About Maria Glad

 
 
 

My Personal Journey

I grew up a chubby kid and then an obese teenager and young adult. My family life was largely sedentary and I remember sometimes feeling isolated, wishing I had an active lifestyle like my peers. My decision to change came with the realization that heart disease and high blood pressure were rampant in my genes.

I sought the help of a weight loss counseling service and I set a personal goal to reward myself with learning to ski if I lost 50 lbs. I called my friend who is a ski instructor and asked him to hold me accountable to my goal.

This small focus is what worked for me, and in helping others on their own journey, I feel strongly that tapping into a person’s unique motivations is an important first step.

 
 

Today, I Am 65 Pounds Lighter

Every person’s experience is different. For me, losing weight and learning to ski changed my life forever. Today I live an active lifestyle that more than 30 years ago I had thought only imaginable. I like to encourage people that the key to sticking to a personal health journey is “liking it.”

Allowing yourself to like the way you feel with incremental change, and continually discovering new ways to feel good physically, mentally and emotionally, is what will bring lasting results.

 
 
 
 

My Professional Journey

I founded GladHealth in 2013 when my practice opened at Bay Club Health and Fitness in Portland, Maine. I feel fortunate to have been able to help many people, and groups of people, to achieve nutrition, health and weight loss goals. How fun it was that I got to take part in the local documentary  Orchard Revolution (click here to see trailer); a study of how so many Americans have become obese and diabetic and what can be done to change this.

 

From there I expanded my practice through part-time positions as Nurse Practitioner at The Center for Weight Management, Anew 10 Medical Weight Loss and Wellness, Women to Women Health Care Center, and Health Coaches Corporate Wellness; all located in Southern Maine. In August of 2018, GladHealth re-opened full-time as an insurance-based specialty healthcare service providing a combined traditional and functional medicine approach to manage weight gain and related health conditions.

Past professional experience includes 15 years in advanced practice roles in oncology and surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. I found it particularly rewarding to design educational programs to instruct and support patients and families as well as medical and nursing staff. My passion to create programs to meet the unique needs of people grew from there and went on to include homeschooling my three daughters and meeting special needs.

 
 

Education & Credentials:

Columbia University: Master of Science in Nursing; Nurse Practitioner in Family Health

Hunter College | City University of New York. Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Queensborough Community College: Associates Degree in Applied Science of Nursing

Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner in Family Health; American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC)

Diploma: Professional Nutrition, Diet and Health; Ashworth College

Licensed Advanced Practice Registered Nurse

Maine & New Hampshire

 

Affiliations:

  • American Association of Nurse Practitioners

  • Obesity Medicine Association

  • Institute for Functional Medicine

  • National Nurses in Business Association

Experience:

  • GladHealth, Established 2013 Portland, ME

  • Anew10 Medical Weight Loss and Wellness 2015-2018

  • Women to Women Health Care Center 2016

  • The Center for Weight Management & Wellness 2014-2015

  • Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 1986-1999