Dying to Change: My Really Heavy Life Story, How Weight Loss Surgery Gave Me Hope for Living
Katie Jay, MSW, CTA-certified Wellness Coach Director, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery A nationally recognized expert on weight loss and weight loss surgery (WLS), Katie Jay is the founder and director of the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery (NAWLS). An online membership organization, NAWLS helps weight loss surgery patients master their eating, mindset, and lifestyle to achieve long-term weight loss.  The author of Dying to Change: My Really Heavy Life Story, How Weight Loss Surgery Gave Me Hope for Living, and Small Bites: Daily Inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients, Katie underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2004 and maintains a 180-pound weight loss. As a wellness coach, she help clients deal effectively with food cravings, emotional eating, behavioral challenges, Eeyore thinking, and weight regain. Katie is a beloved and sought-after keynote speaker, workshop leader, and coach, whose main goal is to empower individuals to overcome obesity and to create the life they long for -- free of pain and full of possibilities.  She also assists surgeons, bariatric programs, and hospitals to develop, improve, and optimize bariatric surgery services. Katie has appeared on CNN Radio, among other radio programs, and was featured in Women s World and The National Enquirer. She contributes regularly to WLS Lifestyles Magazine, Beyond Change: Information Regarding Obesity and Obesity Surgery, and the Bariatric Support Centers International newsletter. She earned a Masters in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University and an undergraduate degree in English/writing. She earned her coaching certification from Coach Training Alliance.