Testimonial

Mark & Sandy Taylor Purchasing Director/Pilot, Medical Assistant and WOW! Program Graduates Riverdale, Michigan "WOW! was easy to follow... If you stick with it long enough to develop a regimen, you’ll stick with it for life."

Riverdale Couple Tackled Weight Challenge as a Team 

Mark and Sandy Taylor of Riverdale lost a total of 120 pounds with a little help from their friends at MidMichigan Medical Center - Gratiot.

The couple knew that losing weight would benefit their health. Mark, a purchasing director, is also a pilot and he didn’t want weight-related health complications to change his flight plans. “If I wanted to keep flying, I knew I had to get my weight in check,” he said.

His family doctor suggested Mark consider the Working Off Weight (WOW!) program at MidMichigan Medical Center - Gratiot. In September of last year, Mark and Sandy decided to give it a try together.

WOW! Is a four month weight loss program designed to help individuals live healthier and feel better. Throughout the program, participants meet with an exercise physiologist, registered dietitian and behavioral specialist to keep them on course and to deal with individual challenges. WOW is an individualized program; sessions are private and tailored to each person’s specific needs.  Participants set individual goals and develop a personalized weight management plan.

The dietitians coached Sandy and Mark on making healthy food choices and controlling portions. “We discovered we generally had been eating healthy foods, we just ate too much,” Mark laughed. 

Sandy said the program was much easier than she imagined it would be. “They tell you what to eat, and they provide most of what you eat, which makes it very easy,” she said. “Going through the program together helped us both. There was no cooking special food for one person.”

Mark said he was surprised that he never felt deprived. “Between the restricted calories and the exercise, I thought I’d be hungry all the time,” he said. “They have you eat six times a day and I never felt hungry – ever.”

The first few weeks, they both dropped weight very quickly. “The initial weight loss was encouraging and kept us going,” Mark said. “All in all, we each lost 60 pounds.”

The couple agreed that exercise definitely played a role in their success. “They set up a program for us. Once we got started, we kept it up and still do,” Mark said. “We were able to use the exercise facilities at the hospital as a part of the program. In addition, Sandy and I had a membership to the Alma College fitness center and used that frequently. Sandy also used our treadmill to workout at home.” 

Mark has eliminated half of the medications he took for blood pressure and cholesterol, and Sandy no longer takes anything for lowering cholesterol.

A year after they started the WOW! program, the couple is committed to their healthier lifestyle. “WOW was easy to follow,” Mark said. “If you stick with it long enough to develop a regimen, you’ll stick with it for life.”

WOW! is a four-month, medically supervised program designed for individuals who want to lose weight, feel better and live healthier. For more information about WOW!, call (989) 466-3315 or e-mail wow.gratiot@midmichigan.org.