Welcome to Encounter Weight Loss.
I am very excited to be launching Encounter Weight Loss as a new business in Manitoba.
I have been very busy over the last few months getting all of the equipment and materials ready for our launch. Things are coming together and the first class is slated to start on Monday April 14th. I will be sharing a weekly blog here that will normally be very short and conversational, but due to the high interest in this new endeavour of mine I have decided to use this first blog to answer some questions that I am being asked quite often these days. So feel free to skip over some of these details if you want, and check back next week when I will be sharing something more philosophical.
1. So Wendy, Why are you doing this?
Having worked in the weight loss industry for several years, and having also been on my own love hate journey with my body weight, I understand how frustrating it can be to try to lose weight and keep it off. Expensive fad diets, weight loss books and programs offer all kinds of promises for short term weight loss at a heavy price, but few of them have lasting results.
2. What is your vision for this business?
One of my goals in setting up a weight loss program is that it would be affordable and accessible to all women, and that it would be a long term program. I have been able to accomplish that goal with a reasonable start up fee of only $20.00 (which covers the weight loss manual, start up materials and first weeks class fee) and a then an ongoing weekly class fee of $8.00. I was able to set the fees at this price because of the willing volunteerism of several woman, and the openness of churches to host these classes on their premises as a service to their community. It is my hope to have many classes running by the end of 2014, so that I can offer additional time slots and locations to women all over the city and even across the province and the nation. Yes... I am a person of great vision!
How will I manage all this... God and I have a plan, which I will chat about in another blog.
3. What can I expect at an encounter weight loss class?
Well as my web site indicates, each class will focus on four different aspects that all play into weight loss. I call these focused times "encounters" and they work together to care for your whole person. So each week you can expect to spend some time learning about nutrition and exercise, some time in group discussion, some time spent learning new empowering behaviours and some time spent understanding the connection between God given identity and self esteem which is central to seeing ourselves in a new way and keeping our weight off for good.
4. Will I get personal help at your meetings?
Each meeting will last from an hour to an hour and a half depending on the material we are covering. My staff and I take time to weigh each woman in and give her a private consultation, and we also take time to celebrate milestones and weight loss victories together as a group. I have beautiful awards to encourage our members as they go, and at least once a year we will offer a Looking Beyond the Mirror Weekend which is a retreat that I have designed to build positive self esteem and identity in women.
Also starting in the fall of 2014, we will also be offering our members access (for a reasonable cost) to one on one counselling with experienced facilitators for those who are needing extra help in a specific area.
I look forward to seeing some of you at the meetings, and if you know of someone who needs this program., please refer them to my website at encounterweightloss.com
If you have any other questions you would liked answered, post them in the comments section and I will try and answer them for you.
