Dr. Mondo is on a mission to help people who have been overweight since childhood lose the weight and keep it off for good. He is the only therapist to have gained exclusive access to conduct academic research with former contestants of NBC’s The Biggest Loser. That research with the hit show launched Dr. Mondo’s career and allowed him to create a comprehensive academic theory of drastic weight loss explaining the 8 psychological, identity and relationship stages people go through during weight loss. Today Dr. Mondo’s theory is used by weight loss centers, gyms and personal trainers as part of an online program called Road Map to Weight Loss that provides assessment, education and tools to successfully navigate the changes that unfold during weight loss.
Dr. Mondo received his Doctorate of Psychology in Marriage & Family Therapy and currently practices as a licensed therapist providing counseling and coaching. When he’s not practicing Dr. Mondo is also a popular speaker invited to present on his research on the psychology of weight loss and advocacy efforts to include therapy in conjunction with drastic weight loss.
Prior to entering the field of psychology, at the age of 14, Dr. Mondo became one of the youngest sports broadcasters in the country hosting a popular weekly Northern California sports television program where he interviewed local professional NBA, MLB and NFL athletes. Today, he resides in Sacramento, California with his wife Katie.
Dr. Mondo became determined to become the leading weight loss therapist and researcher after a lifetime of battles with his own weight. A latchkey kid who found comfort and an escape in food, Dr. Mondo spent the majority of his youth overweight carving out an identity like most overweight kids as “the funny fat guy.” Near the end of high school Dr. Mondo became determined to lose weight. He began studying nutrition, weight lifting, and healthy cooking in efforts to transform his body. This knowledge, paired with hard work and dedication, led to major weight loss success. Yet, like most people, Dr. Mondo had a much harder time keeping the weight off, ultimately gaining the weight back. Over the next decade Dr. Mondo would gain and lose 75lb-100lbs over a half dozen times.
Nearly out of hope, yet unwilling to give up, in 2007 Dr. Mondo experienced a transformative moment in his weight loss journey that would change everything. After years of believing weight loss would bring him greater self-esteem, confidence and self-acceptance Dr. Mondo realized, like many of us, he had been going at it all wrong. While he began to slowly put back in place his healthy eating and exercise habits he focused even more on making an internal transformation. This transformation was one that focused less on the number on the scale and more on exploring the emotional roots of his relationship with food, how being overweight had impacted his identity and relationships, and why he got so scared every time he reached the weight loss finish line.
Dr. Mondo learned that in order to lose weight, and keep it off for good, he had to re-writing his personal story and use drastic weight loss as the springboard to that process. That approach has not only transformed Dr. Mondo’s life, it has also blazed a new trail for how people are approaching weight loss, as he transforms lives in his practice as a Licensed Therapist, and as a speaker and consultant for weight loss centers, personal trainers and gyms throughout the country.
Today, when he’s not in the office Dr. Mondo is an avid runner who enjoys running half-marathons, playing basketball and doing group fitness classes. Dr. Mondo believes the journey of physical, mental and emotional transformation is one with no true end destination. challenging yourself daily, and surrounding yourself with a support system of like minded people are some of the biggest keys to losing and keeping the weight off for good.