Virta — not just for diabetes

“My outlook on life is so much better.”

 

For years, Rosebank Elementary special education teacher Kirsten Feinberg struggled with severe stomach acid issues. She was on eight types of medication for it, and her symptoms were still agonizing.

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To relieve her pain, Kirsten scheduled a procedure that wraps the top of the stomach around the bottom of the esophagus to help control acid. But she had to lose weight before undergoing the surgery.

 

With the help of a liquid diet, she lost the weight and had the surgery in 2022.  Although the surgery relieved Kirsten’s stomach acid issues, she knew she wasn’t finished. She needed to find a way to lose more weight — and keep it off.

 

More than diabetes management

She’d seen an email from MNPS about Virta, a weight loss and diabetes reversal program. Although Kirsten didn’t have diabetes, her body mass index was high enough for her to qualify. And the ketogenic-based program was offered at no cost through MNPS’s certificated health plan.*

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She talked with her husband, Mark, about joining along with her.

 

“It’s free,” Kirsten told him. “You and I both need to lose weight. And if you do it with me, we can both stay on track.”

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Always supportive, Mark agreed. They started the program in February 2023.

 

Virta’s closely monitored keto diet includes meals of moderate proteins, low carbohydrates and enough fat for satisfaction. Virta users are remotely monitored daily to check both their blood sugar and blood ketones. The key is getting blood ketones to the level that helps the body burn stored fat. 

 

“They’re there with recipes,” Kirsten says. “You’ve got a coach. You’ve
got a doctor.” Plus, she had Mark in her corner.

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“I just latched on,” Kirsten says. “The first thing I did was clean out the entire kitchen of foods that didn’t work with Virta. And I completely changed the way I cook.

 

“Very quickly, we started to see the weight come off,” she adds.

 

An unexpected benefit

Kirsten’s Virta experience also helped her through recent major surgery. Because of arthritis, she needed knee replacement surgery. When she met with her surgeon,
he was positive about her outcome.

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Kirsten is convinced Virta helped her ease through the surgery. “I was way ahead of the curve,” she says of her weight loss. 

 

Now, Kirsten happily stays busy — working in the garden and around the house. “I’m going up and down stairs normally,” she adds.

 

She’s facing replacement of the other knee in a year but says she is much less anxious over that now. “I feel good. I feel so good,” she says.

 

“Life-changing” results

Kirsten is now down about 80 pounds, having lost 40 of those while participating in Virta. Mark is also significantly trimmer, and both are delighted with the results.

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“My outlook on life is so much better,” she says. “My energy is so much better. Holy smokes, I am not the same person I was a year ago!”

 

Even with all her health gains, Kirsten feels there’s more in store for her after her knee heals. She’s looking forward to hiking and dancing with her husband.

 

She’s also quick to encourage others to help themselves by joining Virta.

 

“It’s just been life-changing,” she says.

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​* Virta is fully covered for employees and adult dependents on the MNPS Certificated Employee Health Plan with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and/or a BMI of 30 or greater.