...and offer a glimpse into my world

This is not to imply there hasn't been a great deal of trial and error and immense growing pains along the way. THEIR HAS! Oh, there's SO much to share!

For now I'll begin with a few highlights of my story that's been shared many times in/on various platforms. This will serve as an brief overview of myself and my life. My plan is to start from the beginning and go into detail about the miraculous transformations God has performed in my life. I am compelled to share everything, because I know you will be inspired to seek an ever closer walk with God when you hear about what God has done for me, others, and will do for you too! 

By the way, "you" means YOU. All inclusive.

There are no prerequisites in terms of beliefs, lifestyles, gender, sexuality, race, religion, political associations, culture, nationality, etc. that we must hold in order to seek God with a sincere heart. When we sincerely seek God, He will lovingly address any part of us and/or our way of life that needs addressing. I know He did with me, plenty! But not before I was ready to handle it. And when He does, He will provide the strength and means for us to walk through the transformation.

Jesus Christ lived and lives and He's my Savior. I wasn't raised in a church. I came to my own conclusions by studying, reading, and most of all by the tangible love and miraculous work of Jesus Christ in my life personally. 

All people are loved unconditionally by Christ and belief and/or acceptance of Him is not a prerequisite of His love for you (Matthew 18:11, John 3:16, I John 2:2, I John 4:10, Romans 5: 6-8, etc.). Likewise, the authentic Christian loves all of humanity the same. The Spirit of Christ lives through the yielded Christian (Galatians 2:20). Thus, it is impossible for Christ to love all people unconditionally and the authentic Christian to not do likewise.

God IS love. The Christian who says he loves God but hates so-and-so is in grave error and does not truly know God (I John 4:8).

These beliefs are the core of my existence, so I will freely make mention of things associated with them, for indeed Christ is the reason for my testimony, and IS my testimony.

If you and I believe differently - please don't go. We have more similarities than differences, I'm sure of that.
And regardless of our differences you are welcome here. I sure hope you’ll stay.

That's all for today. I'll leave you with the article below. It's a pseudo-formal piece, not really blog-material. Sorry about that. But it will do as a 'Shauna-overview' for now, until I return.

Psalm 145:18 New International Version (NIV):
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 

About Dr. Shauna Collins...a story of perseverance

Raised in poverty, and challenged with learning disabilities, obesity, and low self-esteem, Shauna Collins dropped out of high school at 15 and took a job flipping burgers at McDonald's. 

Dissatisfied with the choices of her youth, at age 22 Shauna attended night school and earned a G.E.D. 

However, this was followed by several years of working meaningless 9-5’s, often for minimal wage. Living this unremarkable, passionless life led Shauna to decide to go back to school. She wanted to be a professional and to have a career. She was a natural care provider, so she decided nursing school would be a good fit. But returning to school required a lot of faith since she hadn't been to school full-time since her teenage years.

At age 27 Shauna enrolled in an LVN (licensed vocational nurse) program and a year later graduated 2nd from the top of her class. She went to work with HIV/AIDS hospice patients where she received an award for her compassionate care.

Feeling empowered and optimistic by her academic accomplishment, Shauna was determined to continue her pursuit of education. "I wanted to see what I was made of!" She's been quoted as saying. "I really had no idea." She next became a registered nurse and earned an associate degree in nursing. With this, she became the first in her family to earn a college degree. She then went on to become a hemodialysis specialist and charge nurse of hemodialysis units.

Early on as a nursing student Shauna began observing the doctors when they arrived on the units and she became utterly intrigued by everything about them! She admired their knowledge base, the position they held, the honor they received, and the lifestyle they lived. She was equally attracted to the fringe benefits they had of eating for free every day and getting the best parking spaces at the hospital! 

She began dreaming of becoming a doctor but fear and doubt plagued her! She knew that lots of people spent years preparing and working to enter the admirable profession of medicine only to ultimately be rejected and never get accepted into medical school. Dare she take years away from her hard-earned, stable career as an RN to return to school on a gamble that has such terrible odds? 

These thoughts occupied Shauna's mind throughout her nursing years and eventually, she realized that the obsession was not subsiding. The only way to squelch the clamoring within her was to actually pursue becoming a doctor. There was no other alternative. If she never tried, the yearning would continue and would haunt her indefinitely. It would only be replaced by regret in her twilight years. So, if she ever wanted peace again, she'd have to go for it. She knew that even if she failed at becoming a doctor she would be at peace because at least she would have tried.

So, after 4 years of climbing the nursing ladder, Shauna left the nursing floor and returned to school as a pre-med student. She was pleasantly surprised as she repeatedly made the Honor Roll and Dean’s List. Her hard work and determination earned her grants and a scholarship to Occidental College (where 2-term ex-President Barack Obama previously attended). 

At Occidental College (Oxy), Shauna earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a cell and molecular emphasis. She also married her long-time on again, off again sweetheart Demetric and gained 2 beautiful step-daughters during her Oxy years.

To Shauna’s delight, she was offered a seat at the prestigious David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA where she attended and earned her medical degree. She and Demetric had 2 beautiful baby boys, 2 years apart, by 2 unexpected C-sections during her UCLA medical school years.

Following completion of UCLA Medical School, Dr. Collins completed her family medicine residency at Kaiser Permanente and eventually opened a weight loss & obesity treatment medical practice in West Hills, CA.

Dr. Collins' mission to help people lose weight came from her own lifetime struggle with obesity and compulsive eating. “I was taken to my first fat clinic at age 7” (book quote). Having personal knowledge of the pain and complexity of the issues surrounding obesity is what compelled Dr. Collins to focus her medical studies on behavioral change for the compulsive eater and medication therapy for obesity treatment. Applying what she learned, Dr. Collins lost over 50 pounds and has maintained her weight for over 8 years. She dedicated her medical practice to bariatric medicine (the non-surgical treatment of obesity) and has helped over 1000 patients lose weight and keep their off with what became known as the 'No More Dieting! Weight Loss & Lifestyle Plan.'

Dr. Collins wrote the book No More Dieting! with the hope of helping millions of people lose weight permanently without dieting. No More Dieting! became an Amazon #1 Best Seller the day it publicly launched and has been growing in popularity ever since!

Through various trials and tribulations, Dr. Shauna Collins persevered through 17 years of education as an adult (1994-2011). She views her innate tenacity as a byproduct of her faith and is deeply committed to sharing her story of transformation to provide hope and inspiration to others. Dr. Collins has a special interest in encouraging youth, particularly the underprivileged and academically challenged. She encourages all people  to pursue their dreams and gives practical steps on how to do so. She also speaks to people of all ages on the importance of obtaining and maintaining a healthy weight and teaches the No More Dieting! lifestyle as a simple, doable way to accomplish this. 

Dr. Collins’ life accomplishments have been celebrated on television, radio, and in print by major media outlets. She has been recognized by local government and consulted as a medical expert by local television news outlets.

Click here to view media clips pertaining to Dr. Collins.

After 30 years of working in healthcare in various capacities, Dr. Collins now works in medical research, and as an author, professional speaker, homeschooling mom and self-professed ‘Doctorpreneur.'