Archive for July, 2010

Stephanie’s blog, part 2: As the program starts, welcome to nothing but bars and shakes.

By Stephanie   Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight

Stephanie was one of our winners in the Refresh You $5,000 Makeover for You and a Friend Contest.  After we met with Stephanie and her friend/husband Aaron (who’s going the refractive eye surgery route) we sheepishly asked them to blog about their experiences and tell their stories. They agreed, and as they journey through their makeovers, we’ll share their updates.

Things are off to an exciting start. I finally had my consent appointment and started the VLCD program. (Note to anyone interested in the program: Several weeks may occur between your initial appointment and the actual start of the program. A lot needs to be done in between and since the program is so popular, it may take a while for you to get in and meet with your doctor.)

Day one was hard. Let me rephrase – day one was really hard. I was hungry pretty much all day long. And believe it or not I learned quite a bit about the program in that one day.

As a quick reminder, my food “prescription” includes five shakes and two bars every day. I thought I would be super-clever and eat a shake for breakfast, double shake and bar for lunch, and double shake and bar for dinner. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about working shakes into the middle of the day at work.

Big mistake. I got so hungry in between meals that I was literally sick to my stomach. And to make it worse, I wasn’t tolerating the double shake well. By the time I choked down the last drink I was  literally sick to my stomach. The shakes taste good – they really do. But I guess I wasn’t ready to take down two at once.

Still excited, but a little defeated, I headed to bed on day one. I made some mental notes about what I would do differently during day two. And when I woke up and got on the scale at home. I saw that I had lost…get ready for this…4.5 pounds!

Now I am fully aware that almost all of that was water weight. But after the day I had, I was willing to take any positive encouragement I could get! I quickly decided that I would not make getting on the scale at home between classes a habit. I know from past experience that the scale can be a fickle friend and there is nothing worse than feeling like you’ve made big progress only to see that you’ve lost nothing or maybe even gained weight for some mysterious and inexplicable reason.

So today I’m on day five and things are MUCH better. I instituted a schedule: a shake or bar every two hours starting at 8:00am. It’s been great. As crazy as it sounds, I’m really not hungry.

That doesn’t mean I don’t want to eat. Every time my husband cooks dinner for himself and the kids, or I smell the takeout pizza in the next cubicle at work, I think about how much I’d like to eat. I figure it will take some significant time and effort for me to see food and not immediately fantasize about stuffing my face. I have a lot of work to do and it will begin next week when I go to my first class.

Another aspect of the program is weekly group classroom sessions. The sessions are designed to give you the tools necessary for long-term success and weight maintenance. They also keep you accountable with the weekly weigh-in. So for now, I’m doing well and feeling optimistic.

While I’m not going to divulge my starting weight just yet (maybe I’ll get braver as this goes on), I will keep everyone posted after each weekly weigh-in with my current pounds lost. I’m aiming for a 3-4 pound per week weight loss while on the program over the next twelve weeks.

Wish me luck and stay tuned!

If you’re thinking about making a healthy change to improve your weight, getting started with the Dean Comprehensive Weight Management Program is easy. You begin by attending a free no-pressure-whatsoever information session. Here’s the schedule of times and locations. Y0u can also call (608) 824-4457 or (800) 808-1190 for more information, or check out the Comprehensive Weight Management section of the Deancare.com website.

Makeover contest winner Aaron gets started with refractive surgery.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Eyes , Refreshing Stories

Aaron was one of our winners in the Refresh You $5,000 Makeover for You and a Friend Contest.  After we met with Aaron and his friend/wife Stephanie (who just got started in our Comprehensive Weight Management program), we asked them to blog about their experiences and give us all the first-person details. They agreed, and as they journey through their makeovers, we’ll share their updates.

Here’s Aaron, as he’s preparing for refractive eye surgery:

I can’t quite put into words just how exciting it has been competing in the Dean Refresh You Makeover contest. And now that we’ve won I’m nearly speechless.

I suppose when this whole journey started I never really expected to win (does anyone really expect to win?) so I never really needed to acknowledge the concerns I’ve always had about refractive eye surgery.

Then we won and I have to admit I was a little freaked out. A million things crossed my mind in the days before our meeting with the professionals at Dean. Was refractive surgery really the right thing for me? Was it safe? What were the nitty-gritty details that they don’t put in the pamphlets? Well, let’s just say that my concerns have been very well satisfied.

Steph and I each met with the whole Dean Refresh You team including the program managers from each of our chosen programs. My meeting was with Deb, the clinical manager of Ophthalmology at Davis Duehr Dean. Over the next half-hour Deb explained all of my refractive surgery options and went over the process of determining my eligibility for those options.

It turns out that refractive surgery isn’t one-size-fits-all. She introduced me to the bio of each doctor, answered all of my initial questions and threw in some comforting facts and figures. I left that initial meeting feeling confident that I wanted to take the next step.

The next step came in the form of a big official consultation at Davis Duehr Dean. Having worn glasses my whole life, I’m very familiar with eye appointments but this was the eye appointment to end all eye appointments. Maybe I lost track somewhere along the way but there were at least three separate eye scans on very large expensive-looking machines.

This in itself was comforting because it became clear to me that they were seriously going to learn everything about my eyes that they could. Then on top of all the scans I still had a regular eye exam (I’m still not sure which was clearer, 1 or 2).

The best part for me was meeting with my doctor, Dr. Vukich. He sat with me for what I felt like was quite some time answering every question I could think of like, “What happens if I twitch my eye while you’re lasering it?” It turns out they’ve considered everything. I left the consultation with my hesitations completely replaced by excitement.

Over the next couple of days I mentioned to numerous people that I was considering LASIK. I was shocked at the number who responded “Oh, I had LASIK. I love it. You’ll be so happy.” That was all I needed, my mind was made up. So now I’m less than a week away and my excitement grows everyday as does my annoyance with my glasses.

Next time you see me, I’ll be sans glasses! Woohoo!!

Deb Lorfeld (from Davis Duehr Dean) and Aaron pose for our photographer, just after talking about all the options in refractive surgery. Are you ready, Aaron?

If you’re thinking about refractive surgery, getting started with Davis Duehr Dean is easy — just click here for more information. You can also call 608-282-3937 or complete this online form. The initial consultation is totally free. You do NOT need to be a Dean Clinic patient or Dean Health Plan member to have refractive surgery at Davis Duehr Dean.

The first Refresh You event: Tell us what you want, what you really really want.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Eyes , Face & Body , Gallery , Skin , Weight

We here at Refresh You are considering plans for a cool exclusive members-only event this fall.

Trouble is, we can’t totally agree on what YOU think is cool. So we got to thinking, “What could possibly enlighten us more than the magical instant feedback of an online poll?” Our answer: “Nothing.”

So we need your help to settle an internal wager. Just answer this question:

All Refresh You polls are anonymous. And if you have any event ideas of your own, drop us a note at deanrefreshyou@gmail.com.

Skipping 100 calories never tasted this good.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Refreshing Experts , Weight

Summer just isn’t summer without an occasional cool treat. But be careful — there are lots of deadly choices out there.

Here’s a good choice: Edy’s Antioxidant Fruit Bars. With no artificial ingredients, they’ll satisfy your sweet tooth and provide a wonderful indulgence on a summer day. Nutritionist Keri Glassman thinks they’re pretty good, too. (Here’s her in-depth review.)

Compared to a traditional ice cream bar, you’ll save 100 calories and almost a third of your recommended daily allowance of saturated fat. Both are high in sugar (although the fruit bars contain natural fruit-based sugars) so be careful. Bottom line: Just read the labels and you’ll see which calories are worth it and which ones aren’t.

Enjoy!

Putting money where your mouth is: Betting on weight loss.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery , Weight

Anytime we find a new weight loss idea — one with some merit and based in health — we’ll share it with you. This one’s verrrrrry interesting, courtesy of MSN.com Health & Fitness:

Diet bets are popping up everywhere — online, in gyms, at weight-loss classes, and as informal wagers among friends, spouses, and coworkers. They’re big because they work.

A multicenter study of 57 dieters found those who stood to lose money if they didn’t succeed in shedding weight were about five times as likely to reach their goal as those with no financial stake in the outcome. Half of the bettors dropped 16 pounds in 16 weeks, compared with just 10.5 percent of the no-wager group.

And in a study of more than 200 dieters at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, those who were told they’d pocket $14 for every 1 percent of body weight they shed were nearly five and a half times as likely to take off 5 percent of their body weight as participants not offered cash.

Putting money, ego, and bragging rights on the line is a potent formula for keeping up your motivation. “If eating chocolate cake tonight means you’ll lose $10 or $50 at your next weigh-in, dessert suddenly isn’t very attractive,” notes Dean Karlan, Ph.D., a Yale University behavioral economist. After losing 40 pounds in a personal bet with a friend, Karlan went on to found stickk.com, one of the first online weight-loss betting sites. “When there’s something big at stake, you can’t say, ‘Oh, I’ll eat less next week. I’ll work out longer tomorrow.’ You have to stay on track all the time, because doing the wrong thing would be very expensive.”

Wagering on weight loss might even set off feel-good fireworks in the brain. In brain-scan studies at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard researchers found that gambling lit up the same little gray cells activated by morphine and cocaine.

Then there’s the accountability factor. “Checking in with somebody every week is definitely going to help you stay on course,” says New York City diet expert and registered dietitian Elisa Zied, M.S., R.D. “It’s competitive in a playful way.”

Here’s the full article at MSN.com.

What makes the concept even more appealing is that it works with virtually any weight loss plan — just a little somethin’, you know, to keep it interesting.

But we want to know what you think — is betting on weight loss something that might work for you?

Stephanie’s blog, part 1: Thrilled to win, anxious to get started and just a little freaked out.

By Stephanie   Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to win the Dean Refresh You Makeover Contest!

Although that excitement is still strong, it is now being tempered with a little bit of anxiety. A lot of people helped me get here and I don’t want to let them, or myself, down. I made a pretty serious commitment to my health and I want to make the most of this opportunity! So I’m giving it my all and will let the Dean Comprehensive Weight Management staff be my guide. Wish me luck!

Aaron and I had our first meeting with the Dean Refresh You staff over lunch (yes…there were cookies) and we got to know the fine people who made this whole contest possible. I also met with JoDeen, the Program Manager of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. She is an energetic, no-nonsense woman who is genuinely interested in my health. She took me through my options.

I’m not interested in surgery, so we talked about the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD), the LEARN program, and nutritional counseling. After extensive discussion with JoDeen, and some research on my own, I decided to explore VLCD.

Now bear with me, because this is going to sound a little bit crazy. VLCD means that I won’t eat any food for the next twelve weeks – just shakes and bars specially formulated for those trying to lose weight. I will be consuming around 700 calories a day.

Like I said, it sounds crazy. What about finding something you can live with for the rest of your life? How can someone really give up food for three months? How do you explain to those around you that you just aren’t eating anything at all? Yeah, I asked those questions, too.

But after talking to the professionals at Dean and doing some reading online, I came to this conclusion. The next three months will be like hitting the reset button. Not only will VLCD give me a jumpstart on my weight loss, it will also give me an opportunity to redefine my relationship with food. Basically, when the program is over, I will have to learn how to eat again. But this time, I can pick up healthy habits in place of my current ones.

Next came my first medical appointment with Steve. He walked me through the programs in even more detail. Then I was weighed and measured (awesome) and sent upstairs to have labs done. During VLCD, each patient is monitored closely and before you can even start, you need to have everything from cholesterol to blood counts checked. Steve also sent me home with samples of the shakes and bars so I could try them and figure out which ones I liked. So far, the peanut butter and chocolate graham cracker flavors are my faves!

Now I just have to wait. When the test results are in, I will get a phone call to schedule my first official appointment. Then I’ll go in, meet some other doctor-type folks, pick up my shakes and bars and get started. From there, I will go in once a week to get weighed and measured (again…awesome), and have a group meeting with the doctors and other patients on the program.

I am excited, nervous, and everything in between. I can’t promise I’ll be a supermodel by Christmas, but I can promise to share this whole experience with you. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

JoDeen meets with Stephanie to go over all the options. Let's get this party started!

If you’re thinking about making a healthy change to improve your weight, getting started with the Dean Comprehensive Weight Management Program is easy. You begin by attending a free no-pressure-whatsoever information session. Here’s the schedule of times and locations. Y0u can also call (608) 824-4457 or (800) 808-1190 for more information, or check out the Comprehensive Weight Management section of the Deancare.com website.

Wondering when to reapply sunscreen? There’s an app for that.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Refreshing Experts , Skin

Not surprisingly, we’re huge fans of sunscreen.

But we’re also the first to admit that after the first application, it gets a little tricky… when is it time to reapply? After lunch? After the next round of swimming? After just one more chapter of that wonderfully trashy novel? Tough call.

Wouldn’t it be cool if your iPhone would nudge you a bit to let you know? Or maybe give you real-time UV index numbers? Well, it can.

Here are a few apps dedicated to sunburn protection. All of them link to the Apple store, showing complete descriptions and screenshots.

• Sun Alert Lite and Sun Alert

Retrieves near-real-time data of the UV radiation for your location,  calculates the time you can safely expose to sun and more.

• Coppertone MyUVAlert

Offers local UV index forecasts, custom sunscreen reapplication reminders, individualized product recommendations for Coppertone products (of course), coupons and sun protection tips.

• iSunBurn

Gives you the UV Index for your location and any location in the United States.

Pretty cool, huh? Of course, this all depends on having some good quality sunscreen at the ready, so make sure you’re stocked up. A great place to start is at Dean Essentials Skin Care.

Meet Stephanie and Aaron, the official winners of our $5,000 Makeover for You and a Friend contest.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery

At long last, we’re proud to announce our official winners of the Refresh You $5,000 Makeover for You and a Friend essay contest.

Readers, meet Aaron and Stephanie.

Just as their winning essay indicated, Aaron will be exploring options in refractive surgery, hoping for less dependence on his glasses. He’s currently working with our resident expert at Davis Duehr Dean — Deb – who will guide him through the entire process. To start, he’s in for a very comprehensive eye exam.

Meanwhile, Stephanie met with JoDeen from our Comprehensive Weight Management program, and they’re laying out plans for the next few weeks.

We’ll get regular updates from Aaron and Stephanie, letting all of us know how they’re doing, what the programs are like, and how they’re making some great long-lasting changes.

Stay tuned!

P.S. — A huge thank you to everyone who submitted an entry and to all who voted! The essays were so great that we scrounged up some extra cash to give Amazon.com gift certificates to our top 20 entries. (You know who you are.)

For our second place and third place entrants (Linda and Allison, Andrea and Paula), we’ve got some cool stuff coming your way — we haven’t finalized the details yet, but let’s just say you’ll be quite pleased.

P.P.S. — Our Fruit and Veggie Contest winners are lovin’ the fresh produce! We’ll have photos soon!

P.P.P.S. — We’re drawing our winner for that swanky Trek tandem bike on July 1. Stay tuned to see who will win this exceedingly cool prize.

P.P.P.P.S. — We’ve got the next prize all picked out — a high-end, top-quality Seca bathroom scale. Simply, this thing works as good as it looks.  To enter, you need to be a Refresh You member and live in the Madison/southern Wisconsin area. So once again, Chicago, DEE-NIED.