Certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine and a member of the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society, Jen has been a practicing physician for over 20 years and specializing in weight management since 2007. She spent 4 years on the medical faculty at the University of California San Diego before moving to Los Angeles to do outrageously fun things like caring for celebrities, designing weight loss programs for actors who needed to drop weight for movie roles, and serving as a doctor on seasons 4 and 5 of the hit reality TV show, “The Biggest Loser.”
After the show, she moved back home to our nation’s capital to return to academia (now on the medical faculty of two universities, the George Washington University and the Uniformed Services University, and a practicing physician at the DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center). Since returning to DC, Jen achieved a Master’s degree in clinical research and worked with Dr. Kevin Hall at the National Institutes of Health to co-author several groundbreaking scientific papers about changes in metabolism after weight loss and diet vs. exercise in weight loss maintenance in former Biggest Loser contestants.
Not only does Jen have expertise in the medical aspects of weight management, she also has first hand knowledge of what it’s like to struggle with weight: she was obese from birth and developed a sugar addiction in childhood, tipping the scales at 300 pounds in her college years. She lost 155 pounds in medical school, only (like most people) to regain most of it within 5 years. She weighed in at 270 pounds — and found out she was prediabetic — when she began her (second) weight loss journey as a 2006 contestant on season 3 of “The Biggest Loser.” Since then she’s successfully maintained her weight loss, and today weighs 20 pounds less than when she finished competing on the show!
Jen has seen the disabling course of morbid obesity in her family, and is especially motivated to maintain her weight loss because she is at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease, which her own mom developed in her late 50s. Jen is determined to keep her brain as healthy as her body, and has exhaustively researched the state of the art in Alzheimer’s prevention and adopted many lifestyle changes specifically designed to help safeguard not just her weight, but also her mind.
Jen’s mission is to help others understand the biological and psychological reasons why they struggle with overweight or food addiction and learn to manage their own health as successfully as she has. She combines scientific evidence with practical personal experience to help others outsmart their stomachs and preserve their minds.
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You’ve come to the right place. I’m a sugar addict who has lost over 150 pounds with lifestyle changes, and I’m passionate about preserving my healthy body and mind. Join me in changing your life, too!
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