Patient Stories

I had been overweight my entire life – and then I found Dr. Scinta, and my life completely changed!

I come from a history of obesity.  Growing up, both my parents were overweight, and their bad habits passed on to my sister and I.  I was overweight as a child and into my teens.  My first attempt at getting the weight off was when I was 14.  I had just moved to a new school, and I realized that other kids didn’t like me because I was fat.  So I began a low fat diet, losing almost 40 pounds in 9 months!  I was still overweight by about 20 – 30 pounds, but I felt better and became more active in sports, and life became a little easier as the new kid in school.

I maintained that weight for a year or so and then gradually put on about 20 pounds by the time I graduated high school.  Then I went to college, and instead of putting on the Freshmen 15 my first year, I put on about 40!  I knew it was time to do something again.  At this point, I wasn’t just overweight anymore.  I was now obese.  I went on a high protein, no carb diet and lost that 40 pounds during summer break!  But the following school year, I gained 90 pounds, which was over double what I’d lost.  From then on, I struggled more than ever before.  I continued to try different weight loss diets and programs that would work for the first 30 – 40 pounds, but it always came back, plus some.  I was a yo-yo dieter.

And then the health issues started.  In my mid-20’s, I was diagnosed with a fatty liver and found out I also had high cholesterol!  My family doctor said fatty liver was caused by yo-yo dieting, and yo-yo dieting is more unhealthy than just being overweight.  My high cholesterol was also due to my being overweight.  Now, I really had to start thinking about my health.  Heart disease runs in my family, and my mom had just had a heart attack a couple years prior, so I was aware of the potential of having a heart attack with my family history, even at such a young age.  After a few years of struggling with my fatty liver and high cholesterol, my doctor said it was time to start taking cholesterol medication since I couldn’t control it on my own with diet and exercise.  And then I knew…I had to do something different.  I was too young to be dealing with these health issues.

In the Fall of 2008, my best friend saw an ad in The Good Life, Central New York Magazine for Medical Weight Loss of NY, and she sent me an email about looking into it.  At the time, I didn’t believe I was ready to attempt yet another weight loss program.  I had just tried another program in 2007 that cost me over $1,000, which didn’t work out for me.  Did I really want to try another program that could potentially cost even more money?  I held onto that CNY Magazine for months, and finally, I convinced myself to attend a free info session to find out what Medical Weight Loss of NY was all about.

I started the Optifast program on March 18, 2009 as morbidly obese.  I was at my highest weight ever, and I was ashamed of myself, depressed, angry, and all of the other negative emotions that go along with being overweight.  And when I started the program, I still didn’t think I was quite ready to even attempt losing the weight.  I had so much to lose, and it just didn’t seem attainable!  But Dr. Scinta’s staff was so supportive, and they’ve heard these concerns from all their patients.  So I rolled up my sleeves and got started.  Now, I’ve lost 110.5 pounds in a year’s time, and I couldn’t be happier!

One of the most important things Medical Weight Loss of NY has helped me realize throughout this journey is that this is a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix.  It’s about getting healthy, not just losing weight.  In order to be successful with weight loss, you have to change bad habits and develop new and healthier ones.  Dr. Scinta, Sheila, Jennifer, Phyllis, Jen, Pat & Johanna have all been incredibly supportive, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.  I look great, I feel great, and I even inspired my sister to do the program!  She’s lost over 100 pounds so far in only 6 months!

I am very grateful for Dr. Scinta and Medical Weight Loss of NY, and I look forward to inspiring more people to take control of their lives and get healthy!