Article by Donna Frake of Living Lake Country
When it comes to losing weight, there is no ‘easy’ cure, but for a Pewaukee couple, a doctor-supervised weight loss program provided the answers they were looking for. Susan, 62, and Craig, 64, Kuhlenbeck were ready to shed the excess weight they had been carrying.
“I have struggled with it for many, many years,” said Susan. “I have tried every type of weight loss program. I’d lose weight, but it would all come back, plus more. I came to the point where I thought this is always how I will be. Then this came up. I was skeptical at first,” she said.
It’s easy to see why the couple might doubt the effectiveness of the diet plan that boasts that “in less than two months you can lose up to 40 pounds with moderate diet modifications, no exercise, no shakes and a proven weight loss solution.”
“It was a radical program, and for a year now, I have kept the weight off. I lost 36 pounds on it and have easily maintained it for a year,” she offered.
Craig offers the same opinion. “Like Susan, I have been battling this for a long time. If you can name it, I’ve been on it or looked at it,” he said of other weight loss programs. Craig said he joined an area weight loss competition in 2008, where his weight dropped in six months from 302 pounds to 219 pounds. “That was nice weight loss. The problem was I was working out four to six hours a day. In my 60s that’s not a lifestyle I wanted to, or could, maintain. It wasn’t realistic. When the program ended, I put most of the weight back on. I was 276 pounds and having a lot of problems with my knee,” he explained.
The couple was going to the Healthworks Wellness Center in Pewaukee for help pain issues. They were patients of Dr. Shane Huber for knee pain and other issues. He told them about the weight loss program and the couple signed on.
According to information from HealthWorks Wellness Center, it has “successfully helped over 350 people in the last year, ranging from 18 to 78 years old. In addition to losing pounds and inches other benefits include: an increase in energy, a reduction in prescription medications, pain relief to achy joints, and a dramatic reduction in the risk of diabetes.”
“The results are amazing,” Huber said. “So far, everyone that has followed it properly, has achieved weight loss,” he added. Huber said that Craig lost approximately 40 pounds his first time through the program. Continuing to eat the way he should, he decided to try another round, and lost an addition 30.
“At the time I started, I was 276 pounds and I ended at 202,” Craig said. “It was easy to do if you are willing to make the change and do what is necessary to do. The changes came about easily and going forward I don’t see the rebound I saw in the past,” he said.
Starting over
Susan said she believes all the dieting they had done previously had caused problems for them trying to losing weight. “Because we have been up and down with weight loss, our metabolism was out of shape. This is supposed to restart your metabolism. We’re very excited and still looking good and feeling good,” she said.
Craig said, it is “technically, a 42-day program. The first two days are the fun days; you eat 3,000 to 5,000 calories. He said that intake sets the metabolism for the low calorie diet for the next 40 days while taking the sublingual drops. They took five drops, three times a day as part of the program. The oral drops are the hormone HCG. Huber said the hormone triggers the body to release fat, and resets the metabolism by the conclusion of the program.
He emphasizes the importance of being under a physician’s supervision during the process to monitor progress and make adjustments as necessary. “Breakfast is coffee, tea or water – you’re not eating any food,” Craig said.
The diet consists of a total of approximately 500 calories per day. Huber said people enrolled in the program eat four ounces of protein, fruit, and vegetables in addition to a carbohydrate at each meal. The doctor said each patient is evaluated before starting the program. “We do a complete health history,” he said. “The jest of it is that the drops are making the body release fat that is stored in the body. Although you are only taking in 500 calories, you are burning 2,500,” he said.
Susan said she was surprised by her own reaction to the restricted calories intake. “I was not hungry and I had much more energy. I was skeptical because I eat breakfast, it was quite amazing, and the weight just came off,” she said.
Both Susan and Craig say they suffered no adverse side effects from the hormone. “I think it detoxes your system and you feel alert and energetic,” Susan offered.
Making good choices
Craig said they both continue to make smarter nutritional choices. “I don’t sit and eat five or six brats at a time,” he said.
Susan agreed.
“It encouraged us to eat healthy meals. At the end of the six weeks, you don’t have cravings for some of the things you craved before,” she said.
But even the occasional splurge does not cause them concern.
“I just got back from vacation in Maine. I ate more than normal, but I did not put on the pounds.” She said vacations used to mean a five to 10 pound weight gain. “I don’t feel deprived,” she said. Both say that 80 to 90 percent of their food choices now are healthy nutritious meals.
“It’s a lifestyle change. If you were eating junk, then had a weight loss, and went back to eating junk, you will put it on,” Craig cautioned. He said he wants to emphasize that people need to follow the program “the way it is laid out. I want to emphasize that – the way it is laid out,” he reiterated. “We really followed it exactly,” Susan said.
After the six week diet, the couple said there was three week period where they slowly added things back. “It’s a stabilization phase, then the maintenance phase,” Craig said.
The couple has seen other health benefits. “I don’t need the braces on my knees anymore,” Craig said. And Susan has been able to return to running. “I did a half-marathon in August and am doing another one in November,” she said. Susan said that while she was a runner “years ago,” she couldn’t run at her previous weight. “Now I am up early and working out and feeling good about it. It is so much easier to work out without the extra weight,” she added.
Susan said there is positive reinforcement in the way people have responded. “I have clients I see twice a year and they’re shocked. I get compliments every day; it’s very nice,” she noted. “I see these pictures of me (from before) and where I am now and I can’t believe the difference,” Craig said.
Visit healthworkscenter.com for more information about the weight loss program.
Original article from Living Lake Country Sunday.
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