Mara Schiavocampo
Unbearable, is how Mara Schiavocampo described the early days of reducing the processed food she was eating. Today, she celebrates the 90 pounds she lost and the healthy way she feels, eating only whole foods.
“I had been overweight, but not unhappily,” the special correspondent to the Dr. Oz Show & author said. “But after my daughter was born seven years ago, I wanted to lose the baby weight. I didn’t feel any shame about my weight, I just wanted to be healthier. I looked at it from a scientific way, and saw that it would be as simple as clean eating.”
Schiavocampo will share her story when she delivers the keynote address at the 2019 Dutchess-Ulster Go Red for Women Luncheon on Nov. 8 at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie. The Luncheon is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“Seventy percent of what I had been eating came from processed or take-out foods,” Schiavocampo said. “It’s been spiritual and emotional, getting to the point of only eating whole food. I look at it as a way of giving my body what it needs. It comes from a place of loving myself, not loathing myself.”
Schiavocampo also committed to being honest with herself, and with people who asked her how she had lost weight.
“It was really hard,” she said. “You have to be prepared. It also helps if you know what to do.”
After losing 50 pounds, Schiavocampo began exercising.
“My mother had always been effortlessly thin, and never exercised,” Schiavocampo said. “The attitude was that if you were thin, you didn’t need to exercise.”
Schiavocampo sometimes wonders if the lack of exercise contributed to the family history of stroke. Schiavocampo had been visiting her mother in the hospital after she ahd suffered her first stroke, and stopped to buy a pregnancy test on the way home. She was, in fact, pregnant. Schiavocampo’s maternal grandmother had also had strokes.
“Daily exercise is a way for me to stop the cycle, and stop the history,” Schiavocampo said. “It’s also very empowering, and I really enjoy it. Regardless of our weight, we all benefit from exercise.”
Schiavocampo’s journey led to a book, Thinspired.”
Schiavocampo has been a journalist for 15 years. Before joining Dr. Oz, she was a correspondent for ABC News’ “Good Morning America.” She had been an anchor and correspondent at NBC News and MSNBC. She has also appeared on The Today Show, The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Chew. She is a sought-after public speaker.
“I’m excited to be speaking at the Dutchess-Ulster Go Red for Women Luncheon. The Go Red movement is a powerful and empowering,” Schiavocampo said.
“With Mara as our keynote speaker, I know that many of us will learn important lessons about motivation and self-reliance in making important lifestyle improvements,” said Denise Doring VanBuren, vice president of public relations at Central Hudson, and chair of the 2019 Go Red for Women Luncheon. “I’m especially glad that she will be here as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the BetterU program. It promises to be a very impactful day, and I encourage all to join us.”