As a nutrition therapist, personal trainer, and yoga instructor, Amy Newman Shapiro has spent over two decades helping those seeking health and wellness. Amy is also the author of two books on weight loss, Lose It For The Last Time and The Great Weight Debate.

Amy grew up in Brooklyn New York, graduated with a degree in psychology from SUNY Binghamton, and immediately entered the work force, vowing that leaving her education behind was only temporary. She spent her free time sharpening her cooking skills, exploring different forms of exercise, and seeking help to free herself from debilitating irritable bowel symptoms.

Back then, little was known about the causes of IBS, less was understood of the severity of symptoms, and there were no treatments. For the pain, gastroenterologists recommended muscle relaxers. For the bloating, another specialist told her she needed more abdominal crunches. Since her gut (pun intended) was telling her they were all wrong, Amy went into research mode. She became an avid reader of every medical journal and scientific study she could find. With newfound knowledge and a little intuition, Amy was able to use diet to reduce her discomfort. However, IBS was not her only health challenge.

At 25 Amy was told she would be in a wheelchair by the time she was 40 due to degenerative disc disease and scoliosis. At 35 she had her first incident where she was so incapacitated with pain she could barely walk. At 45, she was told surgery was eventual and at 55, following the prognosis of imminent paraplegia or worse, quadriplegia, her cervical spine was rebuilt with titanium discs.

Amy used a holistic approach to health including an anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet, daily exercise, yoga, meditation, massage, and acupuncture. One day Amy had an aha moment. With her psychology degree, years of study of food, digestion, gut health, and her insight and compassion for anyone suffering with discomfort and chronic pain, a degree in nutrition would allow her to help others, leading to earning her degree in nutrition from Long Island University/ C.W.Post College. Her post graduate studies were in integrative and functional nutrition.

In private practice, Amy counseled clients struggling with diabetes, heart disease, auto-immune and gastrointestinal issues. Amy met many people, both in individual counseling and at corporate wellness sites, who she knew would feel better or resolve their health issues if they lost weight. Research on best practices for weight loss is an ever-changing landscape but there are many tried and true approaches which Amy used in the development of a non-diet approach to weight loss. The program was a great success, offered in a group setting for several years, helping hundreds of people, leading to writing of Lose It For The Last Time.  And yet, conversations in social media, print media, and around the dinner table with friends, often included a discussion about the desire to lose weight and the popular diet being attempted at the moment. Once again, Amy saw a way to help. If one is going to use a diet, they should know whether that diet was a good choice for them. A deep dive looking at which diets people were using, what the experts said about success rates and safety, and who would be most likely to find successful weight loss with their chosen method resulted is The Great Weight Debate.

“My health challenges led me to a fulfilling career, and I am grateful for the ability, even in a small way, to make someone’s life easier. I am also grateful to have met and married my soul mate and raised two amazing daughters. My life is full of music, the arts, cooking, hiking, travelling, and I am always happiest home, around the dining table with family and friends.”