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Vol. 38, No. 18 |
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4-21-2004 In the battle against weight, friendships countOne by one, each woman hands Blanche Luczyk a thin booklet, then slips off her shoes and steps onto the scale. From her seat behind the table, Luczyk eyes the scale’s digital screen, and jots each person’s weight down in the booklet. Released from the scale, the women settle down into seats at one of the room’s 12 tables, opening up lunch bags and enjoying the contents while engaging in small talk with one another. At about 11:44 a.m., Luczyk stands up, and walks to each woman, stopping to deposit a smiley face sticker on the back of each hand and to offer congratulations. When she gets to Barb Henestofel she makes an announcement. “Barb gets her 60-pound star!” and the room breaks out in applause while Henestofel, a slender woman in navy slacks and a turtleneck sweater, beams her thanks. And so begins another meeting of the Postle Hall Weight Watchers group. The group got its start in August 2003. Kelly Scheiderer, health and quality improvement officer for the College of Dentistry, is a volunteer wellness ambassador for the Faculty and Staff Wellness Program. She’d received several requests from co-workers for a weight loss program and, with the help of the wellness program, was able to create a group to participate in the Weight Watchers At Work program. “We had 20-some people who joined. They were all dental people and brand new to the program,” said Scheiderer, who signed up herself to lose 20 pounds she had gained while pregnant with her daughter three years earlier. Participants pay a $10 registration fee and $100, either in a lump sum up front or in two credit card payments, for the 10-week session. The cost is slightly less than Weight Watchers programs outside of the workplace because there is no facilities fee. The Postle Hall group meets from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, has met continuously since its inception (the group has to maintain a membership of 20), and now includes members from outside the dental college. “People drop out and new people come in, but we’ve had a half-dozen folks who have been in for the duration,” Scheiderer said. Scheiderer counts the program a success. “I have met my goal! I lost 22 pounds in a 10-week session and a six-week maintenance period. As long as I maintain within my two pounds, the program is free,” she said. Collectively, the group has lost 740 pounds. Scheiderer does check up on members who miss sessions and offers gentle encouragement, but said she doesn’t like to be pushy. “If you’re not committed, no one can get it done for you,” she said. Cheryl Medley, a Postle Hall group member who began in December 2001 in a now defunct Park Hall group, met her goal by losing 118 pounds in 15 months. “I could not have done that without it being here on campus,” said Medley, a policy analyst/compliance officer for the Office of Student Financial Aid. “The At Work program has been the saving grace for me. If I had to go home and come back? Forget about it.” Henestofel retired from her position as business manager for the Dental Faculty Practice in July 2003, but she returns to campus each week for the Weight Watchers sessions. “We enjoy that we still get to see her,” Scheiderer said. “It’s a great group,” said Henestofel, who has achieved lifetime status by reaching and surpassing her goal of losing 50 pounds. “It’s very motivating being with people who have the same problems that everyone has with losing weight. We bounce a lot of ideas off of one another.”
Those interested in starting a group should contact Marianne Robinson at the Faculty and Staff Wellness Program.Groups currently meeting: • Battelle-OSU Building • Derby Hall • Drinko Hall • Postle Hall \0
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