Almost to the finish line

~The Southeast Missourian is following the progress of participants in Southeast Missouri Hospital's weight-loss program, Starting Point. Participants have been in the program for 15 weeks.

Surrounded by supporters and spice muffins, the members of the weight-loss program Starting Point called out their lost poundage. Entering their 15th week in the 20-week program, the seven reporting participants have lost a total of 273 pounds.

Starting Point, a weight-loss program offered at HealthPoint Plaza, uses meal replacement packets and advocates lifestyle changes to lose weight. The group, which meets once a week, has started adding grocery-store food back to their diets and are starting exercise plans to continue dropping weight.

Diane Runnels walked in carrying a meal replacement shake. She has lost 24 pounds since starting the program.

"I don't mind telling you at all," she said. "I'm proud of it."

She did the numbers and came to the conclusion that she's paying about $60 a pound but said the program is worth the money. She calls herself a "stress eater" and said portion control is her weakness.

The weekly meetings serve as support for those in the program.

"It's very behavior modification focused," said Raina Childers, a dietitian at Southeast Missouri Hospital's HealthPoint Plaza.

Using the meal replacements puts most of the group on about a 1,000 calorie per day diet. Starting Point does not only consider a person's weight, though. Childers checks each person's blood pressure and blood is taken periodically for testing.

Once participants understand nutrition and the importance of consuming quality nutrients they return to what Childers calls "grocery-store food."

"Some stick with a breakfast meal replacement," Childers said. "It can be a tool that can be available."

Group members have added vegetables and some cook with the meal replacements. The spice muffins given out at the meeting were made using meal replacement powder. Two muffins equal a meal.

Phase one, the 20-week leg the participants are currently in, is the foundation period where they cut caloric intake and eventually learn how to slowly re-enter regular foods.

"Some parts of their old lives will never come back," Childers said. When they bring back old favorites, they just have to realize, 'When I do eat it, I do it in a smaller amounts.'"

Group members are beginning to add exercise to their daily routines. Anything from leg lifts at work to Kegel exercises count toward calorie burning and core strengthening.

HealthPoint physical therapist Kurt Pfefferkorn told Tuesday's lunch group that strength training along with weight loss would benefit them more.

"You're going to burn more calories just at rest with more muscle mass," Pfefferkorn said.

Posture was another key point for better lung capacity and core strength. Strengthening the multifidus and the transverses abdominis muscles -- they run like a corset across the lower abdomen and above the pelvic bone -- would help everyday activities run more smoothly.

Turning to answer a phone, getting out of the car, Pfefferkorn said, "you get support and stability from these [muscles]."

Pfefferkorn said Kegel exercises -- contracting the same muscles used to stop urination -- can help strengthen the muscle group. It takes about 20,000 repetitions to retrain the muscles, but the group figured 10 reps every 10 minutes would help.

"No one can tell you're doing them," Pfefferkorn said. "I'm doing them right now."

charris@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246

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The Southeast Missourian will track the progress of three individuals who are enrolled in the Starting Point program at HealthPoint Plaza. At the end of 20 weeks, before and after phtographs of the individuals and total weight loss will be published. Here are the participants and their progress during the first 15 weeks. To read their complete responses, log on to www.semissourian.com.

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Jennifer Freeze, 26, of Cape Girardeau

Weight loss to date: 27 pounds

What food do you miss the most?

There isn't really a food I miss, although I do miss having a beer every now and then!

What foods have you added back to your diet?

I've added back fruits and vegetables to my diet; some fish like tuna and salmon. If I'm not eating a meal replacement, I try to eat something healthy.

How do you add variety to the meal replacements?

To be quite honest, I'm getting a little sick of the meal replacements. Usually I only have one per day and that's at breakfast. There are a lot of different recipes you can try using the meal replacement. I made a pizza using the potato soup meal replacement and that was good!

What exercise have you added?

I've been exercising more frequently. I try to go twice a day but that's only when it fits into my schedule. Now that it's summer, I really want to start swimming at 5 a.m. with my mom (who regularly swims three days a week!).

How many diets had you tried before this?

I did Biometrics through Saint Francis Medical Center before and did quite well on it. And there's always the dieting (cutting back on carbs) that last for a few weeks. Raina mentioned to us that the average person "diets" for three months at a time. Starting Point is a great program because it lasts five months, two months longer than the average diet, which should help a person make that lifestyle change.

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George Landre, 65,

of Cape Girardeau

Weight loss to date: 25 pounds

What food do you miss the most?

Missed food to date is pasta.

What foods have you added back to your diet?

Fruits and vegetables.

What exercise have you added?

Riding a bicycle

How many diets had you tried before this?

I attempted two other diets before going on the Starting Point program. But to be fair, it wasn't the other programs that failed, the fault was with me. You must want to lose weight and set goals to achieve that outcome. What it comes down to is being honest with yourself.

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Diane Runnels, 59,

of Jackson

Runnels calls herself a stress eater and says after a few of life's surprises, she gained a lot of weight. When she gets stressed now, she plays with her grandchildren or researches genealogy of interesting names.

Weight loss to date: 24 pounds

What food do you miss the most?

Pasta. And pizza.

What foods have you added back to your diet?

I've added salads and vegetables. Bananas are the only fruit I can eat. I also have some of those 100-calorie packs.

How do you add variety to the meal replacements?

I mix meal replacements with soda.

What exercise have you added?

It just has to be something that you don't normally do. It's summer, so working in my yard, I'm doing that now as my physical activity. I have a pedometer. Today I've only walked 1,269 steps, so I've got a lot to go. I try to get 10,000 a day.

What diets have you tried before?

Just about everything that's there, I've tried it. Biometrics, Atkins, Slimfast.