New approach to healthy lifestyle helps woman keep the weight off

SALT LAKE CITY — Lee Ann Wyne has been helping patients make appointments to see dietitians for almost 16 years.

It wasn't until August 2010 that she realized she could use one herself.

Osteoarthritis had worn away her joints and doctors had told Wyne that they wouldn't operate, for much-needed knee replacements, until she could lose 50 pounds. She's now lost 68 pounds and kept it off for more than a year, and the 60-year-old office coordinator has a goal to lose just as much this year.

"I had tried all kinds of other things and I was always able to lose weight, but once I stopped whatever I was doing, I'd always gain it back," Wyne said. Over the years, she's dropped a lot of money on health spas, and diet and food programs. Each would leave her wanting in the end.

"This time, it just clicked for me," she said.

Wyne joined in on the success of many others since 2007, by participating in Intermountain Healthcare's Weigh to Health program and she's going to go through another round of 12 weekly, 90-minute courses just to jump start her newly reformed healthy lifestyle.

"They introduce you to stuff you thought for sure couldn't taste good," Wyne said, adding that the program taught her how to make the right food choices to sustain long-term health. And while she still enjoys some sweets, Wyne mostly gets her sugar-high from fresh fruits that are in-season.

"Our plates should be half fruits and vegetables, they should be a quarter whole grains and a quarter of lean protein," said Kary Woodruff, a dietician with Intermountain's Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, in Murray. As a Weigh to Health contributor, Woodruff said she teaches nutritional moderation and balance.

More than 65 percent of adults in the country are overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is believed that excess weight can increase the risk of high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, among other conditions, which are all potentially life-threatening.

Research shows that even small decreases in weight help to improve health and reduce the risk of disease.