This page is about Katia's personal journey to lose 50% of her weight.  She is presently has shed 40% of her weight and is still going strong. Scroll down to check out the most recent pictures.

Pregnancy is not the time to go on a weight loss program.  As a "woman of size"  Katia has a unique view and ability to support women of size during preconception, pregnancy and postpartum.  Because of her own process and journey with weight loss, Katia is especially devoted to helping women postpartum return to their normal weight, even if postpartum was twenty years ago!  She works with women and men of all ages in this journey towards health.   If you are interested in talking to Katia more about the program you can email her through the Contact Katia page.

Why Take Shape for Life?

Probably like you, I tried every diet out there.  They simply did not work.  No matter how much I tried I just kept getting bigger and heavier as the years went by.  I literally made myself ill with diets and yo-yo dieting. 

Then I heard about Take Shape for Life (TSFL) which uses the Medifast foods.  Medifast is a clinically proven, nutritionally complete, low calorie, and low fat meal replacement program.   In August, 2009 I started on Take Shape for Life as a last resort.  I spoke with my doctor prior to going on the program and she basically said this was my last chance and then we would be talking about gastric bypass surgery.  A series of basic labs were run and I was cleared to start my healthy weight loss program on August 10, 2009.

Health Issues

In addition to having high cholesterol and high triglycerides, my labs, immediately before starting the program also indicated that I was a Type 2 Diabetic.   In consultation with my doctor, it was decided to wait a few months before medication.  I think my doctor wanted to know how well I would do on the Take Shape for Life program before we started talking about medications to regulate my blood sugar.

Medifast was originally formulated in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University with Diabetics in mind.  I felt confident that the food I was purchasing from Take Shape for Life was high quality and would meet my nutritional needs as well as keeping my blood sugar levels in check.

Having a Health Coach

The best thing about being on this program for me is having a personal Take Shape for Life Health Coach who has helped me every step of the way.  My health coach helped me get started.  She told me about discounts on the food and gave me invaluable hints to help me succeed.  She has been there to help me and celebrate my progress as I moved through my first month.  Health Coaches are one of the unique things about the Take Shape For Life Program.   I talked to my health coach several times a week initially and now I check in and give her progress reports and share with her the excitement of reaching my goals.

BEFORE PICTURE:

Katia has joined the Take Shape for Life team as a Health Coach.  This means she can "midwife" individuals  on the road to Optimal Health.  You don’t know if it will work unless you start.

Health Coach ID #30066233

A Health Coach is not a substitute for a physician or qualified medical practitioner for monitoring those using Medifast © Meals.  Consult your physician before starting a weight-loss program.

My Progress to date

After 14 months on The Take Shape for Life program I shed 130 pounds.  A repeat of my basic labs after only two months revealed some interesting results:

At the start of the program:     HgbA1C            9.1%                      Cholesterol       198 mg/dl      Triglycerides     234 mg/dl

Four months on Medifast:         HgbA1C           6.3%   (reduced 2.8) Cholesterol     152 mg/dl  (down 46) Triglycerides   106 mg/dl  (down 128)

Needless to say, my doctor is extremely pleased and has encouraged me to continue on this path toward “Optimal Health”.  The lab results above are  my results, your results may be different.

The Bead Project

Support in the process of losing weight is invaluable.  I started trying different ways to encourage myself to lose weight.

I am a visual sort of person.  I learn by watching and then doing it myself.  When I started this weight loss adventure I had a conversation with a friend of mine about how it bothered me that I was “losing” something.  I don’t like to lose things.  Losing something also implies that I might want to find it again someday – and believe me, I don’t want to find any of this weight ever again.  I decided I wanted to gain something as I “shed” my pounds. I had a visual goal chart on the computer, where I could color in squares as I progressed, but it just wasn’t tangible enough for me.  Then I remembered a box of big wooden beads that I had been keeping for years.  I got out some ribbon and started stringing beads.

Now that I have shed 130 pounds, I have 130 beads strung on my red ribbon (yeah it's getting long).  I have a special bead that marks the months and a special bead that marks every 25 pounds.  There are wooden and bone beads of earth tones.  It is beautiful.  The photo below is after 121 beads. I post my beads at Las Cruces Farmer’s Market every Saturday, where friends ask, “How are the beads coming?”  “Good!  I reply, “would you like to join me on this path to Optimal Health?”

AFTER 121 BEADS!

If you would like to find out more about the Take Shape for Life program or Katia's new Corporate Health and Wellness program you can Contact her directly or check out the program yourself through her health coach website: 

www.SaveYourLife.tsfl.com

Please call if you are considering starting this program.  I can help you get a good discount.  Having a personal health coach is very important on this journey.