Profile: Laura Bauden went to a weight-loss clinic

At age 53 and 356 pounds, Laura Bauden had it all — Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression and anger. She was taking Avandia for her diabetes and was on the brink of starting insulin injections. With her health in a downward spiral, she feared she might not be around to see her grandchildren grow up. “It was a midlife crisis, the choice to live or die,” she recalls.

When a therapist recommended she try Lindora Clinic, which guides patients through a medically based weight-loss program, Bauden signed up for an intense 10-week session. She met every day with nurse coaches who tracked her diet and exercise regimen and set ambitious goals. She learned to eat smaller meals throughout the day and how to follow a low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet. She also started exercising.

“At first I just walked to the end of the street and back, about 10 minutes,” she says. “It was just hard, but as I started dropping the weight, I could do more.” Now she exercises for an hour each day, either working out at the gym or hiking in the hills behind her San Juan Capistrano home. Instead of ice cream, she grabs a low-carb yogurt for her late-night snack.

Today, at age 56 and 148 pounds, she says her Type 2 diabetes “basically cured itself.” She continues with Lindora, checking in twice a week. The initial program cost around $1,000, and she now pays about $200 a month.

“It’s expensive, but I look at it as an investment in my life,” says Bauden, a laboratory supply sales representative. “I probably gained 20 to 30 more years of life.”

—Kendall Powell