Weight-loss group loses 2,100 pounds in a year

A group of weight-loss enthusiasts in Washington lost literally a ton of weight in 2011. The group of 40 to 50 people lost 2,100 pounds over the course of a year. Some group members have given up and significantly cut back on their favorite foods, while other members said they lost weight simply by paying attention to nutrition and by exercising.

Millie Youngquist has been a group member for the past 25 years and is now considered a ?lifetime member.? She has lost 25 pounds and has kept it off. She has done it by studiously monitoring everything she eats. She subscribes to a weight-loss program that assigns a point value to every type of food. She is then given a set number of points per day she can use any way she wants.

Youngquist said she has begun to eat more fruits and vegetables because they have zero points. Foods that are high in carbohydrates are also high in points, so Youngquist has learned to limit her consumption of those foods.

?When I go to restaurants, I eat half a portion or split a dessert with somebody,? she said.

Youngquist said some members of the group have been able to go off blood pressure medication because they lost weight.

?It changes your self-esteem, too,? she said. ?People talk of doing things they never would have thought of doing, such as run a 5K.?

The group members met Thursday and talked about ?danger zones? where they are tempted to stray from their weight-loss program. They mentioned buffets, candy aisles, and church potlucks as a few of the places where they need to be especially mindful of the calories they consume.

The group talked about how to ensure that a trip to the grocery store does not end with bags of junk food being taken home. Group members recommended making a list before going to the store and not straying from that list. Other members suggested that it was a bad idea to go to the grocery store hungry because that will increase the risk of choosing unhealthy foods.

Teresa Beukenhorst has been a member of the weight-loss group for about two years. She said she was having health issues at the time and she knew that losing weight would help her cope with the issues. She said following the weight-loss program allowed her to lose 110 pounds in a period of 14 to 15 months.

Deb Longest joined the group about a year ago. Her friend Denise Franzen said she was trying to lose weight at the time. Franzen said she got nervous when she saw that she had regained some of the weight she lost. Longest encouraged her to join the weight-loss group and Franzen took her up on the challenge.

Longest and Franzen said they look up the point value for each food on the Internet and they go to a Web site that tracks how many points they?ve used. Beukenhorst said the number of points a person is allotted is a function of their height, weight and activity level.

Franzen said each person is also given a certain number of points they can use any time during the week. This allows a person to indulge in a dessert once in awhile without going over their allotted point total for the week.

Longest said the lifestyle change the group recommends consists of eating proteins and whole grains in place of carbohydrates. Someone at the meeting announced that they were able to lose weight by giving up chocolate.

?I feel that you can have anything you want as long as you can account for it,? Longest said. ?You don?t necessarily have to give up chocolate.?

Longest said the biggest change she has made to her lifestyle has been to eat more fruits and vegetables. Beukenhorst said that after awhile those foods become the desserts.

?You learn to make a healthier choice,? she said. ?Do I want that banana that is going to give me 0 points or do I want that 7-point candy bar? What about that apple? That is going to give me a lot of fiber and it?s going to keep me full longer than the wasted sugar in that candy bar. Rather than sitting there eating a bag of potato chips, I?ll eat grapes. Grapes are my candy so now I don?t crave the candy as much.?

Franzen said getting on the weight-loss program didn?t affect what she ate as much as how much she ate.

?I used to eat senselessly, but now I eat what makes me feel better and what makes me fuller,? she said.