How’s Your Weight Loss Program Going?

(L-R) Larise Baker, Kim Madigan, Lisa McAvoy, and Pam Jordan are enjoying the results of "Weight Watchers at Work."

Did you resolve to lose weight this year? Are you looking forward to bathing suit season? If your conscience is weighted (sorry) down, maybe there is help right at work.

As part of our Employee Wellness program, HR has arranged for us to participate in the Weight Watchers At Work program at County facilities where there is an interest. Informational meetings about the program are being held in six County buildings. If a minimum of 15 employees commit to the program after attending the meeting, a Weight Watchers meeting will be set up at that location, said Teresa Yerbury, Weight Watchers At Work Specialist. (See list of locations below.)

Looking for some motivation? How about four COC employees who joined the Weight Watchers At Work pilot program at the County Operations Center last August? They set a healthy goal for themselves and achieved it.

 Forty-five employees started the program and lost a total of 540 pounds as a group, said Yerbury. Four women achieved lifetime member status and many more members are close to reaching their goals.

The Weight Watchers At Work Program includes an on-site meeting where individuals are weighed, discuss how to successfully follow the plan and celebrate success. Members can also access online resources and attend additional meetings in the community for $39.95 a month.

“Honestly, people are more successful when they go to meetings,” said Yerbury. “We have found a higher success rate when you are accountable to someone else.”

Pam Jordan, who works at the Registrar of Voters, lost 29 pounds on the program which assigns a point value to foods, then gives members a food budget based on their age, height and weight.

Weight Watchers staff work with individuals to teach them healthy food choices, how to earn activity points which can be traded for food points, and help them set a realistic and healthy goal. Once you reach your goal, not only will that feel good, but you may be able to continue going to Weight Watchers meeting for free!

 “I’m definitely doing the point counting and I’m walking,” said Jordan. “What I loved about the program is that we can go to the meetings on our lunch hour. Trying to catch some time after work or on the weekend is hard with everyone’s busy schedules.”

Kim Madigan, the personal secretary to Sheriff Bill Gore, has also reached her goal weight, but she prefers not to put a number on it.

“I am at a goal that Weight Watchers recognizes as a good lifetime goal,” she said, but she is continuing with the program to try to lose a little more.

Madigan said she started out doing the Weight Watchers Online program but upgraded to the Weight Watchers At Work program so that she could discuss the program with a leader and others.

“You’re meeting with a group of women every week and so that’s a better support structure,” she said. “We’re all kind of on the same journey to feel good and look good.”

Larise Baker, who works in Human Resources, has lost 15 pounds on the plan and is also a lifetime member. She had previously been successful with the online plan years ago, but went off the plan and found herself gaining again. Baker said although she didn’t have a lot of weight to lose, it was important to her to take off the extra weight and that required a plan.

“You have these daily points and you can balance them out. If there’s something you want to eat you can sacrifice something else. It makes you more accountable for what you eat,” she said. “It’s something that helps me maintain.”

Another Human Resources employee, Lisa McAvoy, has lost 22 pounds and is also a lifetime member.

“It was really easy. I was not hungry because you can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want, and whenever I got hungry in between my meals, I would eat fruits and vegetables,” said McAvoy. “At first it was challenging just trying to understand the food you were eating and how to make better choices. Now, it has become normal for me to maintain.”

McAvoy said the meetings are very helpful because all the members talk about what is working for them. They share low-fat food choices and recipes. She said it’s kind of like working together as a team.

To learn more about the Weight Watchers At Work Program, the County is holding informational meetings from noon to 1 p.m. at the following locations:

• Health Service Complex in the San Diego Conference Room, 3851 Rosecrans St. in San Diego, on Wednesday, March 21
• County Operations Annex in the DPLU Hearing Room, 5201 Ruffin Road in San Diego, on Thursday, March 22
• East County Regional Center in the Jury Lounge, 250 E. Main St. in El Cajon, on Friday, March 23
• North County Regional Center in the Jury Lounge, 325 S. Melrose Dr. in Vista on Friday, March 23
• County Administration Center in the Bayside III room, 1600 Pacific Highway in San Diego, on Tuesday, March 27
• Hall of Justice in Room 363B, 330 W. Broadway in San Diego, on Wednesday, March 28