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Introduction Text (Note: Please do not ask questions on this page. If you have a program, diet, fitness or other question, please post it on the appropriate message board to receive an answer.) Birdie Varnedore, M.D., is SparkPeople's Resident Medical Expert. Birdie, formerly known as MOM5INFL on SparkPeople, has been a member of the site since 2007--she joined just two weeks after starting her journey to lose more than 100 pounds. Birdie and her husband, Nick, found tremendous success using SparkPeople, losing 140 and 120 pounds, respectively! Birdie is currently navigating the challenges of being a full-time neurologist, wife, and mother of five young children all while maintaining a massive weight loss! Birdie attributes much of her success to SparkPeople and uses it as a tool for her patients who have been affected by the potentially life-threatening consequences of obesity. Birdie has been recognized nationally for her weight-loss success with SparkPeople and was featured in People Magazine and Good Morning America in 2009. Most recently she was a featured weight-loss success story on Oprah’s Ultimate Weight Loss Finale! Her Success Story was featured in Chris "SparkGuy" Downie's best-selling book, "The Spark" and in "The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight." Birdie enjoys spending time with her family and has made leading a healthy lifestyle a part of her daily life. She incorporates activity into her daily living and makes exercise a priority. Since 2007, she has transformed her body through diet and exercise and has become passionate in helping others do the same. Board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in neurology and vascular neurology, she is a full-time neurologist at Florida Hospital in Winter Park, Florida. She also is a member of the hospital’s telemedicine stroke team and provides state-of-the-art stroke care to residents of the greater Orlando area.

I am now at your disposal through blogs, articles, and other avenues here on SparkPeople. My hope is that through these avenues I can provide assistance to you and your families to achieve weight loss. I will balance my compassion and empathy for your situations with my education and expert advice because I do remember that there are two sides to every story. Being a member of SparkPeople’s outstanding expert panel will help me utilize what I feel is my unique position of being an authority on what it takes to both change your lifestyle as well as to share with you information from a medical perspective. Understanding the medical implications of obesity is necessary and compliments your motivation to stay consistent in your pursuit of health and happiness.

I'm a calorie counter. I eat a minimum of 25 gms of fiber daily. I eat very little bread or rice. If I do it's only whole grain or brown rice. I try to eat eggs frequently as they have been proven to help with appetite. Right now I'm trying to maintain my weight. I'm eating between 1600-1800 per day, but I allow myself a few cheat meals per week. Cardio: Elliptical 35-40 minutes at a heart rate of 140-145. Treadmill running at 5.5-6.0 for 3-4 miles with occasional 1 minute sprints at 9.0. I do cardio a minimum of 4-5 days per week.

I am SparkPeople's resident medical expert. I reside in sunny and awesome Orlando Florida.

I'm a mother of 5! I have a supportive husband who has lost over 100 pounds as well.

Add a Link More good days than bad days equal success!
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