February 5, 2007 – Donna Liu and Dr. Alan Rubin

Donna’s Success: 
Donna began eating better and exercising after years of suffering from a thyroid disease in 2004. She was treated by Dr. Alan Rubin, who encouraged her lifestyle changes. This changed her approach to taking care of herself and her new habits became part of her family’s new lifestyle. Now she and her family enjoy being active regularly, and they have all lost weight and feel great.

Alan L. Rubin, M. D.:
Dr. Rubin has been practicing the specialty ofEndocrinology in San Francisco for over 30 years. During that time he wrote numerous articles and gave many talks about his specialties of diabetes, thyroid disease and high blood pressure. In 1998 he was asked to write the first of four books, Diabetes For Dummies. Over the next three years he was asked to write Diabetes Cookbook For Dummies, Thyroid For Dummies and High Blood Pressure For Dummies. (See our Lifestyle Resources page to purchase any of his books.)

Dr. Rubin, in his practice and in his writing, emphasizes the importance of lifestyle changes to attain the best health possible. Proper diet, plenty of exercise and a positive outlook along with elimination of unhealthy habits like smoking and excessive alcohol will accomplish far more than the most expensive medications. 

He offers 5-10 minute healthcast discussions of all aspects of health care from prevention to treatment, which draws 50,000 people to his website www.drrubin.com each month. 

February 12, 2007 – Barb Gau

Barb’s Success:
Barb was obsessed with her weight and checking the scaleconstantly in her early 20s, leading to a short period of bulimia. She found her inner strength and stopped, and then looked for healthier ways to beslim. Ultimately she discovered this meant changing her beliefs about food, exercise and herself.

She realized her all or nothing behavior and obsession with a number was the problem. She found that moderation and loving herself were really the answer. 

She has maintained her healthy lifestyle activities for nearly 30 years and had to learn that this is a lifelong commitment, which requires adjustments along the way. 

February 19, 2007 – Gayle Carson

Gayle’s Success:
Gayle has a fighting spirit that didn’t keep her downduring each of the three episodes of cancer and subsequent surgeries that took a toll on her body. In fact they rallied her into action and into becoming a die-hard fan of exercise and good nutrition. 

She refuses to let her bouts with cancer or her age keep her from living as full a life as possible, and she has learned that the more aerobic activities and strengthening she does, the better she feels and the more she can do. She can now outrun and outlast people half her age.

She wants people to know that “you are never too old, never too injured and never too stress to do something”, and she is proof of that. She is helping to design work out clothes for breast cancer survivors, based on her own needs, and stays in shape doing kick boxing, step body sculpting and strength training. She even attends a leading fitness professional conference to keep up on the latest fitness programs and ideas. 

February 26, 2007 – Margot Murray

Margot's Success:
In 1986 Margot was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), but after attending an MS support meeting where she saw people in wheelchairs she was determined not to share the same fate. But in 1999 she found herself in the wheelchair she had so hoped to avoid.

She took it upon herself to do whatever she could to regain the loss of mobility from muscle weakness and to restore her nervous system functions. She turned to yoga, Qi Gong, acupuncture, meditation, reiki, a vegan diet and other alternative treatments and natural products. When she was strong enough, she even began swimming and going to Curves to regain some of her lost muscle, and she has succeeded.

Margot persevered against the odds and has learned that what works is listening to your body, uncovering our subconscious stories and conquering our fears, so that our bodies can heal themselves.