They lose a lot, and gain even more
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Cathy Lombardo says she will never diet again.
Over the years, the 41-year-old Chadds Ford, Pa., resident tried just about every new diet that came her way—Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, Slim Fast, Optifast. With each attempt, Lombardo would lose about 20 pounds, but, inevitably, she would tire of the plan and the weight would come back, and then some.
The successive failures were discouraging, but there would always be another diet just around the corner, she reasoned. Maybe the next one would do the trick.
That merry-go-round has taken its last trip, said Lombardo, thanks to a new weight-loss program she and husband Dan Dignazio joined called At Last.
Launched in April at the Brandywine YMCA in Talleyville, the seven-month program takes a comprehensive approach to dieting that is aimed at helping people who have not had success with other diet plans.
The secret? It’s not a diet, at least not in the traditional sense, said Laura Schofield-Pierson, health and wellness director at the Brandywine YMCA and—along with program coordinator Marianne Sarcich—co-creator of At Last.
There are no promises of weight loss. There aren’t even mandatory weigh-ins.
Through weekly meetings, participants learn not only what to eat, but to pay attention to why and when they eat. Instead of just being encouraged to exercise, they learn how to make time for it and can even get customized workouts from YMCA trainers. And instead of making weight loss about reaching a target weight, the participants learn how to make livable, long-term changes in the way they approach their health, said Schofield-Pierson.
“With all the quick-fix programs, they’re taking big cinder blocks to make changes, and the only way you can make a behavioral change is by taking those little, itty, bitty Legos,” she said. “When you add all those up, it takes awhile to make a building, but that’s the only way you’re going to create a new and healthy habit.”
A noticeable difference
At a recent At Last meeting, 12 members—all wearing green silicone bracelets signifying their participation in the program—giggled their way through a relaxation exercise that required them to breathe deeply while standing on one foot.
Every meeting starts out with relaxation therapy—the purpose being to clear one’s mind and prepare for the learning process to come.
In At Last, the mental and emotional component of weight loss is given significantly more attention than most diet plans, said Schofield-Pierson. The holistic approach is one of the main reasons why the program is geared to long-term success, she said.
Just about any diet can help you lose weight but few can sustain that loss, said Schofield-Pierson. That’s because most diets only deal with the obvious aspects of weight loss—food and exercise, she said. For people who gain extra weight out of carelessness, a commercial diet may do the trick. But for people with deeply rooted reasons for overeating, long-term success requires a change in lifestyle.
“If someone comes in thinking this is a diet, we dispel that immediately,” said Schofield-Pierson. “I can definitely help someone lose 20 pounds in the course of 2 1/2 weeks, but it’s not doing them justice to do it that way.”
Schofield-Pierson, 34, speaks from experience. Both she and Sarcich lost 100 pounds each and brought much of what they learned through their own travails to the program.
After getting tired—and a little angry—of the way most diets approached the problem, Schofield-Pierson set about creating At Last.
There are no definite rules. One-size-fits-all does not work when it comes to dieting, said Schofield-Pierson.
The aim is not to drop a set number of pounds in the first month. Instead, participants focus on creating what the program refers to as Just Noticeable Difference—incremental lifestyle changes that focus on the process of healthy living instead of attaining instant results.
Deprivation is avoided. While members are given initial recommendations for daily caloric intake through consultation with a registered dietitian, there are no rigid point systems and no blacklisted foods. To address portion control, members learn to eat off of salad plates and limit—but not eliminate—comfort foods. While the changes will be slower, they will also be more reasonable for the dieter, say the program directors. They encourage weight loss of no more than 2 pounds a week.
Barbara Goldsmith joined At Last after seeing a banner for the program that stated how habits are formed over the course of seven months. The realistic approach appealed to the recent Brooklyn transplant who found she had developed bad snacking habits since moving to Delaware a year ago.
“They understand about developing and breaking eating habits,” said Goldsmith, 65, of Wilmington. “It’s not something that you do right away.”
Since joining the program, Goldsmith realized she unconsciously goes for a second helping at every meal and said she will try to adjust her portion sizes accordingly.
For Madeline Rice, At Last presented an opportunity to work regular physical activity into her routine.
Even though Rice was having success with Weight Watchers, At Last offered her a more well-rounded approach to weight loss, she said.
Rice, 58, has a family history of osteoporosis. Through At Last, she learned the benefit of strength training to stave off the effects of the disease and is learning how to integrate exercise into her weight-loss routine with the help of YMCA staff trainers.
“You’re not intimidated here,” said Rice. “If you go into the gym and you haven’t worked out before it’s not like somebody’s going to look at you and go, ‘That person is out of shape.’ “
Past failures
Clark Donnelly has been wrestling with his weight since junior high school—at times, literally.
For most of his life, Donnelly, 43, was forced to manipulate his weight in order to pursue his chosen activities. As a junior high and high school wrestler, he had to qualify for his weight classification before every competition. Then, as a high school nose tackle, he bulked up to about 180 pounds.
Through his Reserve Officer Training Corps days in college and more than seven years as a Navy pilot, he struggled to meet the required cutoff weights. After retiring from the Navy, Donnelly allowed himself to let go and, within a matter of years, saw his 5-foot-9-inch frame fill out to as much as 260 pounds.
Growing up in an Italian-American household, family life revolved around food, said Donnelly. Food was celebration. Food was reward. Food was consolation.
“In my house, it was eat everything on your plate. There’s starving children all over the world, so be happy with what you have and eat what’s in front of you,” he said with a chuckle.
Previous attempts at dieting were hindered by the absolute nature of many diets, said Donnelly. He found himself resenting the idea that he couldn’t indulge in a certain food or eat past a certain time of day. When he did indulge himself, his perceived failure at his diet sometimes justified a binge.
Now, when he gets the urge to treat himself, Donnelly halves his portions or substitutes with healthier choices.
“It wasn’t A or B,” he said. “There’s gray in there and options that, I don’t want to say, give you an out, but you don’t set yourself up for failure right from the start.”
Like some At Last members, Donnelly said he found regular weigh-ins detrimental to prolonged success. The disappointment of failing to show progress each week can be deeply affecting, he said. Some days, he would nearly starve himself the day before weigh-ins just to be able to show improvement.
Though weight must be measured from time to time, programs that insist on frequent weigh-ins rely on a negative reinforcement model, said Schofield-Pierson. The At Last program encourages participants to take waist measurements instead of weighing themselves.
“It’s about empowerment for these people, and they enjoy coming,” she said. “It’s not about making you feel bad that you didn’t lose weight that week.”
To ensure success in any program, dieters must accept that their weight loss is in their hands, said Dr. Anthony Fabricatore, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weight and Eating Disorders Program.
“A lot of people come in and expect to lose weight just by virtue of their coming to meetings,” he said. “That’s something we try to nip in the bud early. Our role is to teach you what you need to know and help you try to identify and overcome barriers to putting that knowledge into action. We can’t do it for you. We can’t provide the motivation.”
Though At Last shares several components of the program offered at the Weight and Eating Disorders Program, Fabricatore finds the lack of weigh-ins a shortcoming. Without pounds shed to show effectiveness, it is difficult to gauge a program’s success, he said.
For Dr. Barbara Moore, president and chief executive officer of Shape Up America!—a nonprofit organization that espouses a balanced approach to weight loss—the primary concern with many diet plans is their effect on overall health.
Any healthy, sustainable approach to weight loss should take into account balanced nutrition and physical activity, said Moore, a proponent of the federal government’s food guide pyramid (visit www. mypyramid.gov).
“The issue there is dietary balance—incorporating all of the food groups and not demonizing any of the food groups,” said Moore. “To me, that’s an immediate red flag.”
Starting anew
In keeping with the flexible nature of At Last, the program is still a work in progress, said Schofield-Pierson. A support group is in the works, which will offer members the opportunity to meet after the initial seven-month program ends.
“You had to go through some of this to understand what it was that [makes one say] I’m not going to get back on that diet bandwagon again, and I am going to make a change,” she said.
Even if Lombardo and Dignazio don’t lose a significant amount of weight by the end of the program’s seven months—which they think they will do anyway—they say the program is worth the time.
“Success is not going to be solely measured by weight loss,” said Lombardo. “It’s going to be measured by what we learn, and how we can incorporate it into our lives.”
Weight loss means even more to Donnelly now that he has a family. Recently, his doctor told him he is at risk for a number of Obesity-related health concerns.
Failure is not an option, said Donnelly. He’s confident he’s found the key to his future health. It’s just up to him to use it.
“It’s your own program so you’re getting out of it what you’re putting into it,” he said. “There’s no one to blame but yourself.”
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