The Biochemistry Of Beauty

Melissa Weise of Otterbein, Ind., is a truly dedicated mother of six who steadily watched her own health decline after having children. Her health issues included clinical obesity and metabolic syndrome, sleeplessness, hypothyroidism, low energy, adult acne, carpel tunnel syndrome, frequent migraines, and fierce food cravings. Melissa had tried “every diet out there,” but she could never succeed at controlling portions and calories over the long-term. After reading some of the success stories I’ve shared here in Better Nutrition, she decided to attend my Total Transformation program in the mountains near Asheville, N.C.-with some trepidation.”I’m a very picky eater and figured I probably wouldn’t like the food,” says Melissa. “But from Kat’s first ‘low-impact’ (referring to blood sugar impact) meal, I was amazed at the taste. Surely, such rich, flavorful food would make me gain weight!”

A few days on the program, however, convinced Melissa that this was something different. “For the first two days, my body felt a little strange, eating more fat and no grains or other surprising things that were spiking my blood sugar. Certain fruits were even off limits for me. But soon, I began to notice that I was less and less hungry when it was time to eat, even though the food was mouth-watering and Kat forbade us to restrict our portions of the low-impact food she served.

“As day three rolled around, my former cravings were completely gone. I felt clear hunger only when it was time to eat. No grazing, no obsessing over cookies and cakes. The food plus the change in my biochemistry, as Kat puts it, seemed to slow down my rate of eating. Toward the end of the five days, I could only eat just a few bites of things-it’s so strange to love the taste of something and yet not want to keep eating.”

And that change in her eating habits lasted after she left. “On my 11-hour drive home, I didn’t feel the slightest need to stop for soda or snacks. I ate foods left over from the program, and my head was so clear and my body so content that I drove straight through. I couldn’t believe how I felt.”

Lasting Effects

I didn’t hear a peep from Melissa until about two months after the program. Not only had she lost 40 pounds-52 as of this writing-without injections or hormones, she had literally turned every health issue she had around (see sidebar, below).

“When I first got home,” she says, “I remember being stunned when I saw the number on the scale. I had actually lost several pounds by eating totally decadent food until I was full. And the weight loss continued steadily and easily. Also, I’d suffered with carpel tunnel syndrome for about three years before the program and noticed after just two weeks that the pain was gone. Then the migraines all but stopped and my skin started to clear.”

Soon after that, Melissa visited her doctor, and that’s when her substantial health changes became evident. “My nurse practitioner reviewed my test results and was amazed that all of my major problems had resolved,” she says. “She wanted information about Kat’s program and agreed with everything I told her about it.”

Melissa’s nurse practitioner, Randee Miller, confirmed in an email that Melissa’s metabolic syndrome, migraines, high blood pressure, liver function, and many other problems had been largely resolved. Even her TPO-an enzyme that’s elevated when the thyroid is under autoimmune attack-had reduced dramatically.

Of course, resolving her health issues has been a great relief to Melissa, but she may be even more excited about the comments she gets from family and friends who have witnessed her remarkable transformation. “I’m told I look like a different person,” she says. “People guess that I’m in my 20s, and I’m in my 40s. I’ve gone down several sizes and have tons of energy now. I never get sick anymore-as a mother of six you’re exposed to a lot of germs, so that says a lot! I even get compliments on my skin, which was dappled with acne before the program. My skin has cleared and changed so much that I can’t even believe it.

“Everybody asks, ‘Is it hard to do?’ And my answer must be the hardest part for them to understand. It has actually been easy.”

Melissa struggled most of her life with weight, trying “every diet out there.” Kat’s program is the first to eliminate her food cravings.

A New Desire

“I’ve done every diet out there,” says Melissa. “They’ve all been such a struggle, and have obviously gotten me nowhere. This program hasn’t been hard at all-I don’t feel like I’ve been deprived of anything. There are no cravings, which makes this different than anything else I’ve tried.”

Another difference is the fact that Melissa has been able to stick with this program-even in the face of great temptation. “I was even able to breeze through the holidays with absolutely no setbacks at all. I was calm and had no desire to dive into the desserts that I would have over-indulged in before. I had my new favorites.”

Eating healthier and losing weight has brought back Melissa’s energy, and that increased energy has made her want to do even more. “I started exercising recently, because I felt like my body was telling me to move,” she says. “This is exactly what Kat predicted-biochemically, when you’re resensitized to the hormone leptin, your body comes out of energy-preserving/fat-storing mode and frees up energy again.

“My energy level has increased so much that I can easily keep up with my busy schedule. How many mothers of six can say that? Plus, I no longer feel like I need a nap in the afternoon, and I sleep much more soundly at night.”

“Between being unfazed by the holiday, hearing that I look like I’m in my 20s, watching my skin clear up, learning that I no longer have metabolic syndrome, feeling my energy come back, and actually wanting to exercise, I realize that I truly have been transformed-totally! What a perfect name for this program.”

Melissa’s Health Stats