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Stephanie’s blog, part 4: Exercise, losing streaks and Miller Park.

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. Their blogs are 99.9% unedited.

On to Week Two! With the success of Week One, I was confident that the pounds would keep melting away and I would begin meeting some of my preliminary goals in no time! And Week Two was pretty easy. I had no major events and I was getting the hang of the program.

I got the go ahead from my doctor to start exercising in Week Two. I bought some new exercise DVDs. God forbid I go outside – there are bugs and heat and other people who might see me all sweaty and whatnot and we certainly couldn’t have that.

When the DVDs arrived I took them out of the package, read the inserts and then put them back in the box and never pulled them out again all week. I could give a million excuses as to why I didn’t exercise, but in the end, as always, I didn’t make it a priority. I planned to bring that up in the next meeting and see what others do to get and stay motivated.

Heading to my Week Two meeting, I was feeling good. I didn’t get the exercise in, but I stayed on course with eating and never deviated from the program. So I headed back to the scale and lost…drum roll please…

1.2 pounds.

Wait…what??? 1.2 pounds??? WHAT?!? I ate nothing but shakes and bars all week long! You have GOT to be kidding me!

OK…so maybe I should have exercised. And OK, so on average, I lost over 5 pounds a week over the last two weeks. That’s good. Frustrating, but I’m still on track, I guess. This will be a great motivator to get active next week.

I went back into the meeting. This week Toni the nutritionist was presenting and she did a really great job. I am – no was – a serial dieter, so I consider myself to be fairly well-versed in what one should and shouldn’t eat. But Toni had a way of reframing some of the things I already knew so that they made more sense to me. She is coming back in Week Three so I’m already looking forward to hearing from her again.

Week Three was also fairly easy. The shakes and bars are becoming the norm. I actually popped in those DVDs! They were HARD! I probably took a few more breaks than my perfectly sculpted virtual trainers would have liked, but I got my body moving and that’s what counts.

I did have one major roadblock in week three – a Brewers game.

I love sports. I love going to baseball games. I have never in my entire life attended a Brewers game without consuming a beer (or several) and a brat and probably some waffle fries covered in cheese sauce. Maybe even some Dippin’ Dots or warm cookies to round things out.

I gave this a lot of thought: Would baseball games even be fun if they didn’t include those things? I thought about why I like baseball and why I love the Brewers. It’s not because of the food and drink (although those are fun, too). It’s because I love the team and I enjoy the sport.

So I went to the game with my entire family, while my kids ate cheese fries and hot dogs. (Thanks again to my husband for not drinking – you certainly made my night easier.)

Then something crazy happened. I had a great time! The game was phenomenal. The Brewers came back from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the 9^th to win the game! It was a perfect night and it was just as much fun as any game I had ever been to. It is actually really fun to discover that events don’t have to be about food.

I have spent most of my life treating the consumption of food as an event. To celebrate something, I went out to eat. If we were bored on Friday night, we went out to eat. When we went on vacation, we actually spent time figuring out where the best (which pretty much meant the least healthy) places were to eat. But this time, we went to the ball park. We spent time together as a family. I ate nothing but a shake and a bar. And we had a great time.

Again, feeling like I could conquer whatever obstacle came my way, I headed to the Week Three meeting. Toni was back and took us on a virtual tour of a grocery store. Did you know that Peanut Butter Captain Crunch and Special K Red Berries are practically identical in terms of nutrition? Calories, fat, sugar, fiber, you name it! Read labels carefully, people!

My name was called and I headed back to the scale. This week I lost 3.8 pounds! Much better than last week! And for those of you keeping track, that gets me to a total of 14.2 pounds in three weeks!

Feeling good and moving forward. I’ll keep you posted about what happens next.

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.

Stephanie’s blog, part 3: The first week is done, and the results are in. One word sums it up: Wow.

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. Their blogs are 99.9% unedited.

Week one? Pffff! I nailed it!

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that the first few days of VLCD were pretty tough for me. I was hungry, irritable (I probably still owe my husband a few apologies), and worried. I wondered — can I really do this for twelve weeks?

Before long I was into the groove and things weren’t so bad. I wasn’t as hungry. I was a little more pleasant to be around. And I was proud of myself. It was hard, but I was doing it. I couldn’t wait to attend my first official group meeting.

I arrived at Dean Clinic – East and checked in for the meeting. It is there that you “order” your food supplies for the next week. I decided to heck with vanilla and strawberry shakes and went for all chocolate.

I also got a box of pretzels just in case there was a hunger emergency. The creators of this program really think ahead – they know there are times when you just need something to eat. And instead of cheating and throwing yourself out of ketosis*, they allow you one “extra” each day if necessary. The only catch is, they provide the extra. You can choose between pretzels, soup, vegetarian sloppy joe, and even nacho cheese pasta! Again, these are specially formulated to be low-calorie and nutritionally sound. That way I can feel like I ate some real food, but my doctors are still completely up to speed on what I’m putting into my body.

There were a few other newbies at the meeting and I was relieved I wasn’t the only one. We chatted a bit before class and I was a bit surprised at what I saw. Don’t ask me why, but I was expecting people in class to be really big. My classmates, however, came in all shapes and sizes. You can qualify for VLCD if you generally have 30 or more pounds to lose, so it made sense that there were some people in class who looked to be very near their ultimate goal weight. It was encouraging to see that people were succeeding and happy several weeks into the program!

This particular class was led by a Dean physical therapist. He walked us through some stretches and made suggestions for exercise routines. He also talked about how to deal with injuries and sore muscles as many of us haven’t been part of a regular exercise program in quite some time. We also got some good handouts on how to add steps throughout the day, and (when we start transitioning back to food) how to cut calories with small changes.

And then my name was called. I went back to the scale and…drum roll please…I lost 9.3 pounds!

It was such a relief to see that the hard work had paid off. And hey, if I keep losing 9 pounds a week, I’ll reach my goal in no time! Okay, okay, I don’t really expect to lose that kind of weight each week, but a girl can dream, right?

So motivated and feeling great, I’m moving on to week two. I got the go-ahead to start exercising so my plan is to start working that in this week. I’m excited and positive and I can’t wait to see what next week brings.

Check back with me then, OK?

*A diet of less than 1,000 calories causes your body to enter ketosis, where you burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Ketosis is one of the keys of VLCD.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Tricia’s blog, part 15: Forgive me, Nutritionist, for I have sinned.

By tricia Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight

Our guest blogger, Tricia, provides a word-for-word account of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) program at Dean Clinic, part of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. If you’ve been reading along, you know that’s a fake name, but she’s absolutely a real person.

When we last left Tricia, she began to realize her remarkable progress in losing more than 40 pounds, despite the very real challenges that lie ahead. This week, those challenges come in the form of pizza and happy hours. This is the transition phase, and it’s waaaayyyyy harder than it seems. Fortunately, the pros at the program are standing by, ready to help.

Tricia’s blog, part 14: Tasting success is easier when you realize it doesn’t contain any calories.

By tricia Category: Refreshing Stories , Uncategorized , Weight

Our guest blogger, Tricia, provides a word-for-word account of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) program at Dean Clinic, part of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. If you’ve been reading along, you know that’s a fake name, but she’s absolutely a real person.

When we last left Tricia, she’s transitioning back into real food. (And rumor has it a staffer here saw her eating a small salad and a tiny bunless hamburger.) The journey ahead looks very promising, as long as she can learn to appreciate the progress she’s made.

Tricia’s blog, part 11: Down 36 pounds, the first phase ends. From here, does it get any harder easier?

By tricia Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight

Our guest blogger, Tricia, provides a word-for-word account of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) program at Dean Clinic, part of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. If you’ve been reading along, you know that’s a fake name, but she’s absolutely a real person.

When we last left Tricia, she returned from a funeral in her home town. Despite being surrounded by family and friends, participating in group meals and seeing the kind of dessert goodness that can only come from east-coast Wisconsin, she stuck to the plan. She’s down 36 pounds, and contemplating transitioning to a modified diet with shakes and bars and (gasp!) real food.

So is this the end? Or are we just getting started?

Tricia’s blog, part 9: Dressing room battles, annoying clerks and a phone call.

By tricia Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight

Our guest blogger, Tricia, provides a word-for-word account of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) program at Dean Clinic, part of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. If you’ve been reading along, you know that’s a fake name, but she’s absolutely a real person, we swear. And at this point, you know that some of the things she writes about we couldn’t possibly make up.

When we last left Tricia, she gleefully reported that she has lost nearly 30 pounds on the VLCD program. Now she’s down almost 36 pounds! There have been struggles and temptations, but the program is absolutely working. So where does she go from here?

Shopping. Duh.

April 18. Time to go shopping! I usually only shop when the spirit moves me or when an event requires something specific – or at least more wonderful than what’s in my closet.

I’ve become a much crankier shopper as I have gotten older. Having gotten larger just made it worse. The twenty somethings who ask me “Are you finding everything?” drive me nuts. As a younger woman I would keep my response to myself. More recently, depending on how frustrating it’s been finding anything that fits, I find myself blurting out my response: “I wasn’t looking for everything.” (Note to self: Do not become a shopzilla. It is not the salespeople’s fault that you grew into larger sizes.) And could you turn the music down, just a little? Am I wrong to think the music should enhance the experience rather than dominate it?

So it’s Sunday afternoon after a pay-day Friday. Let’s review: No stress. Check. Open mind. Check. Let’s do this!

I am in desperate need of pants that fit. Everything I own is now too big. Wonderful, right? Well, yes and no. I am far too picky about how pants fit. They can’t be too long or too short or too baggy in the leg. A little Spandex is always a good element. (Not the Olivia Newton-John-as-Sandy-in-Grease kind, but the subtle added-in kind.) Great invention. Even jeans now have Spandex.

I went to a large anchoring department store at West Towne (I won’t name names, but I’d reeeeallly like to) and walked around several departments grabbing things that might make the cut. I finally got to the fitting room and encountered a Brunhilda clerk who saw my arms laden with options. She scoffed and gnarled in her deep, mean Brunhilda voice, “Just six items are allowed at a time.”

Younger Me would have said nothing and complied. Older Me found myself looking her square in the eyes and saying — in a stretched-out drawl, mismatched with my slight, forced smile — “You’re kidding, right?” She replied, “No, ma’am, I am not kidding. That’s the policy.”

I muttered to myself that it was a dumb policy, then responded as clarification, in my s-l-o-w voice, “So, you want me to hang all but six of these items way over there and keep getting redressed to come out of the changing room to get the next group?” “Yes, ma’am,” she replied, then added with a sparkle, “some women don’t even get redressed. They just walk out in their underwear.”

As if! Is that what I’m supposed to do? Really? Maybe it’s just a dumb policy.

As soon as she turned her back I ducked into a changing room with everything and spent a good long time trying on my bounty. Overall, I spent over two hours trying on clothes at various stores. I was happy to be in smaller sizes, but even then, shopping is still shopping.

I have a friend who can just walk into a store, grab a suit in her size, buy it and take it home. She doesn’t even try it on! If I shopped for two hours using her guerrilla tactics, I’d have closets full of stuff that doesn’t fit. Meanwhile, she’s in and out in five minutes.

I left with just a weekend skirt and one pair of work pants. Pretty lame, considering the time I spent. Guess I’ll never make the Shopping Olympics team. But at least I can go to work one more day next week wearing something that fits.

While I was finishing up my exhausting dressing and redressing marathon, my cell phone rang. It was one of those calls that launched me into a different dimension. It was my very good friend. Her mom had died. Instantly my shopping challenges got slammed into proper perspective.

To see all of Tricia’s blog posts, just use the keyword “Tricia” in the search box above.

Tricia’s blog, part 8: Life is good, especially when Teddy the Love Sponge takes one for the team.

By tricia Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight

Our guest blogger, Tricia, provides a word-for-word account of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) program at Dean Clinic, part of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. If you’ve been reading along, you know that’s a fake name. But she’s absolutely a real person.

Tricia started her journal in late December of last year, having no idea we’d ask her to share her experiences with the world. Since we didn’t launch Refresh You until March 1, we’ve got some catching up to do. Pretty soon, though, we’ll be posting Tricia’s entries in real time.

When we last left Tricia, she managed to fight her way through a nearly month-long plateau. She didn’t cheat or give up, despite the scale not budging for weeks on end. Then, finally, a breakthrough. So with new progress and a renewed spirit, all’s right with Tricia and her VLCD world. Sure, some temptations lurk ahead, but that’s nothing new. Is Tricia back in cruise control, loving life and seeing nothing but success?

March 26. Can it be? Another food day at work? We are celebrating another March birthday at the office today. For a twist, the group is doing a breakfast theme. I love to bake, so last night I dug out a wonderful recipe I got at a bed and breakfast a few years ago: Door County Cherries and Cream Muffins. I knew this would be a test of will, since baking always involves, for me anyway, taste testing at every stage.