Penguin Speakers Bureau

Lisa Delaney has spent the majority of her twenty-year journalism career covering diet, fitness, nutrition, and health for women’s consumer magazines. Her passion for healthy living comes from her own experience as a weight-loss success story: Delaney transformed herself from obese to über-fit, losing seventy pounds and keeping it off for more than twenty years. Her powerful, honest, and often humorous memoir/self-help book, Secrets of a Former Fat Girl: How to Drop Two, Four (or More!) Dress Sizes—and Find Yourself Along the Way, was published in April 2007.

Delaney is the founding editor of Spry and Spryliving.com, the nation’s largest health and wellness media brand. Spry magazine, devoted to inspiring women across the country to embrace healthy living, is distributed in newspapers to more than 8.5 million readers nationwide. The magazine’s debut in September 2008 earned it the honor of 2008 Launch of the Year from min magazine and Dr. Samir Husni, aka “Mr. Magazine.”

As Executive Editor of Health magazine from February 2001–May 2007, Delaney shared her passion for and professional expertise in all aspects of healthy living. During her tenure at Health, Delaney launched the Girls Gotta Move Running Club, a nationwide effort to encourage women of all ages to discover the power of running. Girls Gotta Move grew to more than 18,000 members strong during its first year (2005), and is now topping 35,000 members. Delaney also held positions at Cooking Light and Prevention magazines, where her work won several national awards. She has written for a variety of books and consumer magazines, including Vogue, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Runner’s World, and Readers’ Digest.

In addition to editing Spry, Delaney writes a weekly column, Secrets of a Former Fat Girl, which is distributed to more than 600 newspapers nationwide, as well as a biweekly email newsletter, The Big Weigh-In.

Delaney has made numerous personal appearances to consumer audiences as well as groups from the fitness, health, and food industries. She has also appeared on Good Morning America, TBS, and national affiliate television stations. She is frequently called on to comment on weight loss and women’s health trends and news.

A dedicated runner for twenty years, Delaney has completed ten marathons and too many shorter road races to count. She has also competed in triathlons, qualifying in 1993 for the National Amateur National Triathlon Championships, and she loves to row, cycle, hike, backpack, and swim when she has the chance.

Delaney currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, Rick, and son, Johnny, age 9.

Learn more about this speaker

"Interview with a Former Fat Girl"
Newsweek

"It Came Across My Desk (And I Loved It)"
Marie Claire

"Shedding the Past"
Runner's World

"Cool Reads for a Hot Beach"
The Seattle Times

"Secrets of a (Former) Fat Girl"
Health.com

"Slim Down Success Stories"
Quick & Simple

"Personal Interview With Lisa Delaney, Author of Secrets of a Former Fat Girl (Part 1)"
BasilAndSpice.com

"Personal Interview With Lisa Delaney, Author of Secrets of a Former Fat Girl (Part 2)"
BasilAndSpice.com

Lisa Delaney's Article Archives
Spry Magazine