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Members
of the Weight Management Center will be available during Wellness
Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 14 in the Children’s Hospital
lobby. They will be able to determine participants body mass index and
discuss programs available at the Weight Management Center.
by Joshua D. Brown, Ph.D., Weight Management Center, and Tonya Turner, registered dietitian
The Weight Management Center offers a number of programs to serve the
different needs of people. However, all of the programs include a
strong emphasis on helping people make the long-term lifestyle changes
that are so important for success in the long run.
These changes are the “ABCDS” of lifestyle change: q Activity
changes—Exercise is crucial to the long-term success of a weight loss
program. No single exercise program is right for everyone, so it is
important for you to create and work towards an exercise program that
is effective and reasonable for you.
- Behavioral
changes—Your habits and behaviors are important parts of your lifestyle
and, therefore, your weight. Many of your behaviors are automatic;
occurring without you even thinking about them. Monitoring your
behaviors is one of the most important tools for helping change your
lifestyle and manage your weight. Regularly graphing your weight and
keeping eating diaries are important new habits to develop.
- Cognitive (thinking)
changes—Your thought patterns are as important as your behavior
patterns. Your associations to food and your thoughts about dieting
affect your ability to successfully watch your weight. It is important
to become more aware of and change the thought patterns that lead you
to overeat or sabotage your own progress.
- Dietary
changes—Successful long-term weight loss and overall health depend on a
healthy diet. A registered dietitian can help you form an eating
plan you can live.
- Support systems—The
process of losing weight and growing accustomed to new ways of dealing
with food can be difficult. Your friends, family and co-workers can be
great sources of support. They also can be harmful when it comes to
your attempts to make lifestyle changes.
Visit http://www.MUSChealth.com/weight
or call 792-CARE (2273) to get scheduled for a free consultation. (Ask
about the discounts and payroll deduction options offered to
MUSC-affiliated employees.)
The Weight Management Center is staffed with registered dietitians,
exercise physiologists, physicians, psychologists, and nurses who
specialize in helping people lose weight and keep it off.
Upcoming weight-loss program
Work it Off—Learn to lose weight the healthy way, and do it during your
lunch break. This 10-week worksite weight loss program for MUSC
employees costs $98 and is held at the Weight Management Center-
Institute of Psychiatry from noon to 1 p.m. beginning Feb. 25. The
program is offered by MUSC’s weight-loss professionals, including
dietitians, psychologists and exercise physiologists who will help you
learn to make the best nutritional choices, and adopt healthy eating
patterns and exercise habits. We emphasize lifestyle change, healthy
changes that you can sustain after the program is completed.
Call Beka Hardin at 792-9959 to register, or e-mail health1st@musc.edu.
Editor's note: The
preceding column was brought to you on behalf of Health 1st. Striving
to bring various topics and representing numerous employee wellness
organizations and committees on campus, this weekly column seeks to
provide MUSC, MUHA and UMA employees with current and helpful
information concerning all aspects of health.
Friday, Jan. 9, 2009
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