weight management - Dean Refresh You

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.

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

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.