We had the good fortune of connecting with Carol Arredondo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carol, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I was frustrated trying to lose weight & not understanding how to program my protein, carbs & fat intake to get the desire outcome that I was seeking. I didn’t want a fad or fast unrealistic diet but a solid way to eat with a wide variety of foods.

My husband & I have been long term athletes are entire lives & nutrition was one of my interests in college that I pursued but changed my major to the Dental field graduating from USC.

I was not happy with the way I was being told to feed my body to get the results I wanted with no explanation or teaching was behind it. So how could I learn??

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands & developed a system/program to get the results I wanted in an attainable way. Eventually I was SOOO excited with this plan/program, I wanted to share it with other individuals.

The program as blossoms into a beautiful gift of stability for thousands of people of all different walks & seasons of life. They can lose weight & get off medication using the food & exercise as their medicine NOT RX meds!

My goal was to teach people how to eat at each meal with proper portion size for their BMI, how to meal prep & have a more stable lifestyle while saving money & time! I provide the meal plan telling them exactly what to eat, at what time & how much food to measure out. The meal plan comes with a shopping list for easy & stress-free shopping instead of them of them figuring it out & overspending. They only buy what’s on the list!

My goal is for them to pass this onto their kids & grandkids so they will have a balanced way of eating & a healthy relationship with food! Food is Fuel & not our enemy if we are willing to learn & put the work in to learn!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I went through ALOT of struggles & ups & downs that are too much to write here but, in a nutshell…. Here it is.

My 2 brothers & I were raised by a single mother from Juarez, Mexico. We grew up in East Los Angeles In a beautiful neighborhood called Hill side Village. Two very pertinent phone calls she made to me made a big impact in my life. One phone call, shouting from the roof tops, ” I am an American citizen!!!” & the other she cried on the phone saying, ” I made my last house payment!!! The house if paid for!”

She sacrificed sending us all to Catholic school & always enrolling us in sports year-round along with going to church 2x’s a week. My love for fitness, eating healthy & relying on God started at a young age & I am grateful to my Mom for being such an incredible role model!

Why, do I tell you this… Because that gave me the firm foundation to work hard, the tenacity to NEVER QUIT & the faith to believe that I could do anything I put my mind too!

I received, just about a full ride, to attend college & graduated from the USC school of Dentistry, with B.S. degree in Dental Hygiene, at the age of 22yrs old.

Was it easy? Absolutely not but I loved the journey & I tell people if you want it…. get up & move in that direction. Nothing can stop you but your own mind & lack of discipline.

I chose to start work at a young age of 13, getting a fake work permit, working at Carls Jr & Fish & chips. I worked both restaurants all weekend. when I finished at Carls Jr, I would run across the street to Fish in chips. I didn’t want to ask my mom for money for clothes or anything else, so I worked for it.

Throughout my college years, I worked & would stay up as long as I could to study to make the GPA needed to keep my scholarships. Although my classmates were financially blessed & very bright, they never made me feel less than & I am forever indebted to USC for giving me a chance & believing in me!

Unfortunately, I did go through a rough 3-year patch getting addicted to cocaine & alcohol after I graduated.
My now husband, stood by myside & we dove into fitness & nutrition. That was my treatment along with my Faith.

I worked as a Registered Dental Hygienist for 36 1/2 years & loved every year!! I started my own business of TransformByFood about 20 yrs ago & will continue helping other with their struggles with food, addictions, depression & pushing them to be their BEST until I am no longer needed.

The moral of the story… Never quit, never stop believing & dreaming, work hard but be there for others, don’t point a finger at someone because there are 3 more pointing back at you, AND “If you Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail!!”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I was born & raised in La. I love our coastlines so that would be the first! Drive all the beaches. Dine & shop at the local restaurants & hotels!

I worked at the Griffith Observatory in high school & love the beautiful views so that a must.

I love taking visitors to Beverly hills & enjoy the guided tour bus.

I LOVE museums so the Getty Center, The Huntington Library, The La Brea tar Pits, The Getty Villa, Ronald Reagan Library, Catalina Island!

It would be a blast & it makes me want to jump in the car right now to revisit all these amazing places!!

Where would we eat… everywhere!! 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Body for life book by Bill Phillips. It was his book & videos that inspired me & my program is a spin off of his princicples.

The Bible. God is in my story.

Website: https://WWW.transformbyfood.com

Instagram: @TransformByFood

Facebook: i need to reopen that but haven’t

Yelp: Still need to work on that! so much to do!

Image Credits
Jeanette Sanchez Photographer

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.