Nancy Cosgrove, RN, BA, started RNfit Weight Management in 2001. A Registered Nurse since 1983, her passion is helping people improve their quality of life throught preventive health behaviors. For seven years running, RNfit has been recognized by HMR® as one of the top programs in the U.S., out of approximately 250 nationwide.
This is a letter that Dargie; one of our clients who has lost 96lbs, wrote to Nancy. We are sharing it here, with Dargie's permission.
5:30 A.M.2/22/09
Dear Nancy,I am wide awake and not sure why, but I am thinking of you.
There must be some way to thank you for this gift that you have helped me to attain.
Our meeting was not by chance, but an arrival after a very long search.
There were days when I would cry- not only when I was a child, but as an adult as well.
Many were eager to tell me where I needed to be, but none were able to set my journey into motion.
Hundreds through the years have laughed at me, with me or behind my back.
Some wanted me to fail because of their own struggles.
Few understand the magnitude of my situation.
Only one has led me through this by encouragement, praise, education and discipline.
You have changed my life in such a profound way that I have become a new person.
Weight loss was my original goal, but that is only a small portion of what you have helped me to achieve.
Our successes cannot be measured by scales or bank accounts.
Our payoff is life, health and (never before felt) confidence.
I can look into a mirror and not want to look away.
I can have a seat with confidence that the chair will hold me.
I can stand in front of a classroom of children or my peers and feel good about my self.
I can shop for things that I like to wear, not in a “big girl” store with very limited choices.
I can do these things because you do what you do.
You care about me, and I know it.
You don’t give up on me when I have a hard time.
More importantly, you don’t let me give up when I have a hard time.
You are a hero-you save lives.
You helped me see that I could start a new chapter in my life and make it better.
Thank you just isn’t enough, but it is like a bow on the present- that you helped to make so much better for me.
Forever your friend, Dargie
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Travel Tips
Debby Bridges, Office Manager at RNfit Weight Management shares these tips and tricks for staying "In the Box" while traveling.
Pack:
· All the shakes and entrees you will need while you are gone and MORE
· A cooler filled with fruit and vegetables to snack on
· Lots of canned fruits and vegetables with pop tops
· Plastic forks and spoons, paper cups, napkins and bowls
· Blender bottle or an electric blender
· Individual packets of fat-free salad dressing and sweetener
· Dishwashing detergent to wash the blender bottle
Plan:
· Make a plan for the travel day and the first day of your trip in case you don't make it to the store right away. Before you leave, prepare your meal (mix vegetables with entrée) so it is ready for heating and eating.
No microwave, No problem:
· Stop at Travel Centers to use the microwave to heat entrees
· Ask restaurants to heat entrees
· Put entrees over hot vegetables (examples: baked potatoes or steamed broccoli)
· Put entrees in car windows (on dashboard, out of box with black side up), the sun will heat them up! It really works!!
· Fill sink with hot water and let the entrees sit in water
· Put heated entrée in thermos with vegetables before you leave- the meal is ready when you are
· Heat entrée and wrap in a towel and store in cooler to preserve heat
On Airplanes:
· Have HMR food and fruit in all suitcases, including carry on
· Ask for bottle of water on the plane. Drink some and add package of 70+ and shake. Have as pudding or shake.
· Be sure and pack plastic utensils in carry on
Get your Minimums In, No Matter What!
· Eat Early, "front load"
· Have an entrée for breakfast
· Have 3 shakes for breakfast and 2 entrees for lunch, Eat vegetables for lunch and dinner
· Eat the entrée before you go to the restaurant
· Don't get hungry. Your "willpower" is strongest when you are full
· Decide what you are going to eat before you get the restaurant. Check out menus on-line.
· Take a short walk EVERY time you stop!
Pack:
· All the shakes and entrees you will need while you are gone and MORE
· A cooler filled with fruit and vegetables to snack on
· Lots of canned fruits and vegetables with pop tops
· Plastic forks and spoons, paper cups, napkins and bowls
· Blender bottle or an electric blender
· Individual packets of fat-free salad dressing and sweetener
· Dishwashing detergent to wash the blender bottle
Plan:
· Make a plan for the travel day and the first day of your trip in case you don't make it to the store right away. Before you leave, prepare your meal (mix vegetables with entrée) so it is ready for heating and eating.
No microwave, No problem:
· Stop at Travel Centers to use the microwave to heat entrees
· Ask restaurants to heat entrees
· Put entrees over hot vegetables (examples: baked potatoes or steamed broccoli)
· Put entrees in car windows (on dashboard, out of box with black side up), the sun will heat them up! It really works!!
· Fill sink with hot water and let the entrees sit in water
· Put heated entrée in thermos with vegetables before you leave- the meal is ready when you are
· Heat entrée and wrap in a towel and store in cooler to preserve heat
On Airplanes:
· Have HMR food and fruit in all suitcases, including carry on
· Ask for bottle of water on the plane. Drink some and add package of 70+ and shake. Have as pudding or shake.
· Be sure and pack plastic utensils in carry on
Get your Minimums In, No Matter What!
· Eat Early, "front load"
· Have an entrée for breakfast
· Have 3 shakes for breakfast and 2 entrees for lunch, Eat vegetables for lunch and dinner
· Eat the entrée before you go to the restaurant
· Don't get hungry. Your "willpower" is strongest when you are full
· Decide what you are going to eat before you get the restaurant. Check out menus on-line.
· Take a short walk EVERY time you stop!
More is Better(TM)
Back again…
I’ve talked about going back into weight loss, and how I keep up with my physical activity. Well, I lost the weight that I gained over summer holidays (yay!) and now am trying to decide whether to stick it out for anther ten pounds, or transition to maintenance and keep losing there.
This go around in weight loss I rediscovered how the More is Better™ idea got me losing 8.5 lbs in 4weeks. I’ve never eaten so many fruits and vegetables in my life! Going for roasted chick peas when I was craving salty and crunchy foods kept me from feeling deprived – that “oh woe is me” syndrome that has me invariably reaching for “gap” foods.
How do I incorporate more is better throughout my day? I’d heard the 9 by 5:00 statement before (9 fruits and vegetables eaten by 5pm) but for me on my most stressful days I need to eat 5 by 10:00 (5 fruits and vegetables before 10:00am). My go-to breakfast when I know I’ve got a busy day ahead? The night before I throw a bunch of veggies onto a cookie sheet (usually a combination of green peppers, mushroom, onions and prepared potatoes) and cover them with two HMR® Mushroom Risotto Entrees and then bake the whole lot in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes – the risotto becomes almost crunchy, and very much like a breakfast omelet and I end up with half the recipe (1 entrée, 3 veggies) for breakfast, and half for lunch the next day. This super filling breakfast helps keep me on track, and away from the muffins and bagels that call my name. I follow that up with a couple of fruits before 10:00 and I guarantee you that I’m going to have an easier time staying “in the box” the rest of the day.
Another “more is better” idea that a lot of people (including me!) forget about is water. There are definitely days that I eat when in actuality what I am is thirsty. The days when I drink 8-12 glasses of water are good days for me because I eat less, and being hydrated helps things “move through my body” as it were. Gross to talk about I know, but true nonetheless.
I also tend to eat more when I’m tired – eating to stay awake, so “more is better” also applies to sleep for me. For one thing, if I’m sleeping I’m not eating and when I’m well rested I tend to make better food choices anyway.
All these things – getting enough sleep and water, front-loading, eating more fruits, vegetables and meal replacements are strategies that I learned in the weight loss and weight maintenance classes at RNfit Weight Management™ (an HMR® Program). It has been a matter of experimenting with all sorts of different strategies and picking the combination that works the best for me. Putting them into practice can be a whole other thing, which is why I’m still attending classes. :)
I’ve talked about going back into weight loss, and how I keep up with my physical activity. Well, I lost the weight that I gained over summer holidays (yay!) and now am trying to decide whether to stick it out for anther ten pounds, or transition to maintenance and keep losing there.
This go around in weight loss I rediscovered how the More is Better™ idea got me losing 8.5 lbs in 4weeks. I’ve never eaten so many fruits and vegetables in my life! Going for roasted chick peas when I was craving salty and crunchy foods kept me from feeling deprived – that “oh woe is me” syndrome that has me invariably reaching for “gap” foods.
How do I incorporate more is better throughout my day? I’d heard the 9 by 5:00 statement before (9 fruits and vegetables eaten by 5pm) but for me on my most stressful days I need to eat 5 by 10:00 (5 fruits and vegetables before 10:00am). My go-to breakfast when I know I’ve got a busy day ahead? The night before I throw a bunch of veggies onto a cookie sheet (usually a combination of green peppers, mushroom, onions and prepared potatoes) and cover them with two HMR® Mushroom Risotto Entrees and then bake the whole lot in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes – the risotto becomes almost crunchy, and very much like a breakfast omelet and I end up with half the recipe (1 entrée, 3 veggies) for breakfast, and half for lunch the next day. This super filling breakfast helps keep me on track, and away from the muffins and bagels that call my name. I follow that up with a couple of fruits before 10:00 and I guarantee you that I’m going to have an easier time staying “in the box” the rest of the day.
Another “more is better” idea that a lot of people (including me!) forget about is water. There are definitely days that I eat when in actuality what I am is thirsty. The days when I drink 8-12 glasses of water are good days for me because I eat less, and being hydrated helps things “move through my body” as it were. Gross to talk about I know, but true nonetheless.
I also tend to eat more when I’m tired – eating to stay awake, so “more is better” also applies to sleep for me. For one thing, if I’m sleeping I’m not eating and when I’m well rested I tend to make better food choices anyway.
All these things – getting enough sleep and water, front-loading, eating more fruits, vegetables and meal replacements are strategies that I learned in the weight loss and weight maintenance classes at RNfit Weight Management™ (an HMR® Program). It has been a matter of experimenting with all sorts of different strategies and picking the combination that works the best for me. Putting them into practice can be a whole other thing, which is why I’m still attending classes. :)
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