Michael 65 pounds lost and counting
What can I say; this is a program that works. When I made the decision to lose weight, I wasn't sure how. But with a little research, I found the program at Valley Bariatric & Wellness Clinic. I'm 47 and like most, my weight did fluctuate year to year. But with hitting the late 30's, I got lost in raising the kids and working 40+ hours every week. Needless to say, I really didn't take care of myself. With eating way to much unhealthy foods, cleaning off the kids left-overs and not preparing quality & portioned size meals, I found myself starting this program at 273 lbs.
The staff at Valley Bariatric & Wellness Center exceeded all my expectations. Special thanks goes to Dr. Brent Hella (Medical Director), for having the understanding and compassion of the struggles most people have with weigh-loss. Susan Hanson (P.A.C.), for having that same understanding and motivating attitude. their not just treating the patient, but most importantly, the whole person. Laura Alderman (Behaviorist), for giving me the tools in helping me make good lifestyle choices. And finally, Kristina Smith (Registered Dietitian), without her knowledge of all foods and how they truly affect us, this program would have be a waste of my time/money and theirs. There are no foods that you are not allowed to eat.
They are committed to helping you finally get the weight-off and keep it off. From beginning to end and the maintenance phase, the staff is always there to encourage and motivate you. I started Feb. 2009, ended June 2009. In five months I lost 65 lbs, solid pounds. It takes a little work at first, but its all worth it.
Thanks, again to everyone, for helping me gain back my life and my family thanks you.
Michael
Charles: 409 pounds lost and counting
This is not a typical weight loss story by any means, but we want to share this extraordinary journey with you to show what is possible with desire, determination and skilled medical care. Charles is a 35 year old man who walked into our clinic in June 2007 weighing 730 pounds. Charles knew that he needed to do something about his weight fearing he would stop breathing in his sleep.
Charles wasn't using his bed a lot. He said his sleep apnea worsened with his weight gain, so he tried to stay up all night watching television. In May 2007 Charles was admitted to the hospital in Fargo for congestive heart failure. He was being treated with diuretics and pills to help his kidneys get rid of excess fluid. Several doctors had already talked with Charles regarding having bypass surgery, but he was too heavy for the procedure.
Three weeks after Charles was released from the hospital Dr. Hella re-admitted him back into the hospital for congestive heart failure. Charles had refused the bypass surgery but knew that it was the only way he was going to be able to stay alive. Dr. Hella admitted him into a nursing home.
Charles was restricted to a 2,000 calorie diet compared to his usual 5,500 calorie intake that he had been consuming daily. Charles ended up losing a pound a day during his five months in the nursing home. He was able to drop his insulin dose from 500 units to 150 units per day. Charles was able to continue to come into the clinic after his was released from the nursing home to visit with our dietitian, Kristina Smith who kept him motivated to drop his weight down to 530 pounds.
Charles was able to have his gastric bypass on January 22, 2008. He weighed in last month at 321 pounds
Congratulations Jim for losing 50 pounds
I joined the Optifast program for two reasons. First is because of the convenience of the program. You do not have to weigh out or measure certain amounts of food. You are asked to take a certain amount of shakes per day and eat a full meal replacement bar once a day. This was very convenient for me with my work schedule. In fact after the first week I found sometimes that I was not hungry, I had to remember to keep taking my shakes every two – three hours.
Second, I know the key to successfully lose weight and keep it off is that you have to exercise. But with other programs I could not get the weight off by exercising because of osteoarthritis of my right knee. With the Optifast program you are not required to exercise the first 10 weeks or so of the program. I was able to take off over 50 lbs and know am able to get back into an exercise program without effecting my knee as much now. And there is a third reason, which I discovered after being in the program.
The support of the staff at Valley Bariatric and Internal Medicine is fantastic. They are very interested in every client’s progress and any questions you may have. And with a lot of programs that I have tried, once you are done with the program, you are never asked to come back again.
At Valley Bariatric, they encourage you to keep coming back to monitor and review your progress. This is called there maintenance program. This is very encouraging to have that feeling that you are not on your own once the program is over. You have that continued support.
Congratulations Shelly for losing 40 pounds
I know that I am going to sound like everyone else when I say that I have tried every diet program and nothing has worked for me.
I got started with the Medifast Program and have now been involved for approximately 7 months, I have lost 40 pounds, with reaching my 30 pound point at about 4 months into the program. Noticing not only the physical changes that I have experienced, I am now also craving all healthy foods and have learned and incorporated the appropriate portion sizes. Which was the easy part of this program, it is all there, ready in a couple of minutes and portion controlled. -Shelly
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