Connie is the founder of Central Family Practice (est 1998), and a former midwife and current Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner at Central Family. She started Central Family Practice to bring the integrative, and personalized care that she practiced as a midwife. Central Family is different because it is based on a midwifery, nursing model of care not the standard medical model. Connie is passionate about helping people find their individual path in life and health.

There is probably a book to be written about Connie’s journey with her body and food! Her story started with being the embodied conundrum of the 1950’s vision of what a girl should be, dainty, small, quiet and polite. Well, for those of you who know Connie she pretty much failed at all of those touch points (thank goodness). She was a fat baby and was on her first “diet” at 8. There is not a diet or program or method or medication that she has not taken or tried multiple times in her life. Like many women in their 40-50’s, menopause, hypothyroidism, stress and lack of sleep and yo-yo dieting resulted in steadily gaining 100 pounds. Much of this weight gain was due to the constant yo-yo of deprivation to “oh what the hell” and back, over and over. The metabolic effects of this are insulin resistance, inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and slowly increasing weight gain no matter what you do! As we age this becomes very hard to turn around and there is also the unfortunate luck of the genetic draw that many of us have. Connie’s body (like many of us) has always been primed and ready for the next Irish potato famine. In 2008 on the verge of a medical health crisis that Connie felt pretty powerless to change she made the decision to have weight loss surgery. That was an intensely personal decision that was difficult to talk about for a number of years. Her shame at not being able to “do it on my own”, and all of the years of judgment and frustration were all balled up into one big package of trauma. The weight loss though is only part of her story. It was the catalyst for seeing that her internal story, daily habits, and making friends with her body and genetics would have to change for long-term success.

That was 13 years ago and Connie has maintained her 100 pound weight loss with the help of Ideal Protein and “smart” Keto eating, therapy, exercise, and an ongoing commitment to preventing the return of the insulin/sugar roller coaster madness. More importantly, prediabetes, hypertension, inflammation are all a thing of the past. The biggest gift of all is health.

Eva’s passion for learning and exposure to the healthcare world started in her childhood when she was able to visit her Grandmother, Trinidad, at the hospital where she worked. Working tirelessly as a member of the janitorial team, her Grandmother always found a way to give her time to get to know people. She took in every detail about the patients and why they were there and then would share those stories with Eva. She was generous to the staff of the hospital, learning about them and their families was so important to her. Although she did not have much in the way of financial riches, she was generous with her spirit and many times managed a gift or two for the staff’s birthdays or their children’s birthdays. Trinidad also struggled with her own medical crisis, Type II Diabetes, which would eventually lead her down the irreversible path of metabolic changes and ultimately be the cause of her death.

It is no mistake that Eva has dedicated much of her medical career caring for people that suffer from adult onset diabetes. The way diabetes is treated today is vastly different than when Eva had to help her Grandmother with her insulin shots 3-4 times per day. In the last 20 years, the medications used to treat diabetes have completely changed the landscape of how people live and thrive with this chronic condition. It is by her vast experience in using one of these types of revolutionary medications for diabetes management that led her to want to start the Ideal Weight and Wellness program. The use of the GLP-1 agonists drugs have helped people with appetite control, weight loss, and when needed, glucose control. This class of drugs has a unique way of allowing the insulin, glucose, and liver all communicate with each other to synchronize sugar metabolism. This synchrony helps to correct that all too common metabolic error that happens after our bodies experience big hormonal shifts that affect our cortisol and adrenal function as well as our ability to metabolize fat.

Eva has had so many success stories with her patients in managing diabetes. Allowing them to thrive and live their lives free of the fear of dying from complications related to diabetes is a rewarding endeavor. She is ready to expand her knowledge and passion to help in conquering the problem of chronic obesity and the complications it can cause. Using the combination of learning healthy nutrition habits, medication, and support, she is excited for the success to come for the many people that have struggled for so long.

Julie Lack has always been passionate about helping others in a meaningful and impactful way. She stumbled into coaching Ideal Protein and has never looked back! She started her career as the esthetician at Central Family Practice and was approached by the owner, Connie Ryan, WHNP, to help launch Ideal Protein and coach our first clients in 2013. Julie immediately knew the program was solid, strong, and doable for anyone with the motivation, and her excitement is still going strong.

Julie refers to herself as the “emotional coach” while still able to talk about the facts and science of Ideal Protein (so be ready for hugs and the occasional empathy tears). She believes that with supportive coaching and Ideal Protein’s rock solid protocols, everyone can succeed.

When not coaching dieters, Julie is still offering skin care services at CFP, obsessing over her dog, splashing around in a pool or sitting in a backyard with friends and family.