CITY FOCUS: Going online for better health

Wendy Potter has lost weight — and found a new career.

Take Shape for Life, a web-based company dedicated to long-term health, has been helping people across the country for six years to shed pounds and keep them off. Potter, a Laguna Beach resident and health coach, is now encouraging everyone to jump on the health-wagon and join the program.

Potter, a life-long Lagunan who spent years coaching and refereeing volleyball for Orange Country private schools, was seeking a career change until about two months ago.

“I am so excited that I was introduced to this wonderful program and that I can devote my life to helping other people get healthy, especially in a country where obesity has become an epidemic,” Potter said.

Armed with a personal training certificate, she managed Choice Fitness in Mission Viejo until the gym went under in 2006. Since that time, Potter had been juggling odd jobs like catering and insurance sales. She also worked for the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce. But what Potter was yearning for was a new project that utilized her knowledge about health and fitness, and reflected her true passion in life.

Needless to say, she was thrilled when presented with the opportunity to dedicate her life — and work — to helping cure obesity.

Take Shape for Life was founded by Wayne S. Anderson, a critical care physician who took note of the many diseases that result from obesity. He chose to work with Medifast, a meal replacement company which has been around for 25 years, to help people lose excess weight and develop — and maintain — healthier lifestyles.

Potter said this program is different from many others, because it combines a weight-loss diet with 24-7 support from health coaches, doctors, nurses, and nutritionists — a support system that other programs don’t have.

She’s confident in this new project because she lost 10 pounds on the program in one month.

Potter educates clients about the “BeSlim” program, a six-step process which stands for Breakfast, Exercise, Support, Low-Fat Meals, Individual Plan, and Monitor.

The program has two phases: The first helps clients to lose weight, and the second teaches them how to maintain their new weight by introducing exercise and all-around healthy lifestyle practices.

Potter said clients can expect to lose two to five pounds per week if they follow the plan correctly. The idea is to eat consistently throughout the day, to raise your metabolism.

Another aspect that makes this program different from other weight loss programs is that it has a variety of plans aimed at diverse groups of people: teens, diabetics, seniors, and menopausal women.

Potter said the program has helped numerous diabetics get off of medication, simply by putting them at a healthier weight, which brings a great deal of satisfaction to the coaches.

“My favorite part of the job is when clients call to tell me how much healthier they’ve become and how much they enjoy the program,” she said.

Take Shape for Life holds the philosophy that physical health leads to good mental health — which affects all aspects of peoples’ lives in a positive way. This is something that Potter fully believes herself.

She also believes that anyone can be successful at adopting a healthier lifestyle if they just have faith in themselves. Her main goal is to help people reach that level, and one-by-one, get America healthy.

“We create what we want in our lives,” she said. “And I’m going for it.”

For more information about Take Shape For Life, visit www.wendyfitinlaguna.tsfl. com. Potter will be hosting a table and handing out advice at Healthy Kids Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 12, at the Laguna Niguel YMCA.