advice, nutrition, recipes, coaching, humor, life hacks, true stories and more. Marisa’s mission is to help others live the most vibrant, healthiest life possible despite chronic illness.

Marisa and LupusChick have been featured in Glamour, Eating Well Magazine, The Limited Clothing Brand’s Look of Leadership Campaign, Dr. OZ, U.S. News & World Report, Huffington Post, I Heart Radio, Gannett and more. She also increased public Lupus awareness during her reign as Mrs. New York USA Universal 2015.

Some of Marisa’s partnerships as an influencer include collaborations with DripDrop, Daily Greens*, Further Food, SYLK, Exagen, Rockin’ Wellness, Beauty for Real, BioOil and AromaFloria.

She lives in New York and (occasionally) South Florida with her handsome husband, her mother and one crazy sidekick, otherwise known as Bogey the rescued terrier.

Since the launch of the brand, LupusChick has evolved into an award-winning blog, book, nutrition information site, and a motivational safe-space for patients.

Follow Marisa on Instagram and Facebook.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s your full story?

Like most people who live with a chronic illness and/or autoimmune disease, my story started long before I realized. Symptoms came and went throughout my life without any answers. I headed to nursing school during college and things really went south after I was hit by a truck. Well, actually run over while I was walking.

Yes, you read that correctly. Run over…at 50 mph.

I believe if I could survive that, there really isn’t much else life can throw at me that could get me down! Eventually I became a journalist, Mrs. New York USA Universal, and some other incredible things happened. You can read all the juicy details in my full story.

Is LupusChick your full-time gig?

LupusChick is my baby (as I don’t have one yet in real life). A lot of effort goes into LC; like all areas of life for a chronic illness patient, things rarely go according to schedule. My days are quite fluid and revolve around my health. During treatment seasons, my full-time job is taking care of myself.

I’ve spent the past eight years as a freelance health, food, travel and fashion/beauty reporter for a number of media outlets, as my health allows. My last “official” full-time gig was as the Where the People Are reporter for Gannett (USA Today, Democrat & Chronicle and more). Learn more about my work at MarisaZeppieri.com.

Writing became an incredible outlet for me after my diagnosis in 2001. I was confined to a hospital, home bed and then a wheelchair and could not pursue my education/career as a nurse. My heart was broken, but writing allowed me to express myself and fulfill my desire to help others. It also opened doors for me to educate people on invisible illnesses that were not often discussed.

What inspired you to begin LupusChick?

Helping people who were hurting was my inspiration. Before I began this endeavor, I had the opportunity to meet many people living with invisible illness through volunteering and being a board member for The Lupus Foundation of America, Florida Chapter. Social media and the Internet were very different 10+ years ago, and I believe there was a strong sense among chronic illness patients of feeling alone and somewhat abandoned. I wanted to create an outlet that connected, empowered, educated and loved on others.

I believe LupusChick turned out exactly how I envisioned it would.

Who taught you how to cook?

My first teacher in terms of cooking was my grandmother, Rose. Picture a five-foot tall Italian woman who weighed 90 pounds soaking wet, and you can picture my grandmother. She was extremely soft-spoken (rare, for an Italian), yet could put the fear of God in you with her wooden spoon.

She stirred up my love for food and cooking, and several culinary programs refined my skills. Read more here.

Can you tell me about your Juicing Basics class?

If you are an LC fan, you are aware that I am obsessed with juicing. I was first turned onto it years ago when I was in a severe flare up that almost killed me. I was also wheelchair bound for the first time in my life and needed help bathing and feeding myself. It was a horrible season. Juicing was a key component in getting me out of the wheelchair.

I don’t juice for the sake of losing weight. And, I won’t tell you it will cure you. I use it as a supplement to my diet and for its multitude of benefits.

Read more about my Juicing Basics Class here.

Do you have any e-books?

LupusChick has a number of Ebooks available and new books are being produced all the time. A free Ebook regarding Juicing & Flares is available when you subscribe to our mailing list, and there is a free ebook in our shop on living well with a chronic illness.

What’s your diet and exercise regimen like?

My diet and exercise regimens have evolved since my diagnosis and are always being updated. Diets are different for each chronic illness patient and I don’t believe one diet works for everyone. In fact, I hate the word “diet.” In 15 years, I’ve tried hundreds of products and multiple therapies. Some worked, many didn’t.

Where did you learn about nutrition, cooking, & diet?

Besides my grandmother, and two libraries in my home filled with health, nutrition and cooking books, I also took part in the following programs:

  • ROUXBE’s Plant-Based Chef Certification Program
  • Elaina Love’s Raw Food Chef Certification Program
  • Shaw Academy’s Nutrition Coaching Diploma Program
  • David Wolfe’s Nutrition Coaching Certification Program

I would recommend any of these programs to someone who wants to become certified in any of these areas.

What is your Wellness Consult & Coaching all about?

Wellness Consult: My passion in life is helping others, and I love being able to do this through coaching/consulting. As a Certified Nutrition Coach, my wellness consult is an hour-long appointment.

Coaching: Anyone who desires to make a long-term commitment to improving their health, in addition to learning about health, food and lifestyle changes, long-term therapies and more, can sign up for my one-on-one coaching sessions.

My coaching sessions and packages can be found on the Coaching page.

What are your Wellness Intensives?

At times, clients or their family members reach out to me regarding more intensive, one-on-one coaching and teaching. I typically travel to the client’s location and work one-on-one with him or her for an extended period (days to weeks). Intensives are a large commitment, and an intense amount of education, interaction and hands-on training regarding different types of diet, nutrition, therapies, etc. Sometimes I work with caregivers and spouses during my intensives, teaching them about food, diet and nutrition so they can better care for a patient.

Intensives are personalized to each client. To learn more, email me at marisa@lupuschick.com.

What do you use on your skin?

This is actually one of the most common questions I receive at LupusChick! In fact, I get this question so much I decided to write a blog post about it.

How can we collaborate?

LupusChick is always up for collaboration as long as it is the right fit for our mission. Examples of companies we have collaborated with in the past include Rockin’ Wellness, DripDrop, BioOil, SYLK, Beauty for Real, Further Food, Barilla and Daily Greens (coming soon).

If you would like to discuss collaboration, click here.

Do you do speaking engagements & interviews?

Absolutely! I love sharing my expertise, story and advice with others who are on a similar journey. You can visit the Press Page for some of my past interviews and/or book an interview or speaking engagement by emailing me at marisa@lupuschick.com.

Tell me about Mrs. New York and LupusChick?

What girl doesn’t love an opportunity to dress up, plus the chance to make a difference? My pageant experiences offered me a way to do both and so much more. Learn about my reign as Mrs. New York USA Universal 2015 and the impact it made on LupusChick, here.

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