LOSING TO WIN

TO COMPLEMENT HER HEALTHY DIET, LISA TAKES THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTS:

• Multivitamin

• Calcium

• Fish oil

• Cell activator

• Protein shake

For many years, health was a mere afterthought to Lisa Johnson. At her heaviest, she weighed 245 pounds and developed Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. She was also a self-admitted stress eater who frequently stopped at fast-food restaurants after work. When she arrived home, she would cook dinner for her family and eat another meal.

A visit to her doctor in 2006 at age 41 provided the ultimate wake-up call.

“He told me if I didn’t change my eating habits I was going to die,” she says. “When he said that, I looked at my 2-year-old daughter

Jordyn and felt very guilty for allowing my health to deteriorate. I went home that day and cried my eyes out.”

However, the pity party was short-lived. Her doctor’s grim words motivated Lisa to begin a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. She enjoyed instant results, losing 35 pounds in three months. At that point, she began incorporating exercise into her daily routine and began drinking nutritional shakes for breakfast.

It took Lisa one year to shed 107 pounds. She reshaped both her body and her outlook on life.

“For me, the biggest thing was getting off five medications,” she says enthusiastically. “Medication does not heal anything; it just masks symptoms. I discovered that if you give your body proper nutrition it can heal itself. I became a much happier and friendlier person. I suddenly found myself wanting to help others struggling with weight and health problems.”

In 2008, this dream became a reality. Lisa opened Tavares-based E-Z Nutrition 101, which offers six-week and 12-week weightloss classes that provide participants with nutrition and exercise tips, support groups, and motivation. Lisa also gives each client a free body composition analysis that calculates body mass index, muscle mass, and body fat mass.

LISA’S FAVORITE EXERCISES are bicycling, walking, Zumba, and low-impact aerobics.

“I absolutely love helping other people lose weight and get more energy,” she says. “Oftentimes, clients will call me if they are at a grocery store or restaurant to ask about a certain food item. This fuels my passion. I do not teach food deprivation; I teach portion control and quality.”