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CrossFit offers individualized approach to getting in top physical condition

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By Casey [email protected]

Small children, fi refi ghters,marathon runners and the el-derly can all exercise together

at local CrossFit gyms in Idaho Falls.

CrossFit was originally founded by Greg Glassman in 2000, and it has since grown into a popular type of intense workout that is practiced throughout the nation. Despite its definition as an intense workout, the program is designed to be scalable to fit any individual despite their age or skill level.

Sam Harmer, owner of Maltese CrossFit in Idaho Falls, said thatmost CrossFit junkies agree thatexercise should be “measured in degrees and not kinds.”

In other words, CrossFit work-outs are generally the same for everyone, but weight and speed, among other factors, can be in-creased or decreased to match the intensity level of each individual.

“CrossFit is intense, but it is scalable for everybody’s abilities,” said Harmer. “One movementmight be really heavy and fast for one person, but depending on someone’s needs or the shape they’re in that same movement can be scaled back with less weight, less time or fewer rounds in order to fit their abilities.”

Katie Mickelsen, owner of KageCrossFit in Idaho Falls, also men-tioned the scalability of CrossFit to a variety of diff erent individuals and described it as a competitive sport—but the competition is onlywith oneself.

“What’s cool about CrossFit is

that as you’re working on your endurance and your strength, your intensity is going to increase as long as you keep pushing yourself,”said Mickelsen, “That intensity can never really peak, it can always increase and improve. A person’sintensity is an individual thing. That is part of what drew me toCrossFit.”

In Mickelsen’s classes, she

directs her clients into a warm up, until they are ready to launch intowhat is called a WOD, or Work Out of the Day, followed by a cooldown.

WODs vary in length depending on the gym and trainers that are involved. At Kage CrossFit, theygenerally last for about 20 minutes. CrossFitters are given the length of the WOD to complete as many

rounds of a certain workout thatthey can. The exercises changethroughout the day, but one WOD might consist of something likethe following: a 400 meter run, 10 thrusters and 15 toes to bar.

Mickelsen encourages herclients to record the number ofrounds they do in a WOD eachtime they come to class so theycan see how much they improve

over time.“My time might be diff erent

than the time of the person next tome, but everyone is still working hard and being intense even if the workouts are scaled down,” said Mickelsen. “If you are just going as hard as you personally can go, you will still benefit from it. Everyone is diff erent.”

See CrossFit, page 3

Casey Archibald/[email protected] participate in a CrossFit workout at Kage CrossFit in Idaho Falls recently.

Casey Archibald/[email protected] lift weights at Kage CrossFit in Idaho Falls.

CrossFit offers individualized approach to getting in top physical condition

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Harmer said even thoughCrossFit was originally designed for members ofthe military, law enforce-ment and fi refi ghters,because of its scalability and well-rounded nature itis now used to prepare all kinds of people for their ev-eryday life no matter whatthat entails.

“Firefighters train herebecause they have to liftheavy, go fast, and move, but somebody in their older stages of life still hasto do things—still has tomove, still has to pick upgrandkids. CrossFit is just as valuable for them. Wefocus on training functional movements so everybody can do it,” said Harmer.

One way Harmer’s gym implements functional movements is through the equipment that exists atMaltese CrossFit. Nothing in the gym is electric; it is all “human-powered.” Th is does not just include the free weights, gymnastics rings and monkey bars thatare available. Even ma-chines like rowers, station-ary bikes and treadmills do not require electricity. Harmer described the treadmill as a human ham-ster wheel.

“In our gym if you don’t move it, it doesn’t move,”said Harmer. “We are un-conventional.”

Neither CrossFit gym has mirrors along the walls like many gyms that hold traditional fi tness classes.

“We want people to con-centrate more on what theyare doing and how theyfeel than how they look,”said Mickelsen. “We havetrainers here during every class to ensure the safety ofour clients and to make surethey are doing the move-ments correctly. There is no real need for mirrors.”

Mickelsen said her gym also uses functional move-ments to train and thatCrossFit fitness is a little different than most styles ofgyms.

“We don’t use a lot ofsingle body movements likebicep curls, we like to try touse the body as one,” said Mickelsen, “So we do a lot of all-over body movements instead of doing things likehaving a leg day or an arm

day, or an abs and back day.We use the body as a whole and [CrossFit is] a little different that way.”

Harmer explained thatanother important aspectof CrossFit is thatall aspects are con-sidered important, not just strengthand cardiovascular.

“There are ten kinds of fi tness thatwe emphasize,”said Harmer. “We believe in all pathways ofcardiovascular and respira-tory endurance, strength, stamina, fl exibility, balance, speed, coordination, agility,power, accuracy. We like tothink of ourselves as havinga broad spectrum.”

Harmer said it is not enough to work on just one area of fitness like running or lifting, because other as-pects like ones that involve agility are necessary for day-to-day activities.

“The goal is to be able to dabble in every kind ofsport and be well-rounded and not be stuck with one paradigm of fi tness,” said Harmer.

Mickelsen said that itdoesn’t take a long work-out to exercise the whole body in a well-rounded,

functional way. In fact, she encourages her clients to do shorter spurts of exercisethat involve the highest amount of intensity thatthey are capable of.

“That’s another great thing about CrossFit; you can build on how longyou can be intense for and sometimes it is only six minutes,” said Mickelsen. “It’s a lot like a sprinter. Many of the Olympic sprinters don’t do very longsprints, but if you look attheir body type and their lean muscle mass they are probably some of the most in-shape people around. They do short, intense workouts and so do we.”

Even though CrossFit-ters vary significantly inthings like age, occupationand body-type, attendeestend to develop lastingfriendships because oftheir common goals.

“It really becomes ateam effort for everyone

to reach their goals andto keep coming to classand working hard,” saidMickelsen. “People kind ofwork off of each other andsupport each other. I think

feeling like you are part ofa team is a really import-ant part of getting fit. Ithelps people reach theirgoals a little faster and ithelps them stay there oncethey’ve reached them.”

Harmer said he hopesby being a part of CrossFitat his gym, people can un-derstand that fitness is funand that it can be a sport.

“We pride ourselves onour community,” he said.“Everyone comes here andthey are all friends becausewhat everybody does is thesame workout. They sufferthrough the same diffi-culty of the workout, andthere is some camaraderiein that.”

Harmer said overallhis goal is to help peoplefeel fulfilled by getting

them involved in CrossFitfitness.

“The functional move-ments that we do in herewill benefit people in thelong run and in life and

help with longevity,”said Harmer, “In fit-ness longevity is thegoal not just lookinggreat, but being ableto move and live along, full life.”

Mickelsen saidshe hopes by coming

to her gym people will livetheir lives knowing thatthey are stronger than theywere before and that they

are capable of more thanthey ever thought theycould accomplish.

“Sometimes they comein and they are a littleshy and a little timid andthey’re not comfortablewith themselves,” saidMickelsen. “It is amazingto see them develop andto turn away from the scale and turn away fromwhat society says they aresupposed to look like andsay ‘I’m a strong person.’I want them to feel goodand leave the gym justfeeling good about them-selves; that’s my goal.”

www.postregister.com Health & Wellness Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013 • 3

Athletes participate in a CrossFit workout at Maltese CrossFit in Idaho Falls recently.

Casey Ar-chibald/[email protected]

“In our gym if you don’t move it, it doesn’t move.”

— Sam Harmer, owner of Maltese CrossFit

CrossFit

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Snap Fitness in Idaho Fallswill be moving to a brandnew location soon.

The new site with be just off of Hit Road on East 25th Street in Trellis Square and will be three times the size of the current location at a whopping 6,700 square feet. The gym is hoping to hold its grand opening on Oct. 18 unless otherwise stated.

Snap Fitness is a world-wide gym franchise that was founded in 2003 and cur-rently has nearly 1,400 loca-tions.

The location in Idaho Falls opened in 2008 and it is the only one in the area. It is currently owned by Carrie Merrill, who also works as a physician.

“I am very excited about the new building,” said Mer-rill, “It has been available for two or three years now and I have had my eye on in for a while. It is completely empty inside so I can do whatever I want with it. It’s like clay, I can mold it however I wantto make sure our members here are getting exactly whatthey need.”

In addition to the current location’s unique amenities, like the tanning booth, fi t-ness trackers, vending ma-chines filled with healthy snacks and drinks and the specialized virtual bike-ride machine, the new locationwill have even more ameni-ties added on.

Some of the new features of the gym will include a space for powerlifting, a larg-er circuit-training section, a HydroMassage bed, Fitness On Demand, a boxing ma-chine, top-of-the-line ellipti-cals and live classes.

Merrill said she thinks the members of her gym will bemost excited about the Fit-ness On Demand system.

Fitness On Demand is a program where members can reserve a certain section of the gym that off ers virtual fitness classes. Members can come in groups or on their own and use a kiosk to selectfrom hundreds of exercisevideos, which will then beprojected on a large screen.

Some of the videos in-clude classes like kickboxing, dance, cycling and more, according to the Fitness On Demand website. Th e videos are changed every month tohelp give exercisers some va-riety to their routine.

Because Snap Fitness is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week gym, Fitness On Demand classes may be reserved for any time they choose. Equipment used in the videos will beprovided.

Besides the virtual class-es, live classes will also beoffered as an option for gym members as well as members of the community. Merrill said she hopes to include popular types of fi tness class-es like Zumba, but also some dance classes like ballroomand swing. She also said she plans to bring in a live swing band during the swing in-struction.

The HydroMassage bed is another new amenity thatMerrill said she is looking forward to. It is completely

unattended, which means that members who have ac-cess to the system can use itas they please.

The system delivers waves of water to the individual in the bed and they can remain completely clothed. Th e speed and intensity of the waves are customizable and are meant to provide relax-ation and muscle relief.

Relaxation is a needed break for most people, but sweat, sore muscles, pounds shed and calories burned are also essential parts of the Snap Fitness goals for mem-bers.

Each member of Snap Fit-ness can create an account onthe gym website that will helpthem track their food, calories,weight and exercise among

other aspects of personalhealth. Free workouts, mealplans and exercise plans arealso available on the website.

A personal fi tness tracker called an easyFIT is available for purchase and can sync upto the website to provide eas-ier tracking.

According to the Snap Fit-ness website, easyFIT “tracks your activity intensity, dura-tion and calorie burn, con-verting it all to one simple point score.”

Th e fitness scores rangeall the way from the inac-tive range to the endurance range. The scores can be used to measure activity to help members determine how they need to improve.

“The easyFIT keeps you responsible and reminds you of what you have done in recent workouts so you can improve them and increaseyour time or intensity,” said Merrill.

Merrill said she prides herself in the wonderful personal trainers who are available at her Snap Fitness location. The gym has three trainers so far and Merrill said she would be happy towelcome others who want tobecome part of the franchise.

With the upcoming relo-cation of the Snap Fitness in Idaho Falls, as well as a wider

variety of available ameni-ties, Merrill said she hopes the members of her gym will be able to keep things excit-ing by doing something dif-ferent every day.

“Ideally, you should beworking out five to six days a week at a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every day,” said Merrill. “As a physician, that’s what I rec-ommend to my patients sothey can be healthy. At least two to three times a week you should be adding weights tothat routine whether you are male or female. It helps toboost a healthy metabolism, it helps you have good cardi-

ac and pulmonary support, and it will actually help toprolong your life.”

Snap Fitness offers a free three-week trial to those whowant to test it out. Th e fran-chise is also part of the SilverSneakers Fitness program,which works in conjunctionwith Medicare.

“I want [our members] tofeel good about themselves,”said Merrill. “I want themto feel like we have providedthem with the best access totheir health every day. I wantthem to feel like they couldn’tgo anywhere else to get whatthey need when it comes totheir health.”

Weights line the wall at Snap Fitness. (Casey Archibald/[email protected])

(Casey Archibald/[email protected])Snap Fitness offers a variety of equipment to fit individual exercise needs.

Snap Fitness moving to new location

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In recent years, peoplewho suffer from chronicailments have been un-covering the truth behindtheir conditions with ananswer that seems like itshould have been obvious:allergens.

While the existence ofallergies has been com-mon knowledge for manyyears, the symptoms mostcommonly associatedwith allergic reactions arethings like itchy eyes, arunny nose and sneezing.But allergy testing hascome a long way in today’sday and age and is helpingpeople discover allergiesthat cause other symp-toms like stomach trouble,headaches, rashes anddizziness.

Lori Leask, the LabManager at Express Labin Idaho Falls, said themethods of allergy testinghave greatly improved inrecent years. Express Labis an allergy-testing clinicthat uses top-of-the-linemachinery and equipmentto test blood samples forallergen-specific antibod-ies that help determinewhat the individual isallergic to.

Allergy testing is mostcommonly done with askin prick test, which in-volves pricking the surfaceof the skin with a tiny bitof the allergen to test for areaction. While this kindof testing still exists today,Leask said the blood test-ing method is much morepopular and efficient.

“The advantage of using the new technology verses the skin prick testing is that you don’t have to stoptaking your medicines ordo anything diff erent. You can just come in and get itdone,” said Leask, “You alsodon’t run the risk of havingan anaphylactic issue if they prick your skin withsomething you are really al-lergic to. If you do, you can become very ill in a shortperiod of time.”

At Express Lab, patients can be tested for specifi c allergens individually, or in panels of common allergensthat test for several at a time if the cause of the discom-fort is unknown.

Andrew Scott, Lab Oper-ations Manager at Express Lab said, “If you got a foodpanel it would test for all the common types of foodallergens and then we test your blood against those allergens. If it comes backpositive then the number will be higher. Th e high-er the number, the moresevere the reaction. You can have different stages ofreactivity. There is class 0 through class 5. Th e higher the class the more allergic you are.”

Different kinds of panels include food panels, respi-ratory panel and mold pan-els. If no answer is found by testing for these morecommon allergens, a morecomprehensive test may benecessary.

Scott said gluten and mold are some of the most common allergies he sees in patients that come in to betested.

“Celiac has become sucha huge thing in the last few years, it’s much morecommon to be diagnosed now,” said Leask. “Th ere seems to be a gluten free version of everything. If you are allergic to gluten it does not necessarily mean you have celiac disease. It can be associated with things like irritable bowels. If you suspect one allergen, you can be tested for that one thing.”

Leask said if symptomsare present it is important to get tested because theycan lead to other problems in the future.

“Severe allergic reactions can be really hard on your organs, your lungs, and can destroy some of the tissues in your body if you con-tinue to have the reactions. It can even cause death in some cases,” said Leask.

Leask also said respira-tory reactions can lead toasthma.

Even if an allergic reaction doesn’t lead tosomething quite sosevere, it can be diffi -cult to live with the discomfort of the symptoms. Uponfinding out whatis causing the symptoms, Leask said there are three ways to takecare of the problem.

Th e fi rst one on the list is avoid-ance. If there is some-thing you are allergic to, simplyavoid it. If it is fooddon’t eat it, if it is anobject avoid it, if it’s ananimal get rid of it or makesure it isn’t around you all the time.

“Knowledge is power,”said Scott. “If you knowwhat you have you can avoid those things and takesteps to treat it.”

The second solution is to use pharmaceuticals. This can include over-the-counter or prescrip-

tion medication depending on the condition.

Immunotherapy is the third option. This is where the results of the lab testing is used to create a serum that is made up of a mix ofall the allergens an individ-ual is allergic to and is then placed in a vial and inject-ed. The serum is injected in very small doses as to not cause a serious reaction. Leask said it general-ly takes two to fi veyears to build upa tolerance toallergens.

Express Lab does testing through insurance compa-nies. Leask said most insur-ance companies will pay for the testing of 24 allergensper year as long as the pa-tient has a doctor’s referral. Patients can also come and get tested on their own for a reasonable price.

Leask said it is the foodallergies that cause many

of the symp-toms. Even

things like

ec-

zema or skin rashes can becaused by food rather thansomething that is coming in contact with the skin.

“Everyone who has aller-gies has a certain amount oftolerance to the things theyare allergic to,” said Leask. “You may not even realize what you are allergic until later in your life because you haven’t crossed that line yet.”

Even if no symptomshave been apparent until recently, if they start toemerge and it seems likethere is no solution to befound, both Leask and Scott suggested getting tested for allergens.

“If you get rid of your symptoms you will feel a whole lot better in every area of your life. Not treat-ing the symptoms can aff ect your health in the present and in the future,” said Leask.

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When temperatures hit below freezing, fi nding the will to shed the Snuggie for some gym clothes can beless than appealing.

Brandee Webb, owner and operator of Anytime Fitness in Idaho Falls, has some suggestions for how toget moving this winter and stick to your plan to stay fi t.

Anytime Fitness is a gym franchise with thousandsof locations throughout the world. So far, there are two locations in Idaho Falls and several in the surrounding areas.

Tip One: Stay active and don’t be sedentary.

Webb said while a daily workout should be part ofeveryone’s routine, one ofthe ways to stay active is tofind ways to implement ac-tivity into a daily routine.She suggests doing things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking as far away from the grocery store as possible, taking breaks throughout the day to go upand down the stairs at work or at home, or running in place during the commercial breaks of your favorite show.

“Doing little exercis-es during commercials is a great opportunity to get your metabolism going. Simply try to never get sed-entary,” said Webb.

Webb suggested mall-walking as another way to be active in the win-ter and to stay warm.

“You can get yourself in trouble by walking the mall,”Webb joked. “But it is still a great way to get some exer-cise and stay warm — may-be do a little shopping too.”

Tip Two: Track your food intake.

“Around 80 percent offitness is what you put intoyour body,” said Webb. “If you get up in the morning and start your day right and you have a healthy breakfast, you get into that mindset ofmaking it a ‘good choice’ day. It’s hard because we get busy with work and every-thing, but if you are eatingwell you are more likely tomake those healthy choic-es throughout the day thatyour body needs.”

Webb explained thatmany times people don’t re-alize what they eat and how much they are consuming until they keep some kind of food journal. During the time of year when Hallow-een candy, plump turkeys, frosted sugar cookies and chocolate oranges are the norm, this is especially im-portant.

“Really keep track ofwhat you are eating,” said Webb. “If you track it and you are aware of your intake, it will be a lot easier to avoid munching on things when you’re not hungry. Aware-ness is a big part of it.”

Webb said this can beespecially hard for stay-at-home parents with chil-dren. Whether it’s preparing meals for the kiddies or giv-ing your child a treat, Webb said it can be easy for mom-mies and daddies to sneak a few bites for themselves. It’seasy to pack on a few extra calories without even realiz-ing you’ve done it.

Sometimes it’s okay to al-low oneself a treat every now and then, said Webb. But she warned that if you do this, it’s important to make up for

the extra calories in other parts of the day.

“My favorite thing to eat when I am stressed is a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger,” Webb said. “Every now and then I allow myself that little treat, but then I realize I have toexercise more or eat less thatday to maintain my weightand daily calorie [allow-ance].”

Anytime Fitness off ers a food tracking program, which is free to members, through the Anytime Healthwebsite.

The website can be ac-cessed on personal comput-ers as well as with an app for a smartphone. Members can plug in their weight, height, measurements and other factors that may eff ect their health and receive sugges-tions for calorie allotments among other things. Person-al trainers and nutritionists are available for questions online 24/7.

Anytime Health also has recipes and meal plans avail-able to help with proper nu-trition.

Tip Three: Get to the gym.Even when you don’t want

to put down the mug of hot cocoa and hit the gym, it is important to stay motivated with your goals and makeyourself go.

“Everyone needs a little time for themselves. Going to the gym is the time for you to work on your goalsand your body and feel better about yourself,” said Webb.

Webb explained that get-ting exercise can help withthings like seasonal depres-sion. She said that many ofthe members at her gym are on doctors’ orders to work out.

“Improving your moodand getting to the gym re-ally go hand-in-hand,” said Webb. “It releases those en-dorphins that you need to behappy. It also gives a sense ofaccomplishment once you get to the gym. Also, you are going to see a diff erence in your appearance which will make you feel better about yourself.”

Webb said that interact-ing with people is an im-portant part of staying mo-tivated to keep going to the gym. She said at Anytime Fitness many of the mem-bers seem to be friends and they encourage one another to keep coming and to keep trying to meet their goals.

“Even if you don’t know a

person’s back-story and you are just gym friends, thathuman interaction is huge,”said Webb.

Tip Four: Explore a new form of exercise you

haven’t tried. Sometimes boredom in

a routine can take a toll onwinter gym-goers if they do virtually the same thing on a daily basis. Changing things up can make a huge diff er-ence in making your fi tness goals, said Webb.

At Anytime Fitness, a program called Fitness On Demand is now available. The program consists of a kiosk where members can select from hundreds ofvirtual class options. Once

a class is selected, a screen lowers down and projects a video to which exerciserscan follow along.

Webb said the systemis great because it allowspeople to try new thingslike Zumba or Kickboxing,without having to worryabout other people watch-ing them. Equipment thatis used in the videos likebands, balls, kettle ballsand weights are all provid-ed for the use of the mem-bers. Fitness On Demandcan be done in a group oralone and it is free to mem-bers of the gym.

Live classes are anoth-er fun way to get out of the routine of a treadmill or el-liptical and onto the fl oor.

Anytime Fitness provides classes taught by personal trainers that are also avail-able to members for free.

Tip Five: Go outside, even if it isn’t for a long period

of time. But stay warm!Many people continue to

walk throughout the winter, even in the cold, said Webb. She suggests taking advan-tage of the winter days thataren’t extremely cold by tak-ing a walk.

Webb said it is very im-portant to bundle up inthe wintertime. She em-phasized the importanceof keeping the neck, earsand fingers warm. Becausethe winter days tend to bedarker, it is also essential

to wear some bright colorsor reflective gear if you arewalking or running closeto a road.

“If you decide to go run-ning outside make sure you are wearing good shoes withlots of traction so you don’t slip or hurt yourself,” saidWebb. “You are runningbecause you are trying toget better and stronger and if you wear the wrong foot-wear it’s going to hurt your joints and defeat the pur-pose.”

Webb said when it is re-ally cold outside breathingdeeply can lead to lung dam-age. She suggested using ascarf or some other kind ofgear to cover your mouth.

“When you get cold youkind of end up going numband you may not even real-ize how cold you are actu-ally getting,” said Webb. “Ifyou start with a lot of layersand start to sweat quite a bit, and feel yourself getting toowarm, you might just take asweater off and tie it around your waist because the wet-ness can cause you to reallyfreeze. Or just come to the gym, it’s warm in here!”

Webb said she tries tomake sure she meets theneeds of the members ofher gym to keep themon-track with their goals.The gym implements newprograms and brings innew machines every yearto ensure the best qualityand the satisfaction of themembers.

“Our goal is your goal,”said Webb. “We know we are helping you get to who youwant to be, where you wantto be and how you want tobe. That’s what makes thisgym such a wonderful thingto be a part of.”


Staying fi tin the

As temperatures drop find new ways to stay in shape

Casey Archibald/[email protected] Fitness in Idaho Falls offers several workout options for getting out of the cold for a workout this winter.

Follow us:

2860 Channing Way Suite 115 Idaho Falls ID 83404

The Wellness Center at EIRMC

To learn more:(208) 535-4200

www.eirmc.com

Hours:Monday - Friday:8:00am - 4:00pm

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Diet pills, shakes, juice, fasts, surgery, rigid exerciseplans — No matter how many weight loss methods you try, you can’t seem tostick to one until you reach your goals.

That’s why Th e Wellness Center at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls has developed a one-stop shop program tohelp people be healthier and lose weight through lifestyle changes rather than fading fad diets.

They also strive to usethe most recent science and evidence-based material tobase their weight loss pro-grams on.

The people and aspects that make up EIRMC’s Wellness Center have been around for a while, but the concept of bringing several different specialists all to-gether in the same locationunder one specifi c program came about fairly recently.

“EIRMC has always been the place you go when you get sick,” Coleen Niemann, Director of Marketing & Community Relations, said. “Th e concept of the Well-ness Center is to help people get healthy ormaintain healththrough wrap-around services. Each of these people has a unique contri-bution to a well-ness aspect. And in particular tolosing weightand maintaining healthy weighteach of thesepeople have something par-ticular to offer a person who is interested in doing that.”

The program is made upof several individuals who have specific expertise thatwere handpicked to helppatients lose weight in a healthy way. Th e Wellness Center includes a nurse practitioner, a dietitian, anexercise physiologist, a psy-chologist, a diabetes edu-cator as well as a program manager.

Patients from inside and outside of the hospital are invited to participate in the services that are available atThe Wellness Center. Th ey

can come with a recommen-dation from their doctorto lose weight or develop a healthier lifestyle. If a patient does not have a primary caredoctor or a recommenda-tion, nurse practitioner Lesli Christofferson is available tomeet with them and makesure they are healthy enoughto start an exercise program.

Upon meeting with

Christofferson or coming with their own doctor’s note,patients are then set up withan individualized treatment plan. They meet with someor all of the specialists tofinalize their plan to lose weight and develop a health-ier lifestyle.

Valerie Chassin, a reg-istered nurse who works under the umbrella of Th e Wellness Center in diabetes education, said obesity is the No. 1 risk factor in develop-ing diabetes.

“I have been working with patients for a long time to manage their diabetes which encompasses weight

loss,” said Chassin. “Type-2 diabetes can be controlled or even reversed with weightloss, dietary changes and in-tensive lifestyle changes.”

Emily Cowles, a regis-tered dietitian who alsoworks under Th e Wellness Center, said she helps withsome of the diabetes coun-seling and also does weightloss counseling.

“I meet with patients in-dividually and come up witha plan,” said Cowles. “My role as a dietitian is to fo-cus on what they are already eating and what we can do to make them have healthier food choices. I oft en reviewfood logs with them. I havean online program that theyuse sometimes that sends itto me directly. I coordinate my care with everyone else.”

Cowles said that every patient she sees is diff erent. She consults with some ofthem weekly, others month-ly and some only every few months. She said the frequency of the meetings

really depends on the indi-vidual.

Tom Stickley, an exercisephysiologist at Th e Wellness Center, said he sees people for the exercise portion oftheir plan to get healthy and lose weight.

“I do a lot of program planning and implementa-tion,” Stickley said. “Th atcan be anything from a

home exerciseprogram orteaching pa-tients to havea more activelifestyle. Some of our patients already had a gym member-ship. What’smost import-ant, as far as anexercise pre-scription goes, is working withthem on some-thing they en-joy doing. I

can give people programsall day long but if they hatethem they are not going todo them. It’s all about fi nd-ing something that they likethat is going to be some-thing that is long-term and going to work for them.”

Dr. Howard Harper isthe licensed psychologistfor The Wellness Program.He said that EIRMC hasalways had a psychologycomponent but that it is arelatively new thing to havean outpatient psychologistavailable to consult. Hehelps people through thepsychological part of de-veloping a plan that they

can stick to. He exploredreasons why patients mightbe having trouble keepingwith a weight loss pro-gram. He said one of theprimary reasons revolvesaround frustration.

“Nobody likes to workhard and not see results,”Harper said. “People oftenstart with a healthy life-style and then stop becauseit’s uncomfortable or theydon’t get anywhere. Theywonder why they are doingit if they are not seeing re-sults. It is great for them tobe able to come in and talkto someone who can helpthem understand why themethods they were tryingaren’t working. One of theaspects of success is reallyaddressing that frustrationbecause keeping people onthe path is oftentimes thetrick. Being on a diet ishard, I quit drinking sodaabout three times a day!But there is nothing thathelps a person stay on trackas well as success. Makingprogress and seeing changeis really what makes a per-son stay on the path.”

Harper said the acces-sibility of different spe-cialties and disciplines inThe Wellness Center helpspeople stay on track and isa consistent way of keepingthem responsible for thetreatment they are doing.

“When patients comein we let them know thatwe’re here to help them andthat we are going to devel-op a treatment plan andfind out what will work thebest for them,” said Chris-tofferson. “They can takeone visit and come in andsee each person that’s ontheir plan.”

The idea of having one

place for all wellness needshas been a successful wayto help patients achievetheir goals according toChristofferson.

“The program is inter-disciplinary,” said Christof-ferson. “We talk with eachother. We are in one officeand we make sure that wetalk and we meet with eachother so we make sure thatwe have the best treatmentplan for each patient. Youhave to treat the personas an individual and youcan’t just do a cookie cuttertreatment because every-one has different needs.”

Stickley said each of thespecialists turn to eachother when they havequestions that are outsideof their own expertise. Hesaid this is a great way tomake sure the patients getwhat they .

Niemann also explainedthat a lot of people waituntil they have a life-alter-ing event before they con-cern themselves with theirhealth. She said that partof the goal of The Well-ness Center is to make itso people catch their badhabits and develop healthyones before they get to thatpoint.

“The word that comes tomind when I think aboutthe benefits of this programis ‘success,’ said Harper.“The likelihood of successis a lot higher when youtake multiple approaches.When you only take oneapproach to weight lossyou are more likely to hit aplateau. When you hit thatlimit it’s frustrating. Whenyou have the multiple dis-ciplines to refer to, you canreally figure out what isholding you back.”


Casey Archibald/[email protected] left are Dr. Howard Harper, Lesley Simmons, Lesli Christofferson, Emily Cowles and Tom Stickley. All are specialists at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center’s Wellness Center who work to help people lose weight.

well-roundedapproachProgram offers patients treatment for all aspects of weight loss

“The likelihood of success is a lot higher when you take multiple

approaches. When you only take one approach to weight loss you are

more likely to hit a plateau.”— Dr. Howard Harper

Stock photoContinued success is the key to achieving weight loss goals according to the specialists in the Wellness Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. The Wellness Center helps patients achieve weight loss success through a wraparound approach.

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Fitness on Demandwith a Virtual

Instructor

MOVING SOON to Our New Location at1520 E. 25th St

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