From MS Challenges to Weight Loss Triumph: Tracy’s Journey to Better Health

While working as a paramedic in her home state of New York, Tracy Lombardo was an avid exerciser, participating in Zumba^® and high-intensity interval training classes on a regular basis. She was in “perfect” shape despite having had surgery to correct aortic stenosis when she was a child.

So, when she retired and moved to Port St. Lucie, Fla., with her husband, Matt, in 2018 she was disheartened because what she thought was a pinched nerve in her back was causing back pain and weakness in her right leg and making it increasingly more difficult to exercise. Then in 2019 she was diagnosed with yet another heart issue for which she had to undergo surgery.

In 2020, though the heart surgery was behind her, Tracy was still unable to exercise because of her back and leg issues. She began again to seek help, which led to a surprising diagnosis: Tracy did not have a pinched nerve. She had multiple sclerosis (MS), which is a central nervous system autoimmune condition that affects the brain and spinal cord.

And with all of her health issues going on, she had been gaining weight, adding an extra 40 pounds on to her 5’3” frame.

“Weight had never been a struggle for me,” Tracy says. “But with the stress I was going through I was not always eating properly and also I couldn’t exercise like I used to.”

Frustrated when she hit her highest weight – 191 pounds – she asked her doctor to refer her to a dietitian “or someone who could help” her. She had been trying everything she could to lose the weight, but nothing was working. Her doctor referred her to Cleveland Clinic in Florida’s Center for Diabetes and Nutrition, and that’s when she met Registered Dietitian Tegan Bissell, RD, LDN, CDCES.

“The support and cheerleading I received was huge. It made all the difference.”

“She was so awesome,” Tracy says. Though at first she was reluctant to allow Tegan to guide her on some new ways to approach her diet and lifestyle, she eventually gave in and began following Tegan’s advice.

“No matter what you think you know, you don’t know everything,” Tracy says.

She met with Tegan once a week for the first few months and in the first week she lost almost five pounds; within one year she was down 20 pounds and her blood pressure improved.

Though her counseling sessions with Tegan have ended, Tracy says she is using what she learned from her as she works to lose a little more weight and improve her muscle mass.

In the meantime, the loss of the excess weight is helping Tracy exercise more easily, which will help improve her MS symptoms. She says she had a great experience with the Center for Diabetes and Nutrition.

“The support and cheerleading I received was huge. It made all the difference,” Tracy says.