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A series of childhood bone disorders and then two accidents, one falling on ice and the second going over the handle bars of my bicycle led to a condition called valgus knee deformity – not a pretty sounding name for a very painful condition. Basically, this condition shifts the load-bearing axis to the outside of the knee, causing stress on the articular cartilage, the meniscus, and the sub-chondral bone, and, on top of that predisposes the joint to osteoarthritis, a condition that is prevalent in my family history. I am a dancer, hiker, swimmer, bicyclist, a very active 60 year old. However, this condition made all these movements very painful, sometimes to the point of not being able to do the things I enjoy most, especially dancing. The only choice given me over many years was knee and hip replacements, not a great choice for me. Also, that treatment option negated my own belief that our bodies can heal from anything, given the right nutrients and support. I kept searching for answers.

In April of 2010 I moved to the Bay Area and met Dr. Lori-Ann Gertonson. In short, Lori is a healer. Not only did she help stabilize and balance my skeletal muscles and bones, but worked with the underlying emotional traumas around the injuries and the resulting condition. Did you know you hold unresolved traumas and emotions in your body? I did know this, so to find a safe place (Dr. G) to not only work on the physical, but also the emotional was a great gift to me.

One year later, I am back dancing without pain. I still need to get back a bit more balance, but I no longer feel like I am falling off the path when I go for a hike. I thought a cane might be in my near future, but no longer! Choosing to go gluten-free (I am a nutritionist) also lessened the inflammation in my body, Working with Dr. G has made a huge happy difference. I sleep better – less pain to keep me awake, I get more exercise regularly and I am generally stronger and more flexible. Thank you, Dr. G, from the bottom of my heart.

Constance Henderson, PhD

Holistic Nutrition

June 2011

January 19, 2009:

I was 39 years old, 5'9, 243 pounds, and completely contented with my body. I worked out regularly, was strong, and had been told by a number of fitness trainers and teachers that I was very fit even though my body liked to carry around extra padding. I had good flexibility. I ate healthy food, didn't eat fast food or much of snacks like chips, etc. OK, so I liked bread and chocolate, but hey, we all need something. So almost in childhood I had learned to accept the fact that my body didn't fit "the standard", and I was still a goddess.

After a week in Argentina with friends and consuming more meat and wine than I usually put away in a year, this cleansing program that Dr. Gertonson had mentioned in passing sounded pretty good to me. So I went on Isagenix with no particular goals other than to wash out a little too much dulce de leche and Malbec.

Cleansing can seem counter-intuitive and a little scary...how can you not eat for two days and not die? Or pass out? Or at the very least be really, really unpleasant to be around? I was very impressed to find that the program is structured so that it wasn't that hard for me to get through my cleanse days, always having an influx of nutrients at just the right time to keep me from "going critical". And for non-cleanse days, I had shied away when Dr. Gertonson had mentioned "shakes"; I remember those silly diets in the 80s with their watery shakes that didn't really do anything. Not this time...the Isagenix shakes are like having a big glass of chocolate ice cream, and really do satisfy!

So after the first 9-day cleanse, I was feeling great and wanted to keep going. Bizarre things were happening...I no longer really wanted the bread that had been a lifelong companion. If my husband was eating hummus with chips, I grabbed a celery stick and had a little hummus of my own, but a little bit satisfied and I stopped without feeling deprived. A green salad with grilled chicken became much more appealing than a plate of french fries. Suddenly I was saying things like, "You know, I'm going to go do 45 minutes of cardio at the gym, and then go over to the yoga studio for their 2-hour class." Then afterwards I felt so energized that I'd come home and do yardwork. And at yoga, my body was able to get into positions that I thought would take years to accomplish, because I didn't have the extra padding getting in my way.

All this after just one month and 21 pounds lost. The sky's the limit now!

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June 23, 2009:

I am now down to 181 pounds (total loss of 62 pounds) and within 6 pounds of my original goal. I chose that weight goal for two reasons: 1) it's what I weighed when I got married 15 years ago, and 2) it put my Body Mass Index just into the normal weight range.

One of my personal yardsticks was to be able to fit into my wedding dress again (not that I had any plans on needing it). A couple weeks ago, my husband and I pulled it out of the back of the closet, he zipped me up, and....it was TOO BIG for me now! One of the most astounding things is that the body I have now at 181 is better than the body I had 18 years ago at 154 pounds (my lowest weight since age 13). Back then I was more pear-shaped, carrying more weight in my belly and backside. But the cleanses and exercise have given excellent muscle mass and toning. At 154 I wore a size 14. Last weekend I went shopping and was buying a size 10. Me...a MEDIUM?!?!?! Surely you jest...

And speaking of exercise, a coworker inspired me to take up running. I had never considered it previously because I always heard about runners getting injured, and the thought of having my near-250 pounds pounding down on my knees sounded like a really bad idea. My coworker recommended an 8-week training program to get me up to running for 30 minutes. I had been on the Race for Maintenance which included a two-day cleanse every week, so I cut back to daily cleansing (2 oz of cleanse fluid daily) during my training. And I got this crazy idea of running the Bay to Breakers, a race from one end of San Francisco to the other in May (12Km). My goal was to do it in under 2 hours, knowing that I'd have to take walk breaks. The day came and I powered across the finish line in 1:41 yelling "Oh my God!" and knowing that only a few months before I would have laughed at the suggestion that I could do it.

My blood pressure before going on Isagenix was in the 154/99 range. Last Saturday it was 113/67. A lot of people in my family died in their 50s from heart attacks associated with being overweight, and I previously hoped that I could make it into my 70s. Now I think I could easily make 100! And heck...who needs to stop at 175 pounds? Let's go for 150 (93 pounds from my starting weight)!

There are so many things that I never thought possible that are now within my grasp, and I wake up every day with gratitude. Thank you Isagenix for making the impossible POSSIBLE!

-Laura Leff

8/27/09 Update Laura has now lost a total of 70 pounds

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