Weighty Matters
Nurses find success using online diets

By Linda Childers
January 13, 2003

Kathy Reed, RN, walked into her home after another late-night shift at Charlotte Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda, Fla. The evening had been busy, leaving no time for dinner, so the 44-year old nurse found herself satisfying her hunger with a late-night, high-fat snack before heading off to bed.

At 5-foot-5 and 263 pounds, Reed knew she needed to change her eating habits and lose weight. In the past, weight loss plans such as Atkins and Slim-Fast had helped her lose a few pounds, but ultimately she gained the weight back. Like many working women, Reed led a busy and often stressful life, juggling career demands with family responsibilities. Finding the time to eat healthy or attend weight loss meetings was a challenge. Her salvation finally came in the form of an online diet that offered the convenience of maintaining a weight loss plan while never leaving home.

For years, Reed’s weight also had added stress to her job. Whenever she advised patients to lose weight for their health, she was consumed by guilt.

“I felt as if I had taken the hypocritical oath instead of the Hippocratic oath,” Reed said. “I was telling patients to lose weight while I continued to gain weight.”

Her turning point came when two cousins died of heart disease, each before the age of 50. With her own high cholesterol levels and excess weight, she felt as if she, too, could be destined to suffer a massive heart attack.

Reed realized it was time to find a weight loss plan that would fit in with her busy lifestyle and help her permanently shed the excess pounds. She found the answer to her weight problems while surfing the Internet.

Reed saw an advertisement for eDiets (www.ediets.com), an online weight loss program that promised slow and steady weight loss, convenience and healthy individualized eating plans.

Her goal was to weigh 150 pounds, and she realized it would take a lot of support and guidance from weight loss professionals for her to succeed. The idea of an online diet offering flexibility, affordability and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, held great appeal.

Reed chose a customized eating plan that eDiets updated on a weekly basis. Using their combination meal plan composed of both eDiets recipes and frozen entrees, Reed was able to take meals to work and plan around her busy schedule. She also found support using the eDiets message boards and online chat rooms where she compared notes with other dieters, including nurses, from across the country.

In a little more than a year, Reed had lost 130 pounds and given her life a massive overhaul. A self-proclaimed late-night snacker, she no longer indulges after 7 p.m. And when she does have a craving between meals, she grabs a piece of fruit or a bowl of Cheerios. Once fairly sedentary, she incorporated exercise into her schedule by starting a moderate walking program.

“I walked half a mile the first day and thought I was going to die,” she admitted. “But I didn’t quit and now I’m up to five miles a day.”

With renewed energy, Reed has also taken up weight training and in-line skating. And she traded in her plus-size clothes for a whole new wardrobe that includes blue jeans and sleeveless shirts.

“I truly feel that if I can accomplish this kind of weight loss, then anyone can,” Reed said. “My advice is to take it slow and steady and find a plan that fits your lifestyle.”

Kim Williams, LPN, decided to put an end to her lifelong struggle with weight last March. The 37-year old public health nurse from upstate New York joined Jenny Craig hoping to lose many of the 224 pounds she had accumulated on her 5-foot-3 frame.

“Jenny Craig appealed to me because they follow the American Diabetic Association’s dietary guidelines,” Williams said. “They also use real food and not meal replacements.”

By attending weekly meetings at her local Jenny Craig weight loss center, Williams learned portion control, the power of consistent exercise and how to determine whether she was eating because she was truly hungry or just stressed.

She complemented her weekly sessions with online support at the Jenny Craig Web site (www.JennyCraig.com), which offers members a variety of healthy recipes, a menu planner, a toll-free 24-hour support line and message boards.

By November, Williams had lost 60 pounds and found a renewed sense of energy. She now works out at her local Curves fitness center three times a week, and has taken up Pilates.

“I do a lot of hiking and biking with my husband and daughter,” Williams said. “My turning point came halfway through the program when I rode my bike to the top of a steep hill without stopping.”

A mother of three small children, Peggy Szafranski, RN, a crisis nurse at Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., decided in late 2001 to lose her post-pregnancy weight.

Szafranski had tried Weight Watchers in the past and found the biggest barrier was finding time to attend the weekly meetings.

“One week my baby was sick, the next week I was too tired. It seemed that I always had a reason to not attend the meetings,” Szafranski said.

After the birth of her third child, Szafranski, who is 5-foot-6 and weighed 170 pounds, vowed to shed 40 pounds. Because she liked the Weight Watchers plan, which assigns point values to different food selections, Szafranski decided to try the online version (www.weightwatchers.com).

“I checked e-mail several times a week anyway, so using an online plan seemed doable,” Szafranski said. “I could log on after the kids were in bed or after a shift at the hospital.”

Several months before starting the online diet program, Szafranski had signed up for www.flylady.net, a free online organizational and time-management program. She credits Flylady with giving her the tools to finally succeed at weight loss.

“I used to be a fast-food junkie and my family did a lot of takeout meals for dinner,” Szafranski said. “With Flylady, you plan your day as soon as you wake up, so I got in the habit of planning what my family would have for dinner each night.”

The road to weight loss wasn’t always easy. Szafranski admits there were times when her weight would plateau. After an initial loss of 25 pounds, it took her 16 weeks to lose an additional five, and although she was discouraged, she never quit.

“If I had a bad day and went over my point total, I got back on the plan the very next day,” she said. “I started taking diet frozen entrees to work instead of eating in the cafeteria or grabbing fast food.”

Her efforts paid off. Eleven months later, Szafranski is now 40 pounds lighter.

“People call me a testimonial to the power of online dieting,” she said. “So far, I’ve talked 12 people, including my mom, into trying online dieting.”