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  • Essay / Losing for Life: A Health Promotion Experience

    Losing for LifeSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay My experience in health promotion began in the clinic in my hometown of Valemount, British Columbia. Valemount only has about a thousand residents, so whatever aspect of health promotion is examined, the population group will be small. A doctor named Stefan Du Toit came to Valemount from South Africa to practice as a general practitioner. While he was practicing, he noticed the number of overweight or obese adults in the city and thought something needed to be done to help this specific population. Dr Du Toit took on the challenge of promoting a weight loss program created by himself and other colleagues called Lose for Life. Lose for Life is a specific weight loss plan that teaches a healthier way of eating and the weight loss journey itself involves weekly group meetings with other participants (Noakes, T., Frouws, J. and Du Toit, S. nd). To ensure the safety of those who wanted to participate in the program, they had to be assessed by Dr. Du Toit before starting the program. During the examination, participants' medical history and medications were reviewed and additional laboratory tests were ordered if necessary (Noakes et al. nd). Once the participants' health status was known, they were assigned a weight loss goal (Noakes et al. nd). Throughout the program, these participants are asked to follow the diet guidelines. The diet is a low-carb, low-fat, sugar-free diet with a specific daily calorie count (Noakes et al. nd). Unlike other weight loss plans or diets, Lose for Life is considered a lifestyle change rather than a diet. Diets tend to fail, so if people view the program as life-changing, they tend to be more loyal to the program (Noakes et al. nd). Another aspect that differentiates Lose for Life from other weight loss plans is that it does not include exercise until the participant has reached their goal weight. Lose for Life was launched for obese or overweight people in Valemount who wanted to participate in this life change in order to get their health back on track. A new lifestyle was promoted to improve the health of those who wanted to lose weight. This program has been a very useful tool in the city and has taught participants how to eat well and live a healthier lifestyle. Due to the success of the diet, Dr. Du Toit was contacted by doctors from across Canada hoping to establish the same program in their communities (Trick 2011). Personal Show At the time this new diet came out, my mother was working as a doctor. office assistant at the Valemount clinic. As a staff member, she was asked to help with these weekly meetings with all the participants who started this weight loss plan. My mother thought she should also do the program with the other participants and was evaluated by Dr. Du Toit like all the other participants. She wanted to lose a little weight, but above all, she wanted to better understand what patients were feeling and what they were experiencing. She took the weight loss plan home and started immediately. At the time, I was about twelve years old, so I wasn't allowed to be as dedicated to the diet as she was. At the time, my mother and I were slightly overweight and needed education on how to eat right. We..