Transplant Center

FRESH: Finding the Right Everyday Skills for Health

Finding motivation for weight loss is difficult, and waiting to feel motivated can keep you stuck in bad habits. FRESH takes a different approach to weight loss and provides the needed support and guidance to make healthy lifestyle changes.

"I was so pleased with this program. It is scientifically based and provided real solutions, realistic goals and made it easy to lose weight."
-Donna Rouch, FRESH program participant

What is FRESH?

FRESH is based on scientifically sound, safe and effective weight management strategies. Different from a "fad diet", FRESH teaches important skills necessary to obtain and maintain a healthy body weight. FRESH will include:

• Initial individual meeting
• Weekly group meetings
• Consultation with providers
• Follow-up care

The initial individual meeting allows you the opportunity to identify personal barriers and set unique goals. The staff will coordinate care as needed with your medical providers to ensure your best health. Since FRESH’s focus is on permanent weight loss results, we also offer ongoing support and follow up after completing the group meetings.

FRESH Focus

FRESH includes six group sessions designed to facilitate knowledge and skills for effective weight management. Each session includes a personal weigh-in, review of personal goal and instruction of weekly session content.
FRESH content includes:

• Health behavior techniques
• Calorie education
• Physical activity instruction
• Healthy cooking strategies
• Psychosocial impacts
• Relapse strategies

FRESH provides you tools to get started:

• Workbook
• Diet logs
• Measuring utensils
• Pedometer
• Calorie guide
• Cooking demonstration
• Much more!

FRESH Staff:

Larra Petersen, Ph.D.
Larra Petersen, Ph.D., is a Clinical Health Psychologist at The Nebraska Medical Center. She completed a specialized fellowship at Mayo Clinic with an emphasis on chronic health conditions. She works with clinical populations and has research interests in areas of obesity, renal failure, diabetes, and oncology.

Molly Stirek, R.D.
Molly Stirek, RD, LMNT is a Registered Dietitian at The Nebraska Medical Center. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and completed her dietetic training at St Joseph Health Center in Kansas City, Mo. Molly has over ten years of clinical experience and currently works as a renal dietitian with the kidney and pancreas transplant program.

Contact Information:
The Nebraska Medical Center
Transplant Center
402.559.5000 l 800.401.4444

What to Expect in the FRESH Sessions

Session 1: Ready, Set, Go..

Goal setting can help improve your health. Goal setting is the process of selecting and prioritizing changes specific to your unique health needs. Goal setting works by focusing your attention and effort to achieve the desired outcome. There are ways to successfully set goals and ultimately enhance your motivation for changes.

Session 2: Calorie Education: How Much is Too Much

The key to weight loss success is a delicate balance between caloric intake and energy expenditure. It is important to understand what a calorie is, how many calories your body needs and how many calories are in the foods you eat. Label reading can help you identify the recommended serving size and number of calories in different foods. All foods can fit into your lifestyle, but it is a matter of knowing how much to have, how often to enjoy them and how to make healthier substitutions for them when necessary. For example, cheese can provide excessive calories and fat to your diet. A half cup of shredded cheddar cheese provides 455 calories and 37 grams of fat. This doesn't count the pasta, burger or casserole you are adding to the cheese. If you substitute skim mozzarella cheese instead of regular cheese, you can save 170 calories and 20 grams of fat. In addition, if you cut the portion of cheese in half you can save even more calories. Portion control is essential when managing your caloric intake and your weight.

Session 3: Physical Activity: Not Just the GYM

In the past, it was thought that people with chronic disease would not be able to exercise. In addition to increased energy, other benefits from exercise may include: improved muscle physical functioning; better blood pressure control; improved muscle strength; lowered level of blood fats (cholesterol and triglycerides); better sleep; and better control of body weight. Foods and many beverages you have during the day contain calories, but everything you do also uses the calories. Balancing the calories you eat with the calories you use through physical activity may help you maintain your current weight. The number of calories your body burns each day is called your total energy expenditure. Your ability to change your basal metabolism is limited. However, you can increase daily exercise and activity to build muscle tissue and burn more calories. Many of us understand the importance of exercise and sincerely have a desire to exercise but we have some barriers. Confidence in your ability to carry out changes plays a central role in the direction, intensity and persistence of making healthy, active changes.

Session 4: Calorie Education: More Bang for Your Buck

Bite for bite the foods you eat should work for you, not against you. It is important to recognize the foods that provide excess calories with little or no nutritional value. These foods "cost" a lot of calories and are of no health benefit. For example, a diet high in fat will provide almost double the calories and increases your risk for cardiovascular disease. By limiting hidden fat and sugar in your diet and instead including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low-fat dairy, you will provide more fiber, vitamins, minerals, protein and antioxidants for a healthier you. Instead of french fries for a whooping 380 calories and 19 grams of fat, try a small mixed greens salad for 85 calories and four grams of fat (using two tablespoons of lite French dressing ). Instead of chocolate cake with icing for 235 calories and 35 grams of fat, try a slice of angle food cake topped with berries for 170 calories and zero grams of fat.

Session 5: Social and Emotional Aspects to Change

In helping people manage and reduce their weight, research shows scientifically based, "whole person" focused interventions have better outcome over strict dieting. Research shows weight loss is not just a matter of willpower and a healthy eating plan. Instead, successful weight loss requires a specific set of cognitive (thinking) and behavioral skills. Changing behavior involves changing your approach to eating and activity, which ultimately affects how you think and feel too. It is important that you find satisfaction in the changes that you make, and that the changes are consistent with your expectations. Combating the self defeating thoughts and possessing realistic expectations can help achieve your weight loss goals. The FRESH program knows that you are human; and we expect lapses and teach ways to manage lapses, while hopefully preventing them in the future. You learn to think differently and overcome common "dieting" pitfalls and self defeating thoughts.

Session 6: Healthy Lifestyle Maintenance

In order to maintain the changes that you have already achieved, you will need to devise a personal maintenance plan. As you prepare to transition from the FRESH program to managing your new healthy lifestyle long term, remember the key to successful weight management is a commitment to making permanent changes in your diet and exercise habits. Since life is ever changing, you will likely encounter roadblocks on the path to maintaining your current status and making future lifestyle changes. Therefore, it is important to continue to bolster the skills you have developed and sustain your motivation for your healthy goals. It is important to reward yourself throughout your weight loss journey to stay motivated. Set up your long-term and short-term goals for your behavior change efforts. These goals should be personal and focus on the things that need the most improvement. Most important is to break the habit of rewarding yourself with food. It will be easier to adapt if you put something else in its place.

How to Start FRESH

When you decide FRESH is right for you, ask your transplant coordinator, nephrologist, dietitian or other health care provider to schedule the initial individual visit. We will review the program information, your needs and set goals.

The next step is to attend each of the six weekly sessions occurring for one hour in the Lied Transplant Center at The Nebraska Medical Center.

The program has a 120 dollar initial registration fee. If you successfully complete all six sessions of the program and achieve a personal goal, you will receive 50 percent (60 dollars) of your investment back.

Registration Form
Program Schedule

Resources for Healthy Eating
www.calorieking.com
www.mypyramid.gov