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

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.