Losing to win: Veteran sheds 163 pounds through VA weight loss program

“The good Lord got me here for some reason, and I feel great,” Kraus, now 70, said of his weight-loss transformation. “I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long in life to have done this because I really shouldn’t be here.”

Admittedly, Kraus struggled with his weight for years. His wife of 35 years, Mary Ann, continually encouraged him to curb his eating, but he still found it difficult.

Kraus’s declining health ultimately resulted in the biggest “aha!” moment of his life when he was diagnosed with multiple critical issues. However, doctors would not operate because he was so overweight, and when Mary Ann passed that same year from ovarian cancer, he knew he had to make a change.

“I came to the realization I wasn’t able to do it on my own and I needed some help,” Kraus said of his efforts to shed pounds. “I told myself, ‘look dude, you tried and it didn’t work. You need some help.’ Plus, Mary Ann wouldn’t want me to give up.”

A referral from his primary care doctor at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center to BriAnne Riggins, the MOVE! program coordinator at the facility, set his weight-loss journey into motion.

“MOVE! is a multi-disciplinary weight management program, so we don’t just look at food and exercise, but we focus a lot on the behavior side of weight management,” Riggins explained. “We really focus on small, gradual change, which I think is what sets this program apart from more traditional weight-loss programs.”

MOVE!, she said, uses whole health principles and “puts the patient in the driver’s seat. We’re just the passengers, helping direct them.”

Patients can participate in group or individual visits, depending on their preferences, and each session focuses on a different topic.

Kraus described the MOVE! program as a lifestyle change instead of a diet, and admitted it was difficult to get started. “There’s no magic pill. I waited my whole life for it and it ain’t going to happen. You have to be active somehow,” he said.

That lifestyle change, Riggins said, is really the goal of the MOVE! program. “Think about people who follow popular diets like Atkins or keto, and they have good success for a while,” she said. “Then they achieve their goals and go back to eating the way they did before and gain the weight back.

“With MOVE!, we’re really looking at how to make them successful long term. We’re not in there for 4 to 6 weeks. We want them to be healthy for the long haul.”

While in the MOVE! program, Kraus started going to the gym, and he started eating better. “I was the only one at the gym with an oxygen tank walking on a treadmill,” he recalled.

Additionally, he said, journaling about his daily food intake and regular meetings with Riggins became critical aspects of his weight-loss journey and helped keep him focused.

“We know people that keep a record of what they eat and drink are 50% more likely to lose weight and keep it off,” Riggins said of the practice. “What I tell them about journaling is it’s really all about increasing self-awareness. It really opens up the patient’s eyes to their eating patterns, behaviors and food choices, and it’s probably the most valuable tool we have in weight management.”

Today, 6 years after his journey began, Kraus feels great. The knee and back pain are gone, as is the oxygen tank he had been tethered to 24 hours a day. 

“I lost almost half my body weight. I got down to around 235 pounds, then started lifting weights and gained some muscle weight,” he said.

“When he started working with me, he could barely make a lap around the park. To think now he’s lifting weights, getting on a treadmill and stair-stepper, he’s riding a stationary bike … that’s pretty significant,” Riggins said.

Going forward, Kraus said, he still hopes to lose a little more weight, with the ultimate goal of reaching and maintaining 275 pounds.

“Every day is a challenge,” he admitted. “I love to eat, and I still struggle sometimes. And, some days I don’t want to go to the gym. But, I know if I put in the work, the good Lord helps me out. Of course, I still go off track every now and then, but that happens to everybody.”

Kraus also takes pride in knowing his transformation came through hard work. “I can honestly say I’ve done it without any drugs or medication or help from a doctor,” he said. “I’ve done it all on my own with the good Lord’s help, the MOVE! program, and hard work.”

For those Veterans struggling to lose weight, Kraus encourages them to get involved with the MOVE! program. “Give it an honest try, and don’t go in haphazard,” he said. “It may change your life like it did mine, but remember, nothing is going to come easy – you didn’t put it on overnight, and it’s not going to come off overnight. It’s going to take work, and it’s going to take some sweat.”

“I think whether you have 10 pounds to lose or 100 or 200, MOVE! is a great place to start,” Riggins added.

For more information about VA’s MOVE! program or others offered at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, call 573-686-4151 or visit online at https://www.va.gov/poplar-bluff-health-care/

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