Portfolio

Make Your Workout Work For You
1. Consistency is key! It is less important to be the fastest runner or the strongest lifter than it is to consistently run or lift. Make your exercise choice a regular part of your daily life, not an optional “if I have time” item.
2. Make your workout count! Strength training just 20 minutes a day twice a week will help with toning the entire body! Or basic interval training, where you walk 2 minutes then run for two minutes, alternating this pattern throughout the duration of the workout, is extremely efficient and productive.
3. Let’s be real! Set your long-term physical goals high, but keep your short-term goals realistic and attainable. Don’t strive for a goal that likely cannot be met; but strive instead to increase your healthy behaviors. This will help you work up to your ultimate dream.  For example, don’t worry if you aren’t ready to run a marathon just yet. Start off walking, then try intervals of walking alternating with running, then work up to a run until you’re running that marathon you dream of.
4. That’s what friends are for! Think of a friend who also wants to live a healthier lifestyle, and use the buddy system. Work out together, encourage each other, and build a stronger bond. This also creates accountability, which is a motivator for many!
5. Create a plan that fits! A successful exercise must fit into your life. Do some simple floor exercises at home before work if time or equipment is an issue.  Get to the gym if that’s the only way you’re going to actually create a routine. Exercise is personal, and your routine is yours alone, however it fits into your personal life. But make it fit!
6. Have some fun! We all know it’s much easier to motivate ourselves to do something if it’s something we enjoy. So pick an activity you love doing!
7. Timing is everything! Know your body. Know when it is strongest, and when you have the most energy, then take advantage of that time.
8. Call the pros! If you can possibly arrange a session or assessment with a professional personal trainer you will maximize your results.  
9. Find your inspiration! Fitness is a state of mind, so get your mind set right. Read blogs of other’s success, or find motivational quotes to hang up on your mirror.
10.  Be patient with yourself! Some days you’ll feel great, and others you’ll feel discouraged. There are always setbacks and victories. Just remember to be patient, persevere, and watch for the results your working for!

Adoption in Schools
In an age with so much diversity in our culture, and where tolerance is a way of life, it is amazing to me that a non-traditional means of growing a family is still a taboo topic in the schools.
Today was the Great American Teach In day at school, and I had what I thought was a brilliant plan for sharing with my daughter’s class. The school had sent home a flier stating participants could talk to the class about a career, a hobby, or a personal experience, or they could read a book or do an activity. Writing is my passion as well as my career, so as I was trying to think of how I could share my writing with her class when it hit me that the topic I am writing about may be of more interest than the writing itself. You see the topic I am writing about is my own personal experience. It is the story of how my beautiful, precious girl was delivered to me by way of a birthmother who was entrusted to bring a baby into this world for another mommy who couldn’t grow the baby in her tummy. Yes my daughter was delivered to me through adoption.
I do realize this may be a “sensitive” subject (in the words of the school principal), but I also know that there are many worldly lessons taught to young children in schools, some in the classroom and some just by other children. However, since I do have a six year old that I have always communicated openly with about adoption, and who is very proud that she was created very special, just for our family, I feel I have the capability to portray adoption as a loving, exciting way for children to be brought into their families.
A few weeks ago my daughter came home from school telling me that a boy in the lunchroom told her what sexy means. “He said it means you have to take your shirts off, and lie in bed together, and some other stuff I can’t remember”, she announced. We discussed that being a highly inappropriate conversation for kids, and that she should excuse herself from the conversation and let the teachers know if that comes up again. Well apparently this news upset the little boy so he began using his karate moves on her, and told her she’s “a girl from hell” (whispered by my daughter, who knew she needed to tell me, but knew she is not allowed to say it). My husband talked to her teacher and the situation was well taken care of by the teacher and administration.
A couple weeks later the school is having red ribbon week, to teach children “to make healthy choices”, according to the flier sent home. So I naïvely go along with that until a friend mentions her son is being asked to wear different items to school (i.e. a silly hat, red shirt, etc.) throughout that same week for “Say no to drugs” week.  So one day at school I look around a little more closely and realize the posters around the campus are talking about drugs and alcohol, and telling kids to say no to such bad things. Great, except that my six year old had no awareness of drugs or alcohol until it was introduced at school. At this point I’m not really comfortable with the fact that my child is being introduced to these things just to be taught that they’re bad for you and you should say no to them. I understand this may be necessary as the kids are getting older, but I’m not sure Kindergarten and first grade are the place to start.
I have spoken to many of my mom friends about this matter to get their feedback about talking to the children about adoption; and, surprisingly to me, all were in agreement with me. Our schools take it upon themselves to teach so many life lessons that should be taught at home, so how is it determined what is taboo and what is necessary? I respect the principal’s position, and I can even somewhat understand how she came to her decision. After all there are definitely cultural diversities that I certainly do not want my child learning about at school. And obviously a lot of other questions and conversations could certainly evolve from the adoption topic. It just took me by surprise that in this modern world such a subject is still taboo. I’ll just chalk it up to the principal protecting me from facing the age old question of young children, “where do babies come from?”

The B.E.S.T.
Cesar A. Lara, M.D.| Weight Management, Tampa Bay's Premiere medically supervised weight management program, is giving you the power to achieve your dreams of a thinner, healthier you! We're giving you what you deserve- the BEST!
B- Board certified physicians who are carefully monitoring your progress, and who are on call      24/7 to answer your questions
E- Extended hours for your convenience
S- Support meetings that inspire and help you connect with others on the same journey to a healthier, happier life
T- Tools to Succeed: a three step process to see you all the way through, convenience packages to save time and money, powerful nutritional supplements and delicious snacks, our own clinical hypnotist, Debbie Lane, and so much more! 
Our mission is to empower you to improve your physical and mental well being by making healthy lifestyle choices, creating a balanced and happy future for you!

Mission and Motivation
Peaks of Health Metabolic Medical Center specializes in three “peaks” that, working properly together, equal optimal health and feeling great! The peaks we focus on are hormones, nutrition, and toxicity. We take the time to listen to your history and ask many questions to uncover some “clues” to help discover what is going on within your systems. We like to think of it as CSI of the body- Clinical System Investigation. Not only do we need to find out what is wrong, but why. For example, if you are feeling tired and fatigued it may be because you are nutritional deficient and your body cannot produce energy. Maybe your hormones are low, or perhaps you have a chronic infection and poor immune system. With our customized medical care we will find the answers to your individual situation and then work with you to provide solutions that will enable you to reach optimal health. Peaks of Health is the place to go to feel great!
Dr. Tracie J. Leonhardt, D.O., has faced her own medical trials as she was diagnosed in 2003 with Type II Diabetes. She was on a quest to improve her health and sought out the best she could find in traditional medicine. However, despite the optimal medical treatment she received, her diabetes continued to worsen. She realized there had to be more she could do, and she sought out new and innovative methods of treatment. Her journey led her to Dr. Cèsar A. Lara, M.D., who became a friend and business partner in weight loss through lifestyle change. She lost almost 100 pounds and discontinued her diabetes medications, and her condition has been reversed for the last 5 years. During the course of her partnership in weight loss she extensively studied the metabolic and hormone systems, and is incorporating these studies to further patients’ optimal health in her own practice with functional and metabolic medicine.
Bibliography
Dr. Tracie J. Leonhardt, D.O., grew up as a member of the local community and is a Largo High School graduate. She graduated from Southeastern University (now known as Nova University) in 1992, completed her internship at Suncoast Hospital in Largo, and completed her Emergency Medicine Residency at Midwestern University in Chicago, IL in 1996. Dr. Leonhardt began her 14 year tenure in emergency medicine at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL in 1996, where she earned the titles of Associate Medical Director of the Emergency Department, Chairperson of the Emergency Department, and then Medical Director of the Emergency Department. She has been an EMS medical control physician for over 10 years, and has worked closely with the first responders in the field enhancing their education. Dr. Leonhardt was honored to present a lecture to the American Osteopathic Society in New Orleans in 2010 on the subject of Type II Diabetes, and has since expanded her field of expertise to include diabetes, hypothyroid, the GI system and how the intestinal system absorbs or digests correctly, and environmental toxicities and the effects on the body systems. She is currently enrolled in the Masters program at the University of South Florida for metabolic and nutritional medicine.
Affiliations and Accomplishments
• Board Certified in Emergency Medicine
• Board Certified in Anti-aging and Metabolic Medicine
• Member of the American Board of Bariatric Physicians (ABBP)
• Member of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association (FOMA)
• Member of the Board of Governors for 2012 for the Pinellas County Osteopathic Medical Society (PCOMS)
• Member of the Pinellas County Medical Society (PCMS)
• Member of the American Osteopathic Society (AOA)
• Member of the Academy of Anti-aging Medicine (A4M)
Intro
Peaks of Health Metabolic Medical Center is your place to go to feel great! Our mission is your optimal health. Dr. Leonhardt’s passion for medicine and her desire to help people have driven her to create a medical facility designed to bring healing through deeper systems investigation leading to solving the “why”. She will integrate the three peaks of health- hormonal, nutritional, and toxicity- to discover the why and then create the proper balance of these that will give you optimal health!
Your website is your billboard to the world!
It is your key marketing player that can do the job of many. A dynamic website is an incredibly effective tool for depicting your brand and telling your story. It will convey your business culture and product value, and it will define you as a leader in your industry.  Your website will be advertising for you with exciting graphics, quality images, and cohesive content 24/7.  This essential marketing and sales agent will increase your visibility and accelerate your brand recognition.

Tammy Levent-  Tonight’s fashion show is sponsored by renowned weight and wellness expert Dr. Cesar Lara. Dr. Lara has known since childhood that he was placed on this earth to make a difference in people’s lives. He believes he has a gift as a healer, and just listening to him speak will have you believing the same. Dr. Lara has so much passion for making life better for everyone he possibly can, and he mainly does this through his Cèsar A. Lara, M.D.| Weight Management practice. Dr. Lara dares his patients to dream of the life they want, the person they want to be, then he helps them transform those dreams into reality!
Dr. Lara-
Intro: Welcome to this amazing showcase of real people with real stories of life transformation! At the Centers for Weight Management our passion is empowering patients to live the life they want, the life they deserve! We focus on helping patients visualize the person they want to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually, then we give them the tools to help them make their dreams a reality! The stars you are about to see are a few of my patients who have of course lost weight, but even more than that, they have gained back so much of life through improved health, greater confidence, and finally being able to realize their dreams! So let’s celebrate with these inspirational stars as they show us what success looks like!
Blue Stanley-  a 57 year old career minded mom, Blue has lost an amazing 107 pounds on our program in one short year! Blue was on a roller coaster with her weight since high school. She would lose some just to gain it all back and more. Blue is a true example of the role life’s adversities and struggles play on your physical well being. Blue suffered the loss of her mother as a teen, then later tragically lost her 17 year old son. Even calling us was a struggle. She was so embarrassed and so afraid of failure. But she pushed through and made the call and hasn’t looked back! She now enjoys healthy meals, has a regular exercise routine including 2 ½ mile walks with her dog, and most importantly, she feels great!
Bart Costales-  a 51 year old father of 2, Bart was very active  prior to starting his family. He enjoyed martial arts, dancing, tennis, and other activities. As his family grew, Bart’s activity level decreased and he succumbed to poor eating habits. Since joining Dr. Lara’s patient “family”, Bart no longer suffers from significant weight related health issues and he really appreciates being able to chase after his two boys (and loves that he can catch them!) Oh, and he also dropped a tremendous 76 pounds!
Angela Messina- is a happily married mother to one wonderful teenage boy! Angela led a very active and athletic life throughout her youth, and has not slowed down. She joined the nation’s military serving 4 years in the United States Coast Guard, and then went on to study law enforcement in college while working in the same field. She is now just a few classes away from graduating with honors! Like so many mom’s Angela struggled with losing weight after the birth of her son, but found her great motivation when an important reunion came up. Today Angela is 60 pounds lighter and 100% more confident!
Ashley Grant- has been a writer and photographer in the Tampa Bay area for five years. Realizing that her weight was keeping her from moving up in her career she decided it was time to stop thinking and start shrinking. She went from being tired all the time to having energy morning, noon and night. She still loves food but realizes now that moderation is key in maintaining her new weight. Having lost 40 pounds she can’t wait to see what’s next for her in her career.
Vicky Costales-  is married to Bart, and they have made a healthy lifestyle change together. While Vicky was very active before having children, she had fallen into the very typical pattern of caring for her family and devoting less time to her health and well being. But all that has changed and 25 pounds lighter, Vicky is so much more confident and happy with her youthful figure. She loves herself again, and has regained her passion for fashion!
Thank you to all of our super stars for sharing your stories and inspiring us all! You have so much to be proud of! We would also like to take this opportunity to thank those who made this fashion show possible. Constance Rose with “Victim to Survivor” provided the model’s make-up, Dawn Marie Rodriguez did their hair, and Lending Luxury and Urban Body Clothing provided the stunning fashions. Also thank you to Bella Med Spa for your gifts to the models, and to DJ Jason Gable of Two Left Feet.