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| Change in mindset necessary for weight loss |
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By: ERIN EDGEMON, Business Editor
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Posted: Sunday, September 20, 2009 6:43 am
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Dora Tomchak has lost 35 pounds and went from a size 12 to a size 2 since she started working with a personal trainer in June 2008.
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Weight loss is a lifelong struggle for many.
Sometimes it takes many attempts and failures before finding what works.
Long-term weight loss is about finding out what works for you and having the motivation to accomplish set goals.
Jen Hartman, a registered dietician with Middle Tennessee Medical Center, said the key to long-term weight loss is “diligence, compliance and commitment.”
Someone who is trying to lose weight has to change his or her mindset, she said. They have to decide whether they are going to diet or if it is going to be a lifestyle change.
“Diets don't work,” she said
Long-term weight loss is a “commitment to changing your lifestyle habits and changing your eating habits,” Hartman said.
She said a healthy diet should consist of lean proteins, whole grains, vegetables and fruits.
Here is the story of three individuals who achieved weight loss success:
Dora Tomchak had always been athletic, but she admits not really being in that great of shape even when she played tennis in college.
Her life changed when her brother had quadruple bypass surgery at the age of 38.
“That was a real eye opener that I needed to get healthy,” Tomchak, who works at World Outreach Church, said.
For years she had tried off and on to lose weight with little success.
“I think I didn't realize that I wasn’t in shape,” Tomchak said. “I had never worked out with weights before. I didn't realize how much fast food I was eating."
She decided to lose weight and get in shape by using a personal trainer. Some of her friends had used a personal trainer and achieved great results.
“I thought I would try something new,” Tomchak said. She started working with her trainer in June 2008.
Her personal trainer, Michael Baes at the Murfreesboro Athletic Club, oversees her workouts and her diet.
Tomchak does weight training with Baes two hours a week, and then she does cardiovascular workouts on her own three to four times a week.
Baes advised Tomchak to eat five small meals a day consisting of lean proteins, vegetables and fruits. She keeps a log of her workouts and of what she eats.
Since beginning her training, Tomchak has lost 35 pounds.
“I pretty much lost that weight during the first 90 days of working with him,” she said.
More impressively she went from a size 12 to a size 2.
“It is amazing,” Tomchak said, adding that her workouts have basically reshaped her body.
Working with a trainer took all of the guesswork out of what to eat and how to workout, she said.
“There was really no guesswork. I just followed the plan. The accountability was huge."
Through working with Baes, Tomchak learned a new lifestyle, one that she thinks she can continue when she no longer has the trainer to rely on.
Baes said his clients achieve success if he has empowered them, given them the right tools and shown them that they can do it for themselves.
•••
Bryan Barrett had struggled with his weight for most of his life.
The operations manager at WGNS Radio decided to get serious about losing weight in October 2008, after his doctor told him that his chronic back pain would only improve if he lost weight.
“I left and was mad because no one wants to hear that,” he said.
Barrett also had other health concerns. His blood pressure was high on that particular doctor’s visit, and he had already been on medication for his high blood pressure since he was 16 years old.
After having tried everything from Weight Watchers to L.A. Weight Loss over the years, Barrett decided to try something different.
“I didn’t have success in those programs,” Barrett said. “I didn’t have much success in those programs and I am an impatient guy.”
This time he decided to try the Metabolic Research Center located at 206 Uptown Square.
“As soon as I started, I saw immediate results,” Barrett said, adding that he lost six pounds the first week and three pounds each week after.
Barrett said the center taught him to change his mindset about food.
“I wanted a plan that once I lost the weight that they didn’t just turn you loose,” he said.
According to the center’s Web site, the Metabolic Research Center’s programs were created by doctors and registered dieticians to offer a nutritionally balanced approach to weight loss.
“We incorporate food from all four food groups and our program is well respected throughout the medical community,” stated the Web site at www.emetabolic.com. “We focus on weight management for life and use holistic principles that address both sound nutritional practices and life management skills. More than simply making better meal choices, our integrated philosophy teaches you how to overcome the emotional side of eating. Combined, the components of the program help you to not only lose weight quickly, safely and effectively, but to keep it off for a lifetime.”
The center offers one-on-one counseling and coaching that Barrett appreciated.
Barrett said he was taught how to make better decisions about what he eats, learned what foods he was sensitive to and he learned how to keep his metabolism up so that he doesn’t store fat.
One of the other reasons Barrett said this program worked for him was because he was finally ready to lose the weight for good.
“I think unless you really have a desire — if you go in and don’t really want to change your lifestyle — nothing is going to work,” he said.
In less than a year Barrett lost 130 pounds and 70 inches. He went from a size 52 pant to a size 36.
Now he is off blood pressure medications and his back problems have improved, Barrett said.
“So, the doctor was right,” he said.
•••
Before having gastric bypass surgery three and a half months ago, Joey Rigsby couldn’t walk 10 feet without being out of breath and suffering back pain.
“I didn’t want to feel that way anymore,” he said, which prompted him to have the surgery that reduced the size of his stomach on May 29.
His primary care physician recommended the surgery because of his high blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides, severe sleep apnea and back pain.
Weight loss surgery is for the morbidly obese, those approximately 100 pounds above their ideal body weight. Patients also typically have health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure or sleep apnea.
Rigsby only thought about the surgery for two weeks before signing up.
“It seemed like it would be a big help,” he said.
He did the research and weighed his options and felt that having the surgery was the best choice for him. He had tried everything from Weight Watchers to Slim Fast shakes and couldn’t get the weight off.
“I would lose it and gain it back,” Rigsby said.
So far, Rigsby has lost 105 pounds and four or five pant sizes. He plans to lose at least a 100 more pounds.
“That is amazing in that period of time,” said Angela Upleger, bariatric nurse coordinator for Bariatric Services at Middle Tennessee Medical Center. Usually it takes patients six to seven months to lose over 100 pounds.
Rigsby said the struggle with his weight began after graduating high school in 1991. He played football in high school, which helped him keep his weight down.
“After (graduating) I slowly started gaining weight,” he said. His weight began to balloon four or five years ago. He weighed 429 pounds just before his surgery.
Having the surgery has drastically changed Rigsby’s eating habits and the way he views himself.
Now he can only eat small portions and eating greasy or sugary foods makes him sick.
The biggest thing was that he had to change the mindset that makes him want to eat an entire pizza. That, he said, is one of the most difficult parts of the weight loss process.
Bariatric Services, however, provides counseling and a support group to help patients dealing with losing their best friend, which is food, and the changes in their body.
Now, Rigsby walks three miles, three times a week. He feels better about himself and wants to get out of the house and be active.
Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.
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Member Opinions:
By: Valerie0903 on 9/20/09
Wow Dora; you look fabulous!!
Login and voice your opinion!
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